My Sister -in- law asked me to make there Christmas Card.    We took the photos on Thanksgiving.   Here's the 3 choices that I am going to send her.

Card Template by Jen Martakis

I used Jen Martakis Holly  Jolly Christmas Kit, and Fancy Frames and Mats.

Card Template by Jen Martakis

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The signs of Christmas are every where and today marks the first Sunday of Advent.    We were all prepared to head to church, but the Van was DEAD!     We knew that we needed to new battery, but it had not been cold and it had been working fine.    Well, last night the temperatures dropped and the van battery dropped as well.     Thank-you to AAA.     They arrived in about 1/2 hour and actually replaced the battery for me right there in my garage.    I probably paid a premium for that service, but it was Sunday and I had no desire to search for car mechanic to replace my battery.    Well, we made it to church about 1 hour and 15 minutes late, which I did not think was to bad..  

Ben decided we should have home church.    We found a family Advent reading, which looks very good.    Nadia has already started to color our daily symbols.   We will be hanging our daily symbol on our tree branch that Ben found outside.     IF you are interested,  It can be found here. 

Today's reading was  Isaiah 11:1-2

The Branch From Jesse

 ¹ A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
   from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
² The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
   the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
   the Spirit of counsel and of might,
   the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the LORD

Today's Theme:   Be Patient,   God has a plan for you.     

11-11-11 happens once a century and to celebrate today, I took 11 photos (Well, I actually took many more, but only 11 that are worth sharing).   I am plan to create a scrapbook page of what we did today, an ordinary day in 2011, a time capsule of sorts.   


Today was a normal work day for Andrew and I, but the kids were home due to parent/ teacher conference this week.  I had to work from 9am-12pm  which left the kids just over 3 hours of alone time.   We were prepared with a list of tasks and their video games.   When I left for work, Ben was busy with his ipod, Ethan was busy watching Star Wars Videos on youtube and Nadia was busy "reading" stories with her leap pad.  

 I arrived home at lunch time and we planned our afternoon.    Ethan went to play with his friend Cameron and Ben was heading to the pool with his friend Aaron.    Nadia was feeling extremely left out, so we went to the pool as well.

 

 We had a little time after the pool to finish up some homework and read.    In Kindergarten,  Nadia has been learning that you don't need to read words to enjoy "reading"  books.   She has become extremely interested in books and is beginning to sound out basic words.   Her favorite books right now are "Fancy Nancy" and "Amelia Bedelia"

It was an absolutely perfect fall day.   The sun was shining all day and we had temperatures in the 50s.  Most of the trees has lost their leaves, but our maple out back still has many golden leaves.  

I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and grill some burgers for supper.    We also  had mixed veggies,  chips and milk.  

 It was a rare Friday night that I did not have to work and we did not have to hurry to any activities.
 We had time to play a game of Blokus.  The boys always beat me, their brains must be more mathematical than mine.   In fact,   Nadia was in longer that me....   I'm afraid she was playing randomly, which means my brain really does not work for this game or the boys were intentionally trying to get me out.  

  Ethan and Andrew also spent some time working on making a glider for a school project.  

After the kids went to bed,  I worked on paying bills and other computer work.   Andrew spent some time fixing a computer that we hope to start using soon.   We had been looking for literally years, for a kitchen table and chairs that we look and can afford.    Remember I am married to a designer...hence the time spent looking for the perfect design.    Instead, we decided to update our living room chairs.   Target had these chairs on their website for Cheap, Cheap, Cheap, so we bought 2.    We really like the photo, I hope we like the quality when they arrive.   

 Finally, a Family  photo taken immediately after supper had been cleaned off the table. 
  
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 Now, off to bed  to face tomorrow - 11-12-11. 

I am slowing working on a few more recipe cards to add to our collection.   This recipe is from the Hy-Vee Website.    Andrew and I really enjoy it.   The kids are not so keen on the rice, but they will eat it anyway.     I used Jen Martakis' kit  What's Cookin?

A note to my dear family.....   please send me any recipes you would like added.  I can't make any guarantees, but I will slowly work on them..   That means you Melissa!   We want your Taco Salad and Cali-flower Salad secret!

 We had an absolutely beautiful night to Trick-or-Treat, and what a great night we had.    Ben headed off with our neighbor to collect candy.  He was sure we would slow them down.    Ethan, Nadia and I were joined by T Weber and had a great time.    Not to worry, our slow pace DID NOT hinder our candy gathering.   We ended the night with our bags full.   

Here's a few shots of our costumes. 

Nadia was a witch.  She was asked several time if she was good or bad.   She could not decided and really did not understand what people were asking her.   When she figured it out, she decided to be a good witch.  The boys thought she should take Zeke out with her, since he is a black cat.    

Ben announced that this was Zeke's holiday, since it's a holiday for black cats.   

Ethan dressed as a Star Wars Clone.    I am going to have to ask which one.   I can't remember.     That's perfect for him, since we is really into Star Wars right now.   He loves the books, but especially the Lego.

Ben was a Ninja,  what boy doesn't love to slink around with their face covered and carrying a sword.