Happy WINTER!

Happy WINTER?!

Can you tell what the above picture is? January, in Wisconsin.....we went on a family walk one evening this past week. It was spring-like!!! Of course, it got dark early, so we banked on flashlights and reflection off the kids' jackets...and we stayed on the sidewalks! The above picture is of the children laying on the sidewalk, gazing at the moon and sky full of stars! It was a fun end to our warm weather...the next day, the snow started!

But before we get to the snow, let's back up a few days....

I've written before how much we love our babysitters.....and 2 of them are related by marriage. I still haven't accepted the fact that they are moving onto the next stages of life and that they don't exist to babysit the Glynn kids whenever needed....(I'm working on that acceptance!). Perhaps they have not accepted that either, because again, this Christmas season, they had a fun afternoon planned for the girls....they wanted to teach them how to scrapbook!

The above photo shows what the girls created during their 2 hours with Amy and Cindy. They loved it. Ava especially loved it...she came home and you could hear all sorts of scissors hitting the table, tape being torn off the roll and markers rolling around. When she came out of the gallery, she said "MOM! THIS is scrapbooking and I made it for YOU!" Precious.

Thank you, Amy and Cindy....we LOVE you!

This past week, the 5th grade band students from 2 Neenah schools provided "pre-meeting" music for the Neenah Public Schools School Board Meeting. This was something that was rescheduled from just before Christmas. These children have only been playing their instruments since October and had NEVER played as a collective group before! Ellie LOVED it. Looks like we're on the "buy the flute...not rent it" plan now.

If you are interested in hearing the students play Good King Wenceslas, click HERE.
To hear Jingle Bells, click HERE.
To hear Jolly Old St. Nick, click HERE.
I love Ellie's music teacher/band instructor. From the first correspondence with her, I was impressed---she is passionate about music and about teaching the kids to love music. Prior to the school board meeting, I was reading the posters that were outside the administration building...Mrs. Shebesta was voted teacher of the year! Looks like others have noticed her passion too!

Finally...we get to the snow that "Snowstorm Angela" dumped on us! Oh, it was so exciting to see it fall down and so exciting to anticipate finally getting to play in it. We had lots of talking about what snow can be eaten and what snow should be avoided! Ellie came up with an awesome idea, seen here below--she filled a soccer cone with snow and then turned it over--perfect clean "snowcone" for Colin to enjoy!

Since the snow last week, the kids have been out playing in the snow almost everyday. Our house is in the perfect location--we get a lot 0f the cul du sac snow dumped in our yard and there is very little traffic from the 5 houses in the court. Currently, we have a stage created for a Wiggles type show, a fort, and a path forged in the snow. There are a lot of rosy cheeks coming inside looking like this:

We love winter!

RRRRrrrrrRRRRrrrrr!

This 1st week in 2012 was brought to our family by the letter "R"!!!!

We returned to work/school....we returned items that didn't fit...we swam a relay and had record breaking times (personal best times...this was Ellie...not the entire family!)....we read books....we wrapped ribbon....we ripped open our upper gum...we had a very eventful week!

We must pause though, to all remember and enjoy that beautiful snow we woke up to on New Year's Day! What a joy it was to hear the 4 children say " Can we shovel for you, Dad?!" Sweet! Our drive was the only one cleared for hours...even days! Since this might be the only snow photo we get this year, here it is for your enjoyment...

Now...about that really fun ribbon activity. Colin was so sad when I started un-decorating the Christmas tree and he found it very funny as I walked around and around and around the tree unwrapping the beautiful plaid ribbon. As soon as I finished, the phone rang and I dropped the ribbon....as I was talking on the phone, I just started laughing...Colin was running through the rooms of our main level, weaving and pulling ribbon while singing "Follow The Leader"! I don't enjoy un-decorating, and Colin's happiness definitely put a smile on my face!

Enjoy these photos I captured...all while talking on the phone (scheduling another pull up study, of all things!)...he didn't even know I was snapping photos, it was wonderful! The middle photo here shows Colin holding onto a drawer pull saying "It's tight Mommy!" as the ribbon was caught on something in a different room!

And the end result:

We also had a scare on Friday night...when Colin RIPPED his upper gum open! He had piled pillows on Ellie's bed and then plopped onto them...but instead of plopping onto them, he plopped into her headboard! Ouch. Mouths bleed A LOT...and we had no idea what to expect. After a few minutes, he was running around like nothing had happened, asking for his sippy cup and ready for dinner...it was at that point that Ava just started sobbing, she had been so scared that something really bad was going to happen to him. 2 peas in a pod, let me tell you! :)

This photo is a tad bit graphic:

And yes, he is 100% fine, and his mouth is almost fully healed 24 hrs after the injury!

Finally, we finished the week out with the first swim meet of 2012 for Ellie. I told a friend that when I ran races, it was all about the free tee shirt each runner received. Well, with this meet, if you tried a new event or won your heat, you received a free swim cap! We were all over that one! Ellie tried 2 new events today--the 100 yd backstroke and the 200 yd individual medley. Let me just say that she rocks the backstroke but does not enjoy it--she hit her head once and that was the end of her desire to enter these events! She did wonderfully today though--had the lead the entire race and then got 2nd by just .49 of a second! It was a fun swim to watch. Also fun (and tiring) to watch was the 200 IM. Yikes. I surely could not do THAT one. She said that she was so nervous, she was shaking as she waited by the starting block. BUT...it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be and she established a new time to work off of on that event.

BUT...by far, THIS result was our highlight of the day:

This was the first meet of the new age bracket and we did not have high hopes for anything since Ellie is a young 11 and isn't very tall. She did amazing in the 50 yd freestyle, shaving 5 seconds off her previous best time AND winning her heat! It was a fun swim meet, for sure.

If you are into swimming, here are 3 of the 4 events she swam today:
50 yd freestyle, click HERE.
100 yd backstroke, click HERE.
200 yd IM, click HERE.

And one more "R" for you....it was a week of resolutions! Jayna said she wants to try new foods this year....this week, she tried sushi and banana muffins! I want to make new recipes...52 this year...and I completed 2 new recipes, that the family LOVED!

Happy 2012!

The End!

Dear Children,
This is it...your memories for 2011....they are finally finished. I wondered how I would end this year's postings and many ideas popped into my head. Most of them didn't work out because Dad took you out of the house from 10:30-4:30 on New Year's Eve (So I could catch up on the forgotten blog entries!). Guess what? When you came home, you were exhausted and once you ate dinner, off to bed you went! No big "End of the Year Party" at our house this year!

So then I thought I'd do a post on "Think About It"....remember that? An original song created by the girls, Rebekah and Grandma during their Christmas visit? I thought it would be a good end and happy ending....such a sweet song that was created and practiced in secret and then presented to us. But, as I started to upload it, I heard a few little voices yell "NO MOM! Not on the internet!" :) Ok fine....but it's ok to post the lyrics right?!

Think About It

When my heart is gray, my family turns it bright.
Because we all love Jesus we don't like to fight.

Think About It. Think About It.
Jesus made us family we should all help a bit...
Think About It! Think About It!
We are all special in our own big way!

Ava has freckles all over her nose.
But don't touch Grandpa's nose or toes.
Dad has a gel cast and Mom does not.
We are all different a lot a lot.

Think About It. Think About It.
Jesus made us family we should all help a bit...
Think About It! Think About It!
We are all special in our own big way!

Little Colin hides in the same old spot,
Mom makes soup in a great big pot.
Dad works hard at home and K-C.
We're all the great Glynn family!

Think About It. Think About It.
Jesus made us family we should all help a bit...
Think About It! Think About It!
We are all special in our own big way!

This special song came about after Grandma told the girls that John Wesley wrote over 6000 songs! Surely if he could write that many, they could write one?! Of course! It was a very special surprise.

As for the year...I leave you with this photo of our family rules....Children, thank you for loving Jesus, for loving each other, and for being proud of who you are. Jesus said "Love One Another"...keep on loving....and keep on smiling for the hundreds of pictures Daddy takes! We had a fun 2011 together....looking forward to seeing what 2012 has in store for our family!

Love, Mom

Christmas #3

Merry Christmas!!!!

Our holiday meal preparations started way before Christmas....it all started with the purchase of a 26 lb turkey! (YIKES!) YEARS ago, when we lived in Arkansas, we followed the Alton Brown turkey method of brining the turkey. My memory from that one time was "It was delicious...but oh, so much work!" Well, this year, we decided to do it again. It was much easier this time around because it is COLD in Wisconsin! Our garage kept the ice at the right temperature overnight. In Arkansas, we had to keep changing the ice, so we didn't get much sleep that night. And this year, the turkey was OUTSTANDING for sure. Great job, Andy!!!

We filled up the dining room table with family and food....the above photo captures Andy's Dad talking to Uncle Ben, who is living in Denver now. We definitely had enough food to go around and around... :)

And then we exchanged gifts...

Colin enjoyed putting on Rebekah's homemade shower cap and the girls enjoyed their special gifts from Grandma and Grandpa too.

Of course, there was silliness to be had....in this photo below, upper left photo, all the girls are wearing red bows...kind of like the Red Hat Club...We are the Red Bow Club! And upper right photo of Colin--he was funny wearing a hat that Andy's parents got for him in Hong Kong this fall!

Andy was happily sporting his Packer sweatshirt....which is funny since just the day before, he had unwrapped a tree ornament of a Chicago Bear nutcracker! And as for the bottom right photo...if you get a hairbow clipped onto your package, where is the safest place to keep it? Mom's hair, of course!

We had a wonderful day....filled with good food, good family and a super good reason to be celebrating! Happy Birthday Jesus!
Also on Christmas and into the next day, Andy was running the gas out of his snowblower so he and Jimmy could change the oil. Who knew it would take HOURS AND HOURS to do this? I'm sure the neighbors loved the sound...

We also had memorable "shopping" experiences...with the girls hitting the mall the day after Christmas (what were we thinking?!??!?!) and the boys went to Home Depot and Menards. When the girls returned home, we found Colin curled up with Grandpa watching "Fireman Sam". Precious.

And, you know how it goes...all good things must come to an end. This trip was especially fun for the kids since we had not seen Jimmy for over a year. He really bonded with the kids...playing with Colin and his new toys and letting Colin play his REAL ukelele as well as teaching Ellie how to play a melody on his guitar. Fun times. On the upper right photo, you can see Grandpa giving the girls a "pep talk" about each one being special and having different talents. Our goal for the year is to be happy for our sibling's successes! :)

Christmas #2

Merry Christmas Eve!!!!!! Above, you will see our family photo taken after church. We have a crazy Christmas Eve tradition of going to McDonald's right after the 4pm service. However, this year, McD's closed at 5pm! It was nice not to have to bolt out of church just to eat fast food! ;) And if you are wondering where we ended up (because who wants to cook the night before making a huge huge huge feast?)....we ended up on the south side of Appleton at Wendy's! They were pretty packed too!

But let's back up about 24 hours to the night of the 23rd. We ate dinner early....we got pjs on the kids and they brought cozy blankets downstairs to go look at lights. Andy warmed up the van and the kids were loaded. Then, an unexplainable thing happened 2x...Andy FELL in our garage! The 2nd fall was pretty bad, resulting in this image:

Yep, pretty sure that is not how everyone's ankle looks on a daily basis! Thankfully, on the morning of Christmas Eve, he was able to get into the dr to have it looked at and xrayed--it was just a bad sprain. The funny part of this? The doctor that saw him on Christmas Eve was named Dr. RUDOLPH and had actually taken a fall the night before too, so she was also limping. Andy's just thankful that he had such a long break from going to work--his work shoes don't fit with an air cast!

So, after the unplanned visit to Thedacare, we got back to our morning task--opening Christmas gifts! The kids loved everything. We learned something with Colin though--he is at the age of "put this together NOW"! He especially loved his "Fireman Sam" firetruck and puzzle.

The girls were excited to each get a special gift that promised special 'mommy time' throughout the coming year, Andy received a fun shirt with a man snowblowing that said 'Bring it on!' (but where's the snow anyway?!) and I received beautiful Vera Bradley items along with a framed picture that I had been wanting for a long time.

This year, though, we did things differently with the girls. They each got 1 "big" gift and the main gifts were wrapped in the same nutcracker paper. It was a fun idea. Ava's gift had been assembled in our basement the week prior to Christmas, so we had a "No Peeking" sign on our basement door. The kids were AMAZING--they didn't even try to peek down there!
Ava's main gift was her new ballet shoes and ballet barre. To see the video of this, click HERE and HERE.

Jayna received a very cool pink iPod. To see her open it, click HERE. And Ellie received a "room makeover" in a box. Ellie would redo her room every month if she was able to do it! To see her open her box, click HERE.

We had a nice Christmas Eve as a family, but it went by REALLY fast. Dr's appointment, gifts, brunch and it was time to get ready for church! To hear the kids' piano playing during the Christmas Eve service, click HERE (Jayna) and HERE and HERE (Ellie).

And then the day was done...and we were ready for our Christmas day visitors!

Christmas #1

Our first Christmas celebration this year was with Grammie and Grampy Gorden.
The night before our celebration, the kids were given their "big" gift from Grammie and Grampy--an air hockey table! They were pretty excited and have loved playing it over Christmas break.

The next morning we exchanged gifts....the "hit" gift by far was Colin's set of tools. For days, he had his tool belt on anytime he was able. The day after exchanging gifts, he came home from Sunday School with his project signed this way:

We noticed this when we got home from church....and we've asked Colin many times about it--he doesn't seem to know the story behind it! We find it funny though, as he had JUST received his tools and toolbelt for Christmas!

In the above picture, if you look closely at the middle photo on the left, you will see Andy wearing a hat with a light--he is most excited to have another source of light for the fall evenings when he mows the lawn, as it gets dark so early! He's also excited to wear it on "adventures" with the girls this winter--our trampoline is covered with a tarp, yet you can get under it for special hideouts. :)

Thank you, Grammie and Grampy...for your generosity!!!

NHCS Christmas Programs

This year, Jayna's Christmas program was a week prior to Ava's...and both programs were filled with beautiful singing by the children of NHCS.

Before Jayna's program, she participated in the pre-service music. You can hear Jayna's piano playing HERE.

Jayna had a part in her program--she was a "silent actor", part of a family. She did a wonderful job and was a joy to watch.

For a glimpse of "silent acting", click HERE.
To listen to "Angels We Have Heard On High", click HERE.

Ava's program was held during chapel time for the school. It was such a blessing....to see how Ava has come out of her shy shell...she really loved every bit of this year's program...and also to hear the kids sing so proudly. It was wonderful. Ava was an angel in her program!

Before the program started, Pastor Jeff stood up and indicated that we'd all receive a special gift during the program--boy, was he ever right. There is just something about the songs that these kiddos sang from their hearts.

To listen to "It's Coming", click HERE.
"Come On and Ring Those Bells", click HERE. (WAY cute look on Ava's face when they rang their bells!)
And EVERY year, I have to post this one...one of my favorites: "Angels Are Rejoicing", click HERE.

Ava even had a speaking role as the children told the Christmas story. To hear it, click HERE.
And finally, the last song "My Heart, Your Home"...click HERE. This song can bring tears to your eyes just listening to the words...but the children also did sign language....so amazing.

Again....Merry Christmas!