The Aftermath

After a wonderful holiday, this was the aftermath :-) Nearly a week later I am still cleaning the house!

More Christmas Festivities

On the 26th we celebrated Christmas with Mom and Dad. We had a great time! I thought that our dinner turned out well (Dad blogged about that) - Steven made his special cajun corn dish, and I made fettucine alfredo as I have every year since Steven and I started dating 15 Christmases ago. Madeline really appreciated Mom & Dad's gift. She had deducted what it was earlier in the month by strategically feeling the package and reading through the wrapping paper :-) We missed having the Team with us - we'll be glad when they are here next year - but a good time was had by all. The old Mammo liked her crocs quite a bit, I was happy with myself for getting those :-)

Madeline and Melanie

Madeline and Melanie have become fast friends... as you can see since Christmas they do everything together! They have had so much fun playing with all of Madeline's toys, and Melanie has bonded with the large family of Webkinz who live here in our home. I believe that she is quite comfortable here, and fits in just fine!

Christmas Day 2008

Christmas 2008 was fun in our house! We didn't go ANYWHERE, which was completely wonderful. We had fun playing with our presents, and Madeline had a classic kid Christmas with fun toys, candy and complete overload. She got a Littlest Pet shop comforter and sheets which she liked a lot, and her My Twinn Doll named Melanie, who will be subject of her own later post. We are so thankful for all of the blessings we have, and were glad to spend a day together enjoying them. Johnny and Jeanine stopped by and had fun getting down on the floor and playing with Madeline's toys. I hope that we made a good memory for Madeline's future - I know that one day when she is an adult I'll look back on this Christmas and smile :-)

Christmas Eve 2008

We spent Christmas Eve with Steven's side of the family and had a ton of fun making fun of each other and laughing as usual. We had some great food, and a lot of it! I wish I had a picture of the dessert bar - Bridget in particular made about 400,000 different types of cookies and goodies. A great time was had by all!

Christmas 2008

I am a bit behind on my intended blogging, so bear with me as I catch up!



On Christmas Eve, Madeline and I read the Nativity story, then we put together a paper Nativity scene. It really was a meaningful moment for us. After we put it together we had fun making a video of Madeline telling the story and singing Christmas carols - fun times!

Merry Christmas!

This is my favorite all time television moment. May you all have a blessed and wonderful Christmas, and may we all remember why we celebrate this day!

Christmas Time

Yesterday we had a good day. First we did our baking - this is Madeline decorating the cookies. Then we went out for pizza at a local pizza place, then drove around and looked at Christmas lights. Finally we went by the local Baptist Church, which was having a living nativity. They had a huge camel, who made us all laugh. I wish I had a picture of that, but it was dark and kinda raining, so there is no photo, just fun memories.



Madeline just keeps growing! She had her Christmas play last Thursday night at school, and this picture was taken just before in her new Christmas dress. The dress had to "not look like a baby dress", luckily she liked this one :-)

First Snowfall of the Season

We had our first real snowfall of the season last night - and I took a couple of pictures at about 6:00 this morning (a little dark outside). You get a bonus and you get to experience the joy of our Christmas lights as well :-) The kids had the day off, which Madeline thoroughly enjoyed. She came running in yelling "there's snow, there's snow" NO SCHOOL! Some childhood experiences are universal....

The Lights Are Up

I have finally gotten into the spirit this week-end. The gifts have been purchased, the tree is up, and the lights are on the house. Those things didn't have me in the spirit. What finally did it is a conversation with my daughter about Christmas. She said we all need to remember that Jesus is the reason we are celebrating. We need to remember to thank God for all of the gifts we have been given. Today, I was reminded to be thankful for the house that I was able to put the lights on, for the love my family gives me, and most of all for the greatest gift ever given.




And, yes, those are ornaments on the tree outside. It's our Charlie Brown Tree, and Madeline thought the ornaments would make it stand a little taller. They actually look pretty good!

Red Velvet Cake

I am quite proud of myself for making a home made Red Velvet Cake for our little family Thanksgiving Dinner - you can't go wrong with Paula Dean if calories and fat intake are what you are looking for :-) The recipe called for (count em) seven eggs and two sticks of butter! My view is you don't skimp on Thanksgiving though, so it was wonderful!

Practice, Practice

Madeline has been practicing for round two with Uncle Mark - next time they meet she will beat him!!!

Thanksgiving Relaxation

What a great day! It was my ideal day - time with family, good food, fun games, and then relaxing at home. Check out Madeline's set up :-) We thank God for all of the wonderful blessings that we enjoy in our lives - we have a lot of them!

Remembering Veteran's Day

Here at the Hite House we have long had a deep sense of appreciation for those who have served, and who continue to serve, our great country so bravely, allowing us to live in the peace and prosperity (yes, we still live in prosperity, even in this bad economy). We have learned even more about sacrifice this year through the experiences of Mark, Rebecca and Sophia, and through our nephew Neal, who has not yet been deployed to a foreign land, but who bravely serves in the Marines and is ready to go if duty calls. We thank those who serve today, and those who did so in the past! Thank You one and all!

Ocelot Report

Madeline was given as assignment at school to pick an unusual animal, make a model of its habitat, and to write a report to read to the class. Last week-end she completed the habitat, and today she wrote a really good report. She read the report to Steven and I, and then to her friends Lauren and Campbell. I am proud of her work! It helps when your Grandpa finds a really good piece of driftwood, and Daddy happens to make model trains, but Madeline did all of the work herself, including making and painting the clay ocelots. Well done Madeline!

Halloween

Jack-o-lantern Fun

We had a fun family night carving pumpkins and eating potato soup. I didn't get the best pics of the lit pumpkins, because I couldn't figure out how to get the flash to turn off, but suffice it to say they were VERY spooky!

Of course Mom would rather clean dishes than carve pumpkins, but she did supervise the girls drawing on the stencils, so she didn't slave in the kitchen the whole time. I think she had fun.


The finished products - can't wait to light them up tomorrow in the front of the house.


Dad didn't just work hard, he goofed off with Madeline too. Look how sticky his hands were :-)

Steven employed a power drill to get the job done like a civil engineer :-)

Dad worked hard and was up to his elbows in pumpkin.

What a joy to have these little moments together - that's what family is all about!

Family Halloween Party 2008

Our family has a big Halloween Party/Trick or Treat/Hay Ride every year. I married into a family that knows how to have fun! They have parties for nearly every event you can think of. Halloween is no exception, and it's one of my favorite events every year. Our kids are so blessed! The Hayride is on a big family farm, and lasts for about an hour. They get to ride in the hay wagons, laugh with their cousins, see the countryside and find a pumpkin in a very kid friendly pumpkin patch (meaning a bunch of pumpkins purchased somewhere else spread across a field). They run free all over the place in their costumes and play great huge games of super hero. Then they swing at pinatas and grab the candy, eat a big dinner and the big finale, they get to "trick or treat" in a line of parents giving them goodie bags of candy. I love it that Madeline will have these great memories when she is a Mom some day.

The Little Things

We all know it is the little things in life that really make us happy. Every time I see these flowers I smile, because they used to be in the pots in front of my house. When I put out my fall Mums I pulled them up (they hadn't bloomed in a while) and put them in the trash. Then a couple of days later I took them out of the trash and planted them in a pot on my back porch. Now they have such pretty blooms they make me smile every time I see them. :-)

PJ's, Candy and 9 Girls.....

Madeline had her big Birthday party this evening - and it was certainly big! Nine of her buddies came, and and were here for the whole evening. We had a Pajama party (no slumber, just pajamas :-) I believe it was a total success - Madeline had fun, no one cried, no one got into a fight, and I didn't have to call any one's Mom!

This is all of the girls immediately after they arrived at the party. If you have followed the Hite House long, you will see some familiar faces in this picture - a few of them have been to every party Madeline had, from the time she was 3!

We had a "concession" stand - ten mini bags of popcorn and many many candy bars - I should have taken a picture of the decimated stand - you'd be amazed at how much 9 girls can eat! (We had pizza and cake too - hopefully no one got sick on their slippers on the way home!)

Getting presents is always fun!

Anyone looking for ideas for activities for 7 year olds must get Twister - truly I think they played 10 or 15 times. Let's see, they also had a marching band parade, had a karaoke/dance party, played on the swings, played soccer, played pet shops, made a total mess in the play room, watched a movie, giggled, and as Steven noted - mostly they screamed A LOT!

This is Madeline's end of the night look - what do you think, does she look tired? :-) You know, these things can be stressful for the adults, but it was worth every minute of planning - these are the days our girls will remember forever!

She's 7!

Madeline's Life at Seven

Things She Does:

She goes to school
Goes to Grandma and Grandpa's house three days a week
Reads AR Books
Does spelling homework with Grandma (Thank You so much)
Plays Soccer
Helps with chores - clears table, makes bed, cleans up toys
Plays with her toys

Things She Loves:

Her Family
Her new Nintendo DS
Webkins
Littlest Pet Shops
Pucci Puppies
Animals
Soccer
Macaroni & Cheese
Reading
Math (yes, really)

Things She Fears/Doesn't Enjoy:

Tests
chores
Being told what to do
Taking a Bath
Going to Bed

Raising our girlie is the most wonderful thing in our lives.. She is growing so much! Her life is definitely transitioning from little girl to school girl. She still gets very excited (see photos below), but also now has fears and test anxiety (I'd love to spare her that). I loved being a Mom of a little one, but honestly every new stage/age has been a wonder. My Mom says she's becoming a little lady, and she certainly is! She cares about other's feelings, and seems to have a great empathy for what other people are going through. She can read chapter books now, and can tell you the moral of the story. What a joy she is!