More Olympics Please

Yeah for the Olympics!

We are typically not big TV watchers in the evenings, but since the Olympics have begun, we have had the TV on every night! I enjoy watching not only for the sport and competition, but all the personal stories behind the athletes. My favorite winter Olympic sport is figure skating. Caleb often asks me what I want to be when I grow up. I always have to find something different than a mommy...my usual answer is a pairs figure skater. Which is true...I would have loved to have done this sport, but know I would not have had what it takes in regards to time and practice necessary. Caleb usually prefers that I be a race car driver...

Many mornings this week, Ella wakes up and asks "are the Olympics on?" The kids are excited about them too....Ella was happy to find this coloring page at the library and wanted to work on it during her rest time.

I researched the Olympic rings and the colors and I found out on Wiki that the five intertwined rings represent the unity of the five inhabited continents. The colors of the rings - blue, yellow, black, green, and red, with a white background - were chosen because every nation had at least one of them on its national flag. The flag was first flown at the Olympic games in 1920.

Hope you have been enjoying the Olympics too.

Finishing Up 2009

I have been a little behind finishing up 2009...I wanted to include a few pictures of the kids over the fall and winter. These show a little of what the Carters were up to and what the kids were into.

Ella has really been into writing her name for well over a year now, but continues to get so excited about it.The kids and I went with my sister and her kids and some other friends to Crowe's Nest Farm last fall as a preschool outing for our home preschool we did last year. I really liked this picture of Ella and Caleb too...look how long his hair was (pre-first haircut!) Ella and her good friend Brynna.Then, playing outside at the farm after lunch.Ella enjoying giving one of her babies a bath.We frequently find Ella putting on little tea parties in her room.Good-looking after a haircut!Picnic in the park...Caleb chowing down as usual!
Playing....and dress-up and more dress-up.Grandpa Jim & Grandee came to visit right before Thanksgiving.To finish up...I will do another post to tell a little about our Christmas holiday.

Snowy Day

I did not expect it to actually snow today, although the weather forecasts predicted it, but early this morning I started hearing what sounded like sleet hit the window in our bedroom. It was too dark to see out and I went back to bed. When I woke up (9:00, thanks kids!) I couldn't believe how much we actually had outside. It has continued all morning and even at lunch, the difference in accumulation is obvious. The kids have had a great time this morning learning how to make snowballs, build a snowman and make snow angels. We just recently studied the book Snowy Day, during our preschool lessons and learned all about tracks...people tracks/animal tracks in dirt, sand and snow. So, they were so excited to go out and make tracks in the snow. The question they have been asking all morning, is "Why did God send snow today?". The snow is still coming down and my job now, while they are napping, is to figure out how to make snow ice cream. I think we will have enough for it!
This is early this morning...well, 10am. Caleb stood outside and kept yelling "Hi snow!".

Snowman's name is Silas...the name we are leaning towards for baby carter #3.
I was amazed at how large the snowflakes were!This is at lunch...you can see a definite increase in the amount of snow accumulated on the ground since the morning.
Collecting snow for a snow ball.It's still coming down!

Snow Ice Cream Results...tasted pretty good for not having sweetened condensed milk.

Cared for...

Last week while Jeremy was out of town, my mom came down for a few days to spend with us. While she was here, I got a stomach bug that wiped me out for a day or two. Fortunately, my mom took care of the kids and things around here. I was so thankful that she happened to be here during that time.

Ella told me today that she wanted to learn how to do dishes and laundry so she could take care of me if I got sick again and grandma was not here. So, she hand-washed the dishes in the sink and loaded them all into the dishwasher. Then, she wanted to do laundry, so I showed her how to start it and put the soap in and then she put all the clothes in.

She did all this in her gold princess dress... I am glad to know I will be cared for the next time.

Gift to Haiti

A week or so after the earthquake in Haiti, Jeremy and I began talking to the kids about it, mostly about the importance of praying for the people there and how it would be a good idea to give to them, monetarily or whatever. Then, while Jeremy was gone in China for two weeks, the kids had promised to pray for him and the people in Haiti. Just about every night before bed, Ella remembered these two requests during prayer time. Then, last week, Ella brought up that she wanted to pick out some of her toys and send them to the kids in Haiti. My mom was here at the time and we explained to her that the kids would love the toys, but unfortunately many did not have homes to put the toys in yet. Then, she decided to send money, so she went and got her piggy bank and picked out the coins that she wanted to send. She asked for an envelope to put them in and before she was done, went to get band-aides to put in the envelope also. It was so precious... We prayed over her gift and on Sunday, she got to deliver it to church and put it directly in the offering plate. Our church has raised over $40,000 for the people in Haiti so far!