A chance to return the favor!

 I am so thankful that God brings people into our lives that touch us and minister to us throughout the years!  Years can go by so quickly, yet, the bond that we share is still strong.  I'm so thankful for such a friend...and family!  God allowed us to be a small part of a hard week as their Amma went through a very serious surgery to remove a brain aneurysm at U of M in Ann Arbor...a short 25-30 minutes away!  God gave traveling mercies on a snowy Michigan afternoon and I picked up these girlies and brought them home to our girlies.

 Ted spoiled us rotten with a trip to the store for supper and lots of snacks.  I'm so thankful for a husband and father who knows what is needed to make these times special!  He made sure Miss N understood his two rules...1.  Have Fun  2. Don't wake me up when you stay up all night
5 girls and lots of giggling...and then this big girl giggled when school was called off due to snowy conditions!

 Games....games...and more games!  Snacks...and more snacks...movies...giggling...

 and fighting with Velle to take back anything she found on the floor...games, socks, brushes, feet, girls...she was in puppy heaven!

 The snow day...was really...a lovely day to be out by 1:00pm!  We hit Culvers, bowling, and Five Below!

 We enjoyed getting out and about after getting the good news that Amma came through surgery and was doing great in recovery!  God is so good to answer the prayers of His children.  Relief flooded these sweet girls.

 Teddy was kind to give up his room and spend quality guy time with Caden!  I'm so thankful for a sis that helped us.

 What could be a better gift for visiting Truth Trackers....than a can of Flarp for each of them?!?  Oh...they had fun with it on the ride home!  Their parents would be proud!  Even Ted was speechless in laughter.  It was the perfect tension breaker following a few stressful days of unknowns!

 New snow...tubes...hill...

 Wipe out!

 Not really enough snow...but shoveling from the driveway and all over the yard got them a nice three tiered fort!

Come in and warm up and wait for the snow clothes to dry...and play some more Wii!
So exciting to be out in the snow again...as it snowed...when their sweet Momma pulled in the driveway!  What a sweet time of fellowship and praising over Amma!  We found out...we don't see each other or talk enough!!!  Everyone else went to bed and Alicia and I stayed up...waaaaay past our bedtime.  I had K5 to teach and she had 7-8 hours of driving...2:45am we headed to bed...and I was awake for awhile still.  It hurt the next day about 5pm..."but I needed that!  I can always catch up on sleep over the weekend.  I didn't want to sleep away my time when my dear friend was here!"

You can always get a bigger cup of coffee to make it through!  Alicia...thank you for the refreshing time in the bleak mid-winter night!

Not keeping up!

I know...I've been terrible about keeping up with the blog!  Ted commented that I haven't been putting family stuff on the blog, "You always put stuff up about school and you don't care about us..."  Oops!  Time to get caught up...for a little while.  I didn't realize how bad it was till today when I finally noticed I still had a fall leaf background up.  What in the world?
I fight off and on with sickness, schoolwork, family time, housework, activities, Ted being gone, motherhood, sickness, church, housework, and just sitting down to rest!  Bringing Velle into our home has added another dynamic, but she makes me stop!  Working makes life a little more busy!
I am enjoying my Kinders!  They are doing such a good job.  I am mentally trying to prepare for how K5 Graduation will come together...I know...it is still 3 months away.
Our big kiddos enjoyed Snow Camp last week.  It is weird now...all three kiddos are gone at the same time!  We may or may not have gone out two nights in a row for supper.
This week is Spirit Week at school.  Teddy went as Murdoch from the A-Team today. Alisa is Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.  Ashlynn is Little Red-riding Hood.  I was the mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  I must remember to remove my whiskers before going out again!  We enjoyed Class Color Day and Favorite Sports Team.  Teddy stuck to his guns and wore his Chicago Bulls shirt.  He called the girls traitors because they have Michigan shirts.  As I type this...I realize that I did not take any pictures of the 4 of us the last couple days.  Whoops, again!  There is this fog that tends to set over my brain sometimes...I will blame it on the teens that live with us.
Due to the extra debating and such that teenagers bring to a home, I changed my mind and wore Ted's referee shirt for Favorite Sports Team day.  Sometimes...I have to come back into the house after starting to back out of the drive-way to double-check things that were already cared for.
So...case and point...referee shirt ended up being a good choice!
Halfway through February already...and I'm coughing again! sighing loudly here.

Thankful for the beauty found in the winter season!

In answer to Uncle Paul's question...

 Yes!  Velle is one spoiled little puppy!  She is cuddly and lovey...but sassy and bitey.

 She konks out in the cutest spots!

 Her first trip to the vet...she weighed 4 pounds.

 She is my afternoon buddy...and whines when I don't sit and hold and cuddle her.  She is so sad in the morning when we are getting ready to leave for school!  Five hours alone is hardly tolerable.

 She follows me around and stays by me...in the kitchen and bathroom!

 She has visited school a couple times now.  I had her with me in Kindergarten last Friday to meet the Kinders.  They loved her!  She was ready to go home at 12pm!

 That puppy in the mirror...always barks!

Feb. 1 was her second trip to the vet and she weighs 5.18 pounds.  She got her second set of shots and got carsick on the way to and from the vet!  Feb. 9 was her first visit to the groomer.  She slept the whole way home!

Ted had a two week trip to Germany...

 we ALL missed him!  Actually, Velle was a wonderful distraction for those of us who stayed home.

 It is only socially acceptable for dogs to lick and climb all over their owners to say "Welcome Home!"

 Velle spoke for all of us!  We are always thankful for the Lord's protection on Ted as he travels.

And we are even more thankful when he returns safely home!  I honestly can feel myself relax when I get the text in the cell phone lot at the airport, "I'm heading to the curb."

Christmas in Wisconsin