Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from our family to yours!

I didn't quite get the Christmas Letter out this year, so I opted for a New Year's letter instead. Costco even sells photo card options with Happy New Year!

Here is our family's top ten things we are grateful for at the end of 2008 (with names changed):

1. WeaverMom's brother, The Architect, got married in September! To a beautiful lady named The Spanish Teacher. The picture of us is on the front of the church steps on their wedding day.

2. WeaverDad’s job stability. He is on a software rebuild team for a major collection industry company, enjoys most of his co-workers, and it is not too far from home. Especially in times like these, we could not ask for anything more.

3. The love for bike-riding. Little Man mastered the “two-wheeler” this summer and Punkin loves to ride over “whoop-dee-dos”. We’ve been on some fun family bike rides!

4. The continued privilege of homeschooling. Punkin is in 2nd grade and is beginning to read books to herself for fun. Little Man is 4 and is starting to join us – he loves doing dot-to-dots and his math workbook.

5. Little Man's love of cars. When he grows up, he is planning to be “a race car guy, and a motorcycle driver and a monster truck driver.” (Last year, his list included “a monster truck guy with lotsa, lotsa FIRE!”, so Mom is happy that the fire is no longer part of the list.)

6. Punkin's love of gymnastics. She loves it, and her favorite event is uneven bars.

7. No stitches needed! Prior to 2008, the kids have had 30 stitches or staples between them. So far, in 2008, no accidents have required an ER visit!

8. Little Man’s first soccer season. The boy loves it. For pictures of him playing, you can check out WeaverMom’s blog. http://weavermomof2.blogspot.com

9. WeaverMom's bookkeeping business is growing and she now has over 20 clients and a fantastic employee.

10. The Wii. Sure, it’s not a life necessity by any stretch, but we love it and have had some fun family times playing! Punkin and Little Man especially enjoy racing each other on MarioKart.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:1-3

Soccer Party

Little Man loved playing soccer this fall. Loved it!

Here are some snapshots of his end of season party:

The cake:
The goofy-ness:
The trophy:

I must be getting old

I have a new pet peeve.

More than one background noise.

Is it just me? It seems everywhere we go there is a TV and the radio playing - at the same time. And at restaurants, there is also all the background noise of the other customers. Even if I can physically hear, I can't even concentrate on the conversation at my table because my brain just processes noise.

Does this mean I'm getting hopelessly old? *wink

Gymnastics Extravaganza

Punkin loves gymnastics. Loves it! Says she is going to be an Olympian. Those of you who remember that I'm 6 feet tall and my hubby is 6'2" will understand why she adds that she is going to be the tallest women's gymnastic champion ever.

She loved watching the Olympics, and knew most of the team. She, of course, loves Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson. When she heard at her gym that they were coming to town with the Tour of Gymnastics Superstars, she was beside herself with excitement.

Because we got the tickets through her gym, we were invited to go early for a special pre-event Q&A with Shawn Johnson and Paul Hamm. They talked for a little bit and then took questions from the audience. The questions were great - what is your worst event? What do you eat? Have you ever wanted to quit? I was especially impressed with Shawn Johnson just because she is so young. She was very poised, and obviously driven and passionate about gymnastics, but she also came across as very "normal."

Here are Punkin and Neighbor Girl waiting for it to start:Shawn Johnson taking pictures with some people who were out on the floor:

Getting ready to begin:

Here we are:

My pictures of the event were horrible since I was not allowed to use my flash, but I wish some had turned out. The rhythmic gymnasts and the men did some stunts where they hung onto fabric or rings and flew through the air. It was amazing.

In case you are considering going when it comes to your area, I have a few additional comments. It was much louder than I anticipated and we wished for earplugs. One of the musical acts was... tedious to sit through to be honest. If gymnastics is the reason you would like to go, the 2nd half was much better than the 1st. I was also a bit taken aback at the sexiness of the program. I'm not sure how to describe this. When I watch gymnastics on TV, it seems athletic to me, even though they are wearing the little outfits. At this show, the mood of the costumes and some of the routines was different, and since she idolizes these girls so much, I was a touch uncomfortable with my 7 year old watching at times.

But, I am still really glad that we went. We had a great time!

National Day of Remembrance

October 15th is the National Day of Remembrance for pregnancy and infant loss. This includes all babies who have died because of miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, or any other infant death.

If this includes you and you have ever felt alone, you must visit Angie's site here. The comments section is for you.

British!

We are studying the American Revolution right now. We talked about "taxation without representation." I was trying to get her to understand that the colonists felt it was unfair that they were required to follow rules when they had no say in what the rules were. I may have asked her to think about how she might feel if one of us asked her to follow a rule she didn't have a say in and thought was unfair, and that maybe the colonists felt a similar way.

WeaverDad was recently setting a new rule with the kids. Punkin was not thrilled with this rule, and was angry with him. She turned to him and said,

"British!"

I think she got it.

For more funny things kids say, check out Mary's site at Not Before 7.

Learning to be a soccer mom

Seriously, people, I feel like an idiot. How hard can it be?

Well, turns out - it can be amusing. And make me feel like I'm back at DisneyWorld where I managed to lose 3 or 4 apartment keys in 6 weeks. Oh, my lands.

So, here are my "soccer-mom" tips in case you aren't there yet - maybe at least the amusingness won't be directed at you.

1. Be sure you know where you are going. Because if you think about it, the games won't always be at the same field because then you would only be playing one other team. And that might get boring.

2. If you miss the first practice, you will have very little idea what is going on. But, you will also miss the snack sign up list, and it might be full by the 2nd practice, so you will not have to bring a snack. One. less. thing. to. forget. Could be a good thing. I'm just saying.

3. Do not assume that if you child does not have a game, there will still be practice. Cause there might not be. But, if you paid attention to number 1, you are safe. Because you would know that there is no practice because you would realize that you have no idea where you are going.

4. Do NOT wait until 1/2 hour before it is time to leave to find the uniform and shinguards. Because they might be in the washer. Wet. Which makes wearing the uniform and shinguards uncomfortable for your kid.

5. Once again, let me repeat - be sure that you know where you are going. Even if you have to take your older child to her activity first. Otherwise, you will have to call a friend and ask her to please look up on the internet where you are supposed to be in 15 minutes. It is ALWAYS a good idea to know where you are going.

6. Be sure you get a coach that will call and remind you about picture day. Because otherwise you might forget and your child will not be in the official uniform like all the other kids whose mom's are much better at being a soccer mom. (Thanks, Coach, for the phone call.)

7. Do not, I repeat, do not repeatedly mention how excited you are for your kid to be in their first soccer game. You run the risk of the kid missing their first goal and crying for the REST of the 40 minute game because he is not very good at soccer. Even if he is only 4, and no one expected him to be a soccer star. Even if he IS pretty good at soccer. Even if Dad is there. Even if Dad repeatedly talks up being a team player and having fun. The rest of the game, people. You were warned.

8. Number 4 bears repeating. Otherwise, you might do it 2 weeks IN A ROW.