Blue and Gold Banquet

Anthony had his Blue and Gold Banquet with his scout pack a few weeks ago. The pack has a goal for the boys to earn their rank by Blue and Gold time. Grant is Anthony's Den Leader this year and they have been working hard since school started at getting the requirements done for the Webelos badge. Grant was proud to have all eight of his boys earn their Webelos badge. I as Anthony's mom was proud too. Anthony sure loves scouts and I know he is learning a lot of good character building traits that will serve him well when he gets older. It is so refreshing to see him enjoy something that is so important. I love it that he and his Dad get to do it together and that they have memories to build upon with each other. Grant was part in charge of Blue and Gold this year, the decoration and cake side of things. We had to be there early to help set up and decorate so by the time the event actually started the kids were bored and ready to go home. They did good at enduring the award ceremony of all the dens, I think it help that they were able to enjoy lots and lots of cake. By the time we finish with clean up we were tired and glad to see another successful Blue and Gold Banquet complete.

Mardi Gra

I am not a big Gumbo, rice and red beans kind of person. We have never celebrated Mardi Gra and I really don't know what one does to celebrate. I decided to do our version of Mardi Gra this year. We got some colorful masks and a few beads and some horns for the kids. Grant who loves Jazz music found the perfect CD from his huge collection and we danced around the house blowing our horns and just having fun. The kids all have recorders and they enjoyed playing them. Anthony who is learning the recorder at school serenaded us with O When the Saints go Marching In. I am not sure if that is how you celebrate Mardi Gra, but that is how we did. It was a fun way to conclude the day and to enjoy each others company. We all had fun dancing and playing our music.

Valentines

I am not a big Valentine's Day person, never have been. In some ways it just seems like a silly holiday to celebrate. The kids enjoy it though, I think that mainly comes from school. This year I decided I wanted to do something different to help the children where true loves comes from. We started out the week before Valentines with a service lesson. I found some words from our Prophet Thomas S. Monson on service which lead into a discussion on when we serve others we are serving our Heavenly Father. I then tied it in that it is through service that we show someone we really care and it is through service that we grow closer to each other. After our discussion, we all drew names to be secret service buddies. The challenge was to take the time and think what we could do for our service buddy and to perform our service by Valentine's Day. I loved the mood in our home as we went around secretly serving each other. There wasn't a focus on candy and frills but on the true gift of service. Madeline gave Spencer a heart attack in his room, which he was excited to see and enjoy. Spencer took the trash to the curb for Daddy. Anthony cleaned out the car for Mommy. Daddy sent Madeline a special love note in her lunch box. Mommy made Anthony his favorite sugar cookies complete with frosting and special messages.

That night we had are typical Valentines Day dinner of spaghetti. I decided to give the kids a treat and we did it by candle light. They couldn't get over the fact that we were eating in the dark. Next year we will stick to light. I made a fruit pizza which what tasty but only enjoyed by Grant and I. Kids weren't interested in a pizza made with fruit, sometimes I think my children are crazy. I did my usual clue puzzles that the kids had to solve to find their presents. This year the kids got puzzles of their favorite cartoon characters. Grant and I exchanged Valentines. We kept it simple. I got Grant some of his favorite candy bars and he gave me tulips as well as surprising me with gathering Madeline's morning medicine. Now that might not seem like much, but when your daughter takes 6 medicines in the morning not having to gather and measure them really made my morning a little easier.

Overall I think Valentines Day was a success, I like that we chose to focus it on service which helps us to focus on our Savior and those are eternal things that last forever.

Ms. Joni

When Madeline was put on homebound during the time she had her full leg cast, I was worried about who our homebound teacher would be. You see, when Madeline was in Kindergarten she was homebound for heart surgery. The teacher we were given was not a good match for Madeline and after a few sessions of Madeline crying afterwards, I canceled homebound services. This time I made sure that the powers at be knew that I did not want the same person as last time; I was promised that we would get a different person. Heavenly Father was definitely looking out for us, we were blessed with an angel. I know that in life we cross paths with people who we connect with or consider angels; but we were blessed with more we were blessed with a Kindred Spirit. I felt that way the day Ms. Joni walked in our door. My feeling was later confirmed when Madeline would open up and ask for help. You see Madeline does not ask for help from her teacher at school. There is a block for Madeline between her and asking for help and understanding from her teachers. This has been our struggle since Kindergarten. Heavenly Father knew this as well as my other concerns for Madeline, and because I am his child my concerns were important to Him. He answered my concerns by sending us Ms. Joni.

Madeline and Ms. Joni have an inside saying together and that is SMILE. I am not sure how it all started, but when you tell Madeline to SMILE and huge smile comes across her face along with a sweet little chuckle. I am grateful for this, because when Madeline is having a particularly hard time I just tell her to remember to SMILE and she can't help but smile. Only an angel can have that affect on my child. Though the six weeks are up and Madeline has return back to school, we still are in contact with Ms. Joni and Madeline enjoys our craft times together. I enjoy talking and seeing Madeline comfortable and bonding with someone outside of her family.

This just adds strength to my testimony of the power of prayer and how aware Heavenly Father is of me. He heard my plea, He felt my concern, and He answered. This time there were no tears, but lots and lots of smiles and JOY. I am grateful for the angels that come into my life and that come into Madeline's life. They lift her up, give her strength, and help her to spread her wings and be the beautiful butterfly that she is.

Ms. Joni will never be forgotten and will always be apart of our life and through Ms. Joni we have learned to SMILE and the sweet peace that JOY can bring.

Bling Bling

Sometimes a black shoe needs a little bit of color. Madeline received her walking shoe and black is not Madeline's color. With help from Madeline we took her walking shoe from boring to great! Now Madeline's shoe reflects her personality.

Sometimes the medical field needs a little help.

Walker

After being home for a weekend, Madeline was still struggling with walking to the point of not walking at all. On Monday I called her doctor and we were set up with physical therapy. The next day we were off back to Dallas to Scottish Rite to meet with physical therapy. After asking us a few questions and testing the strength of Madeline's legs; they presented her with a walker. After all the adjustments were made and a quick demonstration from the physical therapist it was Madeline's turn. Boy did she take her turn. She grabbed her walker by the horns and took off and never looked back. The walker was exactly she needed to help her get back to walking. It only took Madeline a total of couple minutes to learn how to walk with it and to use the walker to walk up steps and uneven surfaces. Less than 30 minutes later Grant and I watched Madeline walk out the hospital with a huge smile. You know what her huge smile said to me? I am FREE. I no longer need my parents to get around, and the best part if I need to go to the restroom I don't have to wait for someone to take me. Freedom is truly sweet.

Cast Off

I wish I could say that we are done with casts but not yet. However, we hit a huge milestone by having the full leg cast off. Madeline has been counting down the days for weeks, she was so excited knowing that the full leg cast will come off and she will be able to regain some of her independence back. Mommy and Daddy were excited as well. Madeline was so brave and didn't move a muscle during her cast being taken off. They use a machine with a disc cutter that vibrates and the vibration cuts through the cast. To me if I was a little girl that would be so scarry, but Madeline was a trooper and focused on the games that the Child Life had on hand.

After the cast came off, we caught a glimpse of her incision and boy were we surprised by what we saw. That is a serious incision she definitely had a serious surgery. It didn't help either that the whole leg didn't look so hot with no seeing a bit of sunshine or a drop of water for 5 weeks. As parents we were so happy that we were able to wash her leg before they put on her new cast.

For her new cast Madeline once again picked out a pink cast and though her foot was still in a cast she was so much happier. Being able to bend your knee can bring you so much happiness. You can do so much when you can bend your knee. As soon as she was all wrapped up and we were cleared to go we had to follow through on tradition. The tradition is that when we finish visiting her doctor we go and eat lunch in the cafeteria. I don't know why but Madeline really enjoys and asks every time we go for an appointment. This time Madeline enjoyed a special bonus by being able to play at the park they have on the hospital grounds. We love this park because it is designed for children in a wheel chair or other handicaps. Because Madeline is in a wheel chair playing at parks have been a challenge. It was nice to be able to see her with her shorter cast enjoying herself in a park made for her.

What a wonderful celebration!

Open Book

One morning I went into Anthony's room after I dropped him off from school and found something precious. There staring at me on his bed was his scriptures, but they were opened with a bookmark carefully placed to mark his place. Warm fuzzies filled my heart and a smile spread across my face. What a good example I have in my son, who takes his time to start his day off the right way by reading his scriptures. This will be his second time of reading The Book of Mormon from cover to cover on his own. He is such an amazing kid with a strong testimony. Sometimes I just pinch myself. I love being a mother!

Heart Attack of Love

I have learned that when one receives a prompting, one should follow through. One night before bed as I was pondering about the days events I felt a prompting that I should give Anthony a heart attack. So the next day while Anthony was at school, I followed through on the prompting. I decided to do a little bit more, by really cleaning his room. I dusted from top to bottom, organized a bit, nicely made his bed and finished it off by vacuuming his floor. After that I went about putting hearts all over the wall. Some of the hearts had qualities that I admire about Anthony. I then added streamer to the door and then filled the room with balloons. As I went about this I just thought about Anthony and what a huge blessing he has been to me. Feelings of love and admiration filled my heart and I couldn't be prouder to call Anthony my son. I am so glad for promptings and so glad that I followed through. This act of service brought me closer to Anthony and appreciate more the gift he is to me.

Anthony was surprised when he got home and the smile across his face said it all. There are so many things that I love about Anthony, his smile is no exception. In his eyes you can see pure joy and pure happiness. That afternoon I saw something else in his eyes, pure love. Sometimes I am so hard on me as a mother; but I am grateful for tender mercies of the Lord that shows me I am doing a good job.

A Date with Mom

With Madeline being home bound and having a full leg cast I have been planning fun activities that her and I can do together that would help her to feel special. We have been having beautiful weather and so one day after we drop Spencer off at school we headed to the park. Madeline has figured how she could go for a walk independently as well as ride a bike with a full leg cast. I offered to push her on the wheel chair, but she insisted on doing the walk herself with the help of a little tricycle. It was a nice walk around a little pond with trees, flowers, and brushes. I enjoyed talking to Madeline, seeing her smile, and seeing the world through her eyes. After our nice walk we enjoyed a picnic. As her mother I just loved watching her and seeing her smile. She was having a good time and enjoying being a fun girl. At that moment she didn't have a full leg cast, she was a healthy, strong, and beautiful Madeline. After our fun in the park we finished the afternoon off with a yummy girl scout cookie; you can't get better than that.

During this past month with Madeline being home bound from school, I have enjoyed spending time with her and the moments that her and I have shared together. It is times like this where I feel proud to be a mother and where I catch the full vision of the gift and beauty of motherhood.

As Madeline's mother I am so proud of her and the determination and resolve that she has during this period of time. She does not let a cast get in her way of enjoying life and doing the things that she loves. Seeing and knowing this, I know Madeline will go far in life and will not let anything get in her way of what she loves and enjoys doing. Madeline is such an inspiration.

I am so happy and proud to be her mother! What a gift.

Cars like to have "Apple Juice" Parties Too

Battle of the Books

Every year at the beginning of the school year the elementary schools in our district do what is called Battle of the Books. There are two teams Primary and Intermediate. In the Primary Team there are 15 books and in the Intermediate team there are 10 chapter books. Only six kids are on each team. To be on the team you have to try out by taking a test based on the books. Anthony has been doing it since second grade. He has diligently read all the books and each year passed the qualifying test. After the teams are formed in October they then practice twice a week until competition at the end of January. During this time Anthony rereads the books and continues studying them. By the time of competition Anthony knows those books forwards and backwards. Several times this year the teachers in charge would stop me in the hall and tell me how impressed they were with Anthony. Anthony's team consisted of fourth and fifth graders. Only two fourth graders (Anthony and another girl) made the team the others were fifth graders. At the beginning the fifth graders thought they were smarter and didn't need the fourth graders. However, Anthony was able to demonstrate to them that they should listen to fourth graders. Anthony is not very athletic, but he has found his niche in Battle of the Books and has been a good contributing team member to his team. Anthony is already looking forward to next years competition. This year at competition Anthony was chosen to be the team captain of the intermediate team, which he took seriously. When they are at competition Anthony makes sure that the judge at their table raises the right card to signify their answer, and if the judge puts up the wrong card Anthony is right there to correct the judge. This year Anthony could not contain his excitement when his team got the answer right. He just couldn't sit in the chair, he had to dance with each right answer, those around him knew that he was excited for his team. In the end, Anthony's team comprised of Primary and Intermediate took home the trophy for first place. After the competition Madeline and I met everyone from the team up at CiCi's for lunch and celebration. After the competition Anthony called me to tell me the good news and as I was congratulating him I had to hold back the tears of pride. It was in that moment I knew and felt the many joys of being a mother, a job and title I wouldn't want to replace for anything.

So when summertime comes, Anthony will be busy reading and re reading the books for the 2013 Battle of the Book Competition.

Chinese New Year

We have a tradition in our house and that is to celebrate Chinese New Year. I don't do anything fancy with decoration, games, or activities. I usually make Chinese Lanterns to go over the kitchen table and then we have Spaghetti or a similar noodle dish. The fun part is eating dinner with chopsticks. Watching the kids, especially Spencer, master the art of chopsticks is fun. They usually start out stabbing their food, but quickly are confused as they see that no mat

ter how hard they stab their food it still remains on their plate. Next they go for scoop up the food method and then they quickly learn that doesn't work either. They then try to copy what Mommy and Daddy are doing, but since Mommy and Daddy are not masters either, that plan doesn't help them get their food in their mouth. So in the end they go and get a fork and use the chopsticks as drum sticks. In years past I have made the kids fortune cookies out of felt and put messages of love and good fortune from Mommy, but life sometimes can get busy and some things get left out. Instead I went to the local chinese restraunt and bought fortune cookies. At the end of our dinner we all enjoyed opening our cookies and seeing what good fortune that we were all blessed with. We all got a good laugh and that is always fun.

Always Good Advice

Pinewood Derby 2012

First off I have to say that I am so glad pinewood derby is over. It was definitely a marathon to the finish. Anthony started working on his car during Christmas break. He and Grant collabroated on a design that would meet Anthony's goals (a fast car) and then Anthony drew out his design on his car and then cut it out, sanded, and glued the weights on all himself. The only thing that us parents do was spray paint (for obvious reasons) and Grant tweaked the wheels just right. This was the first year that Anthony was excited through the whole process. It was nice not have to nag him to go and work on his car. It was neat as a mother to see his excitement and pride over something that he worked hard on and finished to the end. In Anthony's pack they have a special race for the parents, leaders, and siblings and so Madeline and Spencer wanted to race a car too. Madeline and Spencer chose to do their cars based on the characters from Cars 2 movie. Madeline helped Grant saw (hand saw) the design and then used the belt sander to sand the edges. Because of her surgery Grant had to do most of the work, but when she was feeling up to it she was out there working hard on her car. Spencer helped sand too, but his 4 year old attention span is rather short and so Grant did a lot of the work. However, every day Spencer would ask Grant if he could work on his car and so together they would work out in the garage until Spencer's attention fizzled and then Grant would finish. The marathon part came in finishing them, painting them, and getting the wheels and the weight just right. I thought those cars would never get finish. I enjoyed my part which was watching the race and seeing their excitement watching their cars come down the track-they were so proud of their cars and they should be! Pinewood Derby provided our family with a project to work together on and having projects like those are good for they help in building family unity and love. Pinewood Derby 2013 will be here before you know it and Grant and the kids will be back out in the garage working away at wonderful creations. Let the marathon begin.

Fun with a Cast

Madeline has been a trooper when it comes to her cast. It has been an adjustment living life with a full leg cast. With having the cast she lost a lot of her independence, but she has taken it in stride. Instead of sitting there feeling hopeless and depressed, Madeline has found ways to get around, dress herself, and take care of her basic needs. There are still some things that she needs our help, but with her patience and drive she has found ways to regain her independence. We are counting down the days when the cast can come off. Though she will get another cast, this one will be below the knee and she will be able to walk with the help of a walking boot. I am hoping the next cast will allow Madeline to sleep more comfortably. We have definitely been tested with this cast, but once again Madeline has shown us her resilience, courage, strength, determination, and her can do spirit. Not even a cast will get Madeline down. If Madeline could pick up her leg and carry on she would, but instead she takes her leg and drags it behind her as she crawls around the house enjoying day to day living. Madeline has even found a way to play at the park. She simply takes a trike and with her good foot pushes along up the ramps and around the play equipment; and with the help of daddy or Anthony can still go down slides and crawl through tunnels. Simply put a cast isn't going to stop Madeline from enjoying life. I know with this attitude Madeline will go far in life and she will have much to enjoy.

Now back to the purpose of this post. One night after family scripture study and prayer we decided to have fun with Madeline's cast. I got out the sharpie markers and we each took turns drawing and writing our names. I find it very significant out of everything that Madeline could draw she decided to draw her family. I feel that it was her way of saying that together with family we can get through anything. When we stick together and work together we will achieve success. I feel like she was saying that she knows that she has the love and support of her family and we will do what we can to make this period in her life a little easier to endure. There are days that my children teach me more than any profound book can, and it is these moments that I treasure and hold on to. I know that Heavenly Father makes these moments possible to show me that I am doing a good job and that as a mother I am on the right path-at times it is easy to forget.

It was a simple activity to do as a family and one that brought smiles to everyones face and I know brought us a little closer. Now wherever Madeline goes she can see a picture of her family and their names and know that we have her back (or leg) and no matter what we love her very much and she will always be our Madeline.

New Years Eve 2011

A picture of the three of us at midnight. This picture was taken during one of Madeline's brief moments of not crying.

This is the last of the 2011 posts, with this post done I will be ready to begin putting our 2011 family blog book together. To be honest I don't remember what we did New Years Eve, I know Grant and I were sleep deprived and just kind of going trying to put one foot in front of the other. What I do remember is that Grant spent majority of the day building ramps for our living room to help with Madeline's wheel chair. While Grant was doing that I was spent majority of the day cleaning up the house and trying to put some order back from all the holiday fun. I believe it was a beautiful day and so the kids spent the day outside with Daddy which made it easier for me to clean up. Later on in the day, my sister brought her little girl over for us to watch while they went out and celebrated. My niece fell asleep on the way to our house and remained asleep while her parents were gone, so we pretty much watched her sleep. Madeline decided to take a nap at the same time, which was good because she needed one. For dinner that night we did drive through, Grant and I didn't feel like cooking and since we were sleep deprived drive thru was an easy solution. From dinner to bed time I don't remember much, but I do know that when Grant and I were ready to go to bed (way before Midnight), Madeline's pain kicked in from her foot and for the next 3 or so hours Grant and I tried to comfort Madeline as she dealt with the pain. We had two different pain medicines and after one dose of one and two of another, and 3 or more hours of intense crying she fell asleep. During this time, since we were up we decided to watch the ball drop. Dallas has their version of NYC New Years Eve party and that is the one we watched. The ball dropped and with tiredness Grant and I declared Happy New Year.

2011 was a good year for us and we were able to makes lots of memories together and celebrated many things as a family. We went on a really neat family vacation for the summer, and Grant was able to experience life as a traveling engineer (glad that is over). Madeline stayed away from the hospital (except for her foot surgery 3 days before the new year) which has been a goal and wish for Grant and I. For 2011 I had a goal for our family and that was to make memories and celebrate. To celebrate the little holidays, the big holidays, achievements, and all of life experiences. I think we did that and I hope to continue that on into 2012. I know 2012 will be a great year and I am excited about all the things we will experience and learn. After Madeline was born, life took on a whole new meaning. You learn to find joy in the good days and the bad, and you learn that you don't need a holiday or a reason to celebrate; life is reason in it self to celebrate and enjoy. I love how Nephi says that although he had his share of hardships and trial, he was also blessed with the goodness of God. We have our trials and we have our hardships, but we also have been blessed with feeling and seeing the goodness of God in our lives, and those moments far out weigh our trials.

Oh if you think our New Years Eve was exciting, our New Years Day was even more exciting. Madeline was still experiencing lots of pain so she stayed home from church with Grant. Anthony and I went to church where I was blessed to give a talk (so I am done for the year). My talk was on the importance of the scriptures. The spirit was strong and I walked away with a stronger testimony and stronger desire to cling to the Word of God. Then after church it hit us, Grant and I were hit with the lovely stomach flu bug that evening. It was kind of hysterical, Madeline is screaming in pain while her parents are tending to their business. Neither one of us is feeling well but we trade off tending to Madeline; while one holds Madeline the other tends to the affects of the stomach bug. This went on for the evening and thru the night. Grant and I couldn't help but laugh.

Christmas Part Two

Christmas this year was simply magical. The gift I enjoyed the most this year was just being able to sit back and watch the Christmas magic through my children's eyes. They didn't receive a lot but they were so excited for what they did get. Anthony and Madeline woke up first and they just sat there in the living room talking about what they saw from Santa but they didn't touch the gifts or the stuff in the stockings-they just sat on the couch patiently waiting for the rest of the family to wake up. When Grant and I went out to the living room at the designated time that we said we would (7:00) we had to tell Madeline and Anthony that it was o.k. to play with the things from Santa. Spencer was a little slow to wake up and needed a little help. When he finally came out of his room, his mind was set on watching Muppets he didn't care what Santa brought and he wasn't interested in all the presents under the tree. He had a one track mind and that was Muppets. We had to do a little coaxing to get him to at least entertain us with Christmas presents. Once the first two presents were opened and he took in what was going on, Muppets went out the window and his focus was on what was under that tree for him. He loved everything as you can see by the expressions on his face, and he had to keep all of his presents gathered in a pile-it was fun to see. It didn't take long to open everything and then it was off to enjoy the new loot. We didn't have church until 2:00 so there was plenty of time to play, explore, and enjoy the new treasures. My everyone was off exploring, I snuck back to my room for a nap. Every year I procrastinate wrapping presents until midnight, mainly because I don't want to listen or deal with kids asking everyday if it is time to open presents. When the tree is empty then there is no nagging questions. However, wrapping all the presents at once is very tiring; hence why there have been a few years where the gifts weren't wrapped. I wasn't going to wrap presents this year, but Grant really wanted the presents wrapped. So Grant and I rang in Christmas wrapping presents until the wee hours of the morning. Then when we finally get to go to sleep ourselves, Grant wakes up to the evil flu bug-Merry Christmas to Grant! I think for next year I am going to wrap the presents then put them in our hiding spot (which is in Grant's car trunk) and then put the out under the tree after the kids go to bed. I am even thinking about using gift bags-quick and easy. Anyway back to Christmas. We didn't do anything fancy, we enjoyed a nice Christmas program at church, a simple stoffer lasagna dinner at home, and lots of time playing together. Christmas was simple and I think that is what made it some magical. No gimmicks, no hype; instead it was filled with time spent together as a family.

A forgotten side note: I kept up our usual treasure hunt and this year in their stocking was their first clue. Their clues led each of the kids to a pair of pajamas that I made for them. I make Christmas pajamas for everyone to wear on Christmas Eve and this year I made the kids an extra pair that I thought reflected them or that they would like. The kids really enjoyed going through the house solving the clues and finding their treasure. After the treasure hunt we opened the rest of the presents under the tree.

Merry Christmas

Love the Cooper Family

Christmas Part One

Every year my family gathers together and make a wreath for Papa Bear's (my step dad) grave. It our Christmas present to him. The grand kids gather together to color wooden ornaments for the wreath and then the adults (mainly my mom, sister, and me) fill the wreath with the wooden ornaments and other things that remind us of him. Then on Christmas Eve I deliver the wreath and a poinsettia that I have been taking care of all month and wish him a Merry Christmas. It has been many years since his death and the tears come so easily-Oh how we miss him! Well this year we decided to have our families Christmas celebration in combination with the wreath making. After the wreath was decorated to perfection we all gathered to opened presents while our dinner finish cooking. The kids were so excited to see what my mom and sister brought and once their loot was revealed they were content playing with their new treasures. I scored big points for my gift to my mom-a Chad Hawkins water color painting of the Manti Temple, I think it is safe to say that I scored a home run with that gift. After gifts we enjoyed a yummy and simple dinner. I didn't do Turkey because we didn't need that much meat and ham doesn't agree with my body so I always do a pork loin roast. It is small enough to get eaten quickly and not have lots of leftovers looming over your head. Then we topped our tummies off with Pumpkin and Cherry Pie and the kids enjoyed baking Chocolate Chip Cookies. It was a fun evening and an enjoyable time as a family

Christmas Countdown Part II

Counting Christmas down has been a joy and we has been a great memory building experience for our family. I love that the holidays are all about family and it has been a blessing and joy to center our focus on the Savior and us as a family. Doing the Christmas countdown activities is a lot of work and sometimes get a bit tricky with school and bedtimes; but the smile and excitement on the kids' faces makes everything worth it. I love getting to soak up the magic of Christmas through their eyes. Here is the rest of our activities:

15. Wii Pictionary

16. Wreath decorating for Papa Bear's Grave

17. Painting our own nativities

18. Gingerbread houses

19. Trip to Bass Pro and to see Santa Clause

20. Christmas Tree Popsicle Ornaments

21. Making Homemade Snow Globes

22. Flu Bug

23. Flu Bug

24. Christmas Program and visiting the cemetery