Snow Day #3

In case you were wondering, yes we were "snowed in" once again! I must say I've gotten used to sleeping in a little and lying around in my pjs most of the day. However, today we decided to get out of bed try for a productive day. I needed to go to the bank this morning so it was the perfect excuse to get more than 5 minutes away from our house and get a reminder what the "outside" world was like again. Jacob had a school project to work on and needed materials for it so we also made a

Wal-Mart run! It's not a normal day until a Simpson has seen the inside of a Wal-Mart! Jacob's Kindergarten class will be celebrating their 100th day in school next week. Each child has been asked to bring something to school before then that is made out of 100 "things". They are going to display their creations in a museum next week for all to see. I knew we had to do some planning on this! I couldn't just send my son to school w/a mediocre project, right? After all, I am a preschool teacher and would be expected to come up with something creative for my son to do. No pressure! After lots of thought, Jacob decided he wanted to make a weather map. We tried several ideas, but never could quite work in 100 things in to his map so we moved on to plan B. Together, we came up with the idea that we could try to somehow make a "pretend" birthday cake with 100 candles. After gathering what we needed at Wallie World, we headed home and started work on his project. It was really easy and I must say quite creative and fun! Jacob did most of the planning himself. I'm pretty proud of our finished product if I do say so myself so of course thought I would show it off. Here you go...a sneak peak at the "Hundred Day Birthday Cake" by Jacob Simpson. (remember...the general public won't get their viewing until next Tuesday!)

Yes...there really are 100 candles on there!!

Whatcha think?? Not bad?

Looks like I'm in for 1 more "Snow Day" tomorrow! My school is cancelled again! I haven't seen my classroom or students since last Friday! I actually miss my job and my other kids! However, BA is in school tomorrow, so Jacob is excited to see his friends! Maybe next week will be back to normal! I've had lots of free time to take pics this week so thought I'd leave you with a couple more....Enjoy!!

Jacob and Kade turned my laundry basket in to a car and actually drove it around the room!


We been able to enjoy some family cuddle time!

Let's wish for more melting ice tomorrow!!!!

Another "ICE Day"....

Well....I find myself sitting at home iced in for yet another day!! Most of you know that I'm not one to sit around the house for very long. I have to be out and about or I go a little stir crazy! This has been my 3rd day in a row at home. Kade wasn't feeling well Monday, so we stayed home, but the past 2 days we've been "iced in!" I've enjoyed the time I've gotten to spend with my kids but aside from that, I'm running out of things to do! I've washed every shred of laundry in the house, cleaned all of the dishes, sorted through boxes of clothes for the JBF Sale, organized pictures and changed out pictures in frames, worked out w/ Jillian Michaels (you know, the Biggest Loser trainer) reassuring me that I was NOT going to die, cleaned closets...well, you get it.

After much begging from 3 bored kids, we decided before lunch today that it was time to venture outside of the house! Yes! Fresh air!!



I swore I would never submit my children to numerous layers of clothing when going out to play in snow like my mom did to me, but found myself doing it anyway! (you were right mom!)




After bundling up, we were finally out the door for some fun in the snow...or should I say ice? The kids had a great time, but were a little disappointed when they realized that they couldn't quite make a snowman out of ice or have "iceball" fights.



Jacob tried his best to make an "ice angel"!

We stayed out as long as we could stand it. It was a great break for all of us! My favorite part was standing back and watching Jacob, Kade and Mckynlee enjoy every moment of it! As I watched them explore every possible aspect of the ice, I was reminded of how important it is to step back and view the world through their eyes! How fascinating it is for a 2, 3 and 5 year old to discover the wonders of a little ice on a cold January day!
It looks like there's no school again tomorrow so we'll be enjoying day #4 inside! I wonder what I can clean tomorrow????

My Baby's 2!!!!!!

It's official! My baby turned 2 yesterday! It's hard to believe that 2 years have already gone by since we slid throught the streets of Tulsa during one of the worst ice storms in years to get to the hospital to meet the newest member of the Simpson clan. It seems just like yesterday that we found out the God was blessing us with a 3rd baby! I remember the fear of the unknown that I felt then. Kade was only 6 months old when we got the news that we were going to have yet another baby! I was fearful of the unknown. I wasn't quite sure how we would handle 3 kids under the age of 4! I knew it would be a challenge, but I also knew that God's plans far outweigh my own plans and that for whatever reason, he saw fit for us to have another baby at that exact time in our life.

As with the birth of my sons, the day Mckynlee was born is forever etched in my memory! We didn't know if we were about to become parents of 3 boys or if we would somehow end up having a little girl the 3rd time around. I had already made peace with myself that I was indeed having another boy. At that time, we were only surrounded by little boys. No one on either side of our family or within our close group of friends had girls. I wasn't even sure I would know what to do with a little girl. So, I think out of what was familiar to me, I made my mind up that it was impossible to have a girl and never let my thoughts wander too far that way. (Don't get me wrong...I would often catch myself thinking that maybe, just maybe this time it would be a girl, but those thoughts never lasted too long! I would talk myself out of the possibility of that ever happening and go back to "boy" thoughts.) Looking back, I think my gut was trying to tell me that I was having a girl, but out of fear of disappointment, I never listened. I would have been perfectly happy with another boy, but knowing that this was the last baby in our plans, I knew that this was our last shot to maybe have a girl and didn't want to always "wonder" what is would have been like to have a daughter.

Mike on the other hand, wanted a girl! He needed a "Daddy's Girl!" At the very moment that Mckynlee was making her entrance into the world, I'll never forget the look on Mike's face when he realized that the baby we were getting ready to meet had no parts! What?? No parts? We don't make babies w/out parts? Could it be? Before the Dr. announced "It's a girl!", I knew just by looking at Mike's face the the baby without a doubt was a girl. He looked like a little kid opening a present at Christmas! I can't really describe his face, but I have never seen him look so happy and suprised and in awe at the same time! There was a look of love on his face that I had never seen before! It was priceless! I couldn't believe it! A girl was entering the Simpson family! I have never felt so complete before. Before Jacob was born, I had told others that if I could pick the perfect family, I would have 2 boys first and then a little girl. Wow! I was living my dream! How often do you get to experience exactly what you had hoped for? God has truly blessed us w/perfect, healthy children!

Looking back, I wonder why in the world was I worried?? Why was I unsure about having another baby so soon after having baby #2? If I could have looked in to a crystal ball and seen the outcome and how well our family has meshed together, I would have never wasted a single second with worry. I couldn't have planned things better myself! (That's why God is in control, right?) I can't imagine life without Mckynlee! She has brought such joy to our family. Even though she lives up to her initials (MES, yes mess!!) she fills our hearts with love! I'm glad I have been blessed with the opportunity to experience being the mother of a daughter! I see now why so many people say that raising boys is easier! I must say I agree to this point! She is a challenge, but a fun challenge that I couldn't live without!

Who Knew?

Little did we know...we have a basketball star on our hands! Jacob is playing Upward Basketball this year. For those of you not familiar w/Upward it's a really awesome sports program based out of local churches. It's a non-competitive way to introduce kids to the concept and sport of basketball. No score is kept (I know...this is a difficult concept for those of you like me who tend to be a little competitive when it comes to sports! I like to know who wins and by how much!!) and all team mates have equal playing time. Your child can sign up for the league when they are in Kindergarten so this was the first year Jacob qualified to play. He was excited to give basketball a try! Yesterday was his first game. To be honest....I wasn't expecting much. Jacob was born to play baseball. Yeah, I know...Imagine that! He has been exposed to the sport of baseball his entire life. He can explain every rule and play that goes along with baseball. He was carrying around a baseball and bat for as long as I can remember. He knows football from following the Sooners and watching the games w/Dad and Grandpa and has a pretty good understanding of football. Now basketball, that's another story! We aren't exactly a "basketball watching" family. Even though Mike and I played basketball ourselves and like the game, we don't follow the sport like we do baseball and football. So when it came to Jacob playing basketball, I wasn't even sure he knew what to do. The 2 practices his team had before their first game seemed more like football. The player with the ball was chased down by the others. No dribbling or shooting involved!

So...now to the game. The first "quarter" the team wasn't quite sure what to do. They knew they were supposed to get the ball, but after that it was a free for all! However, as the game went along, they all started getting the concept of the game. It was so fun to watch them and see it "click"! Jacob is quite the little ball-handler if I do say so myself! I was amazed at how well he could dribble the ball and at how quick he was on the court. All of the other kids seem to be twice his size, but he's twice their speed! He makes a perfect point guard! He was making passes right and left, and jumping in making several rebounds. He made several attempts at shooting and actually scored 6 points for his team! (OK, I know...we aren't supposed to keep score, but it's in my blood!!) We were soooo proud of Jacob! After each game, each player on the team receives a special star to attach to their jersey to show their effort in the game. Jacob was given the "Best Offense" star yesterday! In his coaches words, "Man, you were on fire today!" What can I say....it looks like we'll have to start watching a little basketball in the Simpson household!!

It's About Time!!!

I'm sure that's what you are thinking if you've been checking in to see if I have a new post, right? I'm planning on working towards my National Board Certification in Early Childhood next year so I've spent every free second I've had at the computer working on my National Board Scholarship application so I've haven't had a chance to have some "fun" computer time in a while! Thankfully, it is ready to be sent in the mail Monday, so now back to my entertaining time at the computer. Wish me luck!!

So... it looks like I have a lot of updating to do, so let's get to it.

I guess I'll start w/Chritmas 2008. We had a wonderful Christmas! Mike and I both agreed that was the most restful and relaxing Christmas by far! We were able to spend lots of time with all of our family and not feel rushed this year to make it to several places all in one day. The kids had so much fun as expected. Among our many "annual" Christmas traditions, we added a new one this year. We visited the Christmas Train at Dry Gulch this year for the first time. It was awesome! I just loved the atmosphere and how the overall message of Christmas was spread throughout the park. It was freeeeeezzzzzing cold, but the temperature seemed to add to the whole Christmas atmosphere, so we didn't seem to mind it too much. The kids got to talk to Santa and we actually were able to take a family pic with Santa. Jacob asked for an OU football, Kade didn't talk, but had me request that Santa bring him a rock-n-roll guitar (so he could be Bon Jovi) and Mckynlee wasn't quite sure about Santa, but not scared! The kids loved the train and the boys were convinced they were riding on The Polar Express!

Along w/the Christmas train, we took our usual walk through Rhema to oohhh and ahhh over their amazing display of lights. Mckynlee was more intrigued with the music that was playing and insisted on stopping for a little "booty-shaking" every once in a while.

Christmas Eve, we attended the service at Asbury. We have attended this every year since Jacob was born. This has become our family's new Christmas Eve tradition. We all get dressed up in our Christmas clothes, take pics in front of the tree before leaving and then enjoy an evening at church. Mike and I want to instill in our children the true meaning of Christmas in celebrating the birth of our Savior. There is no other place that we want or should be on Christmas Eve than in church celebrating Jesus! After returning home, the kids changed in to their Christmas pjs (since Jacob's first Christmas, I have bought "special" pjs that the kids wear on Christmas Eve night.) We put out our reindeer food, hung Santa's special key on the door so he didn't have to get dirty sliding down our chimney, and set out the milk and cookies. After our speech (mainly to Jacob and Kade since Mckynlee is still confined to her crib) about how Santa will not come unless you are in bed....and how if you hear something in the night not to get up....and that you DO NOT go downstairs when you get up in the morning and come straight to our room....the kids finally made it to bed!!!

Christmas morning was full of excitement as you can imagine. My favorite memory is seeing the kids running down the stairs to make it to their gifts! I have had this image of how Christmas morning would be in our new house the day that I first walked in to the house back in March when we were "house hunting". The kids couldn't decide what to check out first! Mike and I have a talk with Santa each year and tell him to limit the number of gifts each child receives to 3....Baby Jesus received 3 gifts on his b-day so our kids should receive only 3 gifts as well. If 3 gifts were enough for Jesus, that's more than enough for J, K and M! (Again, taking the focus off of gifts and back on Jesus) Anyway, Jacob got an OU football, and guitar too (he likes to be Toby Mac). Kade got a rock n'roll guitar and GeoTrax train set and Mckynlee got a highchair for her babies and a Cabbage Patch Kid. (I got my first Cabbage Patch Kid on Christmas morning exactly 25 years earlier...good job Santa!) There was also a Lego Table for all 3 to share!

We had a great time with our Game Night friends on New Year's Eve! We went out to dinner and then played the Hobbs' Wii the rest of the night! We have such fun and awesome friends! We are blessed to have such a close group of friends to hang out with! (I love you guys if you are reading this!!!)

My Christmas Break from school was great! It reminded me of how much fun my kids are and why I like hanging out with my kids! We had the best time together and I really wasn't looking forward to returning to school!

Sorry for such a long post, but like I said, I had a lot of catching up to do! I promise to post more often so as not to bore you w/so much to read at once!! Stand by for some picture catching up as well......

Happy 2009!

Jenn