Day 2: "Go towards the light!"

For the Print Version...

The Books and Stories of 2010
• 60. Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon
• 59. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon (Seriously. If you want a little thrill - or a big one - and if men in kilts and dirk-wielding women make you giggle - step right up ladies and gentlemen. This book is FUN. Time travel. Passion. Romance. Violence. Adventure. lol. This book has it all.... but most importantly, it has Jamie Fraser. I dare you.)
• 58. The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters
• 57. The Passage - Justin Cronin (Okay - so I read this with a friend. I loved it. She liked it. HUGE... MASSIVE plot flaws. Seriously. But... post-apocalyptic survival stories make me soooo happy. The Twelve. The Zero. The One....... uh huh.)
• 56. Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder (Valek - uh huh)
• 55. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
• 54. Unwind - Neal Shusterman (This was a really interesting book. Not for the weak stomached.)
• 53. "Two Kinds" - Amy Tan
• 52. The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner
• 51. MOCKINGJAY - SUZANNE COLLINS (Oh.... Katniss.... Peeta.... Gale.... Finnick..... Prim.... Boggs.... Snow... Coin..... flaming arrows... girl on fire.... The Capitol.... The District.... The Rebellion... the third and final... I devoured it. Loved it. Absolutely.)
• 50. One Day - David Nicholls (unfinished... no comment).
• 49. Shiver - MAGGIE Stiefvater
• 48. The Bodyfinder - Kimberly Derting (read in 23 hours.... just sayin')
• 47. People of the Sparks - Jeanne DuPrau
• 46. City of Ember - Jeanne DuPrau
• 45. The Maze Runners - James Dashner
• 44. Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie - Maggie Stiefvater (oh James... oh Nuala... of King of the Dead!)
• 43. Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception - Maggie Stiefvater (oh, Luke... oh James.... Oh people of the Fey....)
• 42. Eclipse - Stephenie Meyer.... (giggle, giggle, giggle)
• 41. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner - Stephenie Meyer (Did I really even have to put this on here? Didn't you just assume?)
• 40. Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese (a grown up book)
• 39. "Cathedral" - Raymond Carver
• 38. "Good Country People" - Flannery O'Connor
• 37. Allen Ginsberg - "Howl"
• 36. Slyvia Plath, Anne Sexton - DEPRESSING
• 35. "Lullaby" - Leslie Marmon Silko
• 34. "Woman Hollaring Creek" - Sandra Cisneros
• 33. City of Glass - Cassandra Clare (Book III in the Mortal Instruments Series - So much excitement in 540 pages. Will Jace and Clary find out they're not brother and sister so their love can be embraced? Will Alec come out and admit he's in love with a 400 year old Warlock named Magnus? Will Simon EVER get used to being a vampire? Will he choose the Shadowhunter Isabelle or the Werewolf Maia? Will Jocelyn admit to herself she's loved Luke all these years? Will Sebastian and Jace and Valentine finally have it out? Do Clary and Jace have demon blood or Angel blood? Will the Downworlders join with the Shadowhunters to defeat Valentine's Demon Army????!!!!! I'm not telling.)
• 32. Trifles - Susan Glaspell
• 31. "The Man Who Was Almost a Man" - Richard Wright
• 30. "Barn Burning" - William Faulkner
• 29. "Babylon Revisited" - F. Scott Fitzgerald
• 28. "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" - Ernest Hemingway
• 27. City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare (You're just jealous.)
• 26. Song of Myself - Walt Whitman
• 25. City of Bones - Cassandra Clare (I've earned this. Shut up.)
• 24. "Petrified Man" - Eudora Welty
• 23. "The Magic Barrel" - Bernard Malamud
• 22. "The Strenuous Life" - Theodore Roosevelt
• 21. "In the Land of the Free" - Sui Sin Far
• 20. "The Gilded Six-Bits" - Zora Neale Hurston
• 19. "The Passing of Grandison" - Charles W. Chesnutt
• 18. from Up from Slavery - Booker T. Washington
• 17. "A White Heron" - Sarah Orne Jewett
• 16. "I Am Alone" - Cochise
• 15. "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calavaras County" - Mark Twain
• 14. "The Luck of Roaring Camp" - Bret Harte
• 13. from Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man (ch 10) - James Weldon Johnson
• 12. "Do Not Go Gently" - Sherman Alexi
• 11. "Sexy" - Juhmpa Lahiri
• 10. The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak (70% of my 2010 books have come from the Young Adult section. Ready. Set. Judge.)
• 9. Incarceron - Catherine Fisher (What? A dystopian futuristic young adult romance? Who would read such drivel?)
• 8. Fire - Kristen Cashore (Oh, Archer. Oh, Brigan. Oh, Nash. Oh, YEAH.)
• 7. Graceling - Kristen Cashore (Amazing that I didn't rip the pages as I tore through this book.)
• 6. The Dead-Tossed Waves - Carrie Ryan (three words: "Post-apocalyptic romance sequel." Oh oh yeah.
• 5. The Forest of Hands and Teeth - Carrie Ryan (two words: "post-apocalyptic romance" Oh. Yeah.)
• 4. I Am The Messenger - Markus Zusak (amazing book. I loved this book.)
• 3. Unless - Carol Shields (loved it)
• 2. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
• 1. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

Recently said...
• Alek: I'm not sure all those signatures in the conduct book are mine. Someone else must be signing my name....
• Me: Walter, it's time you started peepeeing in the pottie.
• Walter: But I just a little baby.
• "I tooted a coconut!" - Walt (I have no idea.)

Day 1: Mommy's Santa Gift ROCKS!!

Does this count as being at work? Today, apparently, I am.

Please... Just Say, "Cheese."

The Best Ice Cream in the Country- still..... Not at work!

At work? That stinks. We're Not.

Christmas Eve 2010

The kids have participated in so many Christmas events this year. We've loved it all, but we were so thrilled that Alek and Nora were such a large part of the Family Christmas Eve Service at church this year. Alek played the boy Jesus alongside our senior pastor as Mary as she tells her son about the night he was born. Nora was a wiseman. After the pageant, the children helped served communion to the entire congregation. It was an amazing night.

Merry Christmas!

Don't stop now!!!! I posted four posts in 24 hours!

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I've made three posts in 24 hours. Wouldn't want you to miss anything!

Second Annual GB Beautiful Contest. VOTE!!!!

Please vote for the one you most admire. The kids are dying for me to post this. We made them on Christmas Eve. Please vote!!!!!!

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December Highlights

December, as you can see, is a busy month around here. Here are a few things (not particularly in order) we've been doing besides performing in plays, choruses and recitals.

What kind of cake did you want for your fourth birthday? Walt didn't want a cake. No way. For months he's been asking if he could have a blueberry pie for his birthday. We decided to add the cupcakes in case his guests weren't aware of how spectacular blueberry pie really is.

Nora's gift to Walter was a collection of all the favorite things she'd been given recently. This included a candy cane, a jingle bell left for her by the classroom elf at school, the snow globe her piano teacher gave her to commemorate her first recital, and a salt dough Christmas ornament she'd made the night before. Kind of awesome, I think.

Earlier in the month Walter and Nora donned costumes (along with their mommy) and helped celebrate "A Night in Bethlehem" at our church. I worked a paint and dye store. Nora helped at the pottery stand, and Walter helped just about everywhere. It was a great night.

Of course we also had school Christmas parties...

... got holiday haircuts

And Nora received the patches and pins she earned in Brownies this year.

And, of course, we visited Santa. And I can't deny it. I was a little disappointed that not one of my children is young enough...

to scream in a Santa picture anymore.

The Marvelous Magical Sleigh

Since September Alek has been going to choir practice at 7:30 a.m. twice a week! The end result was a choir production that involved about a dozen musical numbers like the one Alek is in below. Also were various wind instrument ensembles and percussion ensembles. We were mightily impressed.

PillowPets Rock

Walter, The Other Reindeer

What God Wants For Christmas

This evening Alek's youth group (Club 45) performed What God Wants for Christmas. Walter's choir provided caroling between scenes!

Alek was given the part of Gabriel - the narrator of the play. He acted as the director voiced over the narration. He was great! He really seems to enjoy performing on stage! Stay tuned as this morning he was asked to play the youth Jesus and help Mary remember the night of Christ's birth during the family service on Christmas Eve!

Festivities Continue!

Nora began taking piano lessons from Ms. Lena in October. Today was her first recital!

She played "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" and "Hush Little Baby." She was nervous, but she did a lovely job!

Nora and Kaelyn

Christmas Festivities Commence!

This year Walter sang for the Book Fair Christmas Performance at his preschool. He really enjoyed it and knew the words! He's been singing these songs in the grocery store and car for weeks!