Week in Review

It was a great week last week. We had a lot of family time, got to see Daddy play hockey and even got to go outside (yesterday).

The Friday before Valentine's, Jesstine got to have Daddy take her to school and enjoy Donuts with Dad.

Fast forward to the Wednesday before Valentine's Day. Stephen had a hockey game. It was the early game so I thought I would bathe the kids and put them in the pj's before dinner so we could go see him play for a few minutes after dinner. It was a lot of fun!

He is the one in white wearing number 6.

(White helmet, third from the end.)

The kids mostly just ran around.

Just before we left, the boys gave a fist bump. I caught it on video too!

I have been struggling with a way to get my fifth grade students motivated. I want them to enjoy music, not look at it as a chore to do a couple of times each week. So, I brought legos. They had to construct a major scale. It went OK, but not great. Back to the drawing board.

Friday was also Valentines day! We decided to spend the evening together as a family. We ate dinner at a local place we hadn't been to in quite a while. We all enjoyed it, EVEN the kids! The next day Stephen and I attended a "progressive dinner" through church. Basically several houses hosted the appetizer and others hosted the main course. We were assigned to one house for the appetizer and one for the main course. Then we ended up back at the church for dessert. It was fun!

My valentine from Jesstine.

Jesstine used some money from Grandma Griffee to buy a new My Little Pony. The kids were in bed when we got home and as I went to turn the light out, I found this! LOL! Silly girl!

Yesterday, Stephen was off work and Jesstine didn't have school due to President's day. So we all were lazy around the house. I went out for a workout and when I came back, it was so nice out, I suggested we all go out to play!

At one point Jesstine's ball rolled into a puddle in the street. It had a little sand on it. When she picked it up, she threw it immediately and said, "Mommy, I need a new ball! This one has sand all over it!" She plays ball like a princess! LOL!

He's no trick shot Titus, but he sure had fun!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Heavy Heart Kind of Day

It has been one of those days! This morning I attended my MOPs group (actually it is called Mom's Carelink). It is basically a group of moms that get together and fellowship while our preschool kids are being cared for in the church nursery. We have brunch, some kind of devotional, and a speaker or other activity. It has been great fun for both Emmitt and I! Today, a mother got up to solicit our prayers. She is a nurse in the labor and delivery ward at a local hospital. She said she was nursing for a family this weekend (she is friends with some of their family members as well) who birthed a stillborn baby at 37 weeks. I immediately started to tear up. A flood of feelings and memories came to me. (On a side note, I hate that when I think of my firstborn I am immediately met with all of the traumatic memories rather than the few good I have of her.) I felt led to reach out to this woman and the family who had just suffered this great loss. I walked up to her a short time later and thanked her for what she did for this family. I told her that she will never know the impact she had on them as she cared for them through this experience. I still remember the name of the nurse who was there throughout most of our delivery with Babe B. I then told her a little of my story. I sat down and couldn't really focus on the activity today (it was on the 5 Love Languages). I wrote a letter to this family explaining my situation and offering my support including my contact information. I passed the letter on to this nurse/mother in our group. She assured me she would forward it to the family. We gave each other a long teary hug and the tears have come and gone all day!

The snow is finally melting here. Jesstine has really been wanting to build a snowman. Since I have been feeling down today, I didn't feel up to letting her go outside to play. Too much work! So, I brought the snow in for the kids!

(A special thanks to Aunt Jenni for most of Emmitt's attire today!)

You may be thinking, "What a MESS!" It was a little work to bring the snow in. I happened to have a plastic tub I had cleaned toys out of laying on the floor. It took three tub loads to get this much snow in the bathtub. I also put a towel down at the edge of the tub. As for the snow??? When they were done, we did this:

She really was done with the snow. She wasn't thrilled about me letting go of the shower head!

Later this week is Valentine's Day and Jesstine's half birthday. We have been working hard on these:

And finally, Jesstine earns a free personal pan pizza each month for reading 5 minutes a day. So we stopped by Pizza Hut on our way home from school. While waiting for our pizza, Emmitt said something that made me (Grandmom when she reads this) so proud!

Emmitt: "Mommy! G-O! Says GO!!!!"

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Stay-at-home Mom

We had to dig out of some more snow this morning to get Jesstine to school. Emmitt's favorite thing to do when we drop Jesstine off at school is to go in with her, play with blocks in her classroom for a few minutes then stop by the office for a cookie on the way out. When we get home, he LOVES to watch "Super Why!" Another favorite of his is "Tree Fu Tom." I am so glad that I get to stay home and witness the cuteness below! This was actually recorded in November, but I don't think it ever got posted. Here is Emmitt turning the "Tree Fu" magic on!

We were given a gingerbread house kit last week as a belated Christmas gift. During Emmitt's naptime one day last week, we set to work on our "Valentine House."

And just for good measure, here are some cute bathtime pics from last night!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

SNOW DAY!!!

Well, it has been a snow day today! School is cancelled for tomorrow also. Last I heard we had 5 inches, but that was several hours ago and the snow hasn't stopped since early this morning. So, naturally after being cooped up for a lot of the morning, I took the kids out in it to play!

Please ignore the Christmas decorations!

This boy LOVED the snow!!

Daddy had to work! Can you find him?

Another favorite of mine for the day!

For dinner we had yummy veggie soup, turkey rollups and snow ice cream for dessert!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family

Greetings from the Savages

We had a busy week last week, but we sure missed Stephen! He was in California for work all week long! There was a LOT going on, but I managed to hold down the fort. We started the week with returning Jesstine's 100 poster for the 100th day of school (which wasn't until Thursday). Then we had Mom's Carelink (kind of like MOPs).That night was also the SW Area Choir concert in which three of my students participated. On Wednesday Jesstine dressed as a Native American for Kansas day and because we had a costume for Emmitt, he did too! On Thursday Jesstine celebrated 100 days of school by taking 10 bags with 10 goldfish in each bag as part of a snack for everyone. I also worked. On Friday, I worked in the morning and then Stephen came home. Sometime in there, I put together a bookshelf for Jesstine's room and rearranged toys/books in the kids' rooms and the living room! I told you it was busy! We made time for the fun stuff too though!

Introducing, Princess Cuddles With Dumpty and Prince Sucks on NUK, otherwise known as my savages.

Jesstine's class (with Sucks on NUK as an honorary member).

They got to go inside this tepee too!

Jesstine's 100 poster with 100 google eyes. I may have helped a little bit. She had to add her newest "My Little Pony" (her latest thing to collect) to the corner. The BLS stands for Bethel Life School.

SORT of a before picture. She no longer had the stuffed animals and Elmo chair. Plus the pictures/wall hangings you see below have been in her room even while the short bookcase was there.

After.

She added this sign to her door not long ago. See if you can read what it says! (Hint: No Babies or Toddlers Allowed!) I am not sure about the bottom part!

I don't have before pictures of his closet because it doesn't look TERRIBLY different, just reorganized. I essentially was able to take most of the toys from the living room and put them in his room! I used the bin that was holding his books to put a small amount of toys in the living room concealed behind the couch! I also went to a Thirty-one party and got a tote to put all of his loose cars/toys in.

Before

After

Glow baths have become a tradition while Daddy is away! This time I still had some glow sticks left over from the last time Daddy was on business! I didn't get to use them due to a visit to the ER! All I did was get some glow sticks from Walmart. I activated them and threw them into the bath water with the kiddos. I didn't pour the glow stuff out. I just put the whole glow stick in the water. Then I turned out the lights! Emmitt was a bit concerned at first, but he started to enjoy it!

Saturday, Jesstine had a party that she was invited to. It was at a place called "Funtastics." It was a gymnastics place, but there were plenty of other fun things as well!

Her favorite part was the big slide which was NO surprise! The Birthday boy is the boy in red with the hat on his face.

Sunday morning the kids slept in until 8:30!!! We were excited, but it did make us rushed to get to church especially since there was still a little ice on the ground from Friday night! Never fear! Our church services changed times a few months back. So we didn't have to be there until 10...but Stephen had to lead singing! In any case, this little guy gave me some rare cuddles! He is a cuddler, but typically not in the mornings! He is usually awake and wanting breakfast as soon as possible!

In Him,

The Hutchins Family