Normal big family doing normal big family things

It's about five thirty on a Tuesday morning and I am looking outside at our first snow of the year. It's already melting (I've come to appreciate the sound of water dripping off our roof through the drain pipe), but it's a better start than we've had in years past.

As for us, things continue to go really well. Our upstairs is almost completely furnished, but we're still waiting on some benches so I'm not allowed to post pictures yet. Also, I finally finished a big project I've been working on to publish in print the last three years of The Hazard Chronicles. I love having the hard copies, and they usually turn out looking great (patting myself on the back here). They are also a lot of fun to make despite the tedium of it all, since I am forced to go through every post that we have made and remember the events described in them. Man, it's been a crazy few years for us. Fortunately, 2015 is shaping up to be very different in a good way. I don't think I have felt this much stability in all aspects of life at any time...ever.

As for the week, it seems like we have been doing a lot

Last weekend we got a babysitter for Lindsey and everyone else went and saw Disney on Ice in Frozen. We all had a good time, but I think Jackson and Addy were the most impressed. It was really fun to watch their faces any time someone did a neat ice-skating move, or a new character came out, or a song came on that they knew.

Later in the week Rachel and I got out on a fun date where we bought barstools, ate at one of our favorite restaurants, and watched a movie in a real theater. And even though I just re-read that last sentence and it makes us sound really old and boring, we still had a lot of fun.

One of my favorite parts of the week was hanging out with Jackson on Saturday. He is in a city-league basketball game and I got to watch him play. He's pretty awesome. During the game he told me conspiratorially that he had a super power but that I couldn't tell anyone (so of course I publish it on the internet). His super power was that even though the other kids had their hands up, he could still see where he was going. Aha- so that's how he does it! Later that day I took him out to Pizza Hut to celebrate his reading achievements in school. On the way home he said "Dad- this is my favorite day ever because I get to hang out so much with just you."

It's stuff like that that makes it rewarding to be a dad.

Also, Evelyn had a movie night at her school this week that the whole family got to go to. We watched "Hotel Transylvania" and had a good time.

Speaking of Evelyn, we got her report card this week and she is way above grade level in pretty much everything. What I am even more proud of though, is our conversation last night. I asked her how school was going and she said "Good, but there is something I am struggling with in Ms. Jillette's class (GATE). It's really hard and I don't understand it right now, but I'll figure it out though. Ms. Jillette said she would help me, and I can work a little extra 'till I get it." That confidence is something new in her, and I hope it stays because I think it will push her farther in life than good grades ever will.

From her teacher: "Evelyn is a smart, quiet, and helpful young lady. I can always count on her to offer help to those who are struggling around her. Her compassionate heart makes her very well liked within our classroom. Evelyn takes her time on her assignments to make sure they are done just right. She is very artistic and focused to do her best at all times. I love having her in class."

Addy and Jack got their grades also. They are both doing well, though Jack seems to have a hard time with numbers. That's okay though- It just means that we  get to play a lot of BINGO at home with 1-20 on the cards. The kids love it! Their teachers didn't write anything about them on their report cards, but we have conferences coming up this next week so maybe I'll have more to say about them later.

Well, that's about it for this week: More of a log entry than any sort of deep insight into our lives. Put it all together though and I think it paints a picture of a busy family doing things that busy families do, which would be an apt description.

Lindsey is growing up! She walks around so much it is hard to keep track of her any more...especially when she finally figured out the stairs. Recently she has started to experiment more with her voice and it is fun to hear her say "uh-oh" every time she falls or drops something.

This was a Family Night activity where we took stuff apart to see how it worked (don't worry, the cord in the picture goes to something else).

Sculptures with Mama.

Pizza Hut with Papa

We came home from our date and saw "Evelyn's Flower Book" on the counter. "By: Evelyn of course!" I took a picture of my favorite page- "This is the walking flower. Yeah! I know it's pretty wired (weird), but it really does walk!"

Maren is rich!

Here's Jackson bringing the ball down the court for his team.

Have a good week!