The Happy Little Hawkins Family: December 2013

Week 49

The school Christmas concert was this week. The entire school participated, from preschool to high school. Drew's class sang, and they also got to play a song on the bells.

Drew got to stand by one of his friends, Abrum, during the program.

Jim introduced the program and make closing remarks at the end. He did a great job, and he was able to meet many school parents and grandparents that night.

I put Maddie in her crib with some books each morning while I shower. I found her asleep in her crib one morning after my shower.

She loves books, but she can be quite messy with them!

Eddie the Elf arrived at our house this week. Drew was very excited to have him back again this year.

This week, Eddie packed Drew a strange lunch,

tried to steal a dollar from Drew's bank,

and made himself some juice.

We are enjoying having Jim at home on the weekends! Our family had donuts from Tim Horton's for breakfast on Saturday.

My favorite is the candy cane doughnut at Christmas-time. They are delicious!

Yum!

Here is what I did for Project Life this week.

Week 50
Drew had his church Christmas program Sunday night. The kids did a nice job.

Jim needed someone to work Late Stay at school on Wednesdays, and I am the lucky girl that got the job. Maddie and I went over to the school at dismissal and stayed with the kids for a couple of hours. Drew is really into Bey Blades right now, and he and the boys played with Bey Blades for most of the time.

Maddie loved the chalk board

and the little kitchen.

Maddie and I did some Christmas shopping this week, and it was apparently quite exhausting!

We finally got our Christmas tree decorated this week. Drew was a great help,

and Maddie even tried to get into the decorating by draping ornaments along random branches. I was worried that she would mess with the tree, but she left it alone, for the most part.

Eddie got himself into a bit more trouble this week. He read books (that wasn't really trouble),

he hung out with the princesses,

He swung from the fall decorations (early in the week, before we switched to Christmas decorations),

he made a mess with flour and blamed Drew,

he attacked the Ninja turtles with a Nerf gun,

and he replaced the star at the top of the tree with himself, in a pair of Drew's underpants.

Drew's school went Christmas caroling at an assisted living home.

When they came out, it was snowing!

Here's what I did for Week 50.

Here are Week 49 and Week 50 together.

I am linking up again with The Mom Creative.

I am sharing two weeks worth of Project Life again this week, but with this post, I will be caught up to December!

Week 47

I had a (much-needed) hair appointment this week. I got it cut a bit shorter, and I got rid of all the blond, after years of hi-lights. I am enjoying the change!

Drew lost his eighth tooth this week, so the tooth fairy got to come see us again.

This was Jim's last week at the golf course. He had a nice week, with lots of nice notes and little visits from some of his staff and some of his regular golfers to tell him goodbye and to wish him luck in his new position. Maddie and I went out to see him for a few minutes on his last day. I wanted to take a few pictures of the clubhouse.

It is a beautiful old building with lots of pretty tile-work.

We will miss this place, but we are confident that God has called Jim to move on, and we are excited to see what lies ahead for Jim in his new ministry.

Drew had Crazy Hat night at church on Wednesday night. I loosely sewed some little plastic soldiers onto the top of Drew's coonskin hat, at Drew's request. He loved it!

Some staff members (no players, unfortunately) from the Detroit Red Wings came to Drew's school to do a special presentation about healthy eating and exercise habits. The kids got to try some hockey activities, and they had a lot of fun!

We spent a lot of the weekend out at the school, setting up Jim's new office. He had a bunch of golf wall art that had hung in our old home office (that has since become a guest room and now Maddie's bedroom) that he brought out to hang in his office at school.

The kids had fun playing in the gym while we worked.

Maddie loves steps, so the bleachers were lots of fun for her!

Here's what I did for Project Life this week.

Week 48
With his new position at the school, Jim is considered part of the pastoral staff, and this was his first official Sunday on staff. His work attire has drastically changed, from shorts and golf shirts, to dress shirts and ties, so it is funny to see him dressed up most days now!

Monday was Jim's first day at the school, and it was an interesting day. Coming in mid-semester with everything in full-swing is tough enough, but with the lingering effects of the problems that led to the previous administrator's resignation, things are even more difficult. Jim's first morning at school started with his secretary giving her two-week notice. Jim truly believes that God has called him to this ministry, and he has a very good attitude, in spite of some of the struggles he is facing in this new position. It has been fun to see God work and provide in the situations so far, and we are trusting the Lord to continue to do what only He can do!

Maddie loves books, and she reads in her crib each morning while I take a shower. It is a safe place where I can keep her contained!

Jim made Maddie a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and she was so hungry/excited about it, she kept crowding him back as he tried to make it. He said that she was "boxing out." :)

The boys played some Battleship this week. It is always fun to see Drew's interpretation of the location of some of his ships. His "hits" and "misses" are not always quite accurate, which can be a bit of a challenge for his opponent.

Drew's class had a Thanksgiving Feast, and all the Parents were invited. We had a nice time eating and visiting with the other families.

The first graders sang and recited a verse for us before we ate.

Maddie enjoyed a pumpkin muffin!

We spent much of the day on Wednesday working at the school, so we went out for dinner that night. We went to one of our favorite restaurants - Cracker Barrel! The guys played Checkers after dinner.

Maddie and I shopped while the guys finished their game, and I was excited to see Maddie stop and play with the play kitchen. Jim and I are working away on Maddie's Christmas kitchen, and I am hoping that she will love it!

We had a Thanksgiving dinner and praise service at church Tuesday night. There were no nurseries that evening, so Maddie sat with us in the praise service. She lasted a little while before we had to move to the lobby. Drew sat with some bigger boys at the very front of the auditorium. We were a little nervous about letting him sit there, but he did great!