Christmas fun!

Alright, I haven't posted in forever, but I wanted to record the festivities at the Nadolski house this year. It was quite the exciting several days. Starting before anyone even arrived. On Monday night mr. Cole took a face plant and split his lips open, bruised his gums and knocked several teeth loose. Poor baby. Then he wound up with a cold. It made things a challenge for him. Especially eating.

Things started off on Tuesday when mom and dad got here, earlier than we expected. Which meant that, unfortunately for them, they got to help with the final cleanup. On Wednesday morning we went to Alex's play (more later). Brian got to the house in time for dinner and Marcella and Cole got here later that night. Then deanna got here on Thursday. Once everyone got here the fun started.

On Thursday Cole and Dylan had their own band going on. Guitar, piano, and vocals. They were singing up a storm on all of the Christmas songs they could think of. It was very loud and fun.

Then we dug into decorating gingerbread houses. I bought a village set from Target. That way there was a house for everyone. We used hot glue to put them together. Yes, hot glue. It made things much easier and the houses much sturdier.

Everybody had fun frosting and glueing. Although I don't think I'll use the pre done set again. Not enough frosting and I think it limited creativity. Alex and Dylan spent way too much time trying to do things just like the pictures and designs on the houses.

After they dried we put them in village form on the back of the piano, and no I didn't take any pictures of the finished projects. Oh well.

It looked really cool. Take my word for it.

Then of course the important part of our Christmas time, church. This year Alex was a shepherd in our church's live nativity. The best part was that he had a cup and stuffed sheep. He, and all the other shepherds, kept stuffing the nose of the sheep into the cup. Some of the boys nearly got the whole sheep in. It was pretty funny to watch.

You really can't see from the pictures, but we even have a real baby Jesus, this year he was a she and was 4 weeks old and slept through the

whole thing. What a cutie.


Alex also got to sing and play the metalaphone with his choir. He's gonna be just like mom, very involved in service whenever possible. And he loves it. Oh, and the pictures are very bad because our church is not condusive to getting good pictures. Oh well.

Cole loved checking out the nativity at the front of the church.


And we got a great family picture at the front of the church after worship. After that service at 3:00, I also had a service at 6:00 and 11:00. The 6:00 one was with the Celebration band. Something new I'm enjoying. And then the late service was a quiet service with communion.

As always, the whole family went to 3:00, and then mom and dad came to 11:00 and sang in the choir.

The only bad thing about my schedule was that I missed the annual reading of Twas the night before Christmas with grandma and putting out the cookies and milk for Santa. The boys all even wrote a note to santa and left him a cute ornament.

Then on Christmas morning everybody had a note from Santa. Lots of fun! In our family we've now started the tradition of reading the Christmas story and having baby Jesus under the tree. After the story all of the boys had a baby Jesus to put in the different nativity sets around the house. Then the opening could begin.


Cole got a cool new remote control car.

Dylan only got 2 lego sets this year. He also got some bakugans and games for his DS.




Alex got an ipod nano and Dylan got an ipod shuffle. Making both boys extremely happy.



This year Alex didn't get a single lego set. He got DS games and ipod accessories. Also a bunch of great spy gear. His favorite was the remote control car with camera. He loved driving it around and spying on everyone.

The boys also got several new board games. They also both had to accept that this year they didn't get as much because they got ipods and those are expensive. So, fewer presents.

This year we didn't get a good picture of the 3 boys. Alex just couldn't seem to relax. All of the pictures show him sitting all stiff.

Cole got a cool new Cars book with all of the boys names in. So, Christmas opening had to stop so they could read the book.

Oh, and that's my Aunt Deanna in the antlers.

Cole was also very excited to get a new grinch stuffed animal.











After opening about half the presents we took a break for our traditional breakfast. Egg casserole, frozen fruit, and Hawaiian bread. It's been the same breakfast since I was 3 or 4. We always look forward to it every year.

After all the presents were opened the boys ran off to play with their new stuff and grandpa settled down to read. He got really far in his book, can't you tell.

At lest Marcella was honest about it. Laying down with Kayla to take a nap. I also curled up on the couch and slept for quite a while that afternoon, but nobody took a picture of me. What a shame.

The boys, big and small went sledding on the hill in our front yard. Yes, that's Brian.

After a full day of excitement it was time to hunt for the pickle. Very challenging considering how thick our christmas tree was. Dylan got very upset and frustrated because the tree was "too sticky", as in prickly.

Uncle Brian found the pickle and came away with scratches all over his arm and $20 for Cole.



I think it was the first time in a while that a grownup has found the pickle. Usually it's one of my kids. They are both good hunters when money is on the line.

Brian and Marcella battling it out in a game of Battleship. One of Alex's new games.



I hope all of you had as merry of a christmas as we had.

Advent 3

Our advent reading from church today:

L: Advent is?
C: A time of preparation.
L: What do you mean? We have been preparing...baking, shopping and decorating.
C: Not that kind of preparing...
L: What kind then?
C: Preparing our hearts to receive the Advent news.
L: And that news would be?
C: That God brings us Hope, Peace and Joy!
L: Have you read the paper lately - where do you find that?
C: In the one for whom we wait, Jesus the babe of Bethlehem.
L: But I'm not ready...
C: It's okay, slow down, take a breath and celebrate these Advent Days.
L: Days that we celebrate Hope, Peace and Joy, yes?
C: Yes!
L: Even when there are so many problems?
C: Especially then, that is why God sent us Jesus - the light in our darkness.
L: Speaking of light we'd better get these candles lit.
C: The first candle is called HOPE!
L: The second candle is called PEACE!
C: The third candle is called JOY!
L: Let's pray that...
C: God will fill our hearts with joy!

Advent is the time of preparation. I wish for all of you a chance to slow down, take a breath and celebrate the joy of advent.

Advent

Last Sunday at church for the Advent candle lighting this was the reading done by one of our families. It really made me think and I wanted to share it.

L; Boxes, tissue paper, tape, ribbons, tags... I'm feeling overwhelmed!
C: Wrap us in your love, O God.
L: Lights, wreaths, trees, lawn ornaments, window candles... I'm feeling overwhelmed!
C: Light our way in the darkness, O God.
L: Schedules, parties, gatherings, visits... I'm feeling overwhelmed!
C: Guide and direct our lives in these Advent days.
L: But there is so much to do...
C: Wait for the Lord!
L: But all the stuff we have to do...
C: Don't be frantic. Seek God's peace.
L: I could use some peace during these stressful days.
C: God's peace is a peace that the world does not give.
L: So where do I find it?
C: Right here, right now, beside you, before you, behind you - God is with us always.
L: May God be our hope adn peace duing the craziness that often accompanies this season.
All: Thanks be to God! We needed to hear that!
L: So today we light two candles - the first candle is called HOPE.
C: It's light reminds us that God's promises are true.
L: The second candle is called PEACE.
C: It reminds us of God's loving peace for our lives.
L: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the powere of the Holy Spirit.

So this week I am hanging on to some peace and trying to find moments of peace in these busy days.

So, I am wishing for peace for all of you! Happy Advent!

Venting!

Okay, this post is for me. I need to vent and get it all out. So, if you want to move on please feel free.

This year has been really rough for Dylan and I this year. He has a very strict teacher (which is not a bad thing at all). She is a great teacher once you adjust to her rules and expectations, not easy at all for my boy. All I hear about school is I have to work all day and I'm not learning anything.

Then there is the bus, they have a mean bus driver. No way around it, he is mean and I have heard from some friends whose kids are older and ride the bus that Dylan is getting yelled at regularly.

Then add in that he has Mr. P in library, also strict. And of course the ever present challenge of Sensory Integration Disorder and my boy is really struggling. Things are just not going well.

Then of course there's mom, I don't have the most patient personality (something I'm working on). I'm trying to figure out how to balance both jobs, kids, school, etc. Every morning we have something that is nothing, but still something. Some days it can take us 30 minutes to work out that something. Today I wound up loosing my cool and yelling at him. So, I ask for a hug as he's heading out to the bus and he said no, you were mean to me." Talk about break my heart. I am such a bad mom.

I just don't know what to do. I can't figure out what to do to help him right now. It's always something. He really doesn't want to ride the bus. And I can't take him everyday. It's not realistic nor do I want to start that because he used to love the bus. I"m at a loss, and feeling so sad about it all right now. I left work today feeling so fragile. I feel like I'm right on the verge of tears all the time, not to mention how hard it is to keep up with everything right now. This is really triggering a real surge in my depression at a time when I tend to have an upswing in my struggles anyways. So, the boys will be home in 10 minutes and we'll have a discussion about what will help us to make morning a little easier and go from there.

Then I get to gear up for choir rehearsal, totally not ready on so many levels. Not that I can't pull it together and make it work, but things go better when I'm really prepared and in a better place emotionally.

Thanks for listening to me vent if you made it through.

First day of school!

Well here it is the first day of school. What we've all been gearing for the last couple of weeks.

Dylan is anxious and excited. A big first grader! I'm really excited about his teacher. I think she'll be really good. We'll see what he says when he gets back this afternoon.

Alex on the other hand is all about the excitement. He couldn't wait for today to come. He's pretty excited about his teacher. Although he already has homework for Friday.

Of course then there was the little matter of the bus this morning. The boys were up really early and out to the bus as soon as I let them head out. The bus was supposed to come at 8:22, when it hadn't come by 8:45 (school starts at 8:50) I piled all the kids from the bus stop into the van and took them all to school.

We got there just as the Pledge was finishing. Our neighbor said that it hadn't come by 9:00 when she stopped watching, but by the time I left school at 9:20 the bus had finally arrived. Quite the way to start the new school year.

Here is a picture of all the kids in the backseat. Alex got to ride in front for the quick ride.

Update: Well, after the kids finally got off the bus (Alex in tears). I talked to the bus driver, it seems our kids are not on his route, or he didn't know they were on his route until the kids were the only ones left and he had no more stops. When he called the bus company they told him that the kids had been added. Hmmmmmm! Well, right now I'm on the phone with the bus company. Hopefully that will get worked out!

Alex said his day was great, he has an assignment notebook to keep track of his work and already has things written in it. Loves his teacher and can't wait for the rest of the year.

Dylan started to sob when pressed about his day. It appears he got in trouble for messing around on the bus. And discovered that his teacher is going to be strict. He came home with a list of his specials, written by him and said he's not happy about ANYTHING. I hope tomorrow is a better day for him. I have heard that Mrs. H is strict, but is also very clear on what is expected of the kids. I think it will be good for him, but a challenge to get used to.

The last weekend of summer!

Well here we are, the last weekend before school starts again. Yesterday we were here for a whole day and I didn't take a single picture. The boys took 2 trips down to the park all by themselves. It's pretty quiet around here this week. Some swimming in the pool, and dinner looking out on the beach! A great day!

Today we got up and headed out to Kelly's Island. As always we took the boat over to the island.

Here's Alex after getting a face full of water.
And Dylan hoping to get a face full of water.

The usual view of my boys on the boat, all butt!

After we drove around the island on a golf cart we stopped by the lake to throw rocks in the water. A favorite for my boys. It was kind of windy so we all were going back and forth with sweatshirts.

Grandma built some rock towers.

Grandma just watching the boys.

Alex built a really cool rock tower.

Had to get a picture of grandma, grandpa and the boys. After that we headed back to the marina and had lunch while watching all the boats coming in and docking.

AFter we got home the boys got to ride in the back of the convertible. They loved it.

That pretty much covers the day here. Who knows what tomorrow will hold.

Country Springs Waterpark

When we asked Alex whether he wanted a friend party or to go to the Country Springs hotel for the waterpark. Guess what he chose?

So, we spent the day at the waterpark. When we got there Dylan would only cross these floats if dad was in the water right there.

Alex announced when we first arrived that this was his favorite part of the waterpark. And it's true that the boys both returned to this part of the park over and over all day.

Truthfully I figured this would be where Dylan would play the whole day. After some time in the lazy river Alex and dad went off to ride the slides and Dylan was sticking close to the shallow water.

They did have a small slide on the climbing area, but he wouldn't even go on that. I tried to talk him into it, but it was a no go. So, we just left him to do whatever he wanted to do. After a while I went to sit and watch and Mark was swimming with Dylan.

After a while however, Mark talked Dylan into going on one of the water slides together with him. Well, I figured Dylan would come down without riding, but low and behold here he came riding down the slide. What I didn't know was that he was at the top and changed his mind. Then daddy picked him up, put him in the raft, and down they went. And he loved it! After that they did this ride a bunch of times together.

Then he felt brave enough to try the little slide that he refused earlier.




Here's Alex on the body slide. He loved all of the slides and couldn't get enough of it.

And by the end of the day Dylan was even riding down the body slide by himself and loving it!


Here the three boys are riding triple dog dare and loving it. They did this one several times.

The best part of the day was that by mid afternoon the boys were off riding by themselves and Mark and I got to sit down and talk. This waterpark is small enough that we didn't have to watch over them constantly, they could just go do whatever they wanted.

After a while they talked mom into riding the 3 person one. (Water slides are not my favorite, but anything for my boys.)

We had a great day! Alex declared it the best birthday ever!

Under God's Sea in 3D

This week was summer music camp at church. This means that Mon thru Thurs the kids had practise from 9-3 and on Thursday night they performed their musical during worship.

First I have to say Mrs. H the person the director is a very good friend of mine and does an amazing job with the kids. They work so hard and she always brings out the best in all of them.

Then Mrs. S. also helps and is also fabulous with the kids. Between the 2 of them and their other helpers they accomplish the impossible every year.


This year was no different. In June the kids auditioned for parts. Alex auditioned and really wanted to get one of the parts. He did an amazing job. He really got the feel for the different characters. However, 16 kids auditioned for 10 parts.

ON Monday he found out that he didn't get a part, but he auditioned for solos and was still excited about what they were doing.








On Tuesday he found out that he was Jonah and would be singing a solo. Yipee!

Here he is in costume.

They all have matching T-shirts that they all sign.

They learn some great choreography and all of the songs. It never ceases to amaze me how much they learn in 4 days.


Thursday night was the performance. I am so proud of Alex, he did a really amazing job. He just loved the whole thing. Could it be that I have a budding performer?

Here he is singing.


I included 2 videos, the first is the opening song and the second is Alex's solo. They're a little long, but I hated cutting off the end of the songs. Mother's pride.

They will be doing the show again rally weekend at 3 different services. I think my family will be here and that's really exciting for Alex!