Introducing....

The first ever Spurgeon to not "freak out"

when placed on Santa's lap.

Britton was more than happy to tell Santa his Christmas wish,

"A firetruck."

(Thanks for the picture Heather)

Second letter

My children were so disappointed when school was cancelled yesterday due

to bad weather.

They LOVE school.

We received a postcard in the mail yesterday from Dallin's teacher. During this month of December when we are more aware of others and showing greater love and concern, this note made me especially grateful.

This is just a quick note to let you know

that Dallin was chosen as student of the

month for December based on the

attributes of caring and compassion.

I am very proud of the work he

contributes and the attitude he brings

to class each day. Super work, Dallin!

Mrs. B

We are so proud of Dallin. He is the most conscientious 10 year old boy ever. He NEVER leaves his room in the morning without making his bed and he is very kind and helpful with his younger siblings. Keep up the fantastic work.

Santa's Adventure

Santue invencher

it is almost Crismis. Santue is going to have a invencher by delivering presins.

When Santue coms to my howes he is going to open the door

and give us presins and I will say Wathu hek and showt hray

and I will be happy.

Santa Adventure- the edited version.

It is almost Christmas. Santa is going to have a adventure by delivering presents.

When Santa comes to my house he is going to open the door

and give us presents and I will say, "What the heck!" and shout "Hooray"

and I will be happy.

by Cameron -1st grade

remodel

The garage is now our new family room

the old family room is now our dining area

the old dining area is now our breakfast nook

the upstairs gained a new bedroom

and WE LOVE IT.

Birthday Boy

Britton still says that he's 2. Must have been a good year.

Have a fantastic 3rd year sweetie.

We love that smile!

Kenley's new hobby

She was supposed to be doing her homework,

but Indexing the 1920 Louisiana Census is more exciting.

Emma is...

9 months old.

Apple recipe for Sarah J.

Apple Cake

5 apples, peeled, cored and diced

2 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

3 tsp. cinnamon

4 tsp. baking powder

4 eggs

2 c. white sugar

1 c. oil

2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan. Sift flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar for 5 min. on high. Add oil and blend well. Add flour mixture and mix well. Add vanilla. Fold in apples. Pour into 9x13 dish and sprinkle with topping. Bake 350 degrees for 50-60 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

20

This is what 20 lbs. of sweetness looks like.

We call her marshmellow.

Just blow!

"How about the piano?" I said.

"Girls love it when guys know how to play the piano."

Nope.

"Dallin, the guitar! You should learn how to play the guitar."

Nope.

The trombone it is!!

A Timely Nap

Just when I'm tired from cleaning up the toilet paper strewn throughout the house,

vacuuming the crackers that have been dumped and jumped on,

telling him to talk with kind words,

asking him to not spit, hit or scratch,

when I'm ready to punch my time card and take a break...

He falls asleep..

..And when he wakes up, we start again!

Sleep long my sweet boy.

Multiple Choice Question??

1. Why was this delivered to our driveway today?

A. It makes it more convenient for the kids to use the potty while playing outside.

B. I like the color green.

C. It's for the workers who are finally starting our remodel project.

D. All of the above.

Team Spurgeon

Despite the matching outfits,

the decorated car,

the anticipation for the past 2 years since the last reunion,

the fantastic teamwork my children demonstrated,

we still didn't win this years

Mathews Family Reunion Amazing Race.

It was an absolute blast!!

It's hilarious looking at all our scavenger hunt pictures we had to take.

We were using Kenley's new camera with the timer setting.

In every picture we started running away before the picture actually snapped.

Makes for a great action shot!

One down...

In the last few weeks.....

We have success.

Things to do:

1. Potty Train Britton - DONE!

Pasco Summer Music Program

For the past six weeks the girls have been practicing twirling,

and marching,
singing,
and dancing,

for today's performances.


Kenley was groovy
&
Elizabeth was Rad.

Britton was bored.

Simplification project #1

I didn't feel right about displaying this in my home,

and having a DVD collection that looked like this.

So, we did this.
Much better.

Half way through the project Kenley said,

"Shouldn't we be alphabetizing these movies?"

(See Red Fury in the case? It's a family joke. My children find that the most

uninteresting movie on the planet. Whenever they ask for a movie

I say something like, "You can watch Red Fury or play outside."

They go outside.

In an effort to get the kittens a home I placed an AD on Craig's List. I was really, REALLY nervous to do this. We've been the home of these sweet little ones for the past several weeks and there's just something about watching them grow that has made me all motherly towards them. The thought of someone I didn't know coming to take them away was more than I could handle.

The first E-Mail came in. I analyzed the name.

RICK.

I thought back to all the Rick's I have ever known. He wanted a specific kitten. THAT one and THAT one ONLY he said. It just didn't feel right.

No thank you RICK!

There were a few more e-mails and inquiries.

I called one lady who had left her number and she said that she and her 15 year old daughter were looking for a kitten and could they come over and hold them, just to see if the vibes were right.

As they were walking into our garage the 15 year old girl gasped and picked up a kitten and excitedly informed her mom that she had found "THE ONE". Her mom said that they she had held a lot of kittens that day and none of them were "RIGHT." I felt a little heart palpitation. Seriously, she had fallen instantly in love with the kitten. She picked him up and he just melted into her. He had fallen too.

This is what I wanted. There was no doubt in my mind that this little kitten was going to be loved.

GIVEAWAY!!!

Dear Sweet Kitties,

It's been fun having you here for the last several weeks,

but it's time for you to find a new home. We'll make sure it's

a home with lots of love and a fun yard to explore.

It's time for these little ones to find a new home.

If you are interested please leave me a comment and we'll deliver one to you,

wrapped up like a gift if you like. They are really sweet and, as you can

see, absolutely ADORABLE!!

Mud

Two little boys who were supposed

to be playing in the water.. ended up looking like this.

I took a deep breath

and then cleaned them up.

EWWWW!!

The planter by my back door

Move in closer.

Nasty, scary SNAKE!!!

The incentive I offered Dallin to remove the reptile from planter.

He probably would have done it anyway,

but I was desperate.

I'm not a reptile lover.

Anticipation

All the details are contained within the pages of this notebook.

(Room layouts, decorating ideas, furniture dreams, color schemes)

I've been sketching and gathering ideas for probably close to 3 years.

I've been anticipating, planning, shopping and daydreaming

about this event that is getting underway right NOW!!

The excitement is too much!!

This is a fantastic thing that will be so GREAT for our family!!

I'm so excited to document pictures and details on this blog.

In a nutshell, we are:

1. changing our garage into a family room.

2. adding on a bedroom upstairs.

3. going to be using our current T.V room as an office.

4. going to be using our current family room as our main eating area.

I can't wait to share pictures as the project progresses.