2nd Place Ain't So Bad

The other night I attended the only battle that begins and ends with a prayer...yes, I'm talking about church basketball. Thursday night was our Stake Basketball Championship Tournament and our Winters Run ward had earned the number one seed through a free-throw shoot-off with 2 other wards who shared the same record. Our ward took care of business in Game 1 and had an hour to rest and prepare for the winner of the second game. The third game of the night: Championship Game between Winters Run and Susquehanna, tip-off 9:00.

Our team had a cold start, not getting a bucket until several minutes into the game.


Our men hustled and played hard throughout the game and pulled ahead with about 10 minutes to go. But in the last few minutes Susquehanna came back and was able to win it. Oh, well...it was a fun night and I always enjoy watching David play.

Second Place Winners: (Back Row)Eric Stephenson, Bishop, David, Casey Uhlig, Kyle Mai (Front Row) Josh Crowe, Brian Washburn, Mike Eilman

Pay It Forward

A friend of mine did this on her blog so I thought I'd be a copy-cat and do it as well. (Plus I get a gift which is never a bad reason to do anything!)
"Here's how it works-the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a gift from me. What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise! The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Remember that only the first 3 comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick!"

My Little Pirates

As most people know, my little Xander is obsessed with Star Wars and pirates. The past few days he has insisted on wearing black socks with everything, even his white tennis shoes (ahhhh!) because they are his "Darth Maul" socks. He also loves to pretend he is a pirate but, in Xander's mind, a proper pirate must have a peg-leg. He has struggled with this one...but the other morning he found his solution. (Check out those scary pirate faces...arrrggghhhh!)

Here is a closer look...Xander found that he could fit his foot into a big cup and it makes the perfect peg-leg. Once Xander figured it out, of course Savannah and Noah had to do it as well.

Fire Station Field Trip

Monday Xander and I went to the Bel Air Fire Station for his preschool field trip. The fire station is always a hit with the kids and the fireman who conducted our tour was really great!

Xander loved seeing the fireman in all his gear. The kids told him he looked funny, especially when he put on his special breathing mask.

The highlight of the trip, however, was getting to spend time with his special little friend Emma. For the past few weeks I've heard all about Emma and how he plans on marrying her. He especially loves her because she likes Star Wars guys, a definite plus in Xander's book.


Sitting in the fire truck!

Xander is one of four very lucky little boys...there are 4 boys in his class and 11 girls. As soon as we walked into the fire station, every single little girl in his class came up to him saying "Hi, Xander." He keeps reminding me, however, that he just loves Emma.


It was definitely a fun afternoon spent with my little Xanderman.

February Keepers Meeting

I am so grateful that Savannah is a part of the Keepers of the Home program. We both look forward to our monthly meetings as well as working on the goals she has set each month. This month Savannah earned her Prayer Warrior, Family, Mosaics, and Cleaning Awards. I really am proud of her!
After a very off-key rendition of our Keepers song "Walk Tall" (the musically-talented mother Catherine was out of town), the girls started working on their next goal, plastic canvas. After working on their bookmarks for awhile, the girls headed off for some play time and the moms talked. Once again Savannah and I had a really great evening.

This One's for you , Dad!

This past week my Dad and I were talking about the Stimulus Bill...you know, the one that President Obama said he was so proud of because it didn't contain ANY pork? Yeah, that one. Anyway, my dad asked me if I had seen that there was money set aside in this bill to start carving Obama's face on Mt. Rushmore. I was incredulous! I instantly replied, "You have GOT to be kidding!" He answered that he wasn't and said, "Haven't you read the bill?" Well, of course I hadn't, just like every other person in America including the leaders asked to vote on it. I told my dad that I thought I was going to be sick if it was true. Thank goodness it was just my dad pulling my leg once again...he's really good at it. Well, Dad, maybe the notion of Obama's face isn't so far from some peoples' thoughts. Check out this picture!

Americans Love Ice Cream!

My father-in-law sent me the following email:

We are worried about "the cow" when it is all about the "Ice Cream"

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while teaching third grade this year. The presidential election was heating up and some of the children showed an interest. I decided we would have an election for a class president. We would choose our nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class would vote.
To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics these students should have. We got many nominations and from those,Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.
The class had done a great job in their selections. Both candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had never seen Olivia's mother.
The day arrived when they were to make their speeches. Jamie went first. He had specific ideas about how to make our class a better place. He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium.
Her speech was concise. She said, "If you will vote for me, I will give you ice cream." She sat down. The class went wild.
"Yes! Yes! We want ice cream."
She surely would say more. She did not have to. A discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice cream? She wasn't sure. Would her parents buy it or would the class pay for it. She didn't know. The class really didn't care. All they were thinking about was ice cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a landslide.
Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice cream, fifty percent of the people react like nine year olds. They want ice cream. The other fifty percent know they're going to have to feed the cow and clean up the mess.

I loved this because I feel that it is so true. When Obama became president, David and I decided that we were truly going to give him a chance to prove himself. It's true that we do not agree with the majority of what comes out of his mouth but hey, maybe once the mantel of the US Presidency fell on his shoulders, he would change his mind on some things. Well, after almost 2 months he has done absolutely nothing to change my mind about him. I also find it funny (not ha-ha funny) that there are people who voted for him that are actually surprised about some of the things that he is doing. My dad mentioned to me that a lot of the Catholics at the high school where my mom teaches, who voted for Obama, are outraged that he is actually talking about signing the Freedom of Choice Act. Hello!!!! The man is one of the most liberal politicians when it comes to the issue of abortion...how did they not know that? Didn't they listen as he promised Planned Parenthood that signing FOCA was the first act he would do as President? David said that people didn't pay attention to his pro-abortion views because it was not a campaign issue like it was 4 years ago. Isn't it a shame that the death of millions of unborn babies each year is not always a major campaign issue. I am truly saddened that any pro-lifer voted for Barrack Obama. And where did Mr. Hope and Optimism go? Since coming into office, all I hear from President Obama is doom and gloom for this country. At least President Obama is dishing out the ice cream he promised us...too bad it's a huge serving of Rocky Road!

Valentines

Isn't Xander a cute little love bug?

Last Friday Xander's preschool class had their Valentine's Day party. As usual we both had a lot of fun. I got to listen to the fun songs and poems Xander and his classmates have been practicing and then we played games, made crafts, and ate.

This is the Valentine Xander made for me.



After school Savannah and Xander enjoyed going through all the Valentines they had received.

Savannah Plays Basketball

Basketball has always been a big part of the Schaeffer family, starting with my dad. He has played basketball all his life and is extremely good; last year I went through all his college letters of schools that were interested in him playing for them. There were tons, including one from Duke! He eventually decided to attend BYU where not only did he play ball but he was introduced to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (and my mom). Both David and I are avid basketball fans but it's a sport that we haven't spent a lot of time playing with Savannah. This past fall we decided to sign Savannah up to play basketball on the same team as one of her good preschool friends. The team is coached by this friend's dad and, so far, Savannah has had a really great time although the first few weeks were a bit of a struggle. Savannah quickly realized that she wasn't as good as some of the other girls so she decided that this season would be her only season. But as the weeks have gone by and we've worked with her in addition to her practices, she has gotten better and has picked up some confidence as well. She has now had 3 games which are pretty exciting and fun to watch. Of course the refs let a lot of things go, especially traveling. If traveling was called, the game wouldn't even get going. This last game the coach on the other team had to keep reminding one of his girls to dribble. The hoop is lower so the girls actually can score. Savannah took a couple of shots during the game but unfortunately didn't make any, though there were two that were really close. Savannah's team did end up winning 6-2.

Our little point guard, just like Grandpa!

She's getting good at defense too.

ABC

I have been helping Xander the past few weeks master the art of writing his letters. He is getting really good at some of them...the following picture shows a few great pointy and round "A's".

The only problem is he drew them on the carpet in his bedroom.

The Senses

I always laugh when I hear women say that the only reason moms put their kids in preschool is to get a break from them. Well, is that such a bad thing? Ha-ha! Even though I don't find anything wrong with moms wanting a break from their kids from time to time (why do women keep insisting on trying to put down fellow women...come on, ladies, we all have our individual personalities as well as struggles), that is not the main reason why I put my own children in preschool. I value education above most things and want my children to develop a love and a thirst for knowledge. I think preschool not only provides children with wonderful social opportunities but also makes learning fun for them. They not only learn how to interact with other kids but with other adults as well which I think is extremely important. My kids have so enjoyed coming home from school and showing off the many crafts and projects that they have made. Xander's latest project is this cheerio rope he's showing off.

This project is part of their "The 5 Senses" unit. They put together these cheerios on a pipe cleaner which we then hung on our tree. When the birds come to eat the cheerios, they knock the rope and the bell at the bottom rings. Xander couldn't wait to hang it up and when we did, he started calling out, "Birdies! Birdies! Come eat some cheerios, birdies!" This is a perfect example of why I LOVE preschool for my kids. Xander had fun, learned something, and was proud of what he had made. Some moms are great at doing this kind of stuff with their kids at home; I'm just not which makes me even more grateful that I have this option for my kids.

Ice!

Last week the kids didn't have school on Monday and Tuesday due to Teacher Inservice. Then, during the night on Tuesday, I heard the familiar "ping, ping" of ice hitting our roof...so, no school on Wednesday either. The kids were excited to have another day of play; I wasn't as thrilled. Needless to say, we didn't go anywhere even though the roads weren't that bad.
Here are Savannah and Xander picking up some pieces of ice from our deck.


On Wednesday afternoon Xander and Noah went outside to see how much ice they could break off of our patio and deck. They actually did a great job clearing the ice from our stairs.

January Keepers Meeting

For Savannah's Keepers of the Home meeting in January, which was at our house, we did scrapbooking. We had each girl bring some pictures from a favorite vacation and we made some scrapbook pages with them. The girls got to tell everyone about their fun vacation and the pages they made were really cute. Savannah had such a great time that she and I are going to have a Mommy/Daughter scrapbook night once a month.