Really....two months???

I just reallized it's been nearly two months since the last blog! Crazy!!

Things are good in the Thorndike household. We made it through our birthday months and the holidays....December and January are brutal for us with 3 of the four kiddos birthdays and the holidays. We also had a visit from John's family over the new year which was a lot of fun. I've been in school as well so there is no shortage of things to do around here.

As always, I made at least two of the kids birthday cakes and Alison had a turn at getting a store bought one(thank you Nana and Papa). Most of the time they come up with some great ideas for their cakes and so it's up to me to try to make them happen! Alison wanted a Strawberry Shortcake theme so that's what she chose. Jeremiah is really into his newest movie How to Train Your Dragon, so I made him a fire-breathing dragon cake....it turned out pretty good! Judah has a few favorites right now, but he is really loving Mickey Mouse, so I made his as well and it was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be.

We are so blessed to have such great kids!

OH MY FINALS...

Paper, pencil, laptop, coffee, quiet, focus, the need for toffee! All these things are my life lately as I prepare for a finale!
So next week is finals week for me. I have a grueling schedule of final lectures study hall and cram sessions to get in before the weekend...not to mention that it's Miss Alison's 5th birthday tomorrow! LOTS going on, but I am really going to enjoy the two week break when I'm done. If my schedule goes as planned, next term I will have only two classes on campus instead of three and I will be taking one course online. Hopefully this will help lighten the load at home for John and the need for additional childcare at least through the winter. It's very hard to get out of our property during those heavy snow days so the less I have to travel and cart the kiddos around the better! Although, come spring I will probably be looking forward to getting out of the house ;)

(John, Dan, Cara and Derrick at our Family Life Harvest Party)

Yay for Thanksgiving next week! I say it every year, but fall is our favorite season :)

The kids are doing great in school. Jeremiah continues to do well in first grade and loves lunch...haha...he just started eating lunch at school (we qualified for free lunches) and loves all the choices. Alison is doing very well in preschool. She just moved up from the preschool math curriculum to Kindergarten Math. She has started reading some words and I have a feeling that by the end of the school year if not in early spring, she will be 100% Kindergarten. Hosanna is doing good in preschool, but at her age it's mostly just social. She is recognizing some letters and doing really well overall.

Judah is getting busier and busier! He is talking up a storm, loves Mickey Mouse Playhouse and is absolutely adorable when he dances along with the music!

Classes are going well for me....2 A's and one B....I think at my age, that's pretty good! lol

Changes...

Life has been crazy lately...to say the least. After much prayer and many conversations, John and i decided it was time. Time for me to stop putting off going back to college and just do it. I applied for financial aid, thinking I might get a couple hundred dollars. We prayed that whatever happened I would at least get to take one course. A week after applying, I received an email stating that I had received a Federal Pell Grant in the amount of $5000! In order to get all the money I would have to attend full-time....wow. After we thanked God for providing....reality hit that He was really going to work out all the details. I didn't have any idea what I was going to do for daycare and schedules...but He worked it all out. I registered too late to get into any online courses, which would have been ideal, so I am on campus four days a week. One of my courses is an evening course so two days of the week are really long...and thankfully, starting out, John is on day shift. Things will be slightly different when he switches to graveyard next month, but we will work it out. It has been an exciting journey so far....
The kids are doing well in school. Alison loves preschool and is excelling in her subjects. They have been moving her up pretty quickly and she has even been reading a little....at four years old...amazing! Hosanna loves preschool as well, although for her its just a lot of fun at this point. She is gaining good social skills and by next year she will be doing great in all the other academic areas. Jeremiah is doing well....it is very different from last year. He doesn't have nightly homework like he used to but he does read each night and its getting much better.
Judah is keeping us all busy. He is literally running around here all day jabbering. Between our wonderful daycare provider and home, Judah is becoming quite the Spanish-speaking little guy. Our daycare provider is a friend from church and is from Mexico. She still speaks heavily with an accent and has been teaching the kids a new word each time they visit...but she also mostly speaks to them in Spanish I think. Judah, Alison and Hosanna have answered her questions in Spanish with English...they are understanding more ;) I have a cute video clip of Judah at the end saying all his Spanish words.
It continues to be a crazy life we love...we wouldn't change a thing <3

Hosanna's Birthday

Hosanna turned 3 on September 2nd! Time flies by way too fast.

While we were in Belligham visiting John's parents a couple weeks ago, we went out to lunch with his brother Dan and his wife Elizabeth and their munchkin Savannah. John talked to the waitress and arranged for the crew at Red Robin to do their birthday thing for her. She was a little apprehensive, but ultimately she shared her sundae with the whole table.

The week we returned home we had Papa, Nana, Grammy and Bud over for cake and presents since Papa & Nana were going to be out of town on her birthday. She had so much fun and was a very blessed little girl.

Her first full day at PreK was on her actual birthday so I made a cute shirt for her that said "It's My Birthday". I had a small gift for her at breakfast too. Then last weekend we went out to our friend's house to ride Dandy(horse) and Paris(pony). She loved it! Of course there were a few tears when we were done...but that's just how it goes. That evening we had several friends and family over for cupcakes. It's obvious that she is being trained well to celebrate all week long of her birthday! I have to train her right! She is amazing and we love her so much...our Hosanna Banana.

School Days

School has officially started. Jeremiah is in 1st Grade at Helix School and loving every minute of it. Alison and Hosanna are both attending Three R's School here in Pendleton. Alison is going three days a week and Hosanna is going 2 days. It was an adjustment for Hosanna, she cried the first day and I walked straight out and tried not to laugh....she gets soooo dramatic and I knew she would be fine as soon as I left. They are all learning so much already-it amazes me. In the midst of it all Jeremiah has lost three teeth! He is so adorable.

Jeremiah ready to go!

Alison is all ready...and so pretty!

Rhianne(good friend) and Alison before school.

Hosanna right before we went into school for orientation.

Working hard...She didn't want Mommy to leave orientation :)

SUFFERIN' SUCKATASH!

Jeremiah lost a tooth last night! He looks so silly and way too big now without his teeth. He is probably going to be losing several more over the next few weeks...he had a cleaning yesterday morning and the tech said that he had several very loose ones! lol