Lauren's Preschool Christmas Party
& YES, you can call it a Christmas Party.
Her beloved teacher, Ms. Nikki
Yummy Yummy, ice cream.
Cute reindeer craft made from tracing her hands and feet.
And the party is over.
8 years ago
Friday, December 19, 2008
Lauren's Christmas Party
Her beloved teacher, Ms. Nikki
Yummy Yummy, ice cream. Cute reindeer craft made from tracing her hands and feet. And the party is over.Getting in the Christmas Spirit!
Since we are going to spend Christmas in California, Steve and I decided to not put up a tree and decorate for Christmas. I don't think I will do that again. I had a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit. One thing I am glad that I made the effort to do was see the 15th annual joint Christmas Concert with our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Katy Stake) and the Epiphany Catholic Church. I took Rachel with me and it was a wonderful girl's night out. It brought tears to my eyes and I wished I had brought the whole family...next year. Actually, next year I want to participate. If you want to see or listen to more of the performance you can see it on Marci's blog.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Christmas Cards
I can't remember the last year I sent my Christmas Cards out before Christmas.
So this is one of my Christmas miracles.
{Why do I still send out Christmas Cards? Because I love getting them. }
2008 Spendlove Family Highlights
Lauren (4) started “Little Saints” preschool and loves it, along with her wonderful teacher Ms. Nikki. We have discovered that when it comes to performances like singing and dancing, she loves solos the best. She is our little entertainer and now wants to be an ice skater. If she is not singing or dancing, you will find her coloring or playing with her Barbies. She also loves to say prayers. We love it when she prays that our faces won’t hurt. It is hard to keep a straight face during her prayers. I think this little girl has us all wrapped around her finger. I guess that’s what happens when you are the baby.
Rachel (7) has turned into quite the maniac reader in our house. She reads a Junie B. Jones book a day now. She joined Girl Scouts, which she loves and where she has made a lot of special friends. We keep getting glimpses of a teenage Rachel and are enjoying her cute girliness. She loves the fact that she is taller than her older brother and we hope she continues to love being tall and beautiful. She learned to love basketball as she realized her height helped and learned how to get aggressive on the court. She loves to be creative and is very neat with all that she does. She is our good girl who loves to please her teachers.
Matthew (7) has taken an interest in Pokemon and has a nice collection of Pokemon cards. He is very creative, loves to explore, enjoys making us laugh and dreams of having his own dog. Any dog would love to have Matthew as its owner. His favorite places to go are G& G Cannon’s house or Scott & Kari’s Lake house, where there are dogs and lots of land to roam. He was the star catcher on his Astro's baseball team this year. We loved watching him dominate on the soccer field, but he thinks he likes baseball better.
Ethan (10) is ten years old, what else can we say? He is a fifth grader getting ready for junior high. He has had a great year: He won 1st place in the Meet of Champs for his awesome breaststroke. We love watching him swim. He enjoys being a Webelo Scout, it is right up his alley. He could fish all day everyday, if we would let him. He got a BB gun for his birthday and now is dreaming of a nice pocketknife. Actually, he is really dreaming of having his own phone and ipod. Ethan has also been busy with the 5th grade choir, student council and good grades.
Melissa, of course, had a great year being mom to four wonderful children and wife to a fabulous husband. We had the privilege of being able to go on our Stake’s Youth Pioneer Trek as “Ma” & “Pa” Spendlove with over 200 youth (8 in our “family”). It was a very special experience that we will never forget. After the trek, I pranced off to the Bahamas on a ladies only cruise with my mother-in-law and 5 sister-in-laws and had a blast! But I did have to come home and prepare for knee surgery. I tore my ACL and damaged my meniscus playing church basketball last December. With some physical therapy I was able to go on the Trek and the Cruise before surgery. Phew!!! And after a great year of working with the Cub Scouts, my Bears, I was called to be the Stake Young Women’s secretary. Yet another challenging and growing experience I have been blessed with.
Steve played chauffer a lot this year running kids around to soccer, baseball, basketball & football. He loves his daddy duties. He has been taking this mountain bike stuff seriously, even if there aren’t any mountains around here. Seriously enough to land him in the ER the day Hurricane Ike made landfall. He sustained a level 3 shoulder separation and after 4 weeks in a sling (thankfully) did not have to have surgery. Timing is everything; he spent the next 48 hours out of the ER looking after the house as Ike blew through Katy with 90 MPH winds. We’re grateful that our house sustained only minimal damage. The Youth Pioneer Trek also made a big impression on Steve and we both hope that each of our children will be able to have an experience like this while in their youth. Steve has learned a lot this year moving from EQP to Primary, teaching the CTR 9 class and helping out with the Cub Scouts. He has been a great help and support to me and the family.
Our family wants to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
We love the Christmas spirit and are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We hope you have had a wonderful year and have a Happy New Year!
Steve, Melissa, Ethan, Matthew, Rachel & Lauren Spendlove
Rachel (7) has turned into quite the maniac reader in our house. She reads a Junie B. Jones book a day now. She joined Girl Scouts, which she loves and where she has made a lot of special friends. We keep getting glimpses of a teenage Rachel and are enjoying her cute girliness. She loves the fact that she is taller than her older brother and we hope she continues to love being tall and beautiful. She learned to love basketball as she realized her height helped and learned how to get aggressive on the court. She loves to be creative and is very neat with all that she does. She is our good girl who loves to please her teachers.
Matthew (7) has taken an interest in Pokemon and has a nice collection of Pokemon cards. He is very creative, loves to explore, enjoys making us laugh and dreams of having his own dog. Any dog would love to have Matthew as its owner. His favorite places to go are G& G Cannon’s house or Scott & Kari’s Lake house, where there are dogs and lots of land to roam. He was the star catcher on his Astro's baseball team this year. We loved watching him dominate on the soccer field, but he thinks he likes baseball better.
Ethan (10) is ten years old, what else can we say? He is a fifth grader getting ready for junior high. He has had a great year: He won 1st place in the Meet of Champs for his awesome breaststroke. We love watching him swim. He enjoys being a Webelo Scout, it is right up his alley. He could fish all day everyday, if we would let him. He got a BB gun for his birthday and now is dreaming of a nice pocketknife. Actually, he is really dreaming of having his own phone and ipod. Ethan has also been busy with the 5th grade choir, student council and good grades.
Melissa, of course, had a great year being mom to four wonderful children and wife to a fabulous husband. We had the privilege of being able to go on our Stake’s Youth Pioneer Trek as “Ma” & “Pa” Spendlove with over 200 youth (8 in our “family”). It was a very special experience that we will never forget. After the trek, I pranced off to the Bahamas on a ladies only cruise with my mother-in-law and 5 sister-in-laws and had a blast! But I did have to come home and prepare for knee surgery. I tore my ACL and damaged my meniscus playing church basketball last December. With some physical therapy I was able to go on the Trek and the Cruise before surgery. Phew!!! And after a great year of working with the Cub Scouts, my Bears, I was called to be the Stake Young Women’s secretary. Yet another challenging and growing experience I have been blessed with.
Steve played chauffer a lot this year running kids around to soccer, baseball, basketball & football. He loves his daddy duties. He has been taking this mountain bike stuff seriously, even if there aren’t any mountains around here. Seriously enough to land him in the ER the day Hurricane Ike made landfall. He sustained a level 3 shoulder separation and after 4 weeks in a sling (thankfully) did not have to have surgery. Timing is everything; he spent the next 48 hours out of the ER looking after the house as Ike blew through Katy with 90 MPH winds. We’re grateful that our house sustained only minimal damage. The Youth Pioneer Trek also made a big impression on Steve and we both hope that each of our children will be able to have an experience like this while in their youth. Steve has learned a lot this year moving from EQP to Primary, teaching the CTR 9 class and helping out with the Cub Scouts. He has been a great help and support to me and the family.
Our family wants to wish you a very Merry Christmas!
We love the Christmas spirit and are so grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We hope you have had a wonderful year and have a Happy New Year!
Steve, Melissa, Ethan, Matthew, Rachel & Lauren Spendlove
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Happy Birthday Steve!
THEN:
NOW:
NOW:
Here is a big birthday wish to our great Father and Wonderful Husband. How could we be so blessed? Thanks Daddy/Sweetie for being so patient, kind, fun & funny, understanding, helpful and loving. We hope your last year in your thirties is all that you want it to be and more.
We love you! & Happy Birthday!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
My Birthday Present
You may already know that I was taking a raincheck for my birthday since I was so sick. Well, I am glad I did. This is what my wonderful husband got for me, an iphone. I so needed a new phone, but he totally went the extra mile.....however, was this for me or him or the kids. Now I don't even know where my phone is half the time. But I have loved it!
My extremely ancient phone.
My new much improved phone. (I also have a cute pink cover for it)
My extremely ancient phone.
My new much improved phone. (I also have a cute pink cover for it)
Ethan's Choir Concert
Ethan is in the 5th grade Choir and their Christmas concert (which they HAVE to call the Holiday Concert) was beautiful. It was another way for our family to get into the Christmas spirit.
I think Ethan secretly has a crush on the girl next to him, Taylor.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Family Pictures
A friend of ours took our Christmas pictures this year. It has been a while since we have had someone "professional" take our pictures. She did a fabulous job. We were so impressed and love all the pictures, but almost more importantly we were impressed with how she handled our wonderful children. You know how fun it is to try and get 6 people to cooperate for a few pictures. You can see all her great work here.
{You know how I am with posting pictures. I will try to only post a FEW of my favorites.}
{You know how I am with posting pictures. I will try to only post a FEW of my favorites.}
Happy Birthday Uncle Eric!
Happy Birthday to my oldest brother Eric, however, I am still older. Each one of my brothers are one of a kind. Eric is a big tease. I still have a hard time figuring out if what he says is a joke or not. He is extremely thoughtful of others and is a great dad to his 3 girls and little boy.
We hope you have a great birthday, Eric.
Eric and Melissa before there were three more brothers.
Eric and Melissa before there were three more brothers.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Catch me if you can!
Lauren was playing in the stuffing of a package that we got in the mail. She had a lot of it wrapped around her head too. So she was like a ghost. "She couldn't see you." And she wouldn't stop to let me take a picture. How fun to be a kid!
Ellen's Baptism
Last weekend we were able to attend the baptism of Rachel's friend Ellen. It was a sweet experience for all who were there.
We've been STAR'D!
We came home from scouts and tithing settlement last Wednesday night and found this on our front porch. It feels great to be thought of and cared about. And I love this whole idea.
We sometimes do the "You've been Boo'd" at Halloween, where you leave some goodies on someones doorstep and run. And then they continue the tradition. But you have to leave the Boo'd or Star'd sign out front so it doesn't happen again and the goodies can be shared with someone else.
We sometimes do the "You've been Boo'd" at Halloween, where you leave some goodies on someones doorstep and run. And then they continue the tradition. But you have to leave the Boo'd or Star'd sign out front so it doesn't happen again and the goodies can be shared with someone else.
Thanks so much for bringing some Christmas Spirit into our home.
Happy Birthday to Me!
I started celebrating my birthday in Boerne, Texas. Kari, my wonderful sister-in-law, took me shopping in downtown Boerne. It has such a cute little main street full of some beautiful shops and old homes turned into shops. I was able to buy all my Christmas ornaments this shopping trip. Every year we get each of the kids a new Christmas ornament to add to their Christmas ornament box and are the ornaments they get to put up on the tree. So it was a fun and productive shopping trip. We had a great time talking while window shopping and trying to figure out how to make lots of the things we saw by ourselves.
Then we were able to get away childless for dinner. I can't remember the name of the Mexican restaurant that we went to and I won't feel bad for not remembering since Scott & Kari weren't sure how to pronounce it. But it was some great adult time with yummy food.
Sunday, my actual birthday, I was feeling like this: 
So I am taking a rain check on my birthday. The whole family was a little under the weather so I am going to get spoiled on another day when I can work it.
Then we were able to get away childless for dinner. I can't remember the name of the Mexican restaurant that we went to and I won't feel bad for not remembering since Scott & Kari weren't sure how to pronounce it. But it was some great adult time with yummy food.
Sunday, my actual birthday, I was feeling like this: 
So I am taking a rain check on my birthday. The whole family was a little under the weather so I am going to get spoiled on another day when I can work it.
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