Happy Easter!

Pause my play list on the left to listen to our favorite song this Easter. We hope you've had a special day celebrating the risen Savior!

My Favorite Christmas Moment

It's the New Year and I've spent the day changing my blog, downloading pictures from the holidays, doing laundry and keeping my 3 favorite children from fighting on this beautiful snow day with NO school! I quickly wanted to share my favorite moment from our Christmas holiday...here's Lydia singing "Silent Night" with the karaoke machine one evening. She had no idea I was filming her. (Pause my playlist on the left sidebar to hear her sweet voice)

Bring on December

I still have pumpkins on my porch from Thanksgiving, but it is Christmas time on the family blog! Wish it was as quick and easy to decorate my house as it is to change the background and music on here. I feel good that I do have a couple gifts bought and our Christmas cards ordered and hey, it's not even December 1st yet! I say this every year, but I am really going to try not to stress out about all the craziness of Christmas this year. I am going to simplify as much as possible. Looking at our calendar, this will be tough but I am determined to simplify and not stress and to focus on Christ and not the crazy. We'll see how I do! So, bring on December and let the holiday fun begin!

P.S. We had a really special Thanksgiving holiday with my family and I hope to find a few minutes soon to share some pictures with you.

Go Tigers!!!!!

Just got this action shot from last night's game. We lost, but it's a great photo!:)



This is why I haven't posted in several weeks! Most of our extra time has been spent on the soccer field watching Caleb play for his high school team. It's been fun for us, tons of work for him, but the season is almost over. Caleb will be mad that I didn't put an action shot on here, but Mark has those on his camera. Maybe I can sneak his camera and post those too. He is #8 and just warming up before a game. Tonight and tomorrow we play our biggest local rivals so we are hoping for some exciting games and wins. Go Tigers!!!!!

"God of This City"

I have each of our kids tell me their favorite song that's playing on KHIS radio, then when I am listening throughout the day I will pray for them when "their song" comes on. Their favorites often change, but Levi's favorite right now is "God of This City". What a neat song, especially for Levi right now as he is on a huge mission field as he goes to school each day in a public middle school. Let's just say he has lots of opportunities to make an impact for Christ, if he will just do it.

This weekend was our Mission Celebration at church and this was kind of the theme song. However, the video our church shared showed pictures and faces from the city where we live. Pause my playlist music on the left, then listen to the words of Levi's favorite song as you think about the city you call home.

Summer Nights...

Caleb, the soccer player, for some strange reason has decided he loves tennis and wants to play all the time. He cannot get enough of his new sport! So, the other night he drug the whole family out to the tennis courts near our house for a night of fun! It was a beautiful evening, but was super muggy so we didn't stay long. I did manage to get a few action shots of the new tennis pro though!

I loved watching Caleb try to teach Lydia, the lefty, to hit the ball!


Levi's doing pretty good too!


Here's the pro in action!


Wimbledon, here we come!


Watch the video below to see how Lydia spent most of her night on the tennis court. She just learned how to do this a few days ago and is now jumping the fire out of her new pink and purple jump ropes! Pause my music on the left so you can hear her.

We're Back!

Well, we finished up the school year and I now have a 1st-grader, 6th-grader and freshman in high school at home to drive me crazy all summer! I had to teach the last few days of school, then we packed like crazy for 2 days, then left for our annual 10-day trip to the beach with all my family.

We had a great time with perfect weather, good food, fun family time and NO OIL!!! Thank goodness we were there in May! I'm getting 2 kids packed and ready for 2 different camps so I haven't had time to make a photo album of our trip yet. I always love to do that so the kids can get on here and look back at it through the year when they're missing the beach! So, check back in a few days. Here's a little teaser for now tho!

Dreaming...

It's official--I think the Strickland family is TOO busy and this momma is tired! Here's a list of what we've been up to the last few weeks. And why there's been no time to update our blog or cook or clean, etc.!

**Caleb's soccer games in St. Louis (he scored a goal last weekend as defender!)
**Hours of "The Sound of Music" play practice for Caleb
**Caleb got his braces off
**Both boys have been MAP testing at school
**Levi's Boy Scout meetings and upcoming campout
**Levi's track practices and meets
**Lori's root canal that won't quit hurting
**Mark's out-of-town trips for work
**Helping to get a bond issue passed for our schools
**Lori's still subbing for first-grade
**Organizing the sale of 3,000 tickets for Caleb's school musical
**Easter and family get-togethers
**Lydia's new haircut
**Lori trying to figure out the world of extreme-couponing

I could keep going on, but I'm sure you're worn out and bored by now so I'll quit. It looks like it will be this way for about 4 more weeks until school gets out, then we're all dreaming of this...our beach vacation! Can't wait!

Daddy/Daughter Dance 2010

Arrow of Light Ceremony

Last weekend, Levi received his Arrow of Light Award which is a pretty big deal in the Boy Scout world. This means he has completed every requirement in Cub Scouts and is now bridging over to become a Boy Scout. He's only been in scouting for a couple years so this is all new to us. He is now part of a new troop of guys that are in 5th grade through high school. They have some pretty cool outings planned, he's already been to Space Camp in Huntsville with them. And he's got his eye on the Eagle and is ready to work hard to earn it in the next few years. Here's a few photos of the ceremony. Great job, Levi! We are proud of you!

Walking across the bridge to receive his award.

Levi with his arrow to hang in his room! Not sure what Mark was explaining!


All the grandparents came to cheer Levi on!
Caleb had passed his soccer referee test this same day, so here's both boys with the patches they earned!

My new favorite song for this season of life...

Valentine's Fun...

Valentine's Day is almost here and we've been busy celebrating the whole month. Here's a few photos of our fun:



Our valentine flag in the snow we had a few weeks ago. For a snow day project the kids made this banner out of stuff we found in the scrapbooking box.



Last weekend, we had a heart-shaped cheese pizza from Papa Murphy's. It tasted much better than it looks in this photo!



This is our mailbox on the kitchen table where we've been writing love notes to each other all month. Lydia is really getting into this and writes about 10 each day that all say the exact same thing. I'm having to pretty much make the boys write some. They think they're getting too old for this kind of stuff.



And finally, the kids were out of school today so Lydia helped me make blueberry heart muffins for breakfast.

We (heart) Valentine's Day at our house!

Lydia's Big News...

It needs a little more wiggling!


It's out! Not the most flattering picture but it shows the missing tooth.


Thank you tooth fairy!


More exciting than the Super Bowl at our house last night--Lydia lost her first tooth! She was so excited and was up till after ten checking to make sure her tooth was still ready for the tooth fairy under her pillow! She is now 2 dollars richer and has the most precious little smile! She was off to school this morning to get her name on the class tooth chart and a little treasure box from the Nurse to keep her tooth in. The tooth fairy at our house lets the kids keep their teeth. Not sure why, since 20 years from now Mom will just probably find all their nasty teeth in their dresser drawer! The cutest part was watching Levi, who used to scream bloody murder when his teeth were pulled, telling Lydia how it's so easy and doesn't hurt or bleed at all! This was a hard tooth for me to pull--not because it wasn't ready--just because it was another reminder to me that my baby is not a baby anymore. I don't want anymore "babies", but the 3 I have are just growing up way too fast!

Princess for a Day...

What a fun weekend we had! The kids traveled to Kansas City with my parents to celebrate my niece Ellie's 5th birthday and here's a picture of the start of the party! I don't have the after photos yet. Ellie and Lydia went to a Kiddie spa where they had manicures, pedicures and their hair and make-up done. Then it was off to a fancy lunch--they wanted McDonald's but settled for the Dinosaur restaurant at Legends instead! Not a very girly place to eat, but lots of fun anyway! Thank you Aunt Gina and Uncle Kip for a great girly date and a super fun weekend! Oh, and Nana and Papaw too for letting the kids go along on your trip!

Mark said, hey if we are going to be kidless for a weekend let's get outta here! So we took off to St. Louis for the weekend and had a blast just shopping and hanging out in the big city. We saw the movie Leap Year too and it was sweet, funny, romantic, cute--my favorite kind of movie! Now it's back to the real world today with school, work, laundry, homework, schedules, etc. It was fun while it lasted, but as Dorothy says, "There's no place like home"! By the way, I bought the cutest plaque for my wall this weekend at Kirkland's that has that exact quote.

Saying Good-bye...

What a busy weekend! Friday night, Lydia went to her first birthday sleepover at a friend's house and had a fun time. She made it all night without missing her Daddy! Caleb had some friends over to sled, eat pizza and hang out in the basement. Saturday morning we all went to watch some of Caleb's friends play basketball at the Jr. High. That afternoon, Mark and my dad installed my new dishwasher and it looks great! Can't believe I'm so excited about a kitchen appliance but our dishwasher was ancient and rusting out so I am thrilled to have a shiny new one!

Sunday was a busy day at church since we had our annual Missions lunch where all the committees and their families have a meal together then have a planning meeting. For the past 6 1/2 years Mark has been the Missions Director at our church. This has been a volunteer part-time job and he has loved organizing the mission efforts of the church since he is so passionate about missions. But, it takes so much time along with his full-time engineering job that he just feels like he cannot keep up anymore. We've been praying about this for several months and Sunday at the meeting he announced that he would be stepping down as Missions Director of Lynwood at the end of the month. When he spoke, I could tell that he was sad to be letting it go, but he says he feels a peace that this is the right time to step down. Our family is growing up and getting busier by the year and he doesn't want to miss out because he was too busy with other "good" things. He has done a great job trying to juggle work, church and family but he can only do so much. We are not going anywhere and plan to stay actively involved in Lynwood missions, Mark just won't have to be in charge now and we're all excited about that!

I just thought I'd share that so those of you from Lynwood who read this could hear from us about his decision. We look forward to what God will continue to do in the Mission ministry of the church and to what he has in store for our family in 2010!

Friends on the Fridge!

It was another freezing cold day here yesterday and Lydia wasn't feeling too great so I kept her home from school to see if she was getting sick (which she never did thank the Lord), so we were stuck inside again and needed an easy project for the two of us to accomplish. I'm trying to think of at least one task per day I'd like to accomplish for sure and then if there's time for others that's great, but at least I will feel like I did one productive task each day!

Our project was to get our Friends on the Fridge! Each year when friends and family send us a Christmas photo card we tape it to our refrigerator so we can look at them, talk about fun memories with them and most of all pray for them throughout the year. I think this year I'm going to have one of the kids close their eyes at dinnertime and choose the family we will pray for. It makes my fridge look a little cluttered and I usually don't like clutter (although if you looked around right now you'd think I love it!) but I figure it's for a good cause and the kids love it. And when people come over they always look through the pictures and ask who is this or what are they up to these days? It's fun! So, if you sent us a photo card, thanks so much and know that you will be in our prayers sometime this year! If you don't see yours in the picture, don't worry it's probably just on the other side!

Oh, and by the way, my one productive task for today is to survive a trip to Wal-mart to stock up for the snow that's on it's way. Wish me luck!

Happy New Year!

I thought I'd welcome 2010 with a new look for our blog! It's from Leelou Blogs and it was totally free! Just delete the old one and copy and paste the new design, so easy! I can't believe my last post was in November. How do some girls find the time to post everyday? I spent December catching up from working in November and getting ready for Christmas, then the kids have been on break for the last two weeks so like everyone else we've been super busy. We had a great Christmas and New Year's with both sides of the family. The weather was good with only a few snow flurries and everyone stayed healthy. I was sad to say good-bye to the kids who returned to school this morning. Usually, I'm so ready for them to go back and return to our normal routine. Not sure what's wrong with me, maybe just getting older and realizing my time with them at home is growing shorter! You know, I am turning 40 in a few short months!

It's sunny today, but freeeeeezing cold outside so I plan to stay in and try to tackle this mound of laundry, find a home for all these new Christmas gifts and put a few decorations away. I'm going to try not to think about how quiet my house is, but instead watch the clock for 2:30 when it's time to go get my sweet 3. I bet I won't be ready then! Happy Monday, friends!

I'm Back...

Well, we made it! We all survived 6 weeks of me teaching 1st grade! Let me just say it was an interesting 6 weeks with a bunch of crazy kids and I am so glad it's over. It was a great learning experience for me and I was challenged to be a better teacher because of it, but I am not ready to be a full-time teacher and part-time mom anytime soon. I'd much rather work for free as a full-time mom and keep my sanity than make "lots of money" teaching and end up in the funny farm! Maybe I'll share some of my crazy experiences in the classroom in a blog post soon. I'm sure you'd love to hear my stories about everything from head lice checks to shoes being thrown at me to finding "sexiest fantasies" perfume in a 6-year-old's desk! Let me just say I am so thankful for the life, husband and kids God has given me. I am blessed!

I am scheduled to sub for them again several days in the coming weeks as the teacher will be out getting treatments. I think I can handle a day here and there. Maybe that won't be quite as exciting!

We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving at home this year just celebrating with Mark's family. My side of the family will spend Christmas together this year so we didn't get to see them for Thanksgiving. We spent the weekend decorating the outside of our house for Christmas and now I'm starting to work on the inside since the kids are back in school. Thought I'd decorate our blog for the season too. Enjoy the Christmas music!

Workin' 9 to 5!

Just a quick note to let you know the Strickland's are fine! Sorry we were stuck on that sick day post for so long, but I have not had one extra minute to post anything new. I was asked to sub at Lydia's school for a first-grade teacher who will be out for surgery for six weeks and I still can't believe I said yes! Am I insane? I haven't taught school in 14 years! I just finished my first week and am beyond exhausted, my house is a total wreck and my boys are even having to help do their own laundry! So, we are in a serious period of adjustment in this home and you probably won't hear much from me until Thanksgiving when my job is over. I'm just praying this teacher returns because when my 6 weeks is up, I am outta there! Wish me luck and that I won't catch any of the flu germs that are flying around my room!

Sick Days

Fall is here and that means cooler temps, colored leaves, apple cider, flu shots and the arrival of germs! And we are not happy about it! The school nurse called Monday afternoon and said Levi had a fever and cough, please come get him. She was sure it was the flu since she'd sent 5 kids home that day with the same symptoms. The flu test showed NO flu so we are super excited about that. Just a virus that acts like the flu. So, the last couple of days Levi's been going puzzle-crazy and finished three 550-piece puzzles! He's been pretty bummed because he hates to miss school and he hasn't been able to play with his cousins who are here visiting from KC. He's much better today and should be back to school tomorrow. Now, we're just crossing our fingers that no one else gets it!

We don't have time for sickness around here with our crazy life. We've been busy with soccer tournaments in St. Louis, getting a new heating and air system installed at our house, Mark having to rebuild the computer system at work due to a virus, and just the normal daily stuff for school and church. I've been subbing quite a bit and still trying to get adjusted to this "working mom" thing. I think I got spoiled being home for 14 years! I still can't complain since I'm only working a couple days a week, if that.

We are off to the pumpkin patch tomorrow with Lydia's Kindergarten class--IF everyone stays healthy and the rain stays away! Stay tuned for pictures!