God is So Amazing to Our Family!

Sometimes you just have to stop and give God the glory for all of the blessings and amazing timing that He always provides!

Last week, I was having a casual conversation with a coworker and she happened to ask about us having another child. I said that mentally I was ready, but financially we were not quite there yet. I went on to say that spending $160 a week for day care for one was enough- that I couldn't imagine paying over double that with two. She looked shocked at the cost and began to tell me about her daughter's preschool. The preschool is literally two blocks from our school. Their hours are 8:10-3:10pm and it costs around $84 a week! I really think that I almost cried at this possibility!

 We took Natalie for a tour yesterday. The preschool is a part of a Catholic K-8 school, but has separate tuition and not as many regulations (with church membership and such). We were very pleased with the warm, friendly environment. We got to meet the teacher, Mrs. Powers, and see her in action with the class. She talked to us for a long time explaining the day and being very positive and welcoming. There were only a few girls there at the time because Tuesdays and Thursdays are lower attendance days because you can do part time as well. Natalie would be with Mrs. Powers for over a year so that she would be in the right group for her future kindergarten grouping. Even that is a positive since Natalie doesn't handle change well.

At that is another piece of God's amazing timing. Natalie is suppose to be changing rooms with her birthday coming up. This means that she will have a completely different teacher at day care, different room, and different kids. This has usually meant that Natalie completely starts over with her ability to calmly and happily go to day care (which honestly. she hasn't been too happy going period lately) The preschool starts on January 5th. Natalie's birthday is Jan 4th, so she can start the first day of school! Also her current day care states that you have to give two weeks notice if you are leaving the program. Today is exactly two weeks from her last day (birthday)!

Another amazing thing is that I am going to be starting an afterschool job at my school and my new boss over the program is willing to let me have Natalie with me at least in the beginning instead of having her stay for their after care program. Amazing!

Also, there are several days that this preschool gets out early, due to Teacher Workshops. Almost all of them fall on Thursdays which is the day of the week that Grandma is off and could come pick her up!

Natalie's Birthday Party Invitation Video

Santa Growth Chart

We have lucked out the last three years by having the same Santa in each of Natalie's Christmas photos, which is good for consistency, as he is really only there as a prop to assist in measuring Natalie's annual growth. (Please don't put coal in my stocking, Santa). My, my- look how our girl has grown over the last three years!!

Holiday Crafts

Today Natalie and I did two little holiday crafts. We made our annual paper chain countdown (much smaller this year due to my tardiness) and a Santa craft with cotton balls. The Santa is very Picasso-like and did not hold her attention for long. The paper chain was more of a hit because she loved shaking it.

No!!

Natalie's new favorite word is "no". Whether it's contextually correct or not, everything lately is "no!". A moment ago she just nailed her head against the coffee table. I asked if it hurt, and of course, she said no. We could ask her if her name is Natalie, and she'd probably say no.







Otherwise, it's just amazing to watch Natalie grow. She is tall- Nickie was the same height at her age, so it's likely that Natalie will be 6' tall or more! I can't even imagine. Hopefully by that time, she will at least have hair that comes past her ears.

Natalie is going to have an exciting few weeks coming up, with Santa Claus visiting her on Christmas, then her birthday party two weeks later! We're planning a Cosby themed birthday party this year, as Natalie still loves her Cosby! We're hoping to see a lot of Cosby-esque sweaters being worn, as that is the requested attire!

Donuts and Santa Claus in the same day!?

Last week, Nickie and I took Natalie to the Festival of Trees at the state fairgrounds, which is an annual event with loads of Christmas trees, gingerbread houses and activities to see and participate in. We started our morning by going to Mel-O-Cream on S. Sixth street. A first for me, as well as Natalie. The photos speak for themselves, but we had a fun time getting Natalie hopped up on sugar before going to the Festival. It's a very rare thing for her to eat sweets, so when she does get the chance, she takes full advantage of it (as do mommy and daddy, of course)!

We then admired the plethora of Christmas trees, gingerbread houses, and displays at the Festival of Trees. There was a train that Natalie got to ride on, and Santa Claus was even there! Natalie even got to make a jingle bell bracelet with Mommy, and a snowflake necklace with Daddy. Christmas is already so much fun with Natalie this year. I can't imagine what Christmas morning will be like!

Quotables

The other day, when Nickie got Natalie out of the car at home, Natalie exclaimed "Mommy, look- the moon!" Nickie said"You're right, that's the moon!" Natalie looked at the crescent moon and said "Who broke it?!"

Just a moment ago, Natalie was scratching her head- Nickie asked what she was doing. Natalie said "I think I'm thinking!"