Milk and Cookies 2015

Well here we are with me writing this blog after Christmas again! I thought about just changing to sending a generic card for 'all' of the holiday season, but I am afraid my procrastination would be even worse and we would end up with Christmas in July like last year every year. But as long as I get Mark to sit down and be in one family picture each year than I have accomplished something.

Mark He continues to grow the dairy farm by keeping us all busy painting the barn [in the colors of white and chocolate milk]  and having close to 30 calves to feed this summer. All the girls took turns combining with daddy this fall and the bigger girls said they got to drive for one pass of the field.  He gave the girls some more animals to love when he said it was okay for me to give two kittens a new home on the farm this fall.  He is still on the hunt for that big buck he caught on the trail cam this fall as he decided to save his buck tag for late muzzleloader season with the new muzzleloader he picked up as an early Christmas/Birthday present. We continued our annual get away to Country on the River where Dierks Bentley was the show that rocked the stage this summer and we took a trip down our country music concert memory lane with Alabama on the first night.

Melissa I am on my second year as Reading Specialist at AHS. With construction to the high school mostly finished, I was able to move to my own room this fall. I have really enjoyed arranging and making my room student friendly for all the kiddos who come through my doors. I wrote and received grants from Wal-Mart and Dollar General to add some fun seating in my room with exercise ball chairs and hokki stools - sometimes I even get random kids in to check out the chairs which makes it fun for me to meet more students than the ones in my reading program. My co-workers continues to amaze me with the work we are doing to help our students achieve their goals after high school and had a boost to this work as we bonded together this fall to win our school $100,000 from State Farm in their Celebrate My Drive contest. Outside of school I keep myself busy reading, crafting, and ‘just’ being a mom and farmer’s wife.

Gracyn Even though she wouldn’t touch the crayfish in Science she was able to pass 3rd grade and started 4th grade this fall. We are very proud of her for getting above the fluency mark in reading! She learned that mommy might know a little something about teaching reading as when she listened to her and read aloud more at home her scores went up ;) She is taking 2 dances classes this year with 3 types of dance so is learning how to tell the difference in steps for tap, jazz, and hip hop plus she made her up own dance routine at home after being inspired by the song “Better When I’m Dancing” She is also trying out 4H this year for the sewing, crafts, and cooking so we look forward to that adventure this summer at the county fair. And she is continuing her 3rd year in Girl Scouts so be ready for cookie sales in February again.

Gretchyn 2nd grade continues to grow her skills in learning. She loves to read and learn about new ways to do math. Our little farm girl continues to learn more about helping her dad on the farm. She can even tip a bucket over to stand on in the parlor and milk her favorite cow #605. She even tried out hunting by spending some time in the blind with daddy this December, but even though there was a doe close enough to shoot she worked on her patience skills by not shooting it because daddy said it was too small. Daddy found her a pink BB gun for Christmas so she is excited to practice some more shooting with it. She is busy learning new moves in hip hop and tap and decided to try out Girl Scouts this year too. She is quite the sales girl so it will be interesting to see how she does selling cookies the same time as her sister in February.

Gwyn Our sassy youngest gives her spunky middle sister a run for her money. She is not afraid to let you know what she wants and sometimes finds herself in time out as she continues to learn the best way to express her feelings. But her excitement and giggle are contagious and if you ever need a laugh she is the one to go to as she can always find the best thing to say. She loves to read before bed and has Pajama Time memorized to read with mommy every night! No chair or blanket is safe in our house as she can turn them over and cover them up in no time to make a house to play in. It is so fun to listen to her imagination work overtime as she plays and grows.

What has been the best part of time with your family this year?