Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas!!!

Today has been a long awaited day for everyone. The kids waited patiently for the whole month and didn't even complain this morning when we made them wait a little longer because they were up sooooooo early. Daddy and I have been waiting for it to come because he gets 2 weeks of much needed time off. We spent the day hanging out and playing with all the new things we found under the tree. I made a big family dinner and then got to take a short nap (which never happens). We had a great day!! And for all our family that we aren't able to be with..........We love you and miss you all like crazy. Happy Holidays to everyone!
Samuel loves, loves the Incredible Hulk (even though he doesn't know the story). He is into super hero stuff like Jack. The green shirt he has on is a hulk shirt and he wears it ALL THE TIME! Grammy made sock monkeys and dressed them up in super hero costumes for the boys.She also made Raggedy Ann dolls for all the girls. Everyone loved them!!Katie didn't really get to open her gifts because everyone else was all too helpful. She didn't mind as long as the other little ones did not take her unwrapped gift away.Abby loves dolls.......Well, she likes what she likes. It all depends on the moment!
It was fun to watch the kids get excited and squeel when they opened up their gifts. And even though it wasn't a huge Christmas (that's the way we like it), the kids had fun.
Merry Christmas!!!

Monday, December 22, 2008

Did I ever tell you the story about..................

One of my earliest memories is when I was about 4 years old. I can remember in great detail the things that went on that day. I don't remember if it was in the Fall or Spring but I remember exactly what I was thinking and exactly what I was doing. I remember having it all planned out (what I was about to do) so my Mother would not find out. I even manipulated my little sister into being my guinea pig. That day no one could have predicted what I was about to do............................... That day, at 4 years old, I can remember like it was just the other day. I stacked up some bible story books on the porch to make a chair for my sister, age 3, and then proceeded to tell her I was going to make her beautiful. I sat her down and then took my mothers scissors (that I had secretly taken out of the drawer earlier when MOM wasn't looking) and then I CUT her hair. Now, my sister and I both had long, strait, beautiful hair but the key word here is "HAD." I didn't just "trim" or "slightly cut" her hair. I CHOPPED IT OFF! Almost right to her scalp. Yes, I did that! Me, Allissa! But wait, that's not all......................... After I had finished, I got one of our doll baby blankets and told my sister to wear it on her head so that my mother would not see. I had it all planned out.............but it didn't last long. Now, I don't really remember in my own mind what happened when my mom found out but she says she was very, very MAD. I think she eventually forgave me. After all, I was only 4 and I only did what any child would do with idle time right? Right!

I know you all are thinking that you are being set up for the REAL reason why I am telling you this, and some of you may have already guessed but I will tell you anyway................................

Today, I cried. I felt such a sense of loss and distress. I asked "WHY" about 100 times but there was no answer. My 4 year old, Abigail, CUT HER HAIR!!! AAAHHHHHH!! Yes, MY daughter went digging ( and she had to dig because I try to keep all that stuff OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN) and found scissors. She decided to cut, and cut all that beautiful hair. It only took a few moments for me to realize something was going on because she didn't come back from the bathroom right away after using it. But a moment is all it takes. I am sure that the only reason none of her siblings fell prey to her experiment is because Eve, 9, would never have agreed to it, Jack and Sammy are boys and already have short hair and Katie would not have stayed quiet or still long enough for a hair cut. So, she felt that her beautiful, long hair was the perfect candidate. I am very thankful, though, that she did not start at the scalp. I was able to fix most of it but it is pretty short compared to before. I know that it is just hair and it will eventually grow back but I still cried and cried. And when Abby saw me crying so much she teared up and hugged me tight. I told her I would miss her long hair but that didn't change how beautiful she was and that Mommy still loved her very much. She just hung her head and responded, "Yeah," and then hugged me some more.

My mother said that one day she hoped I would have a child just like me. I just never thought that history would repeat itself in such an ironic way..........................

Here are some before and after pics..................

Friday, December 19, 2008

Happy Birthday, Jack!!

Today Jack officially turned 7..........................We had a small party planned for him but it turned into a not so small party. Jack invited 4 friends and then their whole families came (which we expected). And then Eve invited one of her friends and her family and since we were already going to have so many people we asked some other family friends to come hang out. Everyone showed up too! Jack was so happy to have so many friends to hang out with. We had BBQ pork and maccaroni and beans. It was awesome to fellowship with everyone in our home. I think we'll have to start doing it more often!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Here in December.................

I'm still here...........life gets so chaotic in the Strunk house around this time of year.

The Friday before Thanksgiving Joshua's school had a faculty and family lunch. Thanksgiving week we worked on our house and Joshua, of course, worked on school work. We had 20 people over on Thanksgiving day and last weekend Joshua's school had a fund raiser two days strait. Last week, Jack had an ear infection and Katelyn's ear drum burst so it was off to the doctor. Now I am getting ready for Jack's birthday and right after is Christmas (Jack will be 7 on the 19th but we always try to celebrate it a week or two early so he can enjoy it by itself instead of it feeling like an "early Christmas" for him). Anyway, Here is what we did today ........................................................

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

We had 20 people over for Thanksgiving Dinner Thursday. We had a great time and I didn't do any of the cooking! Friday we went to the playground at Joshua's school and the kids played. Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving...............................

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Baby Interpreter........

Sunday night we went to small group at a friends house. On our way home Samuel was in the worst mood. I could not figure out what was going on and he had absolutely no desire to calm himself to be able to communicate so I had to raise my voice to get his attention. I explained that I could not understand him and he needed to stop. Sammy gave me the evil eye and said nothing...........But thankfully I have a Baby Interpreter! From the back of the van I hear a voice say, "I think Sammy is saying that he wants to go to Dairy Queen and get an ice cream cone. And he says that I, Abby, need a slushy." ........Well, Thankfully we had that taken care of...........But it was not over. When everyone else heard the words "ice cream" and "Dairy Queen" they all chimed in with their orders. We don't go there that much but they all know they can get a chocolate dipped cone there. So we did end up getting everyone a small kids cone (dipped for the older two). They had behaved so well at small group and (with the exception of Sam throwing a fit for whatever reason in the car) they all asked nicely for an ice cream. Now Abby always gives me her interpretation although I have a sneaky suspicion that she has her own agenda....................................

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

8 months and crawling..........

Katelyn is finally crawling. This is a short clip for all the family out there who can't visit often and might feel like they are missing out...............

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Gulf Coast trip........

We have been in South Florida for a little over a year now and we finally took a trip to see the Gulf Coast. It is totally different than the East Coast where we go often. It was beautiful! The sand was almost white and powder-like and the water was much more calm. We loved it!










Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Field Trip............

My Parents came to visit this past week and spent some time with the kids. One of the things we did was go to the Imaginarium. It is a discovery center of sorts but it also has several other hands on exhibits. There was a fish tank where we got to touch some sea life, an animal rain forest where the kids got to feed some HUGE fish and swans, and there was a Florida reptile exhibit where a worker gave a tour and we got to pet a baby alligator, a snake and a turtle!
The kids didn't want to pet any of them...........They just kept backing up. Then there was the discovery/science part. We played with puppets, jumbo marble mazes that used billiard balls instead of marbles, made music, and saw some scientific exhibits that showed stuff about magnets and pressure. They also went "digging" in the Fossil Quarry (giant size sand box). The younger kids played in the toddler area where they had trains and a grocery store area. One of the last exhibits we went to was the Hurricane Experience. You got to go inside a simulator and "experience" what it might be like to go through a small hurricane.................. We had a great time!!





















Abby's birthday pics

Whenever the kids have a birthday we like to have a small party with just family. My parents came to visit from Pennsylvania so Abigail got to have a nice quiet party with her siblings and Grandparents. Eve made homemade decorations again and the older kids helped make the cake. We had a good time..................................................







Monday, October 27, 2008

Happy Birthday Abby.............

Abigail turned 4 Sunday........................She is turning into quite the little lady. We are going to celebrate with family later this week so I'll post more pics later. For now, Happy Birthday to my little 4 year old............We all love you!!!