Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

We got to spend Thanksgiving in NYC with Matt's family and it was a lot of fun. 7 kids (6 boys) keeps everything crazy, but luckily they have a BIG apartment! Emily lives on the corner of 46th and 9th so we only have to walk a couple blocks over to Times Square to watch a little of the parade. We eat hot dogs and try not to freeze! It is great (for a while), then we are happy to watch the rest on the TV and chill out at the apartment!

MATCH DAY!!!!!!

I have a lot of things to blog about, but I couldn't wait to put this on. Today was the orthodontic residency match day... and we are going to Vanderbilt in Nashville, TN! Matt has worked so hard for this. It wasn't his #1 choice, but it was in his top 4 and he really had a hard time ranking them. They were all really good schools, so we are totally excited! It is a 3 year program, but it will also be a little more relaxed so we can see Matt more, and they give you a stipend (so we won't be so tight on money or have to take out more loans!) AND it is in a really nice area with good schools, etc. Not to mention it will be warmer! Hooray Matt!!!! Now I'm off to google everything about the place!

Poverty Awareness Week Update!

Our family just finished our Poverty Awareness week and I think it went really well. We had either plain oatmeal or bread for breakfast and soups and bread or rice for the other meals. I made two big pots of different bean, lentil, vegitable soups. They not only lasted for all of those meals, but we still have some left over. The kids were really good sports about it. Matthew would always ask, "Can I have some ____, or do kids in other countries not get to eat that?" I think we saved around $70 for the week not eating any extras (aside from Thursday's party!) We are going to donate the $70 worth of food to a group I've worked with here. Thank you everyone who gave such great feedback. I heard from a lot of people who were going to do something or had already tried it! Thanks so much for the support and for being such great people who are always trying to make the world a better place- you definately inspire me. I think we are going to make this a family tradition, so I'll let you know when it is coming up again!

Check minus

Matthew has been learning a lot in Kindergarten. But, he has picked up a few funny things as well. For example, his teacher grades everthing with a check -, a check, a check +, or a star if it is REALLY good work. In the last month checks have been showing up on a lot of things around the house. The wall was a check -. The lamp was a check. One of his favorite books was a check +. Nothing has received a star yet. The mirror, toys, clothes, home decorations have all been graded. Some of these are a little difficult to get out so I've asked him a few times to stop. The funniest was when he graded the house rules on the fridge. If you can't see it in the picture, he ended up going with a check ------.

Girl's Night!

Party prizes!

Party favors!

Invitations!

Thursday night I had a little party at my house for a few friends. We had lots of food, games, conversation, and fun. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures when everyone came, but I have a couple from getting ready. Then, for those that wanted, it was off the the midnight showing of the Twilight movie. The movie was pretty cheesy, but the theater was packed with girls that would collectively Oooh and Aaah as if on cue. It was hilarious! Over all is was a really fun night and I was really thankful for everyone who came. I've been really lucky in Cleveland to have such great friends. It will be sad to say goodbye. Well, I learned a lot from my first attempt at a REAL party, like I'm no Tia! But wherever I go I just might have to do this again when the second movie comes out!

First big snow

Last week we had our first big snowfall. The kids were so excited when they woke up and snow was everywhere. While Matthew was at school, Drew, Owen, and I went out to play. Usually the snow in Cleveland is too dry to do anything with, but this snow was great. We made a lot of snow balls and a snowman. Anubis even came out and played for a while (until he started running away). It was fun. I love snow until Christmas- after that, I'm done. But, for right now I'm enjoying it!

Christmas time is just amazing. I thought I'd get into the spirit a little more with a seasonal layout. I'm not great at these things, but I'm learning...