Christmas Music

Both K and L sang in the children's Christmas choir. K played a piano solo (video below) and T played the drums for "The Little Drummer Boy" (video below).

K's 9th Birthday

K turned 9 on 11/11 and I (Mom) took her out on a special birthday date. She got her hair and nails done at a local salon.

I took her out to eat lunch.

Then we came home and she opened presents. Two people who know her very well (her sister and "Miss" Linda) got her the same thing because nothing screams "Kaitlyn" like a little pink poodle. K thought it was hilarious!

Of course, we had birthday cake. K requested an ice cream cake, but we used brownies instead of cake and she wanted mint chocolate chip ice cream. We used mini chocolate cookies to decorate the cake and made them look like music notes because K loves music (especially playing the piano).

Apple Picking Fall 2011

Since moving to Pennsylvania in 2008, we have enjoyed visiting local orchards and picking apples. The children love eating them and baking with them and it has truly become a tradition we've made since living here.

Want to go down memory lane? I've given links to all our previous apple picking posts below.

Apple Picking 2008

Apple Picking 2009

Apple Picking 2010

Springtime Update

We have been enjoying some fun springtime activities. We've been gardening. We are working on developing more flowerbeds around our house and also giving container gardening a try. Tyler has wanted to grow his own carrots for a while now, so he planted some carrot seeds. They are doing well, and we hope to be eating them in about 30 more days!

Bird watching is another one of our family's favorites. We feed finches, hummingbirds, and we have a separate wild bird feeder, and a bird bath. We are attracting all sorts of fun birds and identifying them in our field guides. Tyler is really into birds right now, especially water birds. We had a mother woodpecker make a nest in one of our trees and it was fun to listen to them and watch her feed them.

This weekend, our church had a picnic and we had a wonderful time. Some friends of ours brought a huge water slide and it was a big hit with all the kids (big and little).

So, how about you? How was spring been treating you? We have one more week to enjoy some rest time before we start three weeks of a program called Tennis for Kids, and then Vacation Bible School, and then Heath and I are headed to Ontario, Canada for a mission trip. Once we return from that, my focus will be getting things organized for the 2011-12 school year. Lauren will be a 1st grader, Kaitlyn a 3rd grader, and Tyler a 4th grader.

K's Poetry

K entered a poetry contest hosted by one of our local library branches. She won 2nd place in her category and she was invited to a special celebration to read her poem. It was a really special and fun night for our family! All of the poets did an awesome job!

T and K had a good time listening to all the poetry, and the refreshments were a nice bonus too!

Reading and writing poetry is something we do regularly, and it was encouraging and inspiring to our entire family to take part in this celebration.

Christmas 2010

T turned 9 in August. He has enjoyed playing his first season of football, and misses playing very much. T wants to be a lot of things when he grows up. One thing he wants to do is to start his own police organization, but it's top secret and I can't share any information on our family blog.

K turned 8 in November and has been taking piano lessons since May. K wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up.

L will be 6 in March, and she loves all things that sparkle, and to accesorize her outfits. L is busy learning how to read this year and being Mommy's special helper all around the house. L wants to be a ballerina when she grows up.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Happy 8th Birthday, K!

Happy Birthday to my funny, creative, sweet, and servant-hearted 8-year-old little girl! I love you!

Summer Learning

Last week, while Heath was away on a mission trip, the children and I attended a really cool program at our local library. There is an organization here in York County that rescues reptiles and amphibians, and they actually put on a wonderful one hour program for children. It is fascinating, and funny, and an absolute blast! At the end of the program, the children can stand in line if they want to have a turn touching a snake. T and K took their turn touching the snake, but L wanted nothing to do with it. L did go to the program, and she really enjoyed it. The guy who did the program is really funny!

Do you see L? She is the little blonde on the far right sitting next to K in the tie-dyed shirt.

A Trip to the Dentist

All three little Tibbetts' went to the dentist today, and once again they all received great reports from the dentist - NO CAVITIES!!!! In this picture, the children are showing off their shiny smiles and their new toothbrushes in the van after their appointments.

Tomorrow, we are headed to the Crayola Factory with our Learning and Fun Club! I'm sure I'll take lots of pics and post them soon!

K's New Haircut

On Thursday night, K and I went to the mall to go shopping for L's 5th birthday! While we were there, K got her haircut. I think it is super cute:) We had so much fun hanging out together. She is such a sweet little girl. She is such a JOY!

Happy Birthday!

My sweet little middle child is 7-years-old today.
She is loving, thoughtful, creative, and kind.
She loves to sing, draw, and write her own stories and poems.
She is learning to cook and wants to learn how to sew.
When she grows up she wants to be a veterinarian.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!!!!

A Post for K

I promised K's Aunt Jessica that I would post some bigger pictures of the children. T has a post about his new cub scout year, and L has a post about her new fall clothes. Last week we took some pictures of just K to share on here for Aunt Jessica (and other family and friends too). K will be turning seven very soon! She is a true joy to be around. She is creative, fun, and a hard worker! You can look at some of her artwork by going over to my other blog where I write about homeschooling, homemaking, ministry, and whatever else I have on my mind.

Is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister.

-- Alice Walker

If you don't understand how a woman could both love her sister dearly and want to wring her neck at the same time, then you were probably an only child.

-- Linda Sunshine

Physical Education

One day when I was fixing lunch I heard a lot of commotion and giggling! I walked into the living room saw the children having a "stuffed animal war." It was hilarious! They had fun, broke a sweat, and were hilarious to watch!

First Day of School!

A lot of families take pictures of their children on the first day of school. This year I told the children they could pick out whatever they wanted to wear, and also the location they'd like their picture taken. So, we headed outside with the camera and took some pictures. We often joke that these three little Tibbetts' aren't the most photogenic children, but they sure are CUTE:) T is in 2nd grade, K is in 1st grade, and L is in K/4 (4-year-old Kindergarten).

A glimpse into our school room! We do school all over the house, but it's nice to have ONE place where things can be stored and set-up.

A Toothless Girl!

I almost forgot! Kaitlyn lost another tooth while Dad was away! When your children lose their bottom teeth, they really don't look THAT much different. But, when they start losing those TOP teeth...it's a whole different story! They look different and sound different when they talk!

I don't like it when they start losing teeth, because it's just another reminder that they are growing up...TOO fast!!!!!

End of the Season

K enjoyed playing in her instructional baseball league this year! Saturday was her final day of the season, and she's sad about that!

Her team played all their Mom's the final game of their season. Then, we headed over to a local park for a special trophy presentation and baseball cupcakes! K was the only girl on her team and she did an outstanding job! She's a good hitter, runner, and she listens to instructions well! One of her coaches told me before we left, "K is an exceptional athlete. I hope you will continue to allow her to be involved in sports!"

Girl Time!

We dropped the boys off at Cub Scout Camp on Thursday afternoon. It was a hot day, so we headed to a pool! Some friends of ours gave us permission to use their pool any day we wanted to this week. So far, we've been there twice!L has stopped sucking her thumb! We are very, very excited about this around here! She sucked her thumb so much she gave herself a HUGE callous on the knuckle on her thumb. I did the same thing when I was a kid (so I've been told). I sucked my thumb until I went to Kindergarten, and I figured L would do the same thing! Well, we told her if she stopped sucking her thumb, and made the bump on her thumb go away, she would get to go to the store and pick out any color of nail polish she wanted. She has NEVER had her right thumb nail painted...EVER!!!! She was very excited! So, today I took her to a store and she picked out BLUE sparkly nail polish!!! Too cute!
The girls and I are going to K's last t-ball game of the season. Well, actually they're not hitting off a tee anymore, so K keeps correcting me and telling me she plays baseball now. After BASEBALL, we are going over to our church because they are having a Car Show. Then, around 3pm, we get to head out and drive back up to Cub Scout Camp to pick up Dad and T!!!! Can't wait to see them! I'm sure T will talk my ear off the whole ride home!

T-Ball Fun

K chose to play t-ball this summer. It is an instructional league. But, from time to time, they get to scrimmage other teams. K's team is called the Stewartstown Pirates. Today they played the Stewartstown Cardinals! When we got back in the van after the game, K said, "This was the funnest day of my life!" She is having fun and enjoying t-ball. Have we mentioned before that she is the ONLY girl on her team! Below is a video of K hitting the ball. Be patient. She does eventually get an AWESOME hit!

Happy Resurrection Day!