Why Would You Write This As A Children's Book?

Crocodile! by: Mick Inkpen

This cute little book is about a crocodile who goes around eating his friends and family and at the end of the book he is out of things to eat and he holds out his hands and it says, "And grinning wide, he looks at YOU!"  That's about the time Zeke made these faces.

Zeke keeps saying, "That book is SO mean!"  Then he throws the book on the floor.

Why on earth would you write a children's book about a crocodile that ate a grandma?!

Thankful

We packed out the Via house with about 30 people yesterday and about 500 entres and sidedishes.  It was a sweet time with all our family, friends and grandkids.  We started out the afternoon with a family tradition.  Josh lead us in worship and Jacob gave a little devotion.

While I was sitting there I couldn't help but think about the many things I'm thankful for.  God is so good.

Do you have any family Thanksgiving traditions?

Oh Yes, I Did Partake

11pm came around last night and my sister-in-laws, Kelly and Joy, and I took off with our coupons to the Black Friday Extravaganza at CVS.  It's a good thing we went early because we got the LAST of several of the items.  The deals were supposed to start ringing up at midnight and we were ready.  

I very rarely post pictures on here of my awesome deals, but this was way too fun not to.

We mapped it all out...

We conquered...

We racked up!

I spent all of my 21 ECB's

I paid $1.86 out of pocket

I saved about $125

I got about 40 ECB's back

I can't handle the craziness of the normal Black Friday shopping the day after Thanksgiving so it was fun for me to get out and get some deals.  Even if it was IPod earbuds, toothpaste and makeup=)

Don't worry, I am very thankful on this AWESOME Thanksgiving.  Where do I begin to write a list though?=)

Isn't That What Normal Families Do?

Last Saturday we did what normal families do ... we took the whole day off and had a family day.  We usually aren't able to just relax on Saturday with all the preparation (mentally and physically) for Sunday but we decided it was a must.  It was a brisk, fall day and Freedom Park was calling out to us=)

People were out playing soccer, football, and volleyball and the kids had a blast on the playground.  We ate a picnic and made friends with a squirrel.  By the end of the day he was literally eating corn chips out of Zeke's hand.   

Then we headed over to the coolest starbucks around.  They have a fun kid's table so Rainy and Zeke could entertain themselves while Josh and I carried on a normal conversation.  

What an awesome day!

Well, today I'm...

Yesterday we had a busy day.  We had a couple of overdubs to finish in the studio from the live recording.  We went to the studio first thing in the morning and then we jumped in the car to drive to Columbia, SC.  Josh's sister, Joy, had a vocal recital that Josh and I accompanied for last night.  She did a great job by the way=)  Anyway, we had to get on the road right after she did her 3 songs because Areyna had a Thanksgiving Feast at her school this morning.  We made it home right at 10pm and of course the kids didn't sleep at all on the way home so they were a little cranky this morning.  

So, after having such a full day yesterday we have a lot to get done before we can head out of town to Josh's parents house in VA in the morning.

Here's what I've been frantically working on...

...stuffing the newsletter, washing clothes, folding clothes, packing, giving a couple of lessons, fixing food for Areyna's Thanksgiving feast for her school, playing with the kids, getting all the paperwork together to renew our kids insurance, working on bank deposits, trying to clean up this disaster area called OUR HOUSE=)  Oh yeah, and finding a cute new blog background.  Now you know that is important;)

We are SO ready for THANKSGIVING.

OK, I'm off to go check a few more items from my list!

Too Many Friends

She has slowly acquired so many

 "friends" to sleep with in her bed that she 

is about to run out of room for herself=)

I HATE When This Happens

Clap Your Hands & Shout Out To God

This was taken while my kids were playing "church".  Rainy even dropped off her baby dolls in their "class" before entering the worship service lead by none other than Zeke Via.

Somehow Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star was first on the set list today.

It's so funny to see the things these kids pick up on=)  

He's 2 - #15 - Poor Puppy

Puppy had a little run-in with the candle

This picture doesn't do justice to the eye and face damage to poor puppie doggie

Zeke swore that a band-aid would "make him all better"