Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Going on Vacation
We are all very excited to be leaving on our first ever family Christmas vacation. We are leaving tomorrow morning and traveling to The Lodge in Brainerd, MN for a 4 day, 3 night stay. We are looking forward to time away from phones and work. (Everyone only gets their cell phone for one hour per day) We will let you know how it all turns out when we return. We will even post some pictures!
The Family Photo
Don't we clean up nice? You can't even tell we were up before 6 AM to set up for a home swim meet. Haylee, Amy, Delaney and Taylor competed. I had to start the entire meet and Tony was a timer. Alyssa was in charge of getting Taylor to her races on time. We left the meet at 1:45 and had pictures taken at 3:20. We did great, right??? After the picture we went to Menards to pick out tile for our bathroom and then made it to church. A good thing we went to church because a storm came up in the night and church was cancelled the next day.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Christmas Poem
A Christmas Poem
Tammy La Framboise, 2008
Winter is my most favorite season
And although many say I am crazy,
It’s the beauty and the innocence
That never ceases to amaze me..
The perfection of each snowflake
As it gently drifts to earth
Is a reminder of the purity
And perfection of Christ’s birth
The season’s joyful sounds bring a feeling of peace
Christmas music plays and carolers sing
Children’s laughter as they play in the snow
Give us a glimpse of what the season will bring
As Christmas day draws near,
We all wait in joyful anticipation
Sharing the gifts of good will and kindness
Praying for peace to come to our nation
Christmas is celebration of a beginning
But reminds us that Christ is with us each day
So everyday, all year, we should focus on Him
For He is the Light, the Truth and the Way
So celebrate Christ’s birth this Christmas
And honor Him all year by practicing patience and being kind
Enjoy the gift of life He has given to you
Never forget you are always on His mind
So now maybe it is more clear to you why this is my favorite season
It’s more than the sights and sounds of Christmas
More than the gifts under the tree
It is because of the peace that Jesus gives us
We wish you and your family a momentous Christmas and a peaceful new year!
Tammy La Framboise, 2008
Winter is my most favorite season
And although many say I am crazy,
It’s the beauty and the innocence
That never ceases to amaze me..
The perfection of each snowflake
As it gently drifts to earth
Is a reminder of the purity
And perfection of Christ’s birth
The season’s joyful sounds bring a feeling of peace
Christmas music plays and carolers sing
Children’s laughter as they play in the snow
Give us a glimpse of what the season will bring
As Christmas day draws near,
We all wait in joyful anticipation
Sharing the gifts of good will and kindness
Praying for peace to come to our nation
Christmas is celebration of a beginning
But reminds us that Christ is with us each day
So everyday, all year, we should focus on Him
For He is the Light, the Truth and the Way
So celebrate Christ’s birth this Christmas
And honor Him all year by practicing patience and being kind
Enjoy the gift of life He has given to you
Never forget you are always on His mind
So now maybe it is more clear to you why this is my favorite season
It’s more than the sights and sounds of Christmas
More than the gifts under the tree
It is because of the peace that Jesus gives us
We wish you and your family a momentous Christmas and a peaceful new year!
Monday, December 15, 2008
December 15, 2008
WOW! It has been a really long time and so much as happened. I will try to fill you all in on our life for the last month. I need this updated because on my Christmas cards this year you will see that I refer everyone to our website.
Since I last wrote here, Haylee has had pneumonia and took a whole week off from school. I tried to tell her that was the same thing I had this spring when I couldn't get her to help me because I didn't "look" sick. She is convinced that she had it worse than I did. She wanted me to close my salon just to sit home with her. She also turned 14 on the 24th of November. She really thinks she should get to have a license and drive right now! (Not much for patience) I told her even if she gets it, she won't be driving on snowy and icy roads. Although Alyssa believes that since she had to wait 3 months after she turned 14 to convince her dad to get a license, Haylee should have to wait even longer. It is so nice how they look out for each other to be treated fairly and equally. It just warms your heart. I bet you can just feel the love... Alyssa also doesn't believe it is fair that Haylee got an Ipod for her birthday. Alyssa has one, but won it this fall. So obviously, Haylee should have to win one. duh....
Delaney has been famous here in the last couple of months. She has had her picture in the paper for every swim meet she has competed in this year. You only get in the paper if you have a first place finish or win and award. She is doing AWESOME, but doesn't even think about it. She goes to practice to have fun and hang out with her friends. She has one competitor from Aberdeen she likes to beat and her and her friend on the team usually take turns beating each other. But that friend only swims at home meets. Many times this season she has been pitted against Amy in races, sometimes right beside her in a lane. Her greatest accomplishment in her eyes is beating Amy by 3 seconds in the 200 IM in Sioux Falls. She is doing VERY well at her new school. She is on the honor roll and her teacher says everyone loves her. (I get that a lot...she is my people pleaser) She is the class president and everyone is cutting her picture out of the paper and gluing it to construction paper for her.
Amy has been doing quite well with swimming as well. She is not very competitive unless it is with Delaney. She doesn't work as hard as she could or should in practice, but I leave that to her. She is not going to be a swimming super star. She does it because she is definitely the social member of the family. She has lots of new friends from her new school and some at every pool we go to. She is really growing up and it is scary. She is extremely smart and loves school and reading. But she does not understand why everyone in her class is not at her same level. She is already turning into a preteen and she is only 10! She has to make sure her clothes and hair are just right before going to school, although her older sisters think she has no sense of style... She is her own unique self and very comfortable with that. She is still the one that always makes me laugh, sometimes intentional, but usually not.
Alyssa is having a great school year as well. She was diagnosed with ADD this year. I couldn't believe it, but she was complaining about having trouble concentrating and being distracted. They perscribed some meds that made her edgy and moody to start with but quickly changed that. She is doing well with the new meds and even had a 4.0 GPA for the first quarter! She finished football cheerleading in November and just cheered for her first basketball game last week. She is very good at cheering. She is loud and enthusiastic and has fun.
Taylor just turned 6 and was very excited. It was so cute when I kissed her good morning as she was sleeping on her birthday she quickly sat up and said, "I'm 6". She took candy canes for a treat to school and got to go out to lunch with one of her godmothers. She then got to spend the afternoon and part of the evening setting up the swim meet with me. She actually swam at the swim meet on Saturday with out any fights. She missed one races because she was hanging out with Alyssa, but we fit her in so she could race. She doesn't swim very fast, but she loves practice. She also doesn't usually like competing so we said she only has to compete at home meets. Santa came to see her at the swim meet, but she let me know he wasn't the real one. She had planned to have cake and ice cream with her grandparents to celebrate her birthday yesterday, but it was too cold and snowy. It was -44 with wind chill and snow was blowing everywhere. She was disappointed until we let her decorate her own castle cake. Now she is just wondering if she will get more presents.
Tony has been diligently working on remodeling our upstair bathroom. It was suppose to be a 3 week project, but then he decided to do most of the work himself. (He started in August) He is replacing plumbing as he goes and seems to be running into some difficulties with the old stuff. Right now we have absolutely no water pressure in our kitchen sink and the downstairs shower goes from hot to cold and back in no time flat. Makes for an interesting shower. But the tile guy is working on the upstairs shower right now and that bathroom should be up and working by Christmas. Yah!! It has been fun having just one bathroom. It is so relaxing to have people throwing up or going to the bathroom while you are taking a bath. Oh well, it is family bonding.
We are all looking forwad to our Christmas vacation trip to MN. We leaving on the 23rd for a trip to the LODGE with a 30,000 square foot indoor waterpark. We have the cinema suite with 3 rooms, a big screen tv, an xbox and dvd player. We are going to stay 4 days and 3 nights. I am so excited!! It will be real family time because we are only allowed to use our cell phones 1 hour per day. We are bringing games, movies and food. FUN!
Well, I gotta get back to work.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Love Tammy
Since I last wrote here, Haylee has had pneumonia and took a whole week off from school. I tried to tell her that was the same thing I had this spring when I couldn't get her to help me because I didn't "look" sick. She is convinced that she had it worse than I did. She wanted me to close my salon just to sit home with her. She also turned 14 on the 24th of November. She really thinks she should get to have a license and drive right now! (Not much for patience) I told her even if she gets it, she won't be driving on snowy and icy roads. Although Alyssa believes that since she had to wait 3 months after she turned 14 to convince her dad to get a license, Haylee should have to wait even longer. It is so nice how they look out for each other to be treated fairly and equally. It just warms your heart. I bet you can just feel the love... Alyssa also doesn't believe it is fair that Haylee got an Ipod for her birthday. Alyssa has one, but won it this fall. So obviously, Haylee should have to win one. duh....
Delaney has been famous here in the last couple of months. She has had her picture in the paper for every swim meet she has competed in this year. You only get in the paper if you have a first place finish or win and award. She is doing AWESOME, but doesn't even think about it. She goes to practice to have fun and hang out with her friends. She has one competitor from Aberdeen she likes to beat and her and her friend on the team usually take turns beating each other. But that friend only swims at home meets. Many times this season she has been pitted against Amy in races, sometimes right beside her in a lane. Her greatest accomplishment in her eyes is beating Amy by 3 seconds in the 200 IM in Sioux Falls. She is doing VERY well at her new school. She is on the honor roll and her teacher says everyone loves her. (I get that a lot...she is my people pleaser) She is the class president and everyone is cutting her picture out of the paper and gluing it to construction paper for her.
Amy has been doing quite well with swimming as well. She is not very competitive unless it is with Delaney. She doesn't work as hard as she could or should in practice, but I leave that to her. She is not going to be a swimming super star. She does it because she is definitely the social member of the family. She has lots of new friends from her new school and some at every pool we go to. She is really growing up and it is scary. She is extremely smart and loves school and reading. But she does not understand why everyone in her class is not at her same level. She is already turning into a preteen and she is only 10! She has to make sure her clothes and hair are just right before going to school, although her older sisters think she has no sense of style... She is her own unique self and very comfortable with that. She is still the one that always makes me laugh, sometimes intentional, but usually not.
Alyssa is having a great school year as well. She was diagnosed with ADD this year. I couldn't believe it, but she was complaining about having trouble concentrating and being distracted. They perscribed some meds that made her edgy and moody to start with but quickly changed that. She is doing well with the new meds and even had a 4.0 GPA for the first quarter! She finished football cheerleading in November and just cheered for her first basketball game last week. She is very good at cheering. She is loud and enthusiastic and has fun.
Taylor just turned 6 and was very excited. It was so cute when I kissed her good morning as she was sleeping on her birthday she quickly sat up and said, "I'm 6". She took candy canes for a treat to school and got to go out to lunch with one of her godmothers. She then got to spend the afternoon and part of the evening setting up the swim meet with me. She actually swam at the swim meet on Saturday with out any fights. She missed one races because she was hanging out with Alyssa, but we fit her in so she could race. She doesn't swim very fast, but she loves practice. She also doesn't usually like competing so we said she only has to compete at home meets. Santa came to see her at the swim meet, but she let me know he wasn't the real one. She had planned to have cake and ice cream with her grandparents to celebrate her birthday yesterday, but it was too cold and snowy. It was -44 with wind chill and snow was blowing everywhere. She was disappointed until we let her decorate her own castle cake. Now she is just wondering if she will get more presents.
Tony has been diligently working on remodeling our upstair bathroom. It was suppose to be a 3 week project, but then he decided to do most of the work himself. (He started in August) He is replacing plumbing as he goes and seems to be running into some difficulties with the old stuff. Right now we have absolutely no water pressure in our kitchen sink and the downstairs shower goes from hot to cold and back in no time flat. Makes for an interesting shower. But the tile guy is working on the upstairs shower right now and that bathroom should be up and working by Christmas. Yah!! It has been fun having just one bathroom. It is so relaxing to have people throwing up or going to the bathroom while you are taking a bath. Oh well, it is family bonding.
We are all looking forwad to our Christmas vacation trip to MN. We leaving on the 23rd for a trip to the LODGE with a 30,000 square foot indoor waterpark. We have the cinema suite with 3 rooms, a big screen tv, an xbox and dvd player. We are going to stay 4 days and 3 nights. I am so excited!! It will be real family time because we are only allowed to use our cell phones 1 hour per day. We are bringing games, movies and food. FUN!
Well, I gotta get back to work.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Love Tammy
Monday, November 3, 2008
Well, I am not doing a great job of keeping up on this. But hey- I am trying.
We made it through our first home swim meet. Haylee didn't compete because she had an out of town volleyball game. Amy and Delaney both placed very well and dropped time in their events. Taylor had informed when we arrived at the meet that she would not be swimming. In her words, " I am not going to be swimming today. I swimmed the last time there was a meet at this pool and I am not swimming this time." She did eventually decide to swim and then was excited because she beat a 7 year old boy.
Last week we had school conferences for the youngest 3 children. This year we decided to move them to public school from the Catholic school and I was a little nervous about how everything was going. But after conferences I wonder why kids are completely opposite at school????
Amy, who at home is acting like a preteen being very moody and not at all nice to her sisters is, "a joy" to have in the classroom. This child who can not remember to do what she is told, but can tell you how many times you have asked her to do it, gets everything done in school and is a role model for other students. She talks nonstop at home, but is quiet and reserved in the classroom. She is a little dingy at home and doesn't always understand what you are talking about, but in school is at almost the 7th grade level in math and reading scores.
Delaney who has had a tough time with the new school claiming almost daily that she doesn't have friends, is the social butterfly. They have 15 minutes of social time each day and her teacher says she make sure to talk to everyone in the class in that time. She constantly gets on all of our nerves for being whiny and not able to help herself at all. In the classroom she is very mature and a leader. Everyone loves her and wants to be her friend. Delaney's big thing is always, "I don't get it" when you try to explain things to her. Her test scores show her at a 4th grade level in math and reading. She loves to read!
Now Taylor who talks to herself when she has nobody else to listen has only one problem in school....she never talks. She will answer if asked a direct question, but never offers answers. She is however great at telling stories. That is what they are working on now, telling stories with pictures. She is polite and quiet at school. I would love to see this side of her!
I missed Alyssa's first conferences because she conveniently forgot to tell me when they were. Since she is in high school I don't get notes. I have to check the website and go when I have the time one night. One night for over 900 kids, no lines at ALL!! I am planning on going to the second one next month. I already have it on my planner. She is doing great. She receeived an academic letter a few weeks ago and has been on the honor roll since she has been in high school.
Haylee doesn't have conference yet because she is on a trimester instead of quarter schedule. But her teachers find her to be a joy as well. They have told me they would love a whole room full of Haylees. That thought scares the crap out of me. That is a lot of dirty looks and stomping feet!! :>
She definitely has days where is so wonderful and loving and caring. Her eyes just sparkle and she has a great smile. I think that she gives that at school and we normally get what is left.
Mom always said what ever you teach them is in there and will come out when it needs to. She also said that is what you want, for them to behave in public. I would really like to see it at home or with me in public! :}
Well, that is all for now. I got to get back to work. I will try to update more often, but it probably won't happen.
We made it through our first home swim meet. Haylee didn't compete because she had an out of town volleyball game. Amy and Delaney both placed very well and dropped time in their events. Taylor had informed when we arrived at the meet that she would not be swimming. In her words, " I am not going to be swimming today. I swimmed the last time there was a meet at this pool and I am not swimming this time." She did eventually decide to swim and then was excited because she beat a 7 year old boy.
Last week we had school conferences for the youngest 3 children. This year we decided to move them to public school from the Catholic school and I was a little nervous about how everything was going. But after conferences I wonder why kids are completely opposite at school????
Amy, who at home is acting like a preteen being very moody and not at all nice to her sisters is, "a joy" to have in the classroom. This child who can not remember to do what she is told, but can tell you how many times you have asked her to do it, gets everything done in school and is a role model for other students. She talks nonstop at home, but is quiet and reserved in the classroom. She is a little dingy at home and doesn't always understand what you are talking about, but in school is at almost the 7th grade level in math and reading scores.
Delaney who has had a tough time with the new school claiming almost daily that she doesn't have friends, is the social butterfly. They have 15 minutes of social time each day and her teacher says she make sure to talk to everyone in the class in that time. She constantly gets on all of our nerves for being whiny and not able to help herself at all. In the classroom she is very mature and a leader. Everyone loves her and wants to be her friend. Delaney's big thing is always, "I don't get it" when you try to explain things to her. Her test scores show her at a 4th grade level in math and reading. She loves to read!
Now Taylor who talks to herself when she has nobody else to listen has only one problem in school....she never talks. She will answer if asked a direct question, but never offers answers. She is however great at telling stories. That is what they are working on now, telling stories with pictures. She is polite and quiet at school. I would love to see this side of her!
I missed Alyssa's first conferences because she conveniently forgot to tell me when they were. Since she is in high school I don't get notes. I have to check the website and go when I have the time one night. One night for over 900 kids, no lines at ALL!! I am planning on going to the second one next month. I already have it on my planner. She is doing great. She receeived an academic letter a few weeks ago and has been on the honor roll since she has been in high school.
Haylee doesn't have conference yet because she is on a trimester instead of quarter schedule. But her teachers find her to be a joy as well. They have told me they would love a whole room full of Haylees. That thought scares the crap out of me. That is a lot of dirty looks and stomping feet!! :>
She definitely has days where is so wonderful and loving and caring. Her eyes just sparkle and she has a great smile. I think that she gives that at school and we normally get what is left.
Mom always said what ever you teach them is in there and will come out when it needs to. She also said that is what you want, for them to behave in public. I would really like to see it at home or with me in public! :}
Well, that is all for now. I got to get back to work. I will try to update more often, but it probably won't happen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
