Belated Christmas

Well, well, well. The long awaited day has come and gone already and it was wonderful, wasn't it? Our Christmas day was almost perfect. We got up around 9am, (pure bliss) and Santa had left gifts (amazing) and gifts were opened and everyone got just what they've always wanted (I think). Shortly after that, Charles received a phone call that a soldier from our area had been killed in Iraq that morning and he needed to notify the family. The soldier left behind a wife and three kids. Charles left about noon and returned at 7pm. As the kids and I sat down to our turkey feast, our lives were once again brought into clear focus of how blessed we truly are.

Remarkably, our tree remained standing through the holiday. We only had to straighten it back up once. Somehow it had begun to tilt again. Yesterday, I took down all the ornaments and had Charles and Nick chuc- no, I mean throw (I almost used your name in vain again Chuck - sorry) that tree outside. I need to reclaim my house and get it clean, and I mean really clean! A deep clean! BECAUSE.... We have special guests coming! My sister Sara and her family are flying in tomorrow night and we can't wait!! We have been counting the days for little Luke and Ava to come and see us. They will be here for a week. Yippee!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and have a great New Year and do take a moment to think about the many blessing you really do have.

A Dickens Christmas

A week ago Charles and I took the kids to Medford, NJ. Medford is a small town near us that has taken pride in its history. Many homes were built in the late 1700's and early 1800's. They have small signs outside these beautiful homes stating who built the home and what their profession was. In December, Medford hosts the Dicken's Christmas Festival. Many of the towns people wear clothes from the 1800's and sing Christmas carols.



There is a live nativity along with free hot chocolate or hot cider.



There are vendors selling all sorts of stuff from chili to nut mixes to kettle corn. There were free horse and carriage rides and a pen with real live reindeer. Many of the old homes now howse antique stores and we browsed a few. It snowed lightly all evening making it very picturesque and fun evening.

Blue-Rose Designs

Having a hard time find a gift for that special someone on your Christmas list and she is a quilter? I have just the thing for you! My dear friend, Tonya, designs and markets her own quilt patterns. You can check them out at:
blue-rosedesigns.com.

Here are a few pictures of some quilts she has made for me. The bedspread and pillow shams are my all-time favorite. If I could save one thing from our house if it was ever on fire (and family, pictures, and bank records were safe) this would be it. It is a treasure to me.



Some of these smaller quilts were made by Tonya's daughter Heidi.







If you prefer to skip the pattern and sewing part (which I do obviously), she will even sell you a quilt she has made herself. Just contact her at her website and tell her "Lauri" sent you!

Tree Tradgedy

Sunday: Charles takes the kids to pick out a Christmas tree. It was Nick's turn. He chose a fat, long-needled tree. It is very pretty. We set it up in the tree stand and add water and spend the rest of the day at Grandpa and Grandma Causeys.

Monday Evening: We spend a lovely evening with the kids decorating the tree and sipping hot cocoa.

Tuesday Evening: I am on the phone with a friend when the kids start screaming about the tree falling over. I run into the living room to check it out. Sure enough - there it laid on the floor with broken ornaments, pine needles and sappy water everywhere! Ugh! I think everyone at some point in their life needs to have this experience to appreciate how truly awful it really is.

Wednesday: I have finished putting on the remaining ornaments, cleaned the floors one more time and put the tree skirt on once again. The tree looks a little cock-eyed. If this sucker goes over again I am chucking it out the door! (sorry Chuck A. for using your name in vain)

She's in Business

While we were in MN, Maddie helped my sister Barb do some Christmas decorating at my mom's. Maddie loves to do that kind of stuff. One thing they did was make evergreen swags, added some dogwood and topped it off with a bow. Maddie brought extra supplies home and made six more swags and has been selling them in the neighborhood! So far she has made $19 with two more to sell! Way to go Maddie!

Maddie's video from the Rockettes

I finally figured out how to do this. I had wanted to put this on my blog about our trip to New York City when we saw the Rockettes. Enjoy!

The Incredible Trip

Well, I finally feel human again. It took two full days to recover from our drive back to New Jersey. We were stuck in awful traffic on Sunday in Pennsylvania. We had about 8 hours of driving to do and it took 15!!! The traffic was extremely heavy, it was pouring rain and foggy. I was so wiped out when I got home. Monday, I felt like I was in a daze and Maddie was home sick. During the night Monday night, Nick and Maddie were up with ear aches (shouldn't they be over that at this age??) and took both to the Dr. on Tuesday. They were both home all day. But today...today, everyone is at school and I am grateful.

Overall our trip went very well. We left on Friday the 21st as soon as the kids were home from school. We went as far as Toledo, OH. The next day we arrived at our destination at about 4:30pm. The kids did great travelling! I tried to think of as many ways to make the trip as efficient and comfortable as possible. One item I invested in was a luggage rack that mounts on the hitch on the back of our van. We stored all of our luggage in big totes on that rack. That allowed us to lay down the seats in the back and the kids were able to sleep. I also invested in E-Z Pass. That allowed me with go through tolls without having to stop. I think that alone saved an hour each way! The best idea was an empty liquid laundry detergent bottle for Isaiah to use. He thought that was actually pretty cool! He only needed his jug a couple of times. I checked out some new movies, packed a supper to eat on the road and away we went.

We spent the first couple of nights at my sister Sara's. Her blog is Don't Blink. She has some pictures posted of our visit (I forgot my camera). We had a great time there. Hannah was able to go to a birthday party on Sunday with her special friend Amanda. They went to the Mall of America to the American Girl doll store and restaurant. She was able to see a bunch of friends and had a great time. Sunday afternoon Amanda's dad took Nick hunting at a gamefarm and they had a successful outing. Nick was able to hunt pheasant everyday we were in MN.

Monday, I got my own pheasant with the van! Knocked out my headlight so I'm not so sure it was worth it. We headed up to Alexandria to spend the rest of the week at Grandma and Grandpa's. Cold weather had come early enough that the boys were able to ice fish with Grandpa! They both enjoyed that. While at home we played a lot of Rook, Spoons (I won), ate great food, celebrated birthdays, and the cousins exchanged Christmas gifts since they could all be together. It was a very wonderful trip until... that fateful last day of driving!

Charles is doing well at jump school. He jumped out of the plane for the first time Tuesday. They had two jumps yesterday. On the second jump he landed in a marsh. Oh - the trials he endures! They are to jump twice on Wednesday, once on Thursday and then graduate and fly home on Friday. Hooray!

Thought for the day: Travelling 15 hours in one day with a van full of kids is like being pecked to death by a bunch of chickens.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well... the kids and I did it. We made a trek half way across the country to be at Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving. I'd write more but I'm still recovering - my legs are stuck in a sitting position. It's time for the kids to carry me upstairs and put me to bed.

I'M SORRY!

I know, I know! It has been way too long! And I have so much to post... where do I begin? I guess I will begin where I left off. November 9 our family went on another adventure. We had tickets to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall downtown New York City. We boarded the train at 7:30am! Our performance was at 10am.



There was a gorgeous crystal Christmas tree inside the lobby. There are three levels in the music hall: the main floor, the 2nd mezzanine, and the 3rd mezzanine. The tree hung from the ceiling. You can see people down on the main floor of the lobby.



The show was simply spectacular!




My absolute favorite part was the end where there was a re-enactment of the Nativity and the three kings' journey following the star. It started with a reading of Luke 2. It was beautiful beyond words and so refreshing! How politically incorrect! AND they didn't feel the need to celebrate kwanza or sing "Feliz Navidad." It was simply awesome.


After the show we took the subway to Central Park and went through The Museum of Natural History, an enormous building with much to see. This is the museum where the movie "Night at the Museum" was based.


The kids aren't sticking out their tongues, they are trying to blow bubbles with their gum gum, dum-dum! (You need to see the movie).
Of course, the highlight for the kids was the rat we saw in the subway running along the tracks. How pathetic! All this great stuff to see and they talk about the rat. I did not even dignify it with a picture!

Two days later, Grandma came to visit! Hooray!! We spent time playing spoons...

...and we took the train to New York City with Grandma.


Unfortunately, we did not have tickets to any wonderful shows but we still had fun. Our first stop was at the World Trade Center site. There is a small museum called The Tribute Center which we went through. When you come to visit it is a "must see." They are standing in front of the sight - you can see the construction crane in the picture. It is amazing that 7 years later that the area is still a rough hole.



This is a portion of the steel beams found in the midst of the rubble that was standing as a cross. This piece was taken out in one piece and places along a side street near the site.



We also toured a small church located right next to the site that became a place of peace for the rescue workers. They could come to sleep, eat, get a massage, whatever they needed. There is a great, informative walking tour through the building. It is a very historical site. It is where George Washington attended church when he was inaugurated the president while the capitol was in New York until it was moved to Philadelphia. You can see the chair he sat in. This little church is another "must see." Of course I forgot to take a picture. Sorry. Come see it!

We went shopping at FAO Swartz and saw the floor piano like the one in the movie "Big." The kids were very impressed with the size of this toy store!



We walked through Times Square and tried to take in all the signs, lights, and tv screens.



We also hit a Lindt Chocolate store. We went in for the free sample and ended up buying bags full! We also shopped Macy's - all nine floors! At the end of the day we were back at the train station. Mom found a chair by a man taking a nap. The kids and I thought this looked rather funny so we took a picture. Mom obliged and posed for us!



I'm sure you've noticed that Charles is absent in the pictures toward the end. He is at airborne school at Ft. Benning, GA, learning how to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. I don't get that! He will be away for three weeks. Please pray he returns in one complete piece! His biggest hurdle was the Physical Training test he had to pass upon arrival. 61 people failed in his class and were sent home but we are happy to say that he passed with flying colors!

Whew! I think that is all for now. I'll try to do better. I promise.

Cooking Class pays off!

Yes, Maddie's cooking class is paying great dividends. Last night she cooked supper - Chicken Parmesan - a dish she learned at cooking class the other night. She served it with tortellini and green beans. She made a double layer chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for dessert. Everything was delicious!

Not to be out done by his younger sibling, tonight Nick is making homemade pretzels and wild rice soup. Yum!

Now if I could only get them to turn their dirty socks right-side in, I'd have it made!

Random Tidbits

I just had to show you this picture. This relates to a blog I wrote "Did you know?" when I told you about the trumpets and the National Anthem being played every evening at 5:00pm. We were at a block party with many of our neighbors on Halloween. We had a chili potluck together before trick-or-treating began. I kid you not, moments before I snapped this picture, swords, light savers, footballs and all mayhem was happening in the front yard. It was absolutely wild! Then the trumpets sounded and every kid stopped and stood still. What a precious moment! The best came at the end of the National Anthem when one little guy yelled "play ball!"



Then it was off for trick-or treats. I had originally told Nick he was too old to go trick-or-treating so he decided to dress up real scary and scare the kids that came to our door. It wasn't as exciting as he thought so I finally relented and let him go.



Maddie had made plans with a friend (of course)so off she went.



I took the other two. Some folks in our neighborhood went all out with their yard decorations. This one had a spot for a photo shoot on their bench with Mr. Skeleton. I was completely wiped by the end of the evening!



Other Causey news: Nick had his District race last Thursday in cross country. There were eight teams there to compete. Nick finished a fabulous fourth! His team did awesome with his teammates finishing 1,2,3, Nick 4th, and 5! They won the District meet with the fewest points possible! It was a grand ending to a wonderful season for Nick. He is already looking forward to next year!

Maddie went to school today after being "sick" yesterday. She read the blog about her and was bothered by one thing - I didn't post her email address! I guess she thought all her fans would want to email her! So - if you would like Maddie's email address, please post a note and I will get that to you.

All about Maddie

Yes, this post is dedicated to Maddie. Maddie is a sixth grader at Upper Elementary School (UES). Her school is a fabulous building that is two years old. All fifth and sixth graders in our district attend UES. Today she is actually playing hooky from school complaining of a sore throat. (I sent her to school and I think she went straight to the nurse's office...) She gives a token cough once in awhile to make it seem legitimate.


Maddie has kept herself very busy. She has started playing the flute at school and enjoys it a lot. She is practicing hard so she can perform for Grandma when she comes next week!!


Maddie also has a membership to the local Youth Center. It is close enough that she can ride her bike there. She is currently taking a photography class on Tuesday, a cooking class on Wednesday, and a scrap booking class on Thursday. As you can see Little Miss Social is keeping herself very entertained.

Did you know?

Did you know that at McGuire AFB we have our own grocery store and department store right on base? We actually have Burger King, 2 gas stations, a Medical clinic, optometrists, library, post office, thrift store, and vet clinic all right here on base. There are two golf courses, a bowling alley, movie theater, and an indoor pool complex and an outdoor pool. There is even a go-cart race track.

Did you know that our housing area is a separate area from base and we need to show Military ID to get in? There is only one entrance/exit making like a "gated" community. This will change when we move in February and move onto the base. However, no one can get on base without Military ID.

Did you know that trumpets play over a sound system over the entire base at 7am, 5pm and 10pm? At 5pm after the trumpets, they play the National Anthem over the speakers and if you are outside you need to stop what you are doing and face the flagpole. It is a touching sight to look out the window at 5pm and see all the little kids stop in the middle of whatever game they are playing and stand with their hands over their hearts for the National Anthem. How cool is that?

Did you know that the elementary schools on base provide all the school supplies? They do this to relieve some stress for military families. Many are just moving into the area, some are in the process of deploying a parent to a mission overseas, many families have a parent already deployed. What a great way to meet the needs of these families!

Is there anything else you want to know about military life?

(There is a blog coming about Maddie, I promise!)

Ho-hum

Life here seems to have fallen into rhythm. Not much news to report. We did have a brief taste of cold, blustery weather today. Lots of gusty wind mixed with a little snow but nothing stuck. Nick wore shorts to school. Maddie went to a photography class after school today that ended up being cancelled because the instructor got there too late. (Maddie is going to be featured in our next blog. She feels that she has been gypped and the others have had more blog attention than she.) Hannah made slime in school today and Isaiah got to wear pajamas to school because it was pajama day. Like I said, life seems to have fallen into rhythm.

Aunt Barbie comes to Visit!

Hooray! Aunt Barbie came out for a visit! Don't we all look great shivering on the Jersey Shore?
Barb flew out Wednesday night and we zipped down to Washington, D.C. for a two day visit - just Barb and I. We packed a lot in while we were there. We toured the Library of Congress (our favorite!), walked through the Supreme Court building. That's us sitting on each side of the pillar. We toured the White House which we both thought was a little disappointing. However, after we came out of the White House a motorcade came by and we saw Laura Bush!! That was my absolute highlight - she leaned forward in the sedan she was in and waved!! I'm fairly certain she didn't see us but it was awesome none the less. I actually had goosebumps.

This is my favorite picture. We were at the Washington Monument and Barb sat down for a picture of the reflecting pool and Lincoln Memorial in the background when this throw back from "Chips" drove up and parked so he could be in the picture! After the flash of the camera he drove off. What's with that?
After the Washington Monument, we hiked over to the Lincoln Memorial. We also saw the Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, World War 2 Memorial. We walked by the Ford Theater where Lincoln was shot and saw the house across the street where he was carried and later died. Did you know that he had a Confederate 5 dollar bill in his pocket when he died? Learned that at the Library of Congress - they have his pocket contents there.
Barb and figured we logged close to 10 miles on Thursday and limited Friday to a tour of the Capitol which was also fascinating.

Saturday morning Barb, Maddie and I participated in a 6 mile Rucksack March to honor Gold Star Moms. Gold Star moms are women who have lost a son or daughter in combat. There were 19 Gold Star moms present at this event. The military personnel competed in full uniform carrying a 30 lb rucksack. They competed in teams of four and placed according to the time of the last person on the team. Civilians didn't carry packs. 19 teams were chosen to carry an item from each Mom to represent their son or daughter so they would finish the race with us. The event started with a ceremony where we were all seated and then the Gold Star moms and their families were brought in and seated in the front. Everyone stood and clapped until they were all seated. There was a gentleman who played Amazing Grace on his bagpipes, a brief speaker, and then we were sent out to the course. The Gold Star moms were put in humvees and were driven around the course and they cheered us on. It was a very touching event to experience.

Saturday we drove over to the Atlantic and walked the boardwalk. They sell candy cigarettes there. I know, we are horrible parents!

Isaiah was having a hard time at the candy store finding something in the $1 budget. Oh - so sad!
Man, do Barb and I have blisters! We were both exhausted at the end of her visit! I promised not to wear her out like that on her next visit.

Pip, Pip, Pip!

Naughty Pip! He is has been flirting with eliminating a few of his nine lives. Wednesday morning he slipped outside when the kids left for school without anyone noticing. Over an hour later I realized that the cat wasn't pestering me as usual. I made a quick check around the house and then put on my shoes and went outside. I could hear that he was nearby and soon located him up in the tree. I opened a can of cat food and waited him out. He finally half climbed, half fell out of the tree. I scooped him up and took him in. I really don't have time for things like this. On Friday I was busy doing laundry. 2-3 minutes after I started the dryer I went through the laundry room and could hear him meow. It sounded like he was stuck behind the dryer. Didn't see him back there. Then I realized he was IN the dryer. I pulled out the comforter that was drying and he flopped out onto the floor. He laid there and quivered for 10 seconds and then got up and walked away. I am fairly certain he wouldn't have survived another 3-4 minutes. Tell me again why we have a cat in the house?

I wanted you all to see the beautiful tree I see everyday out the front door. The colors have been spectacular here this fall.
My sister Barb came to visit this weekend. As soon as she sends her pictures to me I will share our weekend with you. I think we are both still recovering!

It's Official!

Yes, it is official - we are now campers! Thursday afternoon Charles and I found a pop-up camper on craigslist just north of Philadelphia, about an hour from our place. We called and it was still for sale. As soon as everyone was on the bus Friday morning we took off, had a hitch put on our van and ventured over to check out the camper. Obviously, we bought it, pulled it home and loaded it up. When the kids came home from school we took off for our first camping adventure!

We found a campground an hour north of Trenton along the Delaware River and set up camp. It was not the ideal camping experience. I would prefer a little more isolation rather than camping right next to everyone else but the kids thought it was great.

The campground offered activities for the kids such as pumpkin painting and trick-or-treating on Saturday afternoon. We scrounged and came up with some costumes - yes, that is a lamp shade on Nick's head!

That night there was a Halloween Party in the "Pavilion."

The highlight of the party was definitely "DJ Johnny!"

We ended the evening with a friendly, family game of pool in the game room. I think the boys won.

Overall, it was a great weekend. We checked out a State Park in the area and hope to camp there another time. The fall foliage was beautiful and the weather has been gorgeous. We had a little heater in the camper that we used early in the morning to take the chill out but other than that it was very pleasant. We are looking forward to many more adventures with our little camper.

He's almost there!

He did it! After four races where he finished third every time, he finally finished 2nd yesterday. He missed 1st place by four seconds. That's his goal. The same guy on his team has won every meet. Nick is working hard for his turn. He has two races next week. We will keep you posted.

Weekend Away

Last Saturday we took off on a Causey Adventure. We headed out to Cape May, NJ. It was a typical Causey trip with the kids complaining that they are hungry after about a half hour on the road. So we stopped for a delightful lunch at the beautiful Patio Drive In. The food was quite alright. The best part however was when we tried to leave our faithful old van wouldn't start.

The owner himself came out and gave us a jumpstart. That rates right up there with "Minnesota Nice." I sent Nick out with the camera to capture the moment.

After that we made it to our hotel. We were afraid to turn the van off so Charles checked us in and took the kids up to the room while I waited in the running vehicle. Then he came down and took the van in while I took the kids down to the beach. (We needed a new battery.) Here is a shot of our hotel from the beach. Our hotel was in a town called Wildwood Crest, just a few miles north of Cape May.
The kids raced off to find all sorts of beach treasures and swam in the ocean...

...and played in the sand.
On Sunday we went down to Cape May. There is a beautiful light house there. We wandered around Lighthouse State Park for awhile.
Nick hunted little crabs among the rocks.
He did manage to catch one.

Isaiah caught a little sand crab. (by the way, I only grounded him for one day)

We also saw many dolphins swimming along the beach. They were hard to get pictures of because I never knew when they were going to pop out of the water. I did manage to get one fin in this picture! Madison loves dolphins and could have stayed a watched them all day. I bet we saw 30 - 40 dolphins that afternoon.
There is also a quaint historic/shopping district at Cape May. The bell that Maddie is under is from a ship that was called the "Cape May." There are a lot of neat shops and candy stores.

I think it took about four tries for me to catch Hannah in the air on film. I was grateful she made it over each and every time.

Whoo-hoo!