Happy New Year...Well, it has been a very blessed year in the Elliott household with many new adventures, sadnesses, and celebrations. We started the year trying to sell our farm and taking a leap of faith to move to Long Beach, NY before it was actually sold. We left Marietta, OK on April 2 loaded down with a moving van, our car, 2 adults, and 2 kids. We drove across country seeing parts of the U.S. (Tennessee, Virginia, W. Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, NY) and finally crossing the Verrazano Bridge in NY around midnight on the 6th. Unfortunately, we learned on the way across country that my beloved Ma Honey had passed away so once we arrived in NY, I immediately jumped on a plane to Arkansas for her funeral. Thank the Lord for John and my mom, who had flown in to help, who held down the fort taking care of kids and moving us in to our apartment.

The next phase of the adventure began with exploring our new town, finding a GREAT church, becoming regular beach bums, and regulars at all the great parks and library within walking distance of our house. We had a great time visiting NYC, taking our first train ride, and getting to know many new friends and old acquaintances (Jayme from college and her family).

We also finally got word that Bill, John's dad, was continuing to improve health-wise. It had been a very long summer for them.

At the end of September, I got a part time job hostessing at a local restaurant. I really enjoy it and am able to add a couple of hundred bucks a money to the family income. Win-win for everyone.

With fall came our first experiences with public school as Jacob started kindergarten and Julia started a 2-day a week 3 yr old program at our church. We've had some victories and bumps but all-in-all a wonderful experience. We had a wonderful Halloween with Julia as Snow White and Jacob as Robin. We made a quick plane ride back to OK to see John's parents (Julia's first plane trip). And came back just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas quietly at home as a family. We are truly blessed and thank our Lord every day for all he has given us.

Happy New Year and I hope 2007 is as rich as 2006 was to us!

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! May everyone be as blessed as us this special time of year. We are always amazed at all that God does to bless us and keep us safe, happy and healthy. And for the first time in 8 years, John is able to be home on Christmas day. Yea!

A Manhattan Christmas...After the kid's Christmas parties, we hopped on the train to head into Manhattan for the evening. We went out for great pizza at Mi Famglia and then on to Bryant Square Park. They had a beautiful lit Christmas tree and some great vendors for Julia and I to wander through while John took Jacob ice skating for the very FIRST time. He only fell twice and he just kept trying. He did a great job and was very proud of himself when all was said and done. He did great! Poor John had to squeeze his size 14 feet in size 13 ice skates. That definitely put a damper on how long they could ice skate. It was a good thing we quit skating when we did because John was called at 8:30pm to go fly that night. We had a great time but all were really pooped by the end of the night by a full day of parties, train rides, walking, and ice skating in Manhattan. Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

Class Christmas Parties...Jacob and Julia both had their class Christmas/New Year's parties at school yesterday. It was a really big day and a lot of fun. Jacob's class had snacks, danced the macarena, etc. It is so funny to see all the kids interact in their school environment. Pictures to come soon...

Count your blessings...We had a short visit today with Mike, our upstairs neighbor. His girlfriend, Heather, works as a 1st grade teacher in E. Brooklyn (one of the worst areas). I remember talking to her after school started about how discouraged she was since she can't discipline her class at all or even give them a time out or time in the corner. Kids in her class curse at her and all she can do is call their parents &/or send them to the principal's office. She is a 3rd year teacher and was not enjoying the experience at all. I asked Mike today if things had improved at all and he said no. How do you teach children that don't even have their basic needs met? He said through the luck of the draw she has really the worst of the worst in terms of their behavior and life situations. He said that MANY of the kids in her class go back to the homeless shelter at the end of the day. I can't imagine a life like that for myself or my children. Not many of us can. But when we all get caught up with what all we have to do in this holiday season, just remember how blessed we truly are. So MANY kids don't have that same opportunity.

Field Trip...Jacob finally made it back to school yesterday from being sick and just in the nick of time. They got to go on a field trip to the Long Beach Fire Dept. He had such a good time. They learned all kinds of fire safety tips and Jacob thought it would be so fun to ride on that big fire truck when he's a grown-up.

John made a big trip last night to finish up some Christmas shopping for the kids. What a big help!

Hallelujah!!!...I FINALLY finished my Christmas cards tonight and they are by-golly going in the mail tomorrow. It has been a long road.

This week will be so busy trying to get all the final Christmas preparations done including Jacob's Christmas party at school. Fun but busy!

Possible End in Sight...Ok, I don't want to jinx myself but it looks like everyone in my household is almost well. I am afraid to even speak that hope aloud. But I think Jacob will be ready to go back to school on Monday and so far no one else has picked up his latest virus. Yea!

I worked last night at Sutton Place and will again tonight. Then I am off for a few more days. I have been so limited in getting out of the house to shop or run errands with the kids being sick so I really have to finish up everything (esp. what goes in the mail) the first part of this week. I have Christmas card finalized...just have to make copies and stuff the envelopes. Hope to have them out by Monday.

Jacob only has 4 days of school this coming week. Monday he has a field trip to the LB Fire Dept and Thursday is the class Christmas/New Year Party. Then they are out of school until Jan 2. The countdown is officially on in our household for Christmas. Julia looks for Santa every day...even though she really doesn't get it yet. Don't know how we'll ring the bells this year since Jacob can now get in and out of his room on his own even with the safety door knob covers. We'll see...

Well, God bless you all and enjoy this special time of year!

Round Two...Well, just when I thought I got Jacob just about well and back at school, he woke up during the night with 102 degree fever and congestion. So, he is back at home again today. I just hate it that he is having to miss so much school.

He did have a great time at school yesterday, though. His whole class went to a local college and saw The Nutcracker. Jacob LOVED it! He told me all about it all the way home and then repeated it all for his dad last night. I'm thrilled he enjoyed the experience.

Christmas Cheer...Jacob and I just got finished wrapping some presents and making Christmas cookies. We both just love all the festivities of Christmas. Tomorrow I am going to get my Christmas toffee made to give out to a few friends. John and Brona, our neighbors, are going back to Ireland on the 16th so I want to make sure and get it them a few days prior to them leaving so they can actually enjoy it for a few days. Now it is just time to tackle the last minute shopping and get all the packages in the mail for all the family. Well, take time to remember Jesus in this blessed season and hum a little tune while you Christmas shop. It makes people very confused...ha!

True Christmas Spirit...Just have to tell you about our sweet boy, Jacob, and the sweet spirit God gave him. He has really gotten into help wrap presents this year (in fact, most of you will get presents he helped to wrap). Yesterday, Jacob decided to wrap his own presents for Daddy and Julia. He didn't seal them and when he went to take his nap, we took a peek. He had given his sister the toy he had gotten at Burger King the day before that he LOVED. But when he got home, his sister really liked it too and wanted to play with it all night. So, that sweet boy gave it to his sister for Christmas. And in John's box was Jacob's piggy bank. Jacob has tried on several occasions to give his daddy all his money so he wouldn't have to go to work. Since that hadn't worked, he was giving it to him for Christmas. He is such a giver and I am so proud of him. John and I were in tears. He is such a sweet boy.

Christmas in the Air...It is 22 degrees here this morning and VERY windy so this is our first taste of winter. COLD!!!

I worked last night and the restaurant was all decorated for Christmas. It looked very nice. I took a few pictures with my cell phone so they aren't very nice but you can get the idea of what the restaurant looks like and can see where I work. The upstairs is historic because it is the original Long Beach Library.

GO POKES!!!...John and I got to watch the OSU Cowboy basketball game we had recorded the other night. They beat Syracuse in the last few seconds of the game. It was the Jimmy V tournament playing at Madison Sq Garden in NYC. It was a very exciting game to watch! Go Cowboys!!!

Christmas in Long Beach...Well, I already posted some pictures of the inside of our house with Christmas decorations. These houses are our neighbors across the street. It is fun to look out the window at night and see such festivity.

December is here...Can't believe it is already December. We have been bracing ourselves getting ready for the storm that has swept across the country but so far there has been nothing but some high winds and a little rain yesterday. This morning it is sunny and 60 degrees.

Jacob has been out of school since Wednesday with a bad cold. Hoping he'll be ready to rock-n-roll again by Monday. Julia caught his cold (I think) since she started showing signs day before yesterday.

I worked at the restaurant again last night. It was good to get out of the house but looking forward to not working again until the 7th. I've got to make some progress on Christmas this week or there will be no HO-HO-HO!

We got good news this week that John's brother, Jared, and his wife will be having a girl baby. So, that is really exciting! It looks like the Elliott dry spell for baby girls is broken since out of John and all his brothers, there will now be 3 girls in this generation. Ha!

Sooo behind...Is anyone besides me running behind with Christmas shopping? My major problem is that I always have Julia with me and she is now old enough to notice toys in the basket and tell the WHOLE family. Forget Santa...she'd tell her brother and then Christmas morning, there would be no Santa surprises. Knowing my kids, they'd say..."mom bought that same gift at Target on Dec 3rd." They are getting way to smart for me. My only chance to get anything by them is to just try to confuse them so they aren't as sure of their point of view as they were at the beginning of the conversation...how pitiful!!!

Christmas Decorations...Christmas has arrived at the Elliotts. Last night, Jacob and John went and got our Christmas tree. So after a taco dinner, we decorated the tree for Christmas. This was the first year to have both kids helping to decorate the tree. Can't say it was "exactly" fun or peaceful but we got 'er done and the kids are thrilled with the end result. And I love to relax by the Christmas tree lights after the kids have gone to bed. Now, THAT is relaxing. Jacob decided it was time to make music and sing around the tree after the decorations were done so that was a nice way to end the evening. Merry Christmas and God bless you all!

P.S. Notice the old fashioned stockings hung by the pot holder rack in the kitchen. Says "ho, ho, ho", right!?!? HA HA!!!

A Nice Day at the Park...We had a beautiful day on Saturday so I took the kids to the park. Lots of kids out and about enjoying the day. Jacob met a new friend named George.

A few recent pic's...

Dinner and a Movie...Jacob and John have headed out tonight to eat chinese food and see the movie Happy Feet. Jacob was very excited! With our vacation time and Thanksgiving break, he and his sister have had quite a bit of "together" time. Thought it would be nice for him to have some one-on-one time with dad and a break from "together" time...ha! And, of course, a little sanity-saver for mom. Here's a picture John e-mailed me from the chinese restaurant. What a sweet boy!

Our Trip Back to Oklahoma...We got to spend lots of time with Gramma and Big Daddy. We even got to see a couple of friends before Miss Julia got her stomach bug. It was great to see some of our friends. We miss you guys!

Finally able to add pictures again...So, here are a few from Halloween and the Storybook Parade at Jacob's school. The woman in the duck costume is Jacob's principal.

Happy Thanksgiving...Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice, quiet holiday. We celebrated Wednesday evening and then just lounged around all day yesterday eating leftovers. Yesterday was a cold, wet, windy day so it was nice to just be indoors. I have never understood the insanity of all the people who get up the day after Thanksgiving to be at the stores at 5am (or before) so once again, I did NOT attempt that day-after-Thanksgiving tradition...ha! The goal for today is laundry and finding a good turkey tetrazini recipe for all the turkey leftovers.

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving...Well, preparations are under way for Thanksgiving (what that really means is the ingredients have almost all been bought...ha). The grocery stores are a madhouse. And of course, I have to go back since they were are of two of the most important ingredients: karo syrup for pecan pie and cornbread mix to make dressing...both of which are John's favorites. Not sure which day we are doing the actual celebration since John is on reserve but so far Thursday is looking pretty good. Yum!

Quick Update...It has been fast and furious around here. Had a quick trip back to Oklahoma to see Grandma and Big Daddy. Had a really nice visit and some downtime. But of course, how it always happens, Julia got a stomach bug and was throwing up part of the time. Which of course limited our contact with other friends and kids. Didn't get to see everyone we wanted to but now that Julia has had her first plane ride, we'll be back soon, I'm sure.

Now we are in catch-up mode with school, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! I have done absolutely NOTHING to get ready for Christmas so I have some major catching up to do. Hoping to get some shopping done this week so I am not caught up in the post-Thanksgiving crowd...they are always nuts! The last 2 years I have done my shopping while humming or whistling Christmas carols and it made a big difference in my stress level while everyone around me was psycho. So, that is the goal for this year as well.

Still trying to solve the picture posting problem on blogger. It has something to do with our updated virus protection. John is looking into it for me. Will have several pictures to post once that is done.

Jacob was thrilled to be back in school and at swim lessons this morning. He has said several times that he is glad to be back in NY. And as small as our apt is, it is good to be home.

STAR of the week...Jacob was the "star" of the week in his class this week at school. On Monday, he took a poster to school all about himself. On Tuesday, it was the Storybook Parade and he brought his Show-n-tell but it had to wait until Wednesday. On Wednesday, he got to sit and work at the teacher's desk. On Thursday, he got to pick his favorite "work center" in class to work at. And today, I came to school and read his 2 favorite books to the class. I read Scooby Doo and Lucy Goose Goes to Texas. Each child in the class will have their own week during the school year. It really makes them feel special.

Julia started back to Toddler Time at the library today. It was the largest group we've had so far (probably 10-12 kids). And Julia is now one of the older kids of the group. She did really well and only got antsy when the arts and crafts segment was taking so long since their were so many kids. Miss Donna even commented on how well she was doing. And the fact that we rode to bus to and from Toddler Time was a BIG bonus for such a busy girl!

Sorry everyone. Haven't been able to post pictures for some reason. Think it is our updated McAfee Security. Will have John take a look and post Halloween pictures when we have it figured out.

Halloween Night...After opting for chinese food for dinner, we headed out to trick or treat at the neighbors houses that we knew. We even stopped off for a little singing and piano playing at Mr. Greenberger's house. The kids loved that stop because they got not only candy but Alan gave each of our kids $3 a piece. They thought that was pretty cool! He is such a nice man.

Storybook Parade and Class Halloween Party... Yesterday, they had the Storybook Parade and Halloween Party at Jacob's school. It was a real hoot! I went up and helped the boys in Jacob's class get their costumes on and then helped with the party. Boys are rowdy enough as it is but if you stick 9 boys in superhero, Star Wars, and ninja costumes then it is magnified...BIG TIME!!! Most of the girls were either the Little Mermaid of some form of princess. It was a lot of fun and nice to get to know some of the other moms a little better. Jacob's teacher was in hog heaven because for about 45 minutes while the kids were in computer class, she had 4 moms to help with projects around the class room. She was transitioning the room from October/Halloween to November/Thanksgiving. She really goes to a lot of effort to have lots of variety for the kids. The woman in the duck costume at the parade is Jacob's principal.

More Treasure Boxes...Round 2 of making Treasure Boxes at the our house. As you can tell, we are really into making things with cardboard and boxes. Throw in a few stickers, markers, a little glue and art supplies...hours of fun! Other than just keeping an eye on Julia and the glue, they have a big time. Gives me an excuse to buy shoes...ha! Honest honey, we're just running out of boxes!

Fireman...Jacob and John made a homemade firetruck over the weekend from a box we got at Costco. They actually sawed out a hole in the bottom so Jacob can stand in it to drive it. It is pretty cool and he is really proud of it. He decorated it himself.
He even shared with his sister. What a guy!!!

Swim Lessons...Well, I actually managed to get a few snapshots of Jacob at his swim lesson on Saturday morning. He has such a great time. Unfortunately, I have to take pictures from the upstairs bleachers while holding Julia's hand so it made it interesting...ha!

Good News...John finally got his truck sold. Yea! He had to make a whirlwind trip to Dallas and back since the guy was selling his truck and didn't want to be without one. It was a crazy 24 hour period but as we say in the country - he "gotter done"! That is a big relief!

Yesterday, Julia and I spent the morning at Target getting her a new winter coat, winter pj's, etc. I found a great coat that is actually two separate pieces so she can wear the liner now and as it gets colder, then I can add the outer shell. I love things with dual function. Yea!

I've been trying to get organized. Jacob and Julia are both having Halloween parties at their schools but on different days with different supplies. Jacob's school is having a Storybook parade and they get to bring their costume to school to wear for the parade. But we got a note home yesterday that his teacher would like it if we could send a book to school with their costume character in it (if possible). So, now I am on a hunt for a Batman book with Robin in it (yes, he wanted to be Batman's sidekick, Robin...oh well...). A mother's work is never done. Sometimes it feels like the kids have all the fun and the parent's get all the homework. You know? But it is all worth it when you see how much fun they are having in school.

Rainy Days, Part Deux...Julia loves any excuse to wear her rain coat and rain boots.

Rainy Days...Well, we've had several rainy days this week so Julia and I have made the most of it with painting, dress-up, etc. The next couple of postings are a few pictures.

Wine Sommelier...Well, it is day 2 of John's part time job at the wine store in Huntington. He is really enjoying it and learning so much. He has gotten to do several wine tastings already and is learning so much about different wines, regions, how they are made, etc. It is great that he has found a job like this that is a natural interest for him and that he looks forward to going in to work. Yea!

Had my 2nd PTA meeting this morning. The school will be having a costume parade and party of the 31st where each class makes their own costumes. Should be very cute!

Halloween Costumes...The kids and I went to Party City yesterday after swim lessons to get their Halloween costumes. Julia is going to be Princess Snow White and Jacob decided he wanted to be Robin. So, of course they each have already been wearing their costumes. The funny thing is, Julia has to change costumes to play superheros with her brother. She won't play superhero in her princess costume. It's not the right outfit. It's hilarious!

She loves being a princess...Princess Julia loves to wear her royal pink blanker and her pink tiara.