Christmas Couture

 We do make some cute kids, I must say!

 When I saw this dress- I HAD to have it! I think it is my very favorite dress for her- she has had some cute ones, but this one is above and beyond.  She wears it so well, too- don't ya think?!

The kids are counting down...only one more week till Christmas- they can hardly stand it- and to be honest, neither can I!! I am hoping Santa brings me a new lens for my camera- I have been extra good this year...tell him, please!!

Meet Francin

Francin is our newest family member. Isn't he fun?!

Celeste named him and loves to find out where he is hiding or hanging out each morning when she wakes up.  He is mischievous too- he's been found in the candy container and today he was playing chess...can't wait to see what he is up to tomorrow morning! He loves to take notes about the children's behavior and fly back to Santa each night.  Christmas is only a week away already, can you believe that?!!!

Say it isn't so....

Here we go again...Yep, Elaina has it again...this poor baby can't catch a break. She literally finishes the antibiotic and within a week is sick again.

AND, the other girls are down today too....Celeste woke me up at 1am - her bed covered in vomit and that continued every 20 minutes until 6 this morning....in the meantime, Elaina woke up twice to nurse and Leah was in the bathroom crying of stomach pain. Fast forward to 7am, when they all arise to both girls vomiting. Good times. Let's not mention that I am headed down that road sometime today too. I slept all of 2 hours, between doing laundry, feeding, running to the bathroom, holding back hair and trying desperately to soothe tummies. It has been a long day already. We may have to call in reinforcements.

Thankfully Dana comes home in an hour- we are counting on him tonight! We need this to be gone soon- poor Leah is sad to miss school and all the fun stuff going on this week. Let's pray it does.

Proud Moments

I am slacking. I have been a tad busy, have you?!

Well, let me take a few moments to catch you up on these past couple of weeks.

Leah and Celeste attend a STEM school- (Science, technology, engineering and math). These subjects are emphasized greatly, as is group work. Leah is in 4th grade, and this year, the first year of the new school, they were challenged to create a new courtyard design for the space between the hallways- it is open to the outdoors. Each classroom had 5 or 6 groups in it. They each had to work together within their group for weeks to come up with a design and have it implemented. Their budget was $500 and the winning group would get to actually create it in real life.

Leah's group decided to build a pond with turtles and fish. There is a current sandy area there that they would remove and put the pond with flowers and information. They even had to create a PowerPoint presentation to go along with it. Each group presented in their classroom, and then voted for one group to represent their class. In that round, Leah's group won, so now there were 4 groups left- one for each 4th grade classroom.

On the 29th, those 4 groups got to present it to judges and peers, but the final say to the judges- her Principal, a local weatherman and 2 district employees from different buildings.

Here is her group and a slide from her presentation.

They dressed up and had such fun getting it all ready. I have to say, and yes, I am biased a bit, but they outshone the competition in more ways than one.

Leah was quick on her feet when asked questions, (not a big surprise), and they were for sure the most thorough of them all.

They gave the judges a gift- a recycled water bottle they cut down with sand it in, holding a flower pen- telling them that they would make these for the staff with the sand to help get rid of it and give the rest to the Kindergartners for their play area. A little gift never hurts, right?!

Well....after a day's deliberation....

THEY WON!!!

Yep, their design will be implemented in the Spring and will stay there for years! How cool is that?! What a fun project to be a part of. They truly worked as a team and so hard....I am so proud of them. Leah loved it and even framed her certificate!

Also that week, Alex had his first Band Concert! He changed instruments before school started and decided to play the trumpet. Made me happy- I played for 7 years, and they think it's fun that I can still play, but it doesn't sound as great as it did those years ago! Funny, right?! Well, he had not been practicing and telling me he wanted to quit. We set up a practice schedule with him and he has been adhering to it ever since he played on the stage and got applause. I loved it! Hearing him practice, though it hurts sometimes, makes me smile!!

Look at this handsome boy:

He loved it so much that he now practices without complaint and thankfully they had the symphonic band play after him so he could see what a few years of playing what he could do. I am glad he loves playing. Studies show that the smartest kids play a musical instrument and you develop a part of your brain that would not be developed otherwise.....I knew that was why I am so smart!! Ha ha

Celeste is doing great in her Kindergarten class- she brings home "superstars" on her papers nearly everyday. She loves library and gets fun books each week. Leah is actually working in the library- she was hired for the year by their librarian and so she gets to check out Celeste's books for her- they love seeing each other at school.

Elaina is our little gem. She is so routine and I love it! She now sleeps from 8:30 or 9pm until 4 or 5am and then after I feed her (like she needs it!!) she goes back to bed until 8am! Loving that schedule!! She got her first 2 teeth this month and graduated from the tub on the vanity to the tub in the tub!

Now we prepare for Christmas- which is just around the corner...and I will try harder to stay up on the latest.

A Thanksgiving to Remember

Every year, Dana plays in a Turkey Bowl at church on Thanksgiving morning. Every year. Every year, except this year, since no one organized it. So....he decided to have one with the kids at our house- the First Annual Ortman Turkey Bowl. Sounds fun, right?

We bundled everyone up in their crappy play outside clothes - which took forever, by the way, and then, this is how it started:

These are from the window, inside, where Elaina and I were watching, warm.

After this running play, something terrible happened...

Leah slipped while holding onto running Dana and her face smashed into the side of the wooden playset....

Resulting in a trip to Children's Hospital where a plastic surgeon placed four stitches on her inside nostril- she sliced it wide open. Not to mention the blackened face. So, Leah and I spent 4 1/2 hours at the hospital, while Dana and the others stayed at home, patiently waiting for our return.
We were supposed to go to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner as usual...thankfully they brought dinner out to us after we got home- so we did eventually enjoy turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings of a wonderful feast. We are so grateful it wasn't worse. It has been over a week now, and she is nearly healed.

But for posterity's sake, here are some pictures, and yes, they asked me about domestic abuse!! Poor girl- glad she is better and she was the most courageous of all the plastic surgeon's patients- he was very impressed with her!

This is right when we got home- her poor swollen face.


This is 5 days later- sometimes it looks worse!

Thankfully she doesn't even look this bad now. She still has a bloody eye- the entire white is still red, but it is fading, so hopefully by the end of the weekend she will be as good as new. I tried to get a better shot of her nose, but to no avail...it's hardly noticeable now anyway.

I told her that next year will be so much better- we pray it never gets worse than this one!

Thanksgiving 100

Where do I begin?

"My heart is full. My eyes are wet. The Spirit speaks today."

So much to say- so much to be thankful for.

Here's my 100- and in NO PARTICULAR ORDER- since this is off the top of my head and it's already late.

1- Eternal Families

2- My childhood

3- Parents who love unconditionally

4- Grandparents who loved me more than I know

5- The Temple

6- Opportunities to serve

7- Dana

8- Being a mom to

9- Alex

10- Leah

11- Celeste

12- Elaina

13- Our cat, who is getting older and really only likes me

14- My friends

15- My BEST friends

16- Girlfriends who listen to me

17- Real women who are like me and who aren't like me and still like me anyway

18- The Scriptures

19- Having the opportunity to read them every morning with my children

20- Family Home Evening

21- A FHE chart to help us stay on track

22- Children who make sure we have it every single week no matter what

23- The Prophet

24- Apostles who know what we need to know and tell us so

25- My house

26- My home we have created within these walls

27- The Spirit that is here (most) of the time

28- Laughter

29- Forgiveness

30- Children who freely give me both 28 & 29

31- A kiss on my head every morning before Dana leaves for work

32- The sound of Elaina cooing in her bed

33- Independent children who pack their own lunch

34- Children who do it without complaint

35- Not being sick like last Thanksgiving

36- Good medication

37- Dana's job

38- Not having to have a job

39- My SLR camera

40- Taking 1000 pics of the baby in just 7 months

41- Air

42- Heat

43- Electricity

44- Food

45- Transportation that is paid off

46- My bed

47- Hot, hot, hot showers

48- Warmth and refuge from the scary outside

49- The internet

50- Blogging and Facebook

51- Memories

52- Vacations

53- Surprises

54- Good books

55- Favorite television shows

56- Music

57- Dancing

58- And embarrassing the children when I do

59- Cleaning

60- The results of cleaning

61- Tide

62- Smelling clean laundry

63- Peanut Butter

64- Reeses Peanut butter cups

65- Anything with peanut butter and chocolate

66- Dark Chocolate

67- Hot Chocolate

68- Cake

69- Filling up when I am hungry

70- Kohl's

71- Target

72- Grocery Shopping

73- Diapers

74- Not having to wash diapers

75- Hearing Celeste read to her "friends"

76- Listening to Alex practice his trumpet

77- Watching Leah as she learns a new talent

78- Date night

79- Alone time after the kids go to bed

80- Visiting family

81- Hosting get togethers

82- Meeting new friends

83- Keeping friendships

84- Healthy children and spouse

85- The sun

86- The Son

87- Prayer

88- Receiving answers to prayers

89- Knowledge of the Plan

90- When things don't go according to MY plan and are better

91- Tender mercies

92- Knowing how loved I am

93- Knowing how He knows more about me than I know about myself

94- Teaching

95- Church callings

96- Taking the Sacrament

97- Repentance

98- Charity

99- Pure Love of Christ

100- Pure love for my family

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tis the Season to be Grateful

For Family Night on Monday, we decided to take advantage of the mild temps and head to see some Christmas lights....and some shopping!

Celeste spent her birthday money on a new dog at Build a Bear- she was so fun- I loved it!
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving...already! I feel like it is beginning to be overshadowed by Christmas. I still have my decorations up- but sadly, they come down tomorrow in preps for Friday and decorating for Christmas. Even we have spent little time talking about tomorrow's importance and more about the next holiday. I regret that. There is so much to be thankful for and so many blessings to be grateful for too. We are going to spend most of tomorrow making things for people, and showing our gratitude for what we have been bountifully blessed with. This year has been a year of wonderful blessings and I would be remiss if I didn't mention them during Thanksgiving, but more importantly, every day in my prayers. We are working on this in our family...it is a work in progress!

Birthday and Buckeyes

Saturday was my Dad's 68th Birthday, and the first OSU game we were able to tailgate at. Sad to say that the Bucks lost, but my dad got to go to the game and we all got to tailgate and that was worth it. Luckily my dad has his camera, since I forgot mine, so here are some shots.
My pretty faced coach- Luke Fickell. I will miss this face on the sidelines next year!

The kids lined up to shake the players hands as they walked by!

Posey's first game back!

Alex and Jared hang out again!

For my Dad's birthday, we went to his house for chocolate cake and homemade ice cream- yum!









Used to be my dad's birthday fell right around the OSU/Michigan game- but since we added a game to our season, it's now a week later- so this week is the "hate Michigan" week and Thanksgiving- what a combo!! Happy Birthday, Dad- I LOVE YOU!!!!