14 YEARS of Wedded Bliss

January 24th marked fourteen years that Doug and I have been married.  Hard to believe it's been that long!  (And that we're that old???)

We had our picture taken by my Mom before going out on a date during the holidays.  I knew Doug really liked the picture, so I had it printed out and framed so he could put it on his desk at work.  I also got him a bag of miniature Heath bars, which are one of his favorites.  Doug got the movie "Courageous" for me.  I was originally hoping to see it over Thanksgiving, but the start time ended up being crazy late, so we opted to go for coffee and a walk around downtown Rochester, instead. 

The pictures I printed out for Doug's frame

(I thought I'd let him pick which one he liked best)

The movie he bought for me, for our anniversary

We hope to have a bigger celebration next year, when we celebrate 15 years! 

It was fun to run around getting things for our anniversary with Ava as my sidekick.  We picked up the photo together and then went to get a picture frame, balloons and some rainbow roses.  While at the grocery store, Ava picked out the mylar balloon (we bought four additional red and white plain balloons).  I told Ava we should probably get Daddy's favorite dessert, as well, so we found some Tira Mi Su in the bakery area.  While there, I saw a cookie cake that was decorated with icing and balloon decorations.  I thought it might be fun for the kids to have their own dessert, so we added that to the cart. 

In retrospect, I think it was a good thing for Ava to see how important it was to celebrate 14 years of marriage.  I probably wouldn't have normally bought balloons, but thought it might help her realize how "fun" anniversaries can be.  She may not remember shopping for our anniversary vividly, but just knowing that it's important to celebrate our "togetherness" should stick with her!  When we got home, I filled out Doug's card while she was busy drawing a piece of artwork for the occasion.  :-)  Liam was super excited when he walked in and saw balloons and roses on the table.  It was a fun time.

I had written something on Facebook about our anniversary earlier in the day.  It was very heart-warming to see all of the comments of congratulations and love from friends and family.  God has truly blessed our marriage and family immensely!

What's funny is that Doug and I both wrote similar things in our cards for each other.  We both mentioned being thankful for "waking up next to each other."  I guess after being together 14 years, we might be morphing into the same person.  ;-)

We plan on going out on Saturday night, since our friends Mark and Amy have kindly volunteered to babysit for us.  Our neighbor Kirsten mentioned her favorite new restaurant is "Seed," which is a farm-to-table type restaurant.  All of the food cooked at this restaurant was grown locally.  Sounds super yummy!  I can't wait to try this new place!

Peace, love and togetherness,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Entertain, Inform or Persuade

Ava cracks me up.  The other day we were reading a book before bedtime. 

Ava breaks out with this random thought: 

"The purpose of books is to entertain, inform or persuade... I think this book is to entertain." 

This girl has a memory like an elephant; she doesn't forget a thing. 

Peace, love and retention of a good kind,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Popcorn Words

Ava's class at school has been working on their "popcorn words."  These are words that should "pop" into the student's head and be automatically recognized (without needing to sound them out).  There are 80 words total, 40 that comprise the kindergarten list.  Ava finshed ALL 80 words before Christmas! 

At first taking a word for face value wasn't the easiest thing for her, since she learned phonetically how to read words (with A Beka's reading program at Lighthouse Academy).  Reading phonetically should help her in the long run, though, since she'll be able to sound her way through words that might seem difficult. 

She is quite the reader!  Prior to the holidays, she has been reading up through level "I" in Newmark's rising reader leveled books.  We haven't attempted anything above level I, yet. 

Newmark's "level" chart:

This is the note that was sent home with her, which was attached to a bag of celebratory popcorn!  Now that she has made her way through the popcorn words, she is working on spelling all of the popcorn words correctly.  I think Ava, a little boy named Cody and Ava's friend Ansley are the first three to have moved onto spelling the popcorn words. 

Go Ava!!!

Peace, love and kernels,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam

Ava's Report Card #2

Ava received her second report card Friday.  She did GREAT!  She is meeting all of the expectations very well.  The only thing we found that we can work on with her is identifying and describing our national holidays.  (I had no idea - especially considering how crafty she is for EVERY holiday!)  I thought it was interesting that this is the only item on which she received a "2" (Progressing toward meeting standards), instead of a "3" (Meets standards).  I am wondering if it was because "Veteran's Day" was celebrated right around the time the report cards were graded?  I guess I had not yet gone over it with her!

She has improved in many different areas, now with most of her "learning skills and behaviors" rated S for "successful". 

The key is: 
S= Successful - Student displays appropriate learning skills and behaviors.
P= Progressing - Student is progressing; displays appropriate learning skills and behaviors most of the time. 
N=Needs Improvement - Student does not display learning skills and behaviors that lead to success.

Here are the areas on her report card:

Learning Skills                                                  Q1 / Q2
Organizes self and materials                              S / S
Works neatly                                                         S / S
Works independently                                           S / S
Asks questions / seeks help when needed       P / P
Completes tasks in a timely manner                  S / S
Stays on task                                                        S / S
Learning Behaviors                                         Q1 / Q2
Uses self control                                                   S / S
Exhibits good listening skills                               S / S
Accepts responsibility for behavior                    P / P
Claims fair share of attention                              S / S
Expresses feelings appropriately                       S / S
Cooperation, Rules & Procedures               Q1 / Q2
Treats others with respect                                   P / S
Accepts personal responsibility                         P / P
Works cooperatively                                            P / S
Follows directions                                                S / S
Shows respect for property                                 S / S
Shows respect for authority                                 S / S
Controls talking                                                     P / S

So it appears she has improved quite a bit! 

I do think I might ask Mrs. Mckenzie, teacher of the Mckenzie Mcintoshes, what the deal is with "accepts personal responsibility" and "accepts responsibility for behavior".  If anything, I think if she is caught responding to another student when they aren't supposed to be talking, she will often tell me "that person was talking to me and I was telling them to be quiet."  So it might sound like she isn't accepting responsibility for responding / talking to them.  Not sure.  I went over all of the items (positive and possible improvements).  She seemed very receptive and loved hearing how well she did. 

We let her pick where we went for dinner on Friday night.  Grandma Pam would be happy...She chose Frankie's.  She has grown quite fond of their tortellini.  She says she loves it because it tastes "warm".  It is served in a cream-style sauce, so I think she's describing comfort food!  :) 

We're so thankful she continues to progress!  Fun times.  She is loving school.

Peace, love and studious Mcintoshes,
Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam