My Compassionate Child

Apparently, Maddox's school focuses on a character trait each month. Teachers nominate one of their students that exhibits that month's trait to receive an award at a school assembly for Kids of Character. Maddox was nominated by his teacher to receive an award for the December character trait..."compassion." We are so proud! At least I was until I asked Maddox what "compassion" means...he says it means you won something. Ha! Well, even if he doesn't know what the word means...he is generally a very compassionate child. There are exceptions...namely his sister. But overall, he's a real sweet and sensitive kid and I'm thrilled that he got recognized.

Maddox filing in to the assembly...

Compassionate Maddox Pt 1 from Sarah Rimel on Vimeo.

Receiving his award...
(As usual, our last name was mispronounced. As he walked up, you can very faintly hear him correct the announcer, who then says the name correctly. He's got a life time of that ahead of him. ;-)

Compassionate Maddox Pt 2 from Sarah Rimel on Vimeo.

And one more, Maddox getting lined up for the group photo.

Compassionate Maddox Pt 3 from Sarah Rimel on Vimeo.

Maddox Sings REAL Good

Last week, Maddox took part in his very first school Christmas Pageant. He joined the other kindergartners plus the first graders to kick off the show by singing several Christmas songs. He had been nervous, not knowing what to expect. We convinced him he would do great! As his debut approached, he became braver and more confident. In fact, he felt everyone would be quite surprised to hear how good he sings...because he sings REAL good. ;-) Just before we got there, he was commenting that there probably wouldn't be too many people there. We didn't want to freak him out, so we remained silent on that topic. When he came out, he made a hilarious face when he saw the size of the crowd (it was a huge crowd...he made his "what the heck?!" face) and then was scanning the audience for us.



Once he found us, he was all about waving! haha



Unfortunately, my child is a little short. So for much of the performance I could only see the top of his head. :-(
Luckily the girl in front of him grew fidgity and I managed to get some clear shots.





My FAVORITE! Both for Maddox's eager wave...and for his neighbor's protruding tongue. ha



I wanted to include just a couple of pics from one of the other performances. These kids were so cute in their bear outfits.



But this one child in particular stole the show. I'm going to go out on a limb and claim he will be an entertainer of some kind when he grows up. Academy Award? Maybe.
The next Jim Carrey? Quite possibly. He cracked me up. He made sure to really sell the emotions. ;-)



My boy in action. Again, it's a lot of the top of his head. But there are highlights...like yet another wave at the end. :-) I apologize for the sickening camera work...I was trying to record with my very heavy telephoto lens by hand...not easy.

Jingle Bells from Sarah Rimel on Vimeo.

Maddox seemed more interested in his shirt during this song. :-)

Two Front Teeth from Sarah Rimel on Vimeo.

Silly Monkeys (Happy Bday Olivia)

The weekend after Thanksgiving, we celebrated Olivia's 6th birthday at Grandma Nita's house.



The cake was amazing, as always...



Outside we found a monkey goofing around in a tree. ;-)



My girl...





The birthday girl...



Bryce monkeying around...



He attracted quite the crowd, all anxious to give the tree-climbing a try...



Louis exercising Milo...





Monkey see, monkey do...







Evey likes monkeys...







My goofy boy, with his chapped lips...









Bryce ready to dig into the pie...



Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...



Happy Birthday dear Olivia, Happy Birthday to you!

Belated Thanks

I wanted to get some pics of our Thanksgiving up for the family...and also share my thanks.

I am, as always, incredibly thankful for the blessed life I lead. I have an amazing family and group of friends that make my life a true joy. But what jumped out at me this year is how thankful I am for all of the photographs I have accumulated over the years. I was looking through my digital library for photos of my kids from the past several years (for a Christmas photo project) and was amazed at how many different stages and moments I had forgotten about. With each picture, a bunch of memories would come flooding back. I never want to forget all of those simple but special moments we have shared. I'm sure as I get older (I'm convinced I'm slowly losing my mind, ha)...and my kids continue to change and develop...I will need those memory prompts even more! So I am thankful I walk through life with a camera pressed to my face. ;-) Those photographic memories mean so much to me...and hopefully will be treasured by my children and grandchildren and many future generations.

So we went to my sister's house to celebrate Thanksgiving...



YUM! However...I mainly photographed my sister's new puppy on Thanksgiving Day. This is Henry...











We all tried to make sure Gracie got some attention too!





Lee enjoying Chris' magazines. :-P (And Dan enjoying some football.)



A little playful leg gnawing...



And some really hard napping...







Then back to being a puppy...







Hope everyone had a happy...and restful...Thanksgiving! :-)

Leaf Play...Part 2 (Happy BDay Abbey)

Several weeks ago on a GORGEOUS fall day, we headed to Grandma Nita's house to celebrate Abbey's birthday. When we arrived, Bryce was out back jumping off a swing into a huge leaf pile.



Maddox has always been rather timid about trying new things...so I was quite surprised when he started jumping off the swing without hesitation. He had a great time!



I LOVE the look on Maddox's face. :-)





Louis even took a turn or two...











Unable to jump from a swing yet, Evey got her thrills triking around the yard.





I enjoy Abbey running through the background...



Olivia took some time to (very seriously) rake the leaf pile up a little bigger.







My sweet boy...



My sweet girl...



After all that serious raking, I was quite surprised when Olivia cut loose jumping in the pile!





Even Milo was enjoying the fun...



Then Evey started running and jumping in the leaf pile. :-)



















Louis' very impressive gun...



And if anyone else has a gun, Maddox MUST have one as well. Sigh.



The neighbor dog was barking his head off until I came over and took his picture. Another satisfied customer. ;-)



Olivia was having a little trouble swinging...until Michael gave her a PUSH.



Milo joined in the leaf pile fun.





But then sweet Milo turned into something out of Cujo/Jaws when some leaves were thrown his way!!! haha



It was a fantastic day. Hope Abbey enjoyed the fun as well...HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABBEY!