Who can resist a peacefully sleeping child?

Another good day for Emma

You know Emma isn't a morning person... well, today she was! Emma hasn't scored yet in any of her games yet, well she made 2 baskets today and her coach about attacked her after each one.. . he said after the game that he had a hard time not running out onto the floor to get her. It was very exciting. I missed the first basket as Ayla had to go potty. I sat back down and David sheepishly told me what I missed, knowing that I would not be happy. She then turns around and makes another one!... and I got that one on film. You can't see her very well, but the ball is heading the right direction. There team is also undefeated and she does a great job on defense too.

It was a good day for Emma (and David)

This is just a GREAT picture.

What a special treat for our Emma. She has always been fascinated that the Colts home games are about 10 miles from us and has always wanted to go. Well.... we got a surprise phone call from Casey and Ted yesterday. She had 2 free tickets in the end zone, 10th row. Wow. Wow. David just said "Wow." We had a busy day, but everything was rearranged to allow this to happen. (Kira couldn't care less by the way... I know you were wondering how he chose girls). I was Christmas shopping and my girlfriend Janna took Kira and Ayla home with her. (She needed some girl time amidst her sea of boys.)

Anyway.. .I wasn't there, but she really enjoyed it and David did too. She got a little bored by the 3rd quarter, but there was lots of action to watch.

Surprisingly enough... this was the only thing she asked for except for something to drink. That alone is a sign of how much she enjoyed it. Rather shocking actually. She had her Indians finger on one hand this morning and the Colts on the other.... and yes... the marker she painted her eyes with actually came off in the shower.

We Wish you a Merry Christmas!

Kira as the Christmas tree that lost her lights when they took Christ out of Christmas


Emma at Thomas the Train in the song "I want presents."


Poor Ayla. She sort of warmed up to Santa.



Call me lazy. Call me practical. Either is acceptable. I figure... I keep a blog up... what is the purpose of sending out cards to the same people who look at my blog anyway!! OK... I am lazy.

Let me get right to the point. We, the Wadsworth Family, do hope you have a wonderful Christmas. We are so blessed to have so much; healthy family, currently healthy pets, a warm home and food on our tables. After the financial "success" of this year, that is just nothing to laugh at or to take for granted. We started out our year trying to get the house ready to sell. We were OUTA here! Well, thankfully the Lord can see what we cannot and that didn't happen. It wasn't time. If we had sold, we would be in a financial mess since I got cancelled at work most of the summer and a lot of the fall. The ends would not have met. We learned a lesson and I am now working more units to help ensure a more stable work environment... I am working Endoscopy and I also started back to Mother/Baby and the Continuing Care Nursery (a step down unit from NICU). Women's Hospital is a branch of St. Vincent and it fits me like a glove. It feels so good to be back. I was graciously welcomed back. I miss my friends in Endo, but maybe when it is slow at Women's, it will be booming in Endo. We can hope.

David is doing quite well at Lilly. My "loquacious" (overly-chatty sarcasm) hubby doesn't share a lot, but I do know he is very busy right now with end of year frenzy. He is working with Transportation and Safety at the Plainfield Distribution Center... he makes sure drugs get shipped safely, on time and at the right temperature. (There is way more involved than I ever dreamed... I am used to just calling the pharmacy and it is there.) He has also added to his Safety field and is now HazMat trained and has taken the basic EMT course. He passed the practical and awaits his written exam results. He starts Basic Firefighter soon. For those who don't know him well... he discovered that being a Firefighter was really what he wanted to do with his life, but it just wasn't financially feasible for our family. He can now enjoy his dream from a volunteer status at Lilly. The Lord knows just what we need and when we need it. He also enjoyed his rec basketball team which consisted of our small group friends and a couple of extras. They succeeded in winning one game and suffering minimal injury! They were a group of "old guys" and all have recuperated from their boo-boos. He is now gearing up for walking/running the Mini Marathon next year in Indy. He has the shoes and the fitness program all lined up! Go Dave! One more tidbit.. no deer this year. The Christmas program was a blessing, but put a big damper on his hunting time.

Our oldest, Kira Grace (aka Kiki) has had a great year. She is a great student and is being challenged in the GT program at Guion Creek Middle School. The teachers love her as she is a quiet, attentive, capable student. She struggles a bit with her Reading class as she didn't inherit her mother's love of reading. I always say she looks like me and acts like him and that rings true again. She loves math and has bypassed me in knowledge already in that department. She played a mean game of softball this past spring/summer. She made it on the all star team, but the team dissolved due to lack of participation. She took a bad hit to the face pitching, but thankfully didn't require medical attention... other than running her over to our best friend doctor. She continues to wow everyone with her musical capabilities, especially with the piano. She started playing the flute, but without a tutor to challenge her, she just coasts along. She whistles CONSTANTLY and is about to drive her mother completely bonkers in this house that is too small for 2 adults and 3 quickly growing children... and now 2 hyper kittens... more on them later.

Emma, Emma bo-bemma is such a colorful character. She is doing well in school also.. in her year round program at Fishback Creek Elementary. She is in 4th grade this year. She is just the opposite of her sister, Kira, in just about every way. She loves reading and excels in this area and struggles greatly in math. She did finally get her multiplication tables memorized, but not without pain and punishment! Emma also played softball and enjoyed being the catcher. We actually saw her hustle!! She enjoyed being in the center of the action. Outfield on the other hand was quite humorous AFTER I got over being mad at her. She stuffed her pockets completely full of sunflower seeds and stood in the outfield shaking her pockets and munching, kicking dirt. Thankfully a ball never came her way or there would have been a comical spray of seeds everywhere! She enjoyed it, but has decided that basketball is really her game. She had her first game on this past Saturday and loves it. Her coach told David that she has a little bit of "mean" in her and he likes that a lot! I could have told him a few stories, but he didn't ask! She cannot wait to learn and practice. Maybe she has found a niche.

Ayla Joy continues to be just that... Joy. No, her sisters' affection has never faded. It is the one thing Kira and Emma have in common, they love her unconditionally. Ayla spent the spring and fall enjoying softball games and tiny friends in the back of our van. She watched a lot of Baby Einstein and BabySongs from her car seat and played with the travel toys that lived in the back of the car. She was really sad for the season to end. She enjoys Wednesday Storytime at the library and playing with her best friends, Colton and Emily. She is a wiz with a computer mouse and can navigate better than most adults. She loves to read books and we have almost exhausted the library across the street. She loves to nap at exactly 1pm and drinks more milk than any child I have ever known (but don't tell her Grandpa as he doesn't like that idea too much.) Someday she will start eating food... hopefully. She is strong-willed but simple in her requirements. We have been so incredibly thankful that my niece, Casey Beth, moved to Indy this past January and has cared for Ayla on Mon, Wed and Fridays so I can work without putting her into a childcare facility. We love having Casey close and Ayla adores her.... We are still working on Casey learning to tell her "no," but she is sort of an aunt instead of a cousin and I never learned to tell HER no either, so I guess she is forgiven.

Our pets are the only ones who have not thrived this year. We lost Doc the year before and this spring Lacey took a horrible turn when she started having seizures. We lost her shortly after. When Doc was failing, Kira begged for a kitten from Uncle Gary's clinic and home came Snickers. We all grew to love this self-sufficient, moody, but lovable creature. Last month, he died too from heart failure. Home came 2 sister kittens, Sugar and Spice. (Snickers died the day before Kira's birthday and what were we to do....?) They are a lot different than Snickers, but we have enjoyed them immensely. Kittens are such fun... but hopefully we have not doomed them by bringing them into our pet-unlucky family!

I touched on my activities at the beginning, but you can pretty much guess how I spend my days, evenings and nights. With 3 kids, I am trying to keep my head above water, what with one entering the moody days of pubescence and one being... well, Emma, as well as a toddler running a muck. Laundry, meals and daily life are my life. I do fit in quite a bit of scrap booking and reading. Once in a while, I make it a priority to spend some time away to maintain my sanity. This causes David to enter insanity, so those times away are brief, but enjoyed. (He is always happy at my return.) I reached a huge milestone when my scrapbooks were caught up to date... a huge accomplishment for a chronic scrapbooker (my girlfriends took to hiding my albums so I had to slow down.. they were jealous.) I also read a lot of Christian fiction (see the list to the side of this blog) and read the complete Twilight series in a matter of 2 weeks...(don't ask about my parenting skills those weeks!) And NO, I am not done with Ayla's stocking yet!

See how blessed we are? We even have friends that will read my long-winded essays! We are so thankful for you too. 2009 can only get better for all of us. We are so thankful to have gas prices down to $1.59 from $3.59 and that our variable mortgage is decreasing again in January. Praise the Lord for small favors! We hope yours is looking up too! Please let us know how you are doing. We have already enjoyed letters from some of you... and even gifts from some too. Thank you for remembering us. We love you and wish Christ's blessing upon you. If you still have a moment... please scroll down to our kids' Christmas musical video. You will remember the true meaning of Christmas. Please have a "wonder-full life."
All our love,
Beth, David, Kira, Emma, Ayla, Sugar & Spice

For Unto Us a Child is Born

What a blessing children are. They made us so proud this past weekend at the annual Trader's Point Children's Choir Christmas Program. "It's a Wonder-Full Life" was amazing in talent, production and execution. These kids worked so, so hard... since AUGUST, every Sunday to perfect their parts. I am sure I will get around to posting photos of them in their individual parts, but the grand finale was indeed grand. Still makes me tear up. I have never heard it sung better. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you have a very, Merry Christmas.

Emma's Basketball Debut

mma is so enthusiastic about playing basketball. It is the first activity that she cannot be compared to her big sister as Kira has no interest. She is all about learning the plays and executing them. Her coach commented to David that he thinks Emma has a little "mean" in her and he likes that a lot. She plowed through a pick and made a really good pass today. Pretty good for her first game. Go Angels!

Sick and Snow Days

Thanksgiving is behind us and the germs surround us. The first snowfall came early this year and coincided with the illness that has invaded our home. Papa wasn't feeling so hot when we were in Terre Haute this weekend and although he barricaded himself in his room, the bugs couldn't keep their grimey hands off my girls. I had all 3 home yesterday when 2 of them should have vacated the premesis and gone to school! Life has been a bit boring. Too much email and Facebook, too much TV and too much Club penguin. (I have not been playing Club Penguin, by the way:) Above, I was working on my year end Creative Memories stuff and Ayla decided she needed to follow sort. Too cute. Her mind is very quick and sometimes I can't keep up with her.

BTW... I did do something.. I had to clean the carpets due to Ayla's midnight expulsion of fries and curdled milk. (I know I didn't have to share that, but someone needs to feel my pain!)

Ayla couldn't even say snow last year... it came out "nose." This year, she has it down pat! She couldn't get out there fast enough. Unfortunately, the big girls were sick and I wouldn't let them out with her... plus it was a slushy mess. We did make a tiny, tiny snowman and she really enjoyed that. The next snow will be a blast for her. I just need to teach her the importance of boots prior to that.

Yesterday, David was watching the Grinch with Ayla and Emma and a McDonald's commercial came on advertising their $1 soft drinks. He asked her "What is that?" Her response was "Diet Coke... I LOVE Diet Coke!" Casey and I have created a monster.... more Casey's fault though because I don't share mine as well as she does!