A Forgotten Snow Photo

Love these kiddos!

Dollars and Cents

The new tax laws have taken effect, and the new tax tables have altered the taxes which are taken from your paychecks.

Our checks(Walker's and mine) are now $26 less per pay check, per pay period.

$104 per month in additional taxes.

Just for the record.

Be My Valentine 2011

The kids came home with balloons, valentine's bags they had colored and picture frames they had made along with a bag full of love notes and goodies. It's funny to note the expressions on each of their faces. Rémy was just fascinated with each item she pulled out, it's pretty apparent by her expressions. Ben was equally impressed, but didn't have time to show it. He was too busy cramming in all into his mouth before the inevitable happens....mama says we have to put up the candy and save it for another day.

Sharing a silent moment of candy goodness.

Ben stuffing in the candy hearts.

Rémy showing off a pink heart lollipop.

And the Valentine's frame they made for me that's already put to great use!

All in all, a great Monday.

Blueberry Scones

Oh.Man.

Walker likes to try his hand at making impossible things from scratch. Noodles and Challah bread are a couple of things I've chronicled here before. These are things that he asks me to make. He asks once, twice, every day for a month, until he realizes I'm not going to make it. Some things are just too complicated and take too many steps in the process that aren't really worth the payoff to me. For instance, I would rationalize, "Why make noodles when I can buy perfectly tasty noodles for $2.00?"

Today it's scones. Walker has been asking for over a year for me to make scones. Granted, we have had a few things going on over the past year, and to my credit, I did read through a few scone recipes with every intention of making them at some point in time.

Walker found a recipe and went with it and we have adapted it a couple of times since to make different types. These last for a few days and make a great breakfast food or tea time snack. He makes it look easy that I may have to break down and do it.

Here's the handy link for the recipe so that you can get to making your own and invite me over for tea! Blueberry Scones with Lemon Glaze

A Sick Nest

Growing up when we got sick our mom would make us a nest. She would just say, "Do you want me to make you a nest?" Usually this was on the couch or in our bed. On really sickly occasions it might be in her bed.

I've found myself making nests around our house for sicklies.

This nest was made for a 101 fever. A nest usually consists of one or more soft pillows, one or more sentimental blankets, and a drink, maybe some kleenexes.

This is what was discovered after 101 fever's naptime. Looks like a whole lot of napping took place.

Sometimes other birds stop by the nest to check in.

Mama bird took the 101 fever to the Dr. this morning, where she tested positive for type A flu AND positive for type B flu. Apparently this can happen, just doesn't happen very often. Who knew. Leave it to the Plagge's to get all the plagues.

Christmas Day

It's ok that it's February and I'm just getting around to blogging Christmas pictures.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to have WIFI at the house. It is fantastic. We had been without any internet access since May, so three and a half weeks ago when AT&T delivered on their promise--you know our lives were changed. Many of the things we had to accomplish elsewhere can now be accomplished from home. School lesson plans, grades, youth ministry lesson plans, emailing, blogging, research, prepping music for the youth band, prepping music material for the school drum corp....etc, etc, etc. Our lives have become much more user friendly. It is hard to remember what life was like pre-internet....oh wait...that was just a month ago. :)

Anyway, here is a picture of the four of us from Christmas Eve 2010.

Grammy's birthday ending in a Zero

Grammy and Grampy came over and stayed the night during the end of the snow days. We had fun eating, watching movies, and playing in the last of the snow to celebrate Grammy's day.

The high tech grandPlagges showing the new apps they purchased for the grandkids

Forming snowballs to throw at Daddy

Rémy hones in on the target

Ben with his mammoth snow chunk

Nana turned a number ending in Zero

Both of our mothers turned a number ending in Zero in the last month and a half! We celebrated a little late with my mom (2 weeks late). She met us for dinner in Rockwall and we spent the rest of the evening in the kids section at Half Price Books.

I'm so proud of mom. She has gone back to school late in life and is excelling her way into nursing school. She was nominated to go to China this summer to study their healthcare system, Chinese herbal medicine, etc. and Phi Theta Kappa is giving her a scholarship. The school has also offered to provide scholarship money beyond what Phi Theta Kappa can give so that she can go. Can't wait to see her passport!

Slumber Party

Over Christmas Break we let the kids try to have a slumber party. Ben squeezed onto Rémy's bed, we equipped each with a pillow, blankie and flashlight.

Fun as it may seem, it lasted all of about 30 seconds after lights out. As it turns out, they like their own beds and their own space. For now.

Winter Weather Fun

Our school district was out of school Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week. We found lots of ways to occupy our time at home including...

Hitting the snow in our pajamas first thing Friday morning

Using child-friendly chopsticks to pick up items in the house and put the items up

Brought out all the play-doh on the kitchen table

Made a hide-out using all of the kitchen chairs, couch pillows and a quilt

Baked a cake and ate it (from a box and can...come on, I'm not going to be too ambitious on a Snow Day!)

The view from our front door Friday morning

We have been very fortunate to not 'have to' get out in this weather. We've also been very fortunate to have uninterrupted power, a heater that works like the dickens and a pantry full of goodies.

Anyone have any fond memories of warmer times to share? Warmer weather seems like a very distant past remembrance.

Bath time

New Fence

Seems like we are always building fences in this family! We are living in a parsonage that had a fence in desperate need of repair, in the very least. Upon further inspection, Walker realized that due to most of the wood being rotten it really needed replacement.

As with any rental property or any property that is not yours, there is a pecking order that needs to be followed to get anything accomplished. In our case, the building committee must meet, funds must be approved, a vote takes place at a business meeting, all before any real work is accomplished.

Walker offered to do the manual labor to save quite a bit of the cost and the church supplied the materials. We began the fence on Saturday and just lack the gate, a boxed in portion around an outside lantern and about 8 feet on the opposite side yard to the project being completed. This should be able to be finished by next weekend, weather permitting.

Truffle has made many friends over the last seven months, and has brought home many of them (fleas & ticks). We will be very glad to know that when we let her out to take care of business, she will be confined to our yard. The kids will also have a great area to play, as Walker extended the enclosed area by at least another 1/3.

This parsonage has not been occupied in several years, and although it is quite comfortable it is in need of some updating. We have a list going of improvements to the house that we would like to make as our time and money allow including:

~Updating the wallpaper in the foyer and kitchen
~Take the wood paneling down
~Sheetrock, tape & bed, texture & paint
~Replace baseboards and molding
~Replace carpet with laminate throughout, except for bedrooms
~Replacing the water heater (the church has agreed to pay for this)

Snowy Days 2011

We are spending a day at home today, due to the inclement weather. Our area received 5-6 inches of snow yesterday beginning around 8 in the morning and lasting all day and even into the night. Our town does not have any sand trucks, and as it was 29 degrees when it started snowing yesterday, all of it stuck. Although we are within walking distance to church, we took the car yesterday to stay warm. Two neighbors were nice enough to push us back into our driveway, as the snow accumulation within those three hours made it impossible to get back into the sloped driveway!

School was canceled today, and it has stayed right around 30 degrees all day today. There has been relatively little melting, although the roads are now just inches worth of slush/ ice. We are scheduled to have a late start tomorrow, but along these country roads with no sanding trucks preparing the way, I hope that the buses and bus drivers have no problems in the morning.

Here are a couple of pictures of our adventures in the snow yesterday.

Spice of Life

One reliable truth on parenting: each day holds variety and unpredictability.

Photo of the day

Ben and his udders

Coming Into the Closet

I’m coming out of the closet. Well, technically I’m letting you into my closet. About 60-75% of my clothes from the last 2 years have come from resale shops. Shocking, right? Or not so shocking, depending on how you think I dress! I’ve been doing quite a bit of my shopping at Plato’s Closet in Frisco. They’re an upscale resale shop that buys and sells current styles, current being in the last two years. I’ve been able to find brands like Express, Banana Republic, Abercrombie, Hollister, Black Dress/ White Market, many with the tags still on them. I found Banana Republic black and white pinstripe trousers and matching black wool cardigan for about $16 last year…both with the tags still on for $69.50 and $49.50, respectively. In August I found a nice pair of classic Old Navy khaki capri’s with the tag still on for $4.00. The best bargain I’ve found yet happened this past weekend. I went in looking for and needing another pair of jeans. A favorite pair was recently washed with a mad red towel and turned everything pink…including my jeans. Argh. Plato’s Closet, here I come! I was looking for Miss Me jeans or Seven for all Mankind, but also tried on Hollister, Express and Gap, along with a pair called Sacred Blue. The Sacred Blue ended up being the best fit and I liked them enough to get them for $20. I wore them over the weekend and loved them so much that I went online to see where I could buy more. I discovered that the brand is exclusively sold and each pair is hand made. They retail for $198 and are purchased by the likes of celebrities. $198 for a pair of blue jeans?!? And then you don’t even keep them for a lifetime, you resell them?!? CRAZY! I’m not going to complain about the habits of the rich and famous, but I will definitely take advantage of them.

Curry Recipe

Coconut Curry with Fennel

½ bulb fennel, shredded
1 green bell pepper
Sautee in olive oil for a few minutes then add 1 ½ tb of red curry paste, 1 can coconut milk, 1 tb curry powder, ¼ c. chopped almonds, 2 squirts of honey, chicken of choice, dash of pepper

We have curry about once a week. I usually change it up, adapting and adding things. Last night I used fennel instead of onion and it really added to the sweetness of the dish. I was worried that the licorice flavor of the fennel would interfere, but I think the sautéing it with the bell pepper took away a lot of that flavor while enhancing the sweet factor. This is a great family friendly recipe although, I would like to try a spicier version of Curry for adults…just not sure what kind of chilies to add.

Art work

Walker was asked by a church to do some art work for a series on Nehemiah. They originally wanted a full comic book, which Walker was really excited about putting together. I think when they realized how much work it was going to involve and how much time they decided on some other options. The church printed out movie sized posters and are using his art work on their website www.prestontrail.org . Go check it out!

Doing Life Together

I miss life groups! One thing about living this far out is that the programs and opportunities for involvement are more limited and not as varied as being closer to the metroplex would be. Walker and I have talked to a few of other couples about developing a “life group” type group in Wolfe City. We have noticed that we have to do a lot of explaining about what it is, why it meets in a home, etc. These are very valid questions and when I was first introduced to the concept, I definitely wondered about all of the logistics. Over the next few days I’ll be breaking down what a life group is and painting a picture about how to go about implementing a life group.

Walker and I have been privileged to be a part of a couple of different life groups. While attending a church in Frisco, the church had three or four service times to choose from and had in attendance 500-750 people per service, sometimes more. In place of Sunday school they offered life groups. I have seen this offered in other churches and love the way it works out. When we expressed interest in joining a life group, we were paired with a group that had similar life circumstances, were approximately in the same stage of life, and whose location was in close proximity to our neighborhood. The first group we were paired with was when we were expecting Remy. The host house was within walking distance of our own home, and there were three other couples that agreed upon a meeting time, agreed upon food & drink, and agreed upon a mode. I’ll break all of these down into more detail in just a moment.

The second group we were paired with was a few weeks after Remy was born. Two of the other couples had newborns or were pregnant. This group ended up being an ideal fit for us and we stuck with this group for about a year, before we moved. This was a group of church leadership and constantly used the phrase “doing life together” as a way to describe our group, what we were doing when we met, etc. We are doing life together.

There is something that is truly apostolic about believers gathering with their families in a home to break bread and do life. We started a group in our home that met for the first time a couple of nights ago. It’s just a couple of families who have agreed to gather every other week. It is not associated with a church. I’ve been asking myself a lot of questions regarding the group.

What is a life group? Is a life group always associated with a church? What are the functions and expectations within the group? Does it take the place of Sunday school? Is it in addition to Sunday school or Wednesday activities? Is it a Bible study? Is it a devotional? Is it prayer or worship or encouragement or support?

Something More: Defining a Life Group

Things I am seeking: friendships, accountability, family time, sharing our home, swapping recipes, gleaning from others’ life experience, having meaningful adult conversations involving Christian life, praying for the needs of others in our community.

Several years back I went with a group to Germany to teach English to German students. The big draw for the Germans was coming to learn English from Americans. Built in to every evening was a time of worship, prayer and a message. In German it was called “Etwas Mehr” , “Something More” in English.

I’m not sure if the group that is emerging in our home is a life group, and I still have many unanswered questions. However, I do know that it is the “Something More” that I’ve been seeking.

WCMS Drum Corps

I’d like to brag on my husband a little…okay, a lot. He asked permission at the end of last year to start a drum line in the middle school. It took some negotiating but our superintendent and principal agreed to the start up and Walker has been diligently and fervently working on putting this together to offer our 7th and 8th graders as an alternative to athletics. They will be playing at 4 home games this season. The drums came in last night from the repair shop! (last week - I wrote this but forgot to post it) The students have 1 week. ONE WEEK. Before the first game. About half of the nights over the last 2 weeks I haven’t seen Mr. P until 10 pm after he gets in from working on drumline stuff. He is very dedicated and excited about this new endeavor and the town is geared up to hear what he can do with these young musicians. This is the only music program our district offers. When the Elementary school heard what he is doing they started a music appreciation class for K-5.

I would love to be able to post pictures and video of the drumline but without the permission of all of the parents and students involved that could be a real hassle. I certainly would think twice about my own children’s teacher posting stuff on the internet about them….and for good reason. I would like to invite you all to come out and watch a game or two, if you can. This is not for our high school team, it is for the middle school. Their games are on Thursday afternoons at 5:30. This year Walker decided to focus on rifts for touchdowns and cheers with the cheerleaders. Next year there may be a halftime show, but getting it started this year he decided to focus on basics. There is usually a concession stand with food and drink. Our school colors are blue, black and white. There are 8 instruments (drums, percussion) and 10 students in the class, some alternates.

The first performance was tonight, and I know the students were ready and able to show off their groovin'.

If you make the trip out I will even throw in a bonus tour of our parsonage!