NO More......
Alisha K. went back to Haiti today(Wednesday). Of course this makes me sad to no longer have her in our home, but I know how excited she was to go see her family. Its been a pleasure, and a huge honor to have her living with us for a month. I sadly didn't take alot of pictures, but the ones we did take do a good job of explaining what all we did.
Alisha was a huge help and an amazing 16 year old!!! She was always willing to play with the boys, babysit the boys, change liams diaper, get him ready for bed, deal with fighting kids if need be (when I was gone), and get them fed.
They even made a train track together which I found out that Liam was very much into:). We keep them in a bin and I guess my older boys don't play with them much so it really never crossed my mind that Liam would be of age to play them.
Of course I had to introduce alisha to Ticket to Ride. Now mind you, this picture was actually taken at the end of her stay....we tried to calculate how many times we played this game in a month and we came up with a rough estimate of 70 (give or take) times!!!!! Liam takes great naps, and kids are in school, house work done, not time to make dinner yet....so what did we do??? We played TTR!!! We got so fast at it we could finish a game easily in 20 minutes. I think I might just have withdraw symptoms come next week:).
It was a fun time having her in my kitchen as well. We tried a few new recipes, but also stuck with those comfort foods:). Here she is with a pot of Potato Soup. YUM!!! We made many cookies, christmas candies, meals, lunches and NO breakfast. Neither of us are breakfast eaters...so that was easy.
We also took her out to eat at a Sushi restaurant. We not only wanted her to try this stuff(cause we like it), but also a thank you for all she did with our boys while living with us. I think she enjoyed the sushi and would eat it again....next year:). Its an all you can eat; served to order place. So we all ordered several different kinds and tried everyone else's. Worked out nice, because we were able to try 10 different kinds of sushi. Eel, tempura shrimp, salmon, tuna, crab, fish eggs, and other kinds.
Here is a couple samplings:). Oh and we also had a huge plate of Crab Legs...which were delicious!
God even allowed Alisha to enjoy the snow while here. She kept saying how she loved snow and how the cold didn't bother her. Of course keep in mind most of the year she is in 80+ degree weather. So our first snow fall of the season we walked out on the porch in bare feet...(she insisted) and snapped this picture. I was freezing...she was not! I kind of think that she got a good share of snow and the cold and just might have been ready for warm weather by the time she left today:).
Alisha,
I love you dearly. Yes we are 15 years apart, but it sure is hard to tell at times. You are a mature 16 year old. And I can also be an immature 30 year old too.
We had many laughs, many times we would give each other a "hard time" and be sarcastic to each other. I loved having a GIRL upstairs to go to to ask about my clothes...if they matched, which shoes to wear. I loved trying on different make up's and playing around with our faces in the mirror. I loved having someone to talk to during the day. My house is so quiet right now, its a bit sad:(. I loved getting to know you so much better. I loved having you here to help me grocery shop(cause you would help with cranky pants in the cart:)). It was so nice to be doing something, knowing that I needed to be getting boys ready for bed and all of a sudden, down would come Liam dressed and ready for bed or even better yet...put to bed!! You were such an amazing help to me. I now know one of the reasons your mother wants you back:)....she could use your helping hands with your siblings. Did a learn anything from this visit?? ABSOLUTELY!!! I learned that I need to enjoy my kids at the ages they are NOW!! Ive always wanted them to be older and more independent, but now that Ive had you in my house for a month alisha, I have realized that VERY SOON my boys will be 16 and won't need me anymore. They will be going out at night with friends, they will be on the phone with friends, they will read books in their rooms, they will want alone time(and none of this is bad, trust me)...its just that soon and very soon I will be a lonely lady in this house. SO I NEED TO ENJOY MY KIDS AT THEIR YOUNG AGE!! and be THANKFUL THEY STILL NEED ME!!!
Thanks again alisha for staying with us!!! We love you!!!
Caden up to bowl. His ball barely even rolls down the lane. Its so funny, but yet when the ball gets there, it pretty much knocks down most pins. Impressive!!
Liam enjoyed dancing to the music that day.
Each year we make christmas cookies. Lately we have made the same kinds and so once again here are our attempts at white chocolate covered pretzels and buckeye's. Not pictured we also made fudge and toffee bars. Yummy.
Here are the boys busy helping. Of course they get bored pretty quickly, so this was at the start of the cookie making.
Our first REAL snow fall....the boys loved playing in it.
Elijah's a good big brother pulling Caden in the sled. 
