The Jolliff Family

We had a man come to plow up the yard and Andrew was wanting to ride the horse.  The man was kind and allowed him to sit on the horse and Andrew thought it was the best thing.  Hap asked him if he was a cowboy and he replied "nope, I'm a fireman on a horse!" Jacob like to look from inside the house but wasn't so sure when he was up close with the horse! The weather here has been marvelous and Hap put out the hammock that was left at the house.  He enjoyed a rest while the boys played and Andrew joined him for just a bit. Happy Days!

Being so cute is such hard work!!!

I made some yummy granola bars the other night for the kids (adults in the house!) to enjoy this week and they are cheap to make. Just take 2 cups of quick cook oatmeal, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup honey, and 1/2 cup additional something as you like.  I put butterscotch chips in mine but a person could add dried fruit, chocolate chips, or another type of granola.  Mix them well together, put in a baking dish, and bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until they come together and feel firm.  Let them cool and cut.  I made 18 granola bars for a little over $5.  That is a bargain!!

Sam received his first semester report card and certificate of completion from school.  We are so proud of him but more importantly, he is proud of himself.  He received all A's in his classes except for Arabic and Math.   He has some work to do but since starting with a new tutor for Arabic, he is doing better in both subjects.  His tutor told us that he is trying very hard and making big improvement!  He brought home a B on his Arabic exam yesterday and a candy bar for the good work from his teacher :) This is his test.  You can see his handwriting in Arabic.  It is tough but he is doing great! (Just a note, they put a checkmark on every question that a student gets right and an "X" through the incorrect answers!) You are doing it, Sam!  Great work! Update:  I stand corrected because I forgot!!  Sam did receive a "B" in sport, maybe because he wore his worker man boots and the wrong pair of pants one sport day!...

This has been a rather eventful week and one in which I hope to never experience again.  On Tuesday at my language tutor I received a phone call from Jacob's daycare saying that he was sick and I needed to come get him.  When I arrived, he was sleeping and they said he started the day off fine but slowly began to look pale and started crying.  They took his temperature and it was 104 degrees.  They gave him some medicine and he fell asleep.  When I picked him up, he perked up and even ate a light lunch.  His temperature went down and he laid down for a nap.  Hap decided to lay down with him.  About an hour into his nap, Hap woke up to Jacob having a seizure.  Hap yelled for me and I came back to the room to see him having a seizure.  I ran downstairs to get our intern who is living with us and started running next door to find out the emergency number.  Hap came down with Jacob, who was still having the seizure, and we sped to ...

I have much to blog about but have not had much time this week! Today we celebrated Valentine's Day together, low key, by eating some pink pancakes by candlelight :) Sending our love from our loves!

Sam likes to spell these days and today we went to the "z double o"... the zoo! We have a fun few hours as a family closing down the zoo!

Just some random pictures of our last few days.   The boys spent some of their Christmas money and bought new helmets.  They can be fire helmets, football helmets, or motorcycle helmets.  They LOVE them! The water came today after not coming for 16 days and so it was bath time for the boys!  Andrew was so thrilled.  Don't worry, they have had a bath in the last 16 days ;) We also went to a park and they boys worked off some energy and we all enjoyed the lovely weather. Traffic was crazy the other day and I finally realized it was because the sheep were on the move.  I would love to hear what they would say in the States for a sheep traffic jam on the 5 o'clock traffic report! I made a strawberry pie for a friend to enjoy when we went an visited.  We didn't try it but the boys are begging me to make another one.  I think I will!