The Housecleaning Fairy!

Selah is such a nut! She loves to clean (I have no idea where she gets it!)! This was her getup to clean her room...

Girl Scout Christmas Party

Woohoo! Hannah and Selah had a great time with the Girl Scouts! They started the afternoon Christmas caroling at a nursing home and giving out Christmas cards they had made. The seniors were so happy to have them there!
Then, we all went back to the church and partied! The girls made crafts and ornaments. Too much fun!

Christmas Ballet Recitals

Hannah, Selah, and Zahara are all taking ballet this year, so we were delighted to attend the Christmas Recitals. Actually, it was a chance for the parents, grandparents, etc. to sit through a ballet class and see all the beautiful things the girls have learned. At the end of the classes, the girls performed a dance from the Nutcracker. Selah and Zahara's dance was about the little girls at the Christmas party, opening their dolls. Hannah was a dancer who comes out from Madame Ginger's dress.
It is so neat to see how each one brings their own personality to the dance floor. Hannah is so graceful and focused, Selah is so intent and stoic, Zahara is smiling and constantly bouncing around.
Once again... these girls are awesome! We are so proud of their hard work!!

Catch-Up Time!

December has been a fun, busy time! Instead of going overboard with gifts, we decided to plan a December "events calendar" of family activities. It has been a blast!

To kick off the month, I had the opportunity to take the girls to see Sarah Palin speak with Saxby Chambliss. I was amazed at how interested the girls were the whole time! Hannah said she is definitely "voting" for Sarah in 2012...

For my birthday, Kevin took us to a Japanese Steakhouse...yummy! It was so funny to watch the girls when the chef made fire on the table!

Our church put on a community "Charles Dickens Christmas" with caroling, cookies and hot cocoa... the girls were adorable in their costumes! I wish we had taken more pictures!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to give thanks for! God has been good to us this year (and always), and we had a great Thanksgiving! We celebrated at the Baggett house with about 25 folks joining us... it was awesome!
The girls were great little helpers! Hannah made a luscious pumpkin turtle pie... it was so good! Selah made a French Silk pie from scratch... delish! Zahara made our traditional family Jello with fruit cocktail, bananas, and pecans. We also had an impromptu science lesson when the story was told of putting boiling water in the family Jello bowl made of Carnival glass causing it to shatter! (That was me) Thankfully, no such disasters occurred this year. Eleanor made a beautiful relish tray with olives and pickles.
The weather was so nice we were able to set up the buffet outside. Enjoy the pictures! Happy Thanksgiving, all!
Love,
The Groves Family

Those Crafty Little Turkeys!

How can it be Thanksgiving already?

Well, the season wouldn't be complete without the token "Turkey Craft". This year we used felt, googly eyes, and bright feathers, all held together by felt glue (who knew there was such a thing!?). Here are a few pictures of the girls, "craftin' it up"...

The funniest thing was when Ellie finished with her turkey, I gave her a pumpkin and 2 googly eyes and a felt smile to glue on it. I was busy helping another girl when she said, "Look, I made Grandpa!" I fell into coughing fit (we are all recovering from colds) when I saw she had glued the smile on upside down, and it really did look like Grandpa's mustache! Too cute!

Sunday Morning

This past Sunday, Hannah performed a beautiful dance to Chris Tomlin's "How Great is Our God". She chose the song, and created an interpretive dance using ballet and sign language. In all the world, there is nothing more beautiful than watching your child worship.

Slime Time - Family Fun Night

What could be better than, slime, experiments, and Jesus? Mixing them together for a family fun night! Our church put together a community outreach for the folks of Winder, GA. The Groovy Groves family was right in the mix... planning, inviting, recruiting... you name it, we were there! It was such an AWESOME experience for the girls, especially Hannah and Selah. We invited friends and strangers through our circle of influence (Homeschool loops, Girl Scouts, etc), but decided it wasn't enough. We went to Wal-mart and passed out flyers to everyone we could catch with a child. It was amazing to see how bold Hannah and Selah were! How cool to see your children recognize the importance of bringing people into the knowledge of Christ!
When the night finally came, we were delighted to see so many faces we had invited! Several said they would definitely be back for church, woohoo! Kevin was the photographer for the evening, and I was in charge of the experiment booth (we made homemade slime, how cool is that?), so the girls had to fend for themselves. Hannah helped out with the ducky pool, so Selah got to be "the big sister" and help Zahara and Ellie go to all the game booths. My Mom was running the kitchen, and my Dad helped out wherever he was needed. It was a lot of work, but the weeks leading up to the event taught the girls so many life lessons about spiritual warfare. There is just to much to write about, so I'll just say the lesson was clear that Satan does not like us taking God's Word to the "world", but God answers prayers... quickly! It was a great night, and I pray that many hearts were touched.
Love you all!

Happy Halloween!

...and a good time was had by all!...

The girls had a great time! They were so cute with their good manners, always remembering to say "Thank You". Good night all, time for a sugar-induced nap!

More Girl Scouting!

Girl Scout Investiture

Hi there, Hannah speaking. i just wanted to tell you about our Girl Scout investiture. Ok, first of all, Selah did the Girl Scout promise (on my honor I will try to serve God and my country to help people at all times and to live by the Girl Scout law). Second, I got my patches... I repeat I got my patches! Third, Zahara is a daisy tag-along!!! It was so fun!!!

Hi there, Mom speaking... It was a really fun day! Hannah performed a skit with her fellow Brownies (which was perfect for our little "Drama Queen"!). Selah received her very first patches for her Daisy smock. And Zahara was recognized with a patch as well, even though she isn't officially part of the troop (next year, woohoo)

I really love our troop! It is a troop for homeschoolers, and the leaders pick great activities and community projects for the girls to participate in. Our Daisy leader is so sweet with the girls, and always saves an activity for Zahara and Ellie Grace to do at home. One of Hannah's leaders has an 8-month old baby boy, "Baby Desi" (Desmond). Hannah is the official "Baby Holder"... she loves taking care of that baby! Good thing, she's getting extra practice for Justice. =)

Love you all!