Your Advent Calendar for Christmas 2016

Oz...I love watching you do nice things for your brothers without   anyone asking you to do it.  You have a kind heart and it makes my heart happy watching you.   Your Diva

Oscar, Poppa really likes that you are enjoying scouting.  He likes to be a part of what you are doing.  You will learn many new skills that you will be able to use all your life.   Diva and Poppa

 

Oscar, you have a wonderful brain.   You teach me so much about cars and trucks, space ships , animals and so many other things.  Who knows, maybe one day you might even be flying around in your own rocket ship.

Diva

Oz, This picture always makes me laugh.  Poppa and I pray for you every single day.  We pray that you will always be aware of all the wonderful and amazing discoveries all around you.  Diva

Oz, this is a picture of your dad when he was young.  You look a lot like him.  You have a great dad that loves you and your brothers, and most of all your Mommy.  I hope you grow up to be just like him .  Diva

Oscar, do you remember catching your first fish at Uncle Joe’s house in Alabama?  It was so much fun .  Thank you for letting Poppa and me come be a part of the adventure.   Diva

Oz, I love that you are brave and always up to try something new.  Your bravery makes your brothers want to be just like you.  Make sure you are a good example for them to follow.   Diva

 Oz, you don’t remember this but I will always remember the many nights I was awake and talking with you as a baby.  You had your nights and your days mixed up so I sat up with you so your tired  parents could get some much needed sleep.  I prayed over you then and I pray for you every single day.  Diva

 

Oscar,  I am so glad you love to read.  I laugh at Poppa and tell him if there was writing on the toilet paper he would read that too. I love that you share with me all the wonderful cars you like and all their special features.  Thanks for helping me learn.  Diva

Oz, Poppa and I enjoy living close to you.  We love spending time with you and love that we can be together more often.  Thank you for including us.  Diva and Poppa

 

Oscar, this picture makes me laugh...I love ice cream too!  I am a vanilla ice cream girl.   We will have to go out for an ice cream outing.   Diva

Oz, this is one of my favorite pictures of you.  Poppa and I were so pleased that you asked Jesus to come in your heart and that you were baptized by your dad.  I love to hear you memorize Scripture and I love to hear your prayers.  You make me feel very loved with your hugs… Diva

All about Diva

 

What makes me excited?

1.  Anticipation:  Looking forward to something that is coming up.

2. Daydreaming: hoping about something that I want to happen.

3.  Fireworks...I love to watch the night sky light up with all the pretty displays.

4. Praise Music:  Brightens my day, my mood, and lifts my spirit.

5.  My Kids and Grandkids:  Happy Days!

6.  Cake....will make me do a happy dance every time!

7.  My Cats....they think I'm wonderful so I try not to disappoint them.

8. Volunteers: ....people who share my passion and vision and show up to work hard and get a project done.

9.  A completed project:  I love checking off an item on my "to-do list."

10.  An adventure:  a day trip, visit the library, a visit from a friend, a trip to Dairy Queen for a small blizzard, visit a greenhouse, a bouquet of flowers from the grocery store, or a movie date.

11.  Nature:  I love a great sunset, fields of flowers, mountains, the beach, sitting on a porch swing sipping sweet ice tea, and watching the world go by.

12. Home:  Dorothy had it right all along....there's no place like home especially if Mr. Wonderful is there beside me.

Hope you weren't expecting something lofty and inspiring.  

Diva Camp Day 7

Dear Oz,

This afternoon your mom and dad will drive from Baltimore and join us.  They had a wonderful time in Iceland and are bringing back some treats for all of us to enjoy.  This morning though we are going to Bridge Christian Church for the Easter Eggstravaganza.

It was a very cold and wet day so the eggs couldn't be hidden outside.  So, instead they gave each child a plastic bag with about 15 candy filled eggs.  You had your picture taken with the Easter bunny.  Charlie did not want to have his picture taken so you stood with Henry so he wouldn't be frightened.

They had face painting and cookie decorating in one room.  You had your face painted first (always the brave one).  You chose a Pokeman character and it was drawn on your face with water colored pencils.  

Charlie had a ninja turtle on his cheek and Henry went for a Superman symbol.

They also had sugar cookies you could frost and put sprinkles on.  Henry chose blue you had white with no sprinkles and Charlie frosted his purple (because it is Mommy's favorite color.)  They were tasty cookies.

The place you liked the most was the bounce house.  They had two of the them this year.  One was bigger with a slide and there was also a smaller one for smaller kids.  You were very kind to help a small boy who got frighten on the slide to come down.  You are one very bouncy boy.

by the time we left it was snowing big flakes.  We came home, had our lunch and watched some Myth Busters till Mommy and Daddy came to Diva's.

It is so good to have your parents back home.

I am somewhat sad because I also know that you and your brothers will be leaving for home tomorrow and Poppa and I will miss you.

So glad you had a special chocolatey day.

Love you Buddy,

Your Diva and Poppa 

Diva Camp...Day 6

Dear Oscar,   Today is the day you have been waiting for all week long.  We are going to go to Harrisonburg to the Explore More Children's Discovery Center.  We had an early lunch and Diva packed water bottles and snacks so we can stay all day.

Poppa found us a place right across the street from the Museum.  There is so much to do and it is somewhat overwhelming when you go inside.  The first place we stopped was the science room.  There were models of dinosaurs, build a bug, the visible man with body parts that you can remove, rocks, geodes, and lots of slides in a huge microscope.  You were intrigued by the super big projection microscope .

Charlie liked the human anatomy model and tried to get all the internal organs to fit back into the body.  He looks like a doctor....doesn't he?

Henry loved the polished rocks and the build a bug.  Poppa and Henry built this one.  We had a hard time getting you to leave this section so you could see the rest of the museum.

The museum has a spinning wheel in the entrance for those who don't know what to do first.  Each section has a colorful piece that if you land on it you can start your visit from there.  Poppa and I laughed because the wheel looks like a game show called "Wheel of Fortune".  We were afraid that if your parents saw this picture they would think we took you gambling in Los Vegas.

 You liked the ambulance and that you could sit in the drivers seat and operate the steering wheel and emergency lights.  You can also put on the siren and pretend to be a paramedic. 

Your favorite was the Joe Bowman garage.  The small car is on a rack and you can change the tires, the muffler, and add fluids.  The background is an actual picture of the service department at Joe Bowman Auto.

Henry liked playing with the Thomas the train village.  He spent a lot of time moving the trains around.  Whenever I couldn't find him he would either be with the trains or over at the car garage.

Henry didn't get a nap today.  He was very tired by the time we got home.  I know you will want to take Mommy and Daddy to the museum the next time you come to visit us.

What fun we had today.

Love you Buddy,

Your Diva

Diva Camp Day 5

Dear Oz, 

You had a really rough day today and it wasn't even your fault.  Poppa and I thought we would take you boys to the Green Valley Book Fair today as all of you love books.  Poppa especially enjoys the book fair and so we thought you would too.  We had some chores to do this morning so we got in the car with all of you.  The sun was shining on Charlie so he was hot and wanted more air conditioning.  You were squeezed in the middle and had the cold blowing directly on you so you were cold.  We ended up opening an umbrella and putting it in the window to keep the sun off Charlie especially when we were waiting on Poppa in the car.

Henry had a temper tantrum at the dollar store and was really mad at Diva.  He was sitting in his car seat so couldn't reach me so he decided to hit you as hard as he could in your face as you were right next to him.  You were just trying to be a peace maker so you were not expecting to be hit.  You cried and Poppa promised Henry a spanking when we got home.  Henry had a time out when we got home and did tell you he was sorry.

After lunch Poppa took Henry into the bedroom and gave his a quick swat (not wanting to hurt him but he had promised Henry a spanking).  Henry laughed at Poppa and told him it didn't hurt.  * ( Never, never say that to Poppa....as you might have thought Henry found out Poppa can spank harder!)

You are a very sensitive young man and helped Poppa with the wood and furnace outside .  Poppa really appreciated your help as the wood is heavy and needed to be stacked as well as the ashes scattered from the furnace .  

You and Charlie helped Poppa put "green slime" in one of the lawn mower tires. Poppa and Charlie drove the lawn mower tractor around the back yard for a while.   You and Charlie had races in the back yard.  You can run so fast....just like the wind.  I love to see you run.

After Charlie's nap.  We went to the Green Valley Book Fair.  You and Poppa went off to find a book especially for you.  This is what you picked.

The book is about warfare at night...a history of how things have changed over the last 100 years.  There are lots of pictures of planes in it.

Charlie chose this book and it came with legos and instructions on how to build special cars, trucks, and boats.  Both you and Charlie spent hours building with these special Legos.  Tomorrow we plan on going to the Children's Museum in Harrisonburg.  I am excited to take you.

Thanks for your help today.  I am sorry you got hurt trying to be a peacemaker.  I hope you never stop trying to help others.  I love your sensitive heart and your enthusiasm.  You made me very proud to be your Diva today.

Love you buddy,

Your Diva

Diva Camp Day 4

Dear Oz,   Today was building day at the nest...Poppa has lots of spare parts down in the "man cave"  so he helped each of you build a control panel for your rockets or anything else you ever decide to build. Each control panel had a hand held microphone so you and your brothers could communicate in your rockets. He also cut boxes to make helmets and helped put sides on your rockets.  You decorated your helmet with "7's" and stars.  You have quite an imagination.

You built some chair rockets yesterday so Poppa thought you might like to expand the project and make sides, a nose cone and paint them.  My dining room chairs were ready to blast off by the time you were finished.  You had a picnic lunch in your cockpits while watching Ninja Lego cartoons.

When Henry woke up from his nap we all went to Gypsy Hill Park.  You were an instant hit on the playground.  You especially enjoyed the tire swing and rode it most of the afternoon till you fell off it. You were such a brave boy and you got back on the swing right after.  The boy who was pushing it made it go much too fast and that is why you fell off.  You met a little 8 year old girl named Sophia who wanted your phone number so she could call you about meeting at the park tomorrow.   You were getting cold so watched your brothers feed the ducks.

After we left the park, Poppa took everyone out for ice cream cones.  You had a vanilla cone with 3 scoops and ate every bite of it.  After Henry was in bed Poppa took you outside and let you use the night vision goggles....Super Cool.

It's been a busy day buddy....lots more fun coming tomorrow.

Your Diva......

Diva Camp Day 3

Dear Oz...Today is Tuesday and we went to Equipping the Saints.  This is where Diva and Poppa work and we wanted to show you around and meet some of our friends.  Diva spends a lot of time sorting clothing out of my big mountain of black trash bags. I call it Mt. Clothesmore and it is big enough to climb.  Poppa let you climb on my bags which is something he rarely lets other people do....I think he must really like you.

Poppa took you on a tour of the building and showed you all the room filled with items that missionaries need.  There are rooms with computers, rooms with books and Bibles, rooms with medical supplies, rooms with tools, a room with lots and lots of typewriters and even a room with musical instruments.  You liked that room a lot because there were several guitars, keyboards, drum sets and even xylophones. 

This afternoon you helped your Poppa find his lap top.  Poppa had taken it off the table and forgot where he put it.  He had been looking everywhere for it and was quite upset that he forgot where he put it.  I was pretty sure he had taken it down to the "man cave" but he couldn't find it.  We prayed about it and I asked you if you would go downstairs with Poppa and look around to see if you could find it.   Guess What?  You found it really quickly!  Poppa was so relieved and thankful.  It was a huge blessing!  Thank you for helping him.

This morning before we left for ETS you and Henry made "a pencil rocket" out of my dining room chairs.  You decided that you both needed helmets so you put a shirt over your heads.  Henry even had a seat belt you made for him.  It was quite ingenious .....you have a great imagination. 

We got to talk to your Mom and Dad on Skype in Iceland.  Afterwards we took you to a new playground called "A Dream Come True".  It was made by a Girl Scout as her Eagle Project.  The playground is also equipped for handicapped children so everyone can have a place to have fun.  It is a nice playground and had some really great features.  You seemed to like the speedway and that they had bikes, and scooters you could use.  

On the way home, Poppa stopped at Dollar General and gave each of you 2 dollars and told you to buy the coolest toy you could get for the money.  This was your choice.

We had a really special day today.  I love you  buddy.

Your Diva....

Diva Camp Day 2

Dear Oz....You were excited this morning to see pictures of your mom and dad and know that they made it to Iceland.  You like the library especially some older boys you were able to play and build wild crazy rockets and houses.  Poppa found a great book on Pickup Trucks that you instantly had to read and look at the pictures.  Poppa loves old pickup trucks so he was very interested in the book also.

After the library we went to Food Lion to pick up some groceries.  They had shopping carts that look like cars so you had to drive one and so did your brothers.  Your cart  looked like a police car so you thought it would be funny to give Charlie a speeding ticket.  Charlie didn't like the idea so there was

quite a bit of yelling back and forth between the two of you.  (So much for make believe!)

 

   After lunch , Henry took a nap and you typed on the typewriter and played some computer games. You were glad when Poppa came home from work and brought a second typewriter.

We got a note from my friend Miss Donna that we saw at the nursing home yesterday.  Here is what she said about your visit with your brothers.  

I loved it! 

Thank you so very, VERY much for all the gifts and candy.

And the artwork ... please let the children know how much I appreciate it.

You'll have to let me know what their impressions were after visiting.

Heard lots of wonderful comments about the boys!

Again, thank you once again.

Thank you for being kind and sweet to our friend.

Diva

Diva Camp Begins

Dear Oz,

Today was the day that Mommy and Daddy left for Iceland on a special trip .  While they are gone, the next 5 days, we will be having a wild crazy time at Diva's and Poppa's.  Poppa promised you on your birthday that boys that are 7 and older can go into the "Man Cave" and you are excited to see what treasures Poppa stores down there.  Poppa is really excited too!

Before Mommy and Daddy left for Baltimore...you and your brothers gave them lots of hugs and kisses.  It was really hard for Mommy to leave her boys but she knows we will have a really good time and that it is a special time for Poppa and Diva to have my boys here.

You are growing so tall and you are so smart.  Henry found a button for me on the floor and I told you that Poppa is my finder when I misplace items.  I told you that Poppa always says, "Well if I'm your finder, what does that make you?"

Answer:  "The Loser!" 

You were quiet for a minute and said, "Diva you are NOT the loser, you are the asker".

My heart just melted at your thoughtfulness.

You really enjoyed Poppa's old Royal typewriter this afternoon.  It is 73 years old and you typed on it almost all afternoon.  You enjoyed writing silly stories on it.  You laughed and laughed at the stories you wrote.  Poppa was so pleased you loved his old typewriter (he does too!) and told me he is thinking about buying one for you tomorrow at Equipping the Saints.

This evening we heard from Mommy and Daddy that they were on the plane and asked for prayers about their trip.  We prayed about it at supper and you had the sweetest prayer for them at bedtime.  You also prayed that everyone would go to sleep so Poppa wouldn't be a grumpy ole bear tomorrow.  That really made me laugh.

I love you so much buddy.  Poppa was proud to share your first time watching the TV show " Myth Busters"...one of his favorite shows with you today.  I wonder what fun adventures we will have tomorrow.

Love you to the moon and back again....

Your Diva