Leah is 7!!

Can you believe that our little lady is now 7??!!?? Holy Moly!! I met this munchkin when she had just turned 3, and now she is a 7! First grade is over in a week and a half, and she is almost in 2nd grade. They say having kids makes your life fly before your eyes, and I totally agree!!

We had a birthday party for her the weekend before her birthday, on May 22, with some of our closest friends. We went to the park near our house and had a pinata, some cake and good times. Her actual birthday was Tues, May 25th. Since we did the party before her actual day, I still wanted to make sure her birthday was special, so on Monday night after she had gone to bed, I decorated her room with balloons, a Happy Birthday sign and streamers. She woke up on her birthday and she was so excited. The balloons, sign and streamers are all still up with no sign of them coming down. She is way too cute!!

Here are some highlights of the party at the park!

The Birthday Girl

The Gang

Picking up the Loot form the Pinata!

Blowing out the Candle!

Her favorite gift...a pink BB gun, from Papa...although I don't know who is more excited about it, Michael or Leah!! :)

Leah, the Author

Leah is in 1st grade, and is doing very well...she is a great reader and a good writer, too!! Open House was a couple of weeks ago and even though I had to work, Michael went and saw all of the glorious things that she has created this year. One of those thing was this book she wrote, called, The Adventures of William, The Indiana Jones Fish! It is seriously one of the cutest and most creative things I have seen a teacher do. Here is it!! The world wide debut! (I write what she wrote under each picture!)

The Adventures of William, The Indiana Jones Fish, written and illustrated by Leah Koontz

Once upon a time there was an Indiana Jones fish named William.

He was going to find the Pearl of Wisdom.

Suddenly!, there were bad guys coming after him!

He took his whip and swung it. All the bad guys fell.

He thought he was safe but another bad guy came after him!

So, he swang his whip again. He knockd down the bad guy and a rock!

Under the rock was the pearl of Wisdon! He was happy and went on to a new adventure!

The End

And here is her fish that we got to deocrate...Indiana Jones himself!

I cannot believe how creative this little lady is and I am so proud of her accomplishments, I had to share! Enjoy!!

Some Springtime Adventures

The weather has been soooo nice, we couldn't just sit inside and not enjoy it, we had to get outside and ride bikes and take some hikes. Here are some pics of the munchkin on 2 WHEELS!! Wa-hoo!! The pics are backward, but you get the idea. Here she is...

Papa close and ready to catch her, just in case!

Holding her steady!


Don't let me go, Papa

A few weeks ago, we headed up Bouquet Canyon to the Falls, and we couldn't go without Moses!

Leah found a blue-bellied lizard.

He seemed to like her!

The falls were beautiful, after we cleaned up the trash, and ignored the graffiti!!

We can't wait to see what else the springtime brings and we are looking forward to the summertime, too...can you say Hawaii?? Wa-hoo!! We'll be there before we know it!

30 years old!

I'm 30th...here is a pic of me and the hubs at a birthday party I had, and some musings about such a big birthday!!

I have been 30 for 3 days now, and I don't feel any different than 29. I have been doing a lot of thinking though about the past and the future and if I am where I thought "I'd be" at 30. Does that question make any sense? I feel like I have been the type of person who takes each day at it comes, and hasn't had the sense of dread about turning 30 that maybe some other people have had. On Sunday, driving to my parents for my birthday dinner I got to thinking about how much my life has changed in the last 10 years. I am now in my 4th decade and I feel like my 3rd decade went by in a blur. While pondering, I thought of 30 things that I have done or accomplished in the last 10 years...you can stop reading now and know that I look forward to the next 10 years or you can talk a walk down memory lane with me!!

In the past 10 years, I:

- graduated college

-earned a BA in Communication

-taught outdoor science school

-got a teaching credential

-substituted a lot!

-was a "'boss" at Sylvan

-went to Europe with my sister and Chris Kidder

- drove across the country with Chris Kidder

-went to Graceland

-went to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole

-joined EHarmony where I became a success story

-moved to Santa Ana, then to Lancaster, then to Palmdale, then to Santa Clarita

-got a teaching contract

-got an engagement ring

-was a bride on my wedding day, in one of my favorite places

-became a mom to the best kiddo ever

-was a "Room Mom"

-go to parent-teacher conferences instead of leading one

-became a housewife/stay at home mom

-learned a lot (and am still learning) about autism

-made some amazing friends

-went on 2 cruises to Mexico

-became "mom" to 2 special doggies

-am beer-brewing helper

-became a good meal cooker

-am holiday-house decorator

-am blog reader and writer

-was a bridesmaid and matron of honor a few times

-am a Koontz!!

Now that I am here...I am happy to be here and look forward to the next 10 years...can't even imagine what they will hold, but I'm looking forward to it!!

Easter Fun!

Easter time means spring time! Yay!! It is also a great time to celebrate the season of Jesus' life and the evidence of His love for us! In the Koontz household it means something a little different apparently. Leah was eager to celebrate Easter, but in her mind it means dyeing Easter eggs!! We had a collection of egg dyeing kits and we chose the good ol' traditional color tablet and vinegar one! Here are some pictures to commemorate the season:

Here are few of our eggs, getting their color!

Leah humoring me by stopping the process to smile for a picture!!

The "men": too cool for egg dyeing!!



"Look, it says something!!" (Currently, I forget what it said, something "Easter-y" I'm sure!)

The Munchkin with the finished product!

We had a great Easter day. We went to church and it was a Family Sunday...meaning no Sunday School and I have realized how grateful I am for Kids Church. I feel lucky to live down the street from a good church...it is pretty big, but good worship and good preaching. Something about celebrating the Resurrection with a full orchestra and a 100-person choir gave me the chills. Later we went to Grandma Carol's and Grandpa Dan's for a little Wii playing, family dinner and a nice little Easter-day Earthquake. What does it say about the McAllister's if we all thought it was the effects of the wine?? Luckily Leah and Auntie Em used their brains and went to "duck and cover". The rest of us just held onto our wine glasses!! :) Wish I had a picture of it!!

Happy Easter!!

Easter Story Cookies

I found this recipe for these cookies on countless blogs in the last few weeks. I used this recipe. Leah and I made them, and I took pictures. The link is a PDF of the recipe with the Bible verses.

Basically, you make cookies and while you're making them, you use the ingredients as an illustration of what happened to Jesus during Easter time.

Here is what you need:

A Bible

1 cup whole pecans

1 tsp. vinegar

3 egg whites

pinch of salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 gallon size ziplock bag wooden spoon

baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper

tape

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Place pecans in ziplock and beat with the wooden stick while explaining that the Roman's beat Jesus after he was arrested. Read John 19:1-3

Let your child smell the vinegar and add a teaspoon to the mixer. Explain that that is what Jesus was offered to drink while he was on the cross, and Read John 19: 28-30. (Personally, I think Leah's face is priceless and that is totally a candid shot!!)

Add egg whites to the vinegar and explain that eggs represent life and Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10: 10-11.

Next sprinkle a litte salt into your child's hand and let them taste it and then add a pinch to the egg white vingear mixutre. Explain that the salt represents the salty tears that Jesus' followers cried and the bitterness of our sin. Read Luke 23:27.

So far the ingredients aren't very appetizing. How can these cookies taste good? Well, here comes the good part. The Sugar!! Add 1 cup of sugar and explain that the sweetest part of the story is when Jesus died for our sins. He did this because He loves us and wants us to know Him. Read Psalm 34:8.

Now beat the mixture with the mixer on high for 10-12 minutes until stiff beaks are formed.

While the beater is mixing the mixture, explain that color represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3: 1-3

Once stiff peaks have formed, fold in broken nuts.

Then spoon mounds of the mixture onto a parchement or wax paper lined cookie sheet. Explain that the mounds reresent the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid. Read Matthew 27: 57-60

Place the cookies in the warm oven, close the oven and turn the oven OFF. Give your child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that the tomb was sealed. Read Matthew 27: 65-66.

Lastly, GO TO BED and explain that it may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven over night, but Jesus' followers were sad then the tomb was sealed. Read John 16:20.

On Easter morning, open the oven, take the cookies out and take a bit. Notice the cookies are hollow. (I'd show you mine, but the picture was blurry and they weren't very hallow. Make sure you finely chop the nuts after they are "beaten".) On the first Easter Jesus' followers were happy to see the tomb open and empty! Read Matthew 28: 1-9

March Madness!!

So, not that March Madness, I don't really care about basketball...the March Madness I'm talking about is the fact that the last day of March is tomorrow, and I can't believe it!! I feel like this month just flew by and left me in the dust. The sad thing is that we haven't been up to much. I have been working, working and working. It is been an adjustment to really "know" what I'm doing, but so far, I feel like I've got it down. I am continuously blown away at how loving, funny, capable, smart, and delightful my clients have been. I am currently working with 3 different families and I am amazed at the lengths they will go to do make sure their child is successful. Autism is still a "mystery" to so many, but now that I am "in" it, I can see the advances that have been made and am excited to see what the future holds for all these kids. Although my work hours are spaced out throughout the day and a little different each day, I find that my job is very tiring...not only physically, but emotionally. There are some days I feel like I could just fall over. I do have some spare time and lately I've been trying new recipes and trying to find healthy food for my family to enjoy...Hawaii is only 10 weeks away...got to get that beach body ready!! :)

Michael has been busy with work, too and Leah has been busy with being a first grader. She is an excellent reader and is actually reading at a higher level. Her teacher is pretty impressed with her ability to comprehend above grade level work. Her teacher is a very good teacher and we feel blessed that Leah has the opportunity to be at such a top-rate school in Santa Clarita.

Earlier this week, Leah was awarded with a Language Arts award at school. My mom was so proud of Leah, that she came up to see the little award ceremony. She feels it is important for Leah to have her support and that Leah will know it is always a big deal and a good thing to do well in school. Here are few pictures my mom took of the day:

Leah out front, ready to go to school...also sporting a new haircut!!

Leah with her Award!! Go Leah!!
And this one, I had to include. Even though she is our "big girl", she still is such a little girl with her backpack half as big as she is!!

We hope that you and your families have a fantastic "Spring" and have a very happy Easter, as we celebrate that fact that He is Risen!! Love to you all!!