a little Christmas

I hope "you all" had a Merry Christmas! Here's a little glimpse into our Christmas this year ... These first two pix are from a few days before Christmas ... December 19 ... which had been a busy day. A "relative" Christmas party and a few errands at the mall. So here we are at Panera ... recovering from the insanity of the mall. The place was almost empty ... so it was nice and calm :) Christmas Eve ... I didn't send out Christmas cards this year ... but this would have been a good picture for it! Just pretend I did ;) Not an easy task to get all four kids ~ mostly because one is a baby ~ looking the same direction and trying to smile!

My mother by her feast ... I tease her that she calls everything swedish ... swedish meatballs, swedish sausage, swedish tea cakes, swedish kringle, swedish coffee ... swedish buns, swedish potatoes, swedish vegetables ;)
Christmas Day ... this feast was at my in-laws ... prime rib this year

Father and Son ...

Father and Son and ... legos!

Dessert ... my mother-in-law always has a heaping platter of berries ... a beautiful sight in the winter :)

And this here is a photo of my largest cross-stitch project to date ... it took me nine hours! I haven't really cross-stitched other than a little bit as a child ... but I have a tradition ~ which might not go on forever ... I'm running out of ideas ~ of giving my mother-in-law a handmade gift. She collects birds ... so this was my idea for the handmade portion of her gift this year. Actually, this picture is before it was finished. My mother helped with sewing a back and a loop on it ... which made it a little ornament or knob decoration :)

a little snowboarding

Halo is on Buddy's first snowboard (from last Christmas) ... and having a grand time!
Buddy is on a new one that we picked up yesterday. He was ready for a more challenging snowboard ... with boot straps and without a hand rope. (The sledder is Foofie. She tries to snowboard too ... but it scares me a bit.)

a little ambitious

My two oldest kids are a bit ahead (of government standards) in their schoolwork ... and this doesn't always thrill them. So ... I sometimes have to tell them that it's actually a good thing. They, however, think that since they're ahead ... that perhaps they can take a year off at some point to do important stuff ... like raise ducks and build a shed (which would be their police station). I have explained to my children a few times that it doesn't really matter what "grade" they are in ... or what "grade" is on the front of their textbook ... or if they go through one math book during the school year ... or two. It only matters that they are being challenged and that they are doing their best. So one day ... I was telling the kids that if they continue to be ahead grade-wise ... they could probably start college early (like many other homeschoolers).

Halo and Buddy both responded to this by saying, "I don't want to go to college."

"Okay, that's fine," I said ... "But ... you might change your mind."

Four year-old Foofie was listening in ... and interjected, "I can't wait to go to college!"

She wasn't kidding ...

Yesterday, she was pestering me to get her a cursive book or else print off some cursive sheets online. (As you will see ... her penmanship still needs a little improvement though.) And the day before? She was copying a list of Halo's fifth grade spelling words! An eager student is a joy to her teacher :)

One of the spelling words was breathtaking ... I explained to her that it a word for something amazing ... like a breathtaking view. "No," she disagreed, "that's what they do at the doctor's office. They take your breath."

a little reader

Here is Foofie on lesson 52 of this wonderful reading book ... Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons. This is the third child we've used it for and it still works :) Teaching your child to read really can be fun!

a little parable parody

None of you know this ... but I'm a budding songwriter ;) My secret's out! Actually, "budding" is pushing it ... because I never hope to bloom or sprout or the like. Some of my titles include ... A Peck and a Peck, Hungry Girl in the Backseat, Lullaby, I will sing to the LORD, That's My Name, and O~B~E~Y. The songs just sort-of happen ... they're not planned ... which might be obvious given the titles :)

Anyway, thirteen days ago ... it was Sunday and I was at church. During the sermon, the pastor said, "ninety-nine sheep came home" ... and a song immediately began to germinate in my head. By the way, the rest of the song was developed that afternoon and evening ... I did hear the remainder of the sermon ;) You see, about a month before, Jeff and I were listening to some old eighties songs on youtube. One of these flashback songs was Ninety-Nine Red Balloons by Nena ... and it had kind-of been stuck in my head ever since that night. So ... when Pastor King said ninety-nine sheep came home ~ which you'll notice has three syllables like red balloons ~ inspiration struck ;)




ninety-nine sheep went home
one got lost where did she go?
the shepherd searched all over town
a looking for that hundredth one

he searched for her ... all night long
calling her with his sheep song
in the meadow, near the wheat
ninety-nine fluffy sheep went bleat ...

ninety-nine sheep went on home
one got lost where did she go?
he hurried and scurried all around
until at last his sheep was found

he put it on his shoulders

joyfully he traveled home
he called his friends "REJOICE with me!"
and ninety-nine fluffy sheep went bleat ...
bleat. bleat.
bleat. bleat. bleat. bleat.

{The full story can be found in Luke 15:3-7}

And here's one from my older camera ... I think it's brighter???

a little backgammon

A couple weeks ago, Jeff and I were thinking of doing something fun ... shocking, I know ;) Anyway, we don't really watch TV ... tennis wasn't an option ... and scrabble ~ I hate to say this ~ but it has lost some of its appeal since I began playing online scrabble. So ... what we were to do??? Dishes and laundry??? Then I remembered ... BACKGAMMON!!! Jeff taught me how to play when we were in Florida last winter and it was pretty fun. Being that it was late at night ... we couldn't run out and buy a backgammon board ... but I figured there would be a printable board online. I googled "printable backgammon board" and came up empty ... perhaps there are copyright restrictions? So ... I decided to make my own. How hard could it be???

I started with a ruler and lots of measuring and then hand-coloring the triangles (to be accurate, they are called points). After coloring about six points, I decided that cutting the triangles from colored paper and pasting them on cardstock would be quicker ... so I cut out twenty-four triangles with my paper cutter. It was faster! Next, I glued them on the cardstock ... but it was curling a bit at the edges. So ... I made it a tad smaller to fit in our copy machine. Then, I made a color copy of the board and finished it off by tucking it in a document laminating page. Ta~da! Lots of fun is in our future now ;)

a little processing

"Does it hurt when you have a baby?" Foofie asked.

"Yes."

"Do you cry?"

"It's actually more like screaming."

"I think I'm going to stay small ... I'll tell Jesus I need to stay small," Foofie stated.

"When your tummy gets huge again and you're going to have another baby ... it will be a girl because we just had a boy. But maybe it will be a boy. We could name him East. Or we could name him West. If he was East, we could call him Easter. Do you like East or West, Mamma?"

"Of those two, I'd pick West."

a little half

Oh boy! Little Buddy is already six months old ... it seems like three months ago at most. I forgot to photograph him today ... so I ran upstairs and snapped one of him in dreamland.

a little decorating

One of Foofie's favorite things to do is to tape little stuff all over the place ... or (as pictured here) ... stick post-it notes around. Some days it just feels like more CLUTTER ... but she is good about not putting tape on furniture ... so I try to enjoy her creativity. Also, she doesn't seem bothered by my continually taking it all down. It gives her reason to make more, I guess :) Sometimes she makes words or numbers ... other times pictures. Here is a SMALL sample ...

a little towel

Many Wednesday nights we dine at Panera and then make a mad dash to church. Last Wednesday was no exception. I was washing my hands in the bathroom there ... and when I was finished pumping my paper towel, I pumped out another section for a lady who was still at the sink. "Thanks," she said. "You don't want to touch anything these days, ya know?"

I returned to the table and relayed this exchange to my waiting family.
"Were there public restrooms when you were a kid?" Halo asked.

P.S. Sorry to break this to you ... but the buttons on the hand dryers (or the levers on the towel dispensers) in public bathrooms are really not clean ... not at all. I used to think they were okay until I noticed lots of gals turn them on with their elbows. Once, I even saw a tween use her foot (which would be her shoe) to start the dryer. This was after she had asked her mother to turn it on and the mother refused ... because ... she was afraid to?

a little Applebee's

FREE advertisement for Applebee's! We dined there tonight with Grandpa and Grandma. We didn't know beforehand ... but Tuesday night is KIDS NIGHT :) Kids meals ... including a beverage ... are just 99 cents! Plus ... there's free CHIPS & SALSA, FACE PAINTING and TREASURES (also called "trinket trash" by Daddy)!

Having fun!!!

She could've been a hippie ...

Check out these cheeks!!! Baby's that is ;)

Digging for jewels ...

Some young fellow sporting an orange vest found a handful of POLICE badges in the treasure box ... I wonder who that could be!

a little dating

On Wednesday evenings, I help with an AWANA program at our church called Truth and Training. It is for children in grades three through six. A couple weeks ago, I was talking with a young boy ...

"How's school?" I asked.
"Stupid," he blurted out.
"Why is it stupid?" I questioned.
"Because kids date," he answered.
"Yeah," I agreed ... "That is pretty stupid."

He is only two years older than my Halo ... I thought sadly. He is in sixth grade and happens to go to a government school ... but the same could happen at private schools or in church groups. Dating also seems unwise for high school kids ... unless, I suppose, you were in the upper grades and ready to get married at eighteen or nineteen. Dating that doesn't lead to marriage generally produces some type of "baggage". What good could possibly come from dating if marriage isn't in the near future??? I can't think of anything ... can you???

This leads me to another thought ... why do some parents tell their small preschool-age children that they have a boyfriend or girlfriend??? I guess I don't know why ... but it seems that a little girl who gets used to the idea that she has a boyfriend ... will be more comfortable having real boyfriends at a young age (and vice-versa).

a little greeting

Foofie's morning greeting to Baby ... quite a joyful start to the day :)
"Hi, Baby!!! Yes, you like me! You like me! You like YOU! You like MAMA! You like MAMA'S LEG! YOU LIKE EVERYTHING!!!"

a little hallujah

This afternoon, Foofie and Little Dude and I were heading to Grandma & Grandpa's house for lunch (or dinner ... since it is Sunday). It is a route we travel often because it is also the way to church and many shopping destinations. Foofie was practicing her rights and lefts. "Dairy Queen is on the right!" She called up to me. "And that church is on the left!" She continued. When she pointed out this particular church ... it reminded me of something that I hadn't remembered in a quite a while ... a time when Foofie would exclaim and point at this certain church building each and every time we passed by.

When Foofie was about 15 months until about age 2 1/2 ... every time she saw a cross ~ which was usually spotted on a church ~ she would shout out, "Hallujah!" (Hall-oo-yah) She always called out several hallujahs for each cross she spotted! I also remember when we drove to the Outer Banks, we passed a huge hill that had three large crosses erected on it and Foofie got really excited about that. "Hallujah! Hallujah! Hallujah!" We don't know how she came to link crosses with shouting hallujah ... but it was soooo darling. Now though, it's just a fun memory. I didn't want to forget it forever ... so I thought I'd share it here :)

Foofie is growing older ... as we all are ... and she's finished with the hallujahs ... but she still says "lello" for yellow. I can't bring myself to correct her because she says lello so cutely! I might be a bit sad when she starts saying yellow ...

a little bubblehead

I got another winning haircut! It's nearly the worst one I've ever had ... at Aveda no less ... would you believe it??? I look like someone else ... I'm not sure who ... but I don't look like myself. I think chopping off 2 or 3 more inches might solve the oddness of it ... but it would be much shorter than I want. I had told the twenty-something very hep (or "hip" if you prefer) stylist that I needed to be able to wear it tied back for those mornings when I get peed on or some other unforeseen issue arises. I told her I'm not cool ... I'm a mother ... so I don't want anything too dramatic.

After telling her what I was hoping for ... she said, "Okay. Yes ... it will be a real classic look." What is that anyway? Then, when she was finished snipping and was well into the styling of my hair, she commented ... "We don't want you looking like a bubblehead." Or a lamp or a mushroom ... I thought. Not too classic!!! So ... she tweaked it a tiny bit more with the scissors ... but not much!

Anyway, I'm disliking it more and MoRe and MORE as the day goes on ... and just wanted to "vent"! So ... I'm venting! (By the way ... I don't really like the words vent and venting.) Just so you know ... I probably will not show you what it really looks like if you ask :) Also, I'm going to try to scrape it back into an itty bitty bun for the next four months or else wear a bandana! Scrape ... because it BARELY works now ... lots of hunks (or honks as I've also called them) insist on falling out. My ever-witty husband said I was onto something ... that Honks Hair might be a good name for a beauty salon (a barber shop is more like it). And yes ... my kids all think its weird! But it's only hair ... such a minor, trivial thing ... and thankfully, it grows! Toodle-loo :)

a little catch-up

Here's nearly all the photos I snapped during October ...
Not many ... as I noted in another post ...

Here's Little Buddy posing at the "Harvest Fest" ... I think he's going to keep his blue eyes!

Foofie went as Snow White (three years running now) ... here she is at the end of the event ... tired and hungry for supper ... and being a bit of what we call a "crabby crank".

Buddy was a policeman :)

And Halo was a fairy!

One of my new favorite snacks ... pistachios!!! Why hasn't anyone ever RAVED about them to me??? I've been missing out for far too long! They are soooo good ... definitely rave-worthy!

I also discovered a few pictures worth sharing on Halo's camera ...

Our neighbor let Buddy try out his vest and baton one day ...

A cute shot of Baby smiling :)

I was sorting through stuff in our insane basement ... an ongoing activity ... and came across some of my husband's things. I tossed a few shirts and an old pair of overalls at him. He was quite excited about one shirt in particular that he hadn't seen for years.

"This is my favorite shirt that I never wear!" He exclaimed. (He thought he had lost it a few years ago when he went to Vegas for some training.)

a little Indian

Yesterday, my in-laws took us to a relatively new Indian restaurant for their Sunday lunch buffet. Doesn't this look goood??? The kids loved it too!
Afterwards, we had to stop for ice cream ... even though we were probably a bit on the full side. I took about a half-dozen pictures of these three together and one of them was always looking at their cone ... or eating it :)Cookies~n~Cream ... Cotton Candy ...

and Birthday Cake! Foofie tried to keep her candy on top as long as possible :)

a little quotable ~ October

"You need good ears. Twenty-twenty ears ..."
to hear the garage open.
"Does Halo have five hundred-five hundred ears?"

"I call you LOVE MOMMY."

"Do bad guys ever shoot through wooden doors?"

I got one of my first "love notes" from Foofie :)
ILU ("That means I love you ...)
Mommy (and Mommy)
Jesus (and Jesus" she said.)

"Halo's acting like she's the boss of America ... but MOMMY'S the boss of America!"

a little editorial ... best friendship

Ever since Halo was old enough to have friendships and started hearing about "best friends" ... we have counseled her to avoid using the term "best friends". Like most teaching that sticks ... we have talked about it more than once or twice. We have tried to help Halo ~ and now Buddy and Foofie ~ understand why we don't think it's such a good idea. Any belief one holds without knowing why they believe it ... will be a shallow belief. So ... dear readers ... now I will share my thoughts about this with you :)

The first concern with the "best friends" label is that it is exclusive. By definition, it excludes everyone but the two best friends. (Yes, three people could be best friends ... or you could have several best friends ... but generally it is used to describe the relationship between two friends.) It is ranking people. It doesn't portray kindness to your "lesser friends" ... and naturally, we want to be kind. In fact, in Scripture we are commanded to be kind.

Secondly, I explained to my children that using this language isn't often true ... and of course we want our word to be true. Most BFFs do not end up being best friends forever. People change. Stuff happens. People move. Situations change. What does one do, I asked my children, when their best friend moves far away and all of their lesser friends are hardly even their friends anymore?

I know about having best friends. I was best friends with Anne in elementary school ... but then when I moved up to middle school ... I found a new best friend, Traci. Switching best friends can be a bit sticky, ya know? Traci and I had "best friends" necklaces (to really solidify our friendship ~ hahaha) ... the kind with the charm broken in half. I had the half that said BE FRI ... and she had ST ENDS. She even had our names engraved on the back at Things Remembered. Today, however, I'm not best friends with either Anne or Traci. You might be thinking ... big deal ... that's how kids are ... it didn't really hurt anything ... it helps kids cope or something like that??? On the other side of childhood though ... I'm thinking how I sent the message to my other friends that they were less valued by me. I wasn't treating those girls how I wanted to be treated.

Finally, needing to use the "best friends" term seems to reveal insecurity. (There are, I think, two exceptions to this ... which will come later.) We are trying to find security in this friend ... in our status ... in this relationship ... in being someone's best friend. In situations like this, we are motivated by selfishness. I want to be best friends with someone really cool ... popular ... neat ... whatever. I want to know that someone likes me best! If we are Christians though ... shouldn't our security be found in Christ?

It also exposes insecurities in parents. For example, I once heard a mother talking about her daughter's best friend. Her daughter, however, was only ten or eleven months old! And the best friend? She was maybe a whole three months old! These babies don't even know the word friend! Maybe they will be friends ... but maybe they won't "click". This makes one wonder ... why does the mother feel the need to claim a best friend for her baby daughter???

We instructed our children to not overreact and make a big deal when they hear their friends talking about their best friend or saying they want to be best friends ... because it's not a sin. It's just a what is best issue ... a preference issue. Also, some parents haven't talked to their children about this ... or perhaps they haven't even thought it through much.

We coached the kids this way ...
If a friend tells you that you are their best friend, say something like ... "Thank you. You are a good friend of mine too." If a friend asks if you want to be best friends ... try to explain why you don't use those exact words. Let them know you don't have a best friend ... but you think they are really a special, dear, good, close, whatever friend.

Of course we are going to have tighter friendships with some than with others ... and these might change depending on our stage of life and other factors. The point here is that it isn't helpful or necessary ~ and can be hurtful ~ to publicly rank our friendships. It's quite possible to have deep, meaningful friendships without making a vow of lifelong best friendship.

So ... recently Buddy's buddy told him they were B.F.F.. "That's right," Buddy agreed ... "We are BOY friends forever!" :) It's nice to see your children following your instructions ... I hope they'll believe our wisdom about how stupid dating is too ; ) That might be a tougher sell though ...

If Buddy and his buddy are close buddies for the rest of their lives ... all well and good! They will be able to know they are special friends by how they treat each other, by how they confide in each other, by how they enjoy being together ... and a "best friends" label isn't needed to make their friendship richer.

Two exceptions: spouses and siblings
When a wife, for example, says her husband is her best friend it's not excluding ... because they already have an exclusive relationship. Also, it is more likely that they will remain best friends ... unlike our best friendships from childhood. Finally, it seems more indicative of a good marriage than an insecurity of needing to attach yourself to one particular person. The same is true for some siblings. I know these two brothers who are nine years apart ... and best friends. (By the way, they only have sisters ... so they aren't excluding any other brothers.) They already have a unique relationship, they will probably always be close, and their best friendship shows great love for one another ... not a need for security.

a little mini-golf

Buddy was excited ~ and checking the clock ~ all day long today! He was invited to a birthday party at 3 o'clock ... which was to include mini-golfing and pizza! (Buddy, by the way, had never been mini-golfing.) This afternoon, he made a birthday card for his friend. Naturally, I wanted to see the card before he stuffed it in the gift bag ... and this is what I saw ...


LOTS OF EMPTY, WHITE SPACE.


Upon further inspection, I noticed some tiny drawings down near the bottom ...

"There's hardly anything on this card, Buddy." I remarked casually.
"Yes, there is. There's a little golf club, a little golf tee, and a little golf ball ... because we're going mini-golfing." He explained ... and wondered, I think, why I was so slow to catch on.
"If we were going regular golfing ... I would have drawn it all bigger." Of course!!!
Isn't that cute? It's so him ~ I love it!

NOTE: They ended up going bowling instead. Buddy, of course, had a super fun time nonetheless :)

a little lovely

We were driving to church tonight. As always, I quizzed Foofie.
"Okay ... Foofie. What's your verse for tonight?"
"He made ... stuff ... lovely." She answered.

Close ... it was "He made everything beautiful."

a little quotable ~ September

Here's the latest batch of quotes ...

SEPT. 8
Foofie is more than 100% ... "I'm one hundred point one sure!" ... 100.1

SEPT. 10
Driving around. Running errands.
"Can we go get me a burger?" Foofie asked ... "I haven't had a burger yet today."
Perhaps she has already had too many burgers in her short life!

SEPT. 12
"Do you think I could sell the police badges that I make?" asked Buddy.
"No," Halo responded quickly.
"Laminated?" (usually means packing tape)
"No."
He tried again ... "Laminated ... with a pin?" (a safety pin taped on back)
We all laughed.

SEPT. 29
Foofie greeting Baby in the morning ... "Hello, my big huge humongous little friend!"

SEPT. 30
Chatting (and somewhat joking) with the pediatrician ...
"Well ... I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist."
Okay ... maybe not the best thing to say ... considering the nurses and doctors at our clinic ask all sorts of personal questions (which are none of their business) and then record copious notes about us on our "charts".

a little baptism

Late this afternoon ... I was cleaning out all of the debris that had accumulated in our van this past week ... mail, papers from school, stuff from church, miscellaneous laundry (baby blankets, socks, sweat jackets, onesies, towels), Panera cups, hair binders, sermon notes, library books, Target bags, lip glosses, police paraphernalia, gum wrappers ... you name it! Does anyone else experience this???

Anyway, Buddy came into the garage in his swimsuit and announced that we were going to the lake. He wanted to get baptised. Jeff followed behind shortly with towels ... also in swim shorts. It began sprinkling out as we were all getting buckled into the van. We started driving and I noticed the outside temp was 57 degrees :)

When we arrived at the lake ... it was extremely windy and starting to change from sprinkles to raindrops. Buddy commented that it was "wretched weather". We took out our new $4 jumbo umbrella (purchased last night at Ikea) and headed down to the water. When we reached the water ... which was quite a ways out as the lake is really low this year ... it was really raining! Halo, Foofie, Baby, and I all huddled under the big blue and yellow umbrella. My, was I ever thankful for that umbrella!!!

Buddy got baptised!!! Way to go, Son :)

Keep in mind that the camerawoman was holding a large umbrella and a large baby ... and it was raining and really really windy ...

(I didn't quite catch it all on video ...)

The guys dried off real quick and we dashed back to the van for cover. Actually, Daddy (carrying Foofie) and Buddy dashed ... Halo and I slogged. We couldn't see because the umbrella was nearly straight out in front of us blocking the wind. Our hands were full ... making any dashing impossible. My toes were numb ... I was in flip flops. Halo was in her fancy boots. And then ... my wonderful new umbrella broke ... and bonked Little Buddy on the head! He didn't like that. I didn't either ... now I'm not so keen on the umbrella after all.

a little refill

We lunched at Chipotle. Since it was a beautiful afternoon ... we dined outside. We were seated at a table near our van ... and Little Buddy was in there.

"Do you want another pop?" I asked Jeff.
"Yes."
"What kind?" I questioned.
"Mello Yello."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"Get your own." I replied ... quite kindly :)
We both burst out laughing. What a wife!

(I think I said this because I started thinking about checking on Little Buddy ... instead of going for pop right then. Anyway, Jeff didn't know what I was thinking ... even after twelve years of marriage!)

"Maybe ... I should start a blog," Jeff replied, "and write down all of the funny things you say!"

(Then ... I changed my mind again ... can you believe that??? I didn't want to be a bad wife. And so ... I refilled his Mello Yello after all.)

a little clearer

Halo got her new glasses last Wednesday ... and it seems like they work! She was excitedly reading all of the signs and whatnot as we were driving about that she couldn't make out before. I am so thankful for eye doctors and glasses!!! The science is almost miraculous ... that they are able to determine what level her sight is (20/400!) and fashion lenses to make her vision 20/20. Wow! Halo has been told she looks smarter, older, and cute ... plus, she can SEE now ... so I don't think she minds her new accessory one bit!

a little crazy

So ... I was at Target late this morning after having been to the eye doctor again for an adjustment on Halo's glasses. The gal ahead of me in the checkout line asked ...

"Do you homeschool?"
"Yes!" I responded ... "Do I look crazy or something?"

She laughed.

a little package

My mother-in-law just gave me some photos on a CD last night ... FUN! Here is one of them. This is our family four months ago ... I had just eaten a painfully large meal at Olive Garden. It was 12 days before my due date. Baby arrived, however, only 1 1/2 days after this photo ... so this turned out to be my last photo of Baby in the belly. Do I really look like I have a 9 pound 10 ounce package in there? Maybe if I was turned sideways. It's amazing how our bodies can stretch soooo much ... enough to carry a full-size baby!

Anyway ... I've never been photographed shortly before delivery ... and got the idea to do it this time around (this might be the last opportunity!) ... but the camera went flying into the far recesses of our van as we were racing to the hospital. So ... after Baby arrived, Jeff had to go back out to our vehicle to search for the camera.

Nikki ~ After MUCH delay ... here's the photo you asked about ... it just took a few months :)

More bellies!!! This here is my other late pregnancy photo ... taken on May 10th, Mother's Day. Believe it or not ... Mrs. Johnson was due 7 days before me (and still looking quite perky here) ... but I went 10 days early ... and she went 2 days late ... so how many days apart does that make our babies??? Can you solve this word problem?

And now ... the babies! One is just over four months & one is almost four months. It's fun(ny) to see them together because they are so different. Big and strong. Small and delicate.

a little rambling

I've been thinking of changing my blog address to sixcheddars ... any opinions on this? I'm not overly attached to all of the littles ... although my banner photo now fits in with the theme ... it is a lot of little bleeding hearts.

Also, trying to pick a blogname for Baby. Baby works for now ... but it obviously won't be too cool when he's say ... four??? I'm considering Zee, Junior, and Moses at this point. Any other suggestions?

FYI >>> We are on the medium level of personal information shared on this site ... so we don't use our childrens' real names. High exposure would be using real names and including photos of people. Low exposure ... provides maximum security ... by using code names and not posting any photos of the blogee or blogee's family. I just made this all up. I don't know if it really matters anyway ... but my husband ... he is the protector, you know :) ... thought it best if we didn't use our childrens' names. I also think I just made up "blogee" ... or have you heard the word before?

Well ... I must be fresh out of ideas or something ... since I'm rambling like a hill ... like a valley? I don't know ... what rambles???

P.S. Oh wait ... is it a man? Is there a song about a rambling man?

a little cooing

This might only interest Grandma & Grandpa ... but oh well :) With each child I'm increasingly enjoying the cooing days ... and often trying to capture a snippet of it on video. I just think it's so sweet and darling ... the first steps towards language. This is one of our earliest conversations (late July) ... when Baby was about two months old.

a little remodeling

It was time for some blog remodeling ...

a little optimist

Foofie insisted on going on a run tonight. She wanted to run a mile tonight because she ran a half mile two nights ago. So we were off ... and she was running like a nut ... although nuts pretty much just sit around I guess. She was jumping from the curb to the road to the curb and back to the road. Then she was leaping towards the ground grabbing fistfuls of grass and weeds. Then she was skipping. And then she was looking behind her ...

"Be careful!" I cautioned her.
"You get two sets of teeth ... but only one face."
Ever the hopeful optimist ... "I get two noses though."
"How would that work?" I asked.
"If I break my nose ... which would be very BAD ...
I'd have to go to the doctor and get a new nose."

a little badness

We had just finished praying ... partly about Halo going to the eye doctor tomorrow ... when Foofie said,
"I'm never going to the eye doctor because
I'm never gonna have bad eyes."
"I'm never going to have bad eyes either," Buddy agreed.
"Me too! NEVER!" Foofie repeated with her usual exuberance ...
"But I will have bad teeth!"

a little ending

Today was Mrs. Steven's last day as our mail lady. She had told us they were reorganizing and reassigning routes and she didn't have enough seniority for our route ... for whatever reason, it is a coveted route. We weren't around to greet her this last time. Here is what she left behind for the kids ...So ... yesterday turned out to be their last race against Mrs. Stevens ... and I was able to get it on video ... unfortunately, one of the runners went down ... watch carefully ;)

a little ritual

Here's the kiddos smiling by their friend, Mrs. Stevens ...
yes, it's our "mail lady"!

This spring and summer, whenever the kids were playing outside during the afternoon mail delivery (which was often), they would hustle over to visit with the mail lady. A little ritual began where Foofie would "help" by opening and shutting the last three boxes. Mrs. Stevens would then thank her for helping. Next, Foofie would say, "Wanna race to the driveway?" Yes, the mail lady was always interested in racing and would call out ... ready, set, go. The kids took the race very seriously and would dash off at their top speeds. Mrs. Stevens always let them win ... and then she would say, "My, you're so fast! You won again!" Finally, the mail lady would loop around the circle at the end of the cul-de-sac ... and many good-byes were hollared back and forth as she passed by en route to her next destination.

a little correspondence

Here's a couple of letters that Buddy wrote recently. He gave me permission to publish them. It's just a small sample of the kinds of note I often find about.

Dear Friend,

Here is 1 handcuff key, 1 ID card, 1 sheriff badge, and 2 keys for the clubhouse.

Officer Buddy

His friend's mother read this letter to me over the phone and said her son was puzzled ... "What's an ID card?"

Dear Friend,

Do you have a LCPD Badge? If so we are starting a Lego City Police Department Watch for your neighborhood. Visit us on the web at lcpd.com and have fun. You will find out more about LCPD and badges.

Love,

Buddy

HERE IS A LETTER I STUMBLED UPON THAT HALO WROTE BACK IN FEBRUARY ...

She said that I could put it on the blog and that she's
"so past that now" :)

To Friend,

I have something urgent to tell you. I am now added as a member to The International Police Club. You have a choice to join the club or not. If you choose yes to join, so-and-so is our protector and spy. You are a jail watch if you want to be one. The rules are: fight off intruders and keep our prisoner in line. Try to stay away from them (bad apples). Don't show this to anybody. Okay? VERY dangerous. I am second watch.

Signature,

Halo

P.S. This is the stamp that means our club president has approved.

a little tune

I love watching my kids have so much fun together!
(AUGUST 10th at the cabin)

a little sweet tooth

Daddy was doing a Bible Study with the kids. They were talking about heaven.

"I think there's gonna be crowns there ... and suckers." Foofie contributed. "I think Jesus will have suckers in his pockets!"

~~~~~~~

All of my kids love treats ... who doesn't?!? Foofie, however, has the most demanding sweet tooth ... or perhaps the least discipline for delayed gratification. I'm not quite sure when she started doing this ... maybe a year ago or so ... but if she would receive some goodie and I'd say we need to save it for later ... she would start sucking on it anyway (perhaps on the car ride home) ... wrapper and all. The first few times I saw this, I asked what she was doing and reminded her that she wasn't going to have the treat now. "I know. I'm only having the wrapper." She would say. Okay, I thought, she is pretending to have it ... whatever. Anyway, at some point, I discovered that she was getting a hole in the package and having some of her treat without my knowing! I was finding sticky suckers ~ still in their wrappers, of course ~ peppermints that were no longer red and white, but pinkish ... you get the idea.