a little Thanksgiving (2014)

The two photos I did manage to take at our extended-family Thanksgiving dinner :-)

Halo and Buddy went pheasant hunting for the first time as well ... (unfortunately the photos are on J's phone)
Except this one of the hunters lunch in the barn.

Fun was had with cousins too!!

Foosball fun!

 Ba-ba's tractors and ATVs in the barn ... how exciting!

G loved the tire swing :)

a little lawnmower guy

Little Guy has been really in to lawnmowers. We have photos of him at various ages with his play lawnmower/weed-whipper (aka long shower head)/leaf blower (aka bat) as well as on the real lawn tractor and pushing the real lawnmower. He gets this from Buddy (who now wants to be called MowerMan) :-)

(these all from September 2014)

a little trumpeter swans

On a walk last fall, Ezzie, G, and I saw some trumpeter swans on a little pond/lake/thing near out house.

(Ezzie took this one ... that's what the angle is so strange!)

a little more photo shoot!

Halo has been really in to photo shoots ... just found another one from September 2014. :)

a little silly foofie and baby

Foof has been really into cameras lately. She took a bunch of goofy videos of G and Ezzie a few years ago. I found some recently from September 2014 :)

a little Florida welcome center fun

It has become a tradition in our family, when we go to Florida every year, to stop at the official (emphasis on official) Florida Welcome Center. We enjoy their fresh OJ and grapefruit juice and take silly pictures at their photo booth and pick out maps.

Here are our "silly pictures" from this year :)

Much fun and sunshine ahead!!

a (nother) little photo shoot

Halo likes to take photos of the kids and has "photo shoots" every so often :) This time, her subjects were the two littles, Ezzie and G.

a little first day of school (2014)

First day of school photos from 2014 :)

Ezzie, K5

 Foofie, 4th

Halo, 9th

Buddy, 7th

(Buddy thought we were going to be late so he didn't want a photo :) )

All four kids crammed into the back of a rental car -- our big van was in the shop.

little gardening

Halo has really gotten her green thumb now :) She is really into gardening and outdoor work. (thanks, G-ma)

Two years ago, she cleared a bit of land and has converted it into a pretty garden (finished product photos later).

Happy in her garden :)

a little catching up

I'm going to be catching up on blogging -- from the last few years :)

And I'll start with a photo shoot from two years ago:


Ezzie, Buddy, and G

Little, or big Foofie!

The littles

G-isims :)

Some little "Gunnar-isms" from the past few months.

The other day, Jensen said, "I'm watching you!" and G replies with, "Don't look at my face!!!"

"no-balls" or "no-fort" for "snow balls" or "snow fort" ... no = snow :)

SUPER everything ... "SUPER sick, SUPER dangerous, SUPER mad"

He loves anything lawn related or machinery.

Wants to go hunting with Hayley and Jensen in South Dakota and keeps asking if he can go!

Pretends he's a dog a lot ... he'll attempt to eat food like a dog, crawl like a dog, bark like a dog, drink water/milk like a dog etc.

If someone does something he doesn't like he'll say, "I'm sooooo mad at you!" or "I'm SUPER mad at you!"

Enjoys singing songs by tobyMac, I Am They, & Rend Collective (post video later!).

While setting the table for dinner, G watched H set the table. She didn't put a cup by his plate cause she was going to get a plastic/paper cup. He looks at her and says: I NEED a glass cup. She replies: Oh, really? Alright, I guess. She brings a mug over to the table and G eyes it suspiciously. "Is that a GLASS cup?" he asks in a huffy voice. She responded, "Yes." He says, "Okay. FANK YOU." (somewhat angrily)

I told G his legs were so fast and strong and he replies, no they're teeny :)

Whenever he wants candy/gum he tells us, "I'm SUPER sick!!!"

When asked what he's doing, he says, "I'm doing stuffin" or "I'm getting stuffin."

a little up north

Ivy caught a big Northern fish up north this summer!

G makes us laugh

A few G quotes from today ...

You know how we say "plug it in" and "unplug"?  Well G says "plug it in" and "plug it out".  "I'm going to plug it out again!" he said.

I was reading a Berenstein Bears book titled Down on the Farm ... and near the end the question is  asked whether farming is hard or fun.  "It's hard!"  G replied.  In the book, the answer actually turns out to be both ... "farming is hard fun".  "Is it fun?"  I asked.  "No.  It's hard!"  He might be right :)

H was going on a bike ride to pick up a chicken from Kowalski's and offered to bring G along.  So ... she asked G if he wanted to go for a bike ride.  "Are we going to Cup N Cone?"  he asked.  H said no so G said he didn't want to go.

We had a large kettle with a thicky layer of burnt chunky chili stuck in the bottom.  Yum!  Since it's summer ... I decided to take and hose it out in the yard.  As I was scraping it ... G was watching intently.  After a short while he said, "I wanna do that willy bad.  Please Mommy???"  So I let him have a turn scraping the gunk out :)

a little homemade stuffed dolly

About 2.5 weeks ago, Foofie decided she wanted to make a stuffed doll.  Fabulous!  And she hoped to have it finished in about 3 days so it would be ready to give to a baby whose family was going to China for many months.  Not so fabulous!

Foofie found a doll to make online and watched a little video tutorial and then showed me what she hoped to create.  I tried to talk her out of it.  I told her this doll would probably take about 12 hours ... plus I would have to help quite a bit ... not to mention she was trying to read at least 4 hours per day for a reading contest.  So ... it didn't seem like the best idea given that she (WE) only had 3 days to work on it.  Foofie was undaunted ... and in her mind ... the doll just HAD to be made.  I went along with her ...

We searched around our house for fabric.  Foofie traced and cut out the pattern on paper.  Then, she cut out the fabric shapes and I explained to her about seam allowances and the right/wrong sides of fabric (and how things are often sewn on the inside).  I was happy that she was interested in sewing and was learning ... and I told her this was a "home economics" unit :)  She sewed a leg up first and stuffed it.  It was hard to flip and stuff because it was so tiny and Foof laughed about how she thought the leg would be so big ... but it ended up so small (because it gets rounded and because of the seam allowance -- which sometimes was too small and so I had to do a little surgery stitching up little holes in the legs). She asked me to sew the arms (as they are even smaller than the legs) and she inverted them and stuffed them.  We had a tough time figuring out what to do for the eyes.  First, I embroidered eyes on ... but they looked goofy.  So we ripped them out and searched for buttons.  The first set of buttons were too dark ... so those came off.  This was quite a process!  I sewed yellow eyebrows on ... and then took those off.  When we went out to dinner on Friday night (August 7) to celebrate my in-laws 50th Anniversary .... we brought the doll with and I sewed throughout the meal.  The doll was pretty much assembled on Friday night and Foof stuffed her and I stayed up late fortifying her arms and legs with tiny stitches on the outside.  I wanted this doll to be fairly durable after all of the time that had gone into it.  But she still wasn't done.  The head was still open and I wanted to restitch her mouth in the morning ... if there was time.

Saturday morning, Foofie and I got up early to finish and deliver the dolly.  Foofie was sewing the head while I was driving!  When we got to their house, we parked and I did a few more stitches to close a little gap where the head and neck didn't quite meet.

Foofie was thrilled that it was finished in time and delighted to present it to its recipient :)

One the ride home, I told her that the next time she gets an idea like this and I don't think it is very feasible ... she will need to take my word for it and think of something else :)  All in all though ... it was a good learning experience ... and I look forward to making another one someday ... in a more leisurely time frame however :)

a little more about G

One time today when I was checking on G, I found he had gotten into some lipstick and had swiped a couple of horizontal lipstick lines on one of his cheeks.  When I arrived on his scene, he was lifting his shirt up with one hand and was about to apply some deodorant.  I took the deodorant from him and put the cap back on.
"No," I said.  "You don't need deodorant.  This is for bigger people ... older people ..." I explained.
"I have armpits!" He declared.

***

This afternoon, G and I were sitting outside eating coconut popsicles :)  After a little while, I noticed that G was eating his exactly the same way I was eating mine!  Turning his popsicle on the side and then back to vertical ... he was intently studying me and copying me ... until I started laughing and he joined me :)  He is such an interesting little fellow ...

a little lawn guy

Buddy is excited about lawn mowers.  So G is excited about lawn mowers.  Really excited.  And he is only 2.25 years old!  One of his favorite spots is on the seat of our riding mower.  When we were recently at Costco ... he was the first to notice a lawn mower in someone's trailer ... pointed it out to us and also told us that it had a bagger.  A couple months ago, he asked Daddy to show him how to use the regular mower ... the push mower ... I don't even know what the correct terminology is ... a walk behind?  Of course Daddy said no ... so he pushed it around some anyway!  And as you can see ... he wants to get in on the action {too close to the action usually!} and help out when someone else is mowing.  He even jammed a toy saw into his play mower so he would have something to use as a rip cord ...

a little hiding

A few weeks ago, Little G finally was able to lay down and go to sleep by himself!  The first time Daddy was successful in getting G calmly into bed, he hid under the sheets and waited for me to come and cuddle with him.  While he was hiding, he fell asleep ... and now this has become his bedtime ritual :)  This is what he looked like last night ...

easing back in

Just easing back into this.  I wish I could actually "catch up" on this blog ... this family scrapbook ... since my kids enjoy reading and remembering some bygone days ... but much has passed me by.  In any event, I am going to try and start filling in some of the gaps :)

Conversation with G tonight:
He was singing in the van ...
"Your love never gives up me.  Your love never gives up me.  Your love never gives up Gunnar."
(modified from Your love never fails ... never gives up ... never gives up on me)
"You're turning into quite a little singer," I told him.
"We're turning?"
"No, I mean you are getting to be a good singer," I explained.
"I just saw a cute house, Mommy!"

Yesterday my husband was called to clean up blood outside our 5-unit apartment building ... someone had been shot ... in the hip.  He told me he's tired of owning rentals and tired of this piece of land we recently bought.  Nonetheless, he googled how to clean up blood and went to take care of it {and mow the grass there} with our sheltered homeschooled teenage son :)  After that, they stopped by the aforementioned "piece of land" to cut the grass ... and lo and behold ... someone had dumped a hot tub and cover on our newly purchased land which we are already tired of!  Big frown face.  So, today, Husband spent the afternoon sawing up the hot tub ... getting fiberglass in his clothes and pores ... and hauling hot tub chunks to the dump (with a fifty-five dollar dump fee, which is somewhat cheaper, not considering the time however, than the $315 the city billed him for hauling away a couch which was dumped on the land).  I could go on about the heavy vintage televisions that he had to haul off and the puddle that someone complained about ... and how much the city billed for the puddle to be pumped out ... but I won't :)  I'm tired of it too :)

I think G has had the most interesting language development (to me) of all of my kids.  For several months now ... he has made every effort to immediately mimic pretty much every word or phrase he hears ... not just the words/phrases he thinks will be useful to him ... but EVERYthing.  I've teased him that he says all the words :)  I said to a friend, "Thank you for the offer."  And right away G copied me, "Thank you for the offer."

He is also very funny.  One of my favorite stories is from about a month ago.  I was changing his diaper on our front porch and didn't realize I was going to need wipes.  "Honey!" I called to my husband.  "Honey!  We need some wipes please!"  I finally decided to refasten the soiled diaper and I told G I was going to go get some wipes myself.  "I'M going to go find Honey," he said.  And he headed towards where Daddy was working and yelled, "Honey!  Honey!  We need some help here!"

unsuccessful hunt

E just returned from hunting in the backyard.  He was unsuccessful.  "I guess the only thing I can do is chase the bad guys."

a little swing

I constructed this little swing thing ... kind-of hammock inspired ... last week.  It really needs stronger ropes though ... so I only left it up for a few days.  The kids loved it {too much!} while it lasted :)

a little rabbit stew

What was for supper on Friday night???  Rabbit stew ... and leftover chili :)

How did we cook the rabbit???  Mr. T. plopped the bunny in the crockpot which I had first rubbed with olive oil.  Then, I asked Halo if she wanted to photograph the before picture or if she wanted to salt and pepper the meat.  She said she didn't want to look at it so she wasn't going to be able to take any pictures.  So ... she salted and peppered from a backwards position -- and hoped it was landing on the meat -- while I took some photos.  After a few hours some potatoes and onions were tossed in the pot ... carrots would have been nice too, but we didn't have any.

Mr. T. was the first one to sample the entree and his first three words were ... "Wow.  Wow.  Wow."  Buddy quickly tasted some too and seemed to like it.  Foofie, not wanting to miss out, requested some rabbit and promptly raved about it.  "It's so good.  I want some more, please!  It's GOOD!"  These three ate all of it except for two bites -- Halo and I each tried a little.  There wasn't enough rabbit stew to fill our whole family anyway ...  and Halo and Ezzie and I were perfectly content eating chili with cheese and chips.  I thought the rabbit was pretty good ... better than I expected actually ... but I've never really liked game meat all that much.  Mr. T. and Buddy, however, concluded it was equivalent to really good {dark meat} chicken ... and they would happily eat rabbit again :)  

a little measuring and a dove

This morning Ezzie asked me if anyone had ever measured around the whole earth ...
"Did they use 50 tape measures all lined up?"
"No.  It would take more than 50 tape measures to measure the earth."
"Did they use 79?"
"No.  I don't know exactly how it was measured ... but if it had been done with tape measures ... it would take even more than 79.  The earth is pretty big."
"Maybe it took 82 tape measures."

And this one is from last week ...
It was storming when we woke up and the morning was really dark and rainy.  Later in the morning ... closer to noontime ... it started to clear up and Ezzie spotted a dove as he was looking out the window.  Then Ezzie (or maybe I should call him Noah???) announced, "I see a dove so we can go outside now!"

a little rabbit

Buddy got his turkey license a couple weeks ago.  His first ever hunting license ... his first license of any sort ... and he's been hoping and trying to nab a turkey ... but we haven't seen any toms around (must be a tom in the spring) since he became an official bow hunter.

Today ... Buddy was out in the yard ... practicing ... waiting for a turkey ... when he spotted a bunny.  He aimed and hit his mark.  "I killed a bunny!"  He called jubilantly.  I quickly told him it would be more appropriate to call it a rabbit now.

He was thrilled.  He called some friends to share the news.  I was not so terribly excited.

Shortly thereafter ... my husband (to my surprise!) watched some youtube videos on how to skin/gut/whatever a rabbit ... and then they did the messy deed.  I thought they would just bury the poor creature.

This really isn't my thing.  Bloody patio tables???  No thanks.  In fact, I prefer to bring my chicken home from the store already cooked :) Kowalski's has the best rotisserie chickens by the way ... they're even amish  ;)

Then ... my husband requested a container to store the rabbit in the fridge so we can eat it tomorrow.  I think it was at this point that my husband enlightened all of us about the value and specialness of rabbit cuisine and also suggested that maybe we should start raising rabbits ...

Totally not liking this.  I didn't want to look at the rabbit and I didn't want to think about eating it.  All of this was making me lose my appetite for tonight's supper ...

Anyway ... the rabbit eventually made its way into our fridge ... but only into our little fridge in the garage ... and my husband suggested I cook some rabbit stew in the crockpot tomorrow night ... or have rabbit and rice???  But I really didn't even want it in the house ... in the kitchen.  I'm a wimp.  So ... I suggested he could cook IT over a fire ... or wrap IT in foil in a fire ... like one of those camping "hobo meals".  Anything involving a backyard fire instead of the kitchen would be wonderful.

And I just might be eating something other than rabbit tomorrow night :)

a little conversing

Yesterday ... I had a rare and amusing half hour with my precious Ezzie.  We were on a little drive and I only had the youngest two.  Honeygun was sleeping and Ezzie and I had quite a conversation ...
Ezzie's words are in red :)

First, he was asking a few questions about Good Friday.  And I explained that Jesus only died once ... but we stop and pay special attention to remember it on the Friday before Resurrection Day every year ... like a birthday.  Or ... like an anniversary ... which I said is like a birthday for a wedding.
"How come we never have any weddings???  We never go to a wedding!"

"Is smoking illegal?"
"No."
"Are cigarettes illegal?"
"No ... and it's almost the same thing.  When we talk about smoking ... we are usually referring to people smoking cigarettes.  It isn't illegal and it isn't a sin ... but it really isn't a very wise choice.  Next week ... remind me to show you some pictures of healthy lungs and the lungs of a smoker."
"Okay ... but I don't smoke cigarettes and I have healthy lungs."

"Do robbers wear black hats ... and gray grayish pants ... and shirts with black and white stripes on them?"
"No.  Is that how the Lego robber is dressed?"
"Yes."
"Well ... I suppose they could be dressed like that ... but they wear all sorts of clothes.  Criminals often do their criminal deeds at night though so they might wear black and dark colors so they aren't as likely to be seen."
"I bet criminals wear air-colored clothes in the day so people can't see them ... otherwise they hide behind big rocks.  Are there guards at jails so the robbers don't get out?"
"Yes ... but occasionally someone does get out and escape ... however they usually get caught."
"Or they go hide behind a rock."

We were almost to our destination when I noticed a church that I hadn't seen the other time we'd been up this way ...
"Hey!  There's an Evangelical Free church," I called out.
"And it doesn't cost any money!"

a little startled

I was startled twice today.  I'm a pretty jumpy gal.  My husband often startles me in our home and he always responds with, "I live here too!"  Haha :)

Today was a glorious, springlike day ... the curse of winter has finally lifted ... and it was the kind of day where you feel compelled to raise your arms toward the heavens to soak in the loveliness of it all.  Anyway ... I was attempting to do a little spring cleaning of our van which is lacking in loveliness ... which is still the old van and NOT the new van.   So ... I was in and out and in and out of the van and the garage and so on.  At one point, I was standing near the hood and I could sense something largish on the hood.  I turned my head there was a dove walking around on the van.  It startled me and I screamed ... but I didn't scare it away.  Then, the bird hung out with me and my two little boys for several more minutes.

Later, while I was stopped at a red light on the way to pick up some kids ... a woman came and slapped on my window.  She was holding Halo's heavy purple backpack which I had forgotten on our little trailer-dealie.  This here was my second startle and I had to recover quickly as I was at the intersection of 96 and 61.  I thanked her profusely!!!  In hindsight, however, I think I was so thankful simply because she wasn't a policeman or some threatening person ... the backpack would likely have made the journey unscathed.  Oh well.  I think this woman and I might have been friends if we met under normal circumstances :)

a little nourishment

This little turkey tore a page out of my small Bible this morning and he ate half of it!  A fourth of it was gone before I even noticed ... and then he was chewing the second fourth like gum.  I tried to get it out but without success ... 

I guess this qualifies as a spiritually nourishing breakfast ;)

a little acceptance

Sometimes it's helpful to accept the fact that there are certain things one is never going to do ... or probably never going to do.

So ... that quilt that I've been setting scraps of fabric aside for???  I don't think it's going to happen ... in this life anyway.  And once upon a time ... I had actually thought I might knit a badminton net someday.  That's not going to happen either ...

Is there anything you're never going to get around to???

a little gray

Tonight I was talking about how Honeygun's hair is starting to have some reddish tints like Foofie's {especially when she was a baby} ...

and one thing about Ezzie is that he is always paying attention to what is being said ... and he always seems to have a contribution to any discussion.  Today was no exception ...

"And Daddy's hair is gray!"  Ezzie chimed in.
"No-oo," said Daddy.
"Daddy's hair is kinda gray!"
"No."
He tried again :)  "Blackish gray???"

a little un-classic

I don't think anyone reads this little blog anymore ... but I'm back anyway :)  I have a few other posts brewing in my brain ... so we'll see ...

Disclaimer :)  I feel a little hesitant sharing my opinions with you as Anne Frank is one of those people who seem to be up on an untippable pedestal ... but with the hope that I can benefit at least one family ... I'm setting my hesitations aside.

My 14 year-old daughter requested to read The Diary of Anne Frank and I told her I needed to preview it first.  I'm so glad I did; it was not what I expected it to be.  Why Eleanor Roosevelt called it a "moving war commentary" is beyond me.  A friend of mine read my notes and she called it "soft porn for children".  I would guess that less than 5% of the book pertains to anything of national or international interest.  The bulk of the book is merely a teenage girl's diary.

And what information do most teenage girls fill the pages of their diaries with (and this girl in particular)???  Politics and current news events?  Of course not.  Anne wrote about people that bug her, friends, boys, issues with her family, books she is reading, activities and relationships concerning the 8 people in the building (especially their quirks and quarrels), food, schoolwork/studies, illnesses, birthdays/holidays, aspirations of being a writer (she will never be just a housewife!), her body/puberty.

Although Anne made a few observations which seem pretty poignant for a teenage girl to make ...

"What is done cannot be undone, but one can prevent it happening again." (p. 227)

"Stupid people usually can't take it if others do better than they do."  (p. 249)

at the end of the day ... Anne said it best herself when she called her ramblings nonsense.  "Sometimes I very much doubt whether in the future anyone will be interested in all my tosh. 'The unbosomings of an ugly duckling' will be the title of all this nonsense." (p. 209)

So ... did I hand it over to my daughter after I finished it???  Absolutely not.  There are a few things in it that are completely inappropriate; I wouldn't even consider putting them in this post.  {If you want to see my notes ... let me know.}  She isn't a great role model.  The book begins with her and an older boy figuring out when they can see each other without his grandparents (who disapprove of the relationship) knowing about it. She isn't respectful towards adults ... especially her mother.  "Aren't the grown-ups idiotic and stupid?" (p. 163) AND "I don't feel in the least bit responsible to any of you." (p. 224)  MANY pages are devoted to musings about a present infatuation Anne is cherishing and nurturing.  Lastly, and not surprisingly, she has bad theology.  "A religion, it doesn't matter which, keeps a person on the right path." (p. 256)  "I don't have to give an account of my deeds to anyone but myself." (p. 225)  And ... "Why shouldn't I follow the way my heart leads me, if it makes [me] happy?" (p. 212)  BECAUSE "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can understand it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)

So what did I tell my daughter???  I told Halo she COULD read it when SHE is a mother in her thirties and SHE has a young daughter asking to read it :)  And ... IF she does decide to read it at this point in the future ... then she would understand why I didn't feel it was best for her to read it as a young woman ... and that I said no because I love her.  Although ... even as a thirty-something ... I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone or laud it as a classic.  If "classic" means "to be judged over a period of time to be of highest quality and outstanding" ... and you want to read a classic from the times of World War II ... then The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom is a far superior option.

NOTES about digital books

Since I hope to be adding to this information ... I might try to fit this somewhere else on my blog ... but for now ... it's here :)  Over the past couple years, I've been reading some FREE books ... kindle books and nook books ... and wanted to start keeping track of them somewhere.  I began reading these free books primarily because I wished to preview them for my kids.

Just so you know ... to some extent, you get what you pay for, in that some of the digital copies have many errors ... and this would likely pose a challenge for less experienced readers.  For example, one book (exiles in babylon?) usually had "li" in places where it should have been an "h".  

Also, many of these older books are british so there might be some things that are foreign, especially to younger readers.  And ... the a_ _ word was an acceptable word to them back then???  I don't know ... but anyway ... I think I've come across it a couple of times.

Finally, my age guesstimates are obviously unscientific ...

KINDLE BOOKS

Ishmael -- Excellent.  Probably 15+ or 17+ largely due to the romance in the beginning ... however the stories about Ishmael as a young boy ... his unscrupulous character ... are great for younger kids.  I read those chapters out loud when the kids were 13, 11, and 7 ... they found Ishmael to be a most interesting boy.

Self-Raised -- This is the sequel to Ishmael.  Also good.  Enjoyed Ishmael more though.

Hidden Hand -- Okay ... a little long.  Ages 15+.  Can't remember much right now.  There was some weird stuff I think.  Please leave me a comment if you read it so I can update.  Sequel is Capitola's Peril ... also okay ... don't know if I ever finished it though.

Cobwebs and Cables -- Excellent.  Powerful story about how choosing sin might first affect us only like thin cobwebs but eventually will bind us in strong cables.  Main man character has some serious financial troubles in the beginning and then decides to pretend he died.  Starts out pretty slow and kind-of "dark" ... but don't let that dissuade you :)  12+ maybe???  Although I think my oldest son read it at age 10 ...

Lamplighter -- Very good.  Cute and sweet main character.  A little long in places and a fairly meandering storyline ... but good overall.

Little Meg's Children -- Don't think I read this ... my oldest daughter really liked it though and thinks it's good for all ages.  8+ if an advanced reader.

Sailor's Lass -- I don't think this is a "lamplighter" title ("lamplighter" author maybe???) ... but it is a cute, rather short, story about a shipwrecked orphan girl and the family that takes her in.


NOOK BOOKS

Jessica's First Prayer -- Good ... just one goofy theological issue that I can't recall right now.  Ages 8+.

Prisoners of the Sea -- Excellent.  Ages 13+???  Not sure on the age range as there is death, violence, pirates, attempted murder ... but I wouldn't say it is bloody or gratuitous ... rather matter of fact. Awesome plot with lots of action.

Exiles in Babylon -- Excellent ... quite a few errors though.  Teenage boy falls into getting drunk at a party ... some "friends" work at keeping his glass full of wine to accomplish this.  The drunkenness ... and being in the wrong place ... bring him further trouble.  And even though the boy repents ... he still has to bear the consequences.  Good lessons on not putting oneself in a position of temptation.  13+?

The Crew of the Dolphin -- Excellent ... 10+.  Not too long.  Young boy offers to sacrifice himself so that his older brother (who has a wife and kids) can be saved.

House of Love -- It was great until the last 15% or so ... when it got amazingly corny ... a man was searching desperately to discover the owner of a beautiful voice he'd heard singing, certain that she was a soul-mate ... this story later pointed out that this is folly to fall in love with a voice ... but of course he ended up with her anyway.  His father also remarries in the book and there is very little development of this relationship pre-marriage ... seems really sudden.  And the a word is used near the end by the father and it made the father appear tacky and juvenile.  All in all ... because of this junk at the end ... I probably wouldn't recommend this book in the free nook version.  It is, however, a Lamplighter title so maybe Mark Hamby cleaned it up some in his editing of the book.  Nonetheless ... if I was going to read it aloud again ... I would have ended it when Doris was finally going to be free of the Wilde house and about to go abroad with an older widowed relation of hers ... as the bulk of the story where Doris is a young girl is really quite interesting and Doris is a great example of loving ones enemies.  This section of the story is suitable for younger children.

Prisoner of Philippi -- Just started.  Awesome so far.  It begins with a partial page scanned ... which is confusing.  Also, early on it mentions how life is so hard some people purposefully fall on the sword, etc..

Peep Behind the Scenes -- Good so far ... stopped midway through to read aloud on a road trip.

Tom Gillies -- Excellent ... however I read it in a Lamplighter version ... so I can't speak to the nook book.  A story about the knots that are created from telling lies.  8+  or  10+  (It's been a long time since I read it so I'm pretty unsure about age recommendation.)

Christmas Child -- Good.  Short.  Ages 12+?

Alone in London -- Good ... ages 10+ ... sweet story.  Mentions the pleasure of pipe smoking at 37%.

The Little Preacher -- All ages.  Loved it!  Fairly fast-paced story about a farming family with four children ... bad neighbors ... and two opposite grandmothers.  A difficult/hard father becomes soft/loving.

Fred and Maria and Me -- short story for all ages.  nephew swindles his aunt and later tries to make amends.

Hester Morley's Promise -- somewhat mysterious.  a tad hard to get into ... but worth it.  interesting in that the devastation of adultery is portrayed without any glamorizing of the sin.  seemed to end abruptly though ... tried to find a sequel.  10+???  12+???

spring & summer ezzisms

Catching up -- just a little though :)

Ezzie is still at that delightful age where he says something funny most every day ... sometimes every hour ... but I forget most of his funnies.  The following, however, is some ezzisms from the past four or five months that I remembered to write down ... by the way, presently "G" refers to our new baby :)

Ezzie was cuddling by me in bed.  He put his arm around me and said, "I will keep you safe, Mommy."
"Safe from what?" I asked.
"From falling off the bed!" 


"I lost somepin (something) and then I found it ... and then I lost it again and then I found it again!"  Ezzie told me.
"What was it?"  I asked.
"Somepin ... I don't remember.

I was about to drop Halo off at the library to quick return some books and Ezzie said to her, "I want to come wif you so I can SEE what's takin' you so long!"

"When I woke up I fought (thought) Buddy was sleeping in his bed but he wasn't.  He was down eating breakfast.  But I didn't cry.  And I didn't yell.  I didn't do nuffin ... I just kept sleeping."

E had some new "carpenter" jeans on ... "There's lots of holsters on my jeans."

G had a baby "gown" on ... "The baby looks like a princess and his toes are like tic-tacs."

Buddy smashed a wood tick on the sidewalk ... "It's a good thing it wasn't me.  I'm sure glad I'M not a wood tick."

Gives Baby G lots of kisses and often runs over to his side singing Jesus Loves Me when he fusses.

Is SO thankful for things that many would overlook ... and usually is the one that reminds the olders to be thankful ... A few examples ... "Thank you for taking us to costco."  "Thank you for taking us to sport." (sports co-op)  "Thank you for taking us to the 4th of July."

Looking at G ... "Does he have his hair styled?"  Ezzie asked me.   

I laughed.  "By who?"  

"You!"  I laughed again.  
"No.  He doesn't have too much hair.  He just wakes up looking this way."

Ezzie had to take a short ride with Daddy and his car seat was with me ... "I sneaked home in Daddy's truck without my car seat ... just buckled in like a big boy.  And the police didn't even catch us!  If they did ... they would handcuff Daddy and me!  And they would say ... (and here he deepened his voice and made it a little gruff-sounding) ... "WHOOO buckled him in?"

When G's "cord" fell off and his bellybutton was finally laid bare ... Ezzie said, "That's NOT a bellybutton!"

Ezzie came with me to a doctor appt and after gettting my blood drawn ... "You're BIG, Mommy!  You didn't cry!!!"  Several days later ... I was bringing him to a second appt for me and he said he didn't want to go me this time because, "It's too doctor-y."

"Come here, Ezzie, can I see you for a minute?"  I called.

"Yep, you can see me for two minutes or three minutes."  

Foofie was telling us (me and Ezzie) that Grandma had called me her little girl and she was laughing over this.  So I said, "Well ... you will always be my little girl and Ezzie ... you will always be my little boy." 
"No ... I'm gonna grow up."

He had gotten in the van and had a cup ... "Can I put my cup (in the cupholder) by the captain's chair?"

I was giving Ezzie a haircut (outside) and he wasn't too pleased about it.  Trying to distract him, I said, "Do you hear the birds?  Hear all the pretty songs they are singing?"
"Yes ... they are saying WHY are you cutting Ezzie's hair?"

How he has been saying goodnight every night for the past few months ... "See you in the morning for lots of times.  See you in the morning for a long time.  See you in the morning!"

Ezra, after being four years old for a whole 81 days, confided to his sisters, "I'm not going to tell anyone ... but being four feels about the same as being three."

We were talking about the co-op we go to starting up and how he will be in kindergarten and will have to listen when the teacher is talking and so on ... and I concluded with, "I'm sure you will be a very little nice good student."  (I think I meant to say very good ... nice little ... but I switched it around some.)

"Yes, and I will be a very little nice good boy too!"

"Mommy, if YOU eat and eat and eat and eat and eat ... and eat and eat and eat ... you will get another baby in your tummy."

When offered a banana for a snack ... "I don't like snacks.  I only like suppers."

After inspecting a large, partially-healed scrape on his arm ... "I've got cinnamon crunch on my arm."  Panera Bagels anyone???

a little more from ezzie

From March ...

Talking to my tummy ... "Are you ready to come out and play cars with me, Baby???"

After reading about Adam and Eve ... "I fink God doesn't want us to eat off trees."

"Are mooses poisonous?"

I had a large box in the van on one of the middle seats and I was trying to help Ezzie get out.  "It's kind-of tight ... but ... can you squeeze through here?" I asked.  "Yes, I can squeeze.  I'm a squeezer!" he answered confidently.

From February ...

"I don't like to read."

"Yes, you do," I said.
"I actually like to talk."

Usually, Ezzie falls asleep in seconds and he wasn't asleep yet because he'd had a late (and fairly long) nap ... so I went upstairs to check on him.  "I'm okay up here all by myself ... but I can't keep my eyes closed."

"There is such a nice baby in your tummy." Then he kissed my tummy.  "I'm going to hold it like this (demonstrates with both arms straight out and his hands palms up) so I don't drop it.  And after it comes out ... we're going to have another baby and another baby and another baby ... THREE more babies, I fink."

I helped Ezzie get out of the van and we were in a good inch or so of snow ... and he said, "Let me make a path for you, Mama."

Foofie and Ezzie were hunting bears. After a successful hunt ... Foofie said ... "You play with our babies while I skin the bear." Ezzie picked up a doll and immediately he made the doll cry ... "Waaah! Waaah! She wants YOU, Foof ... I'LL skin the bear!"

 

Ezzie sniffed the air ... "It smells like a rotten banana dipped in chocolate chips ... it's kinda gross."  He sniffed again.  "Actually ... it smells like a good banana dipped in chocolate chips ... and it's not really gross."

"You sure make me laugh," I told Ezzie.

"I do make you laugh.  And I make Daddy laugh.  And I make myself laugh," he replied.  Then he erupted in laughter :)

a little sewing

Last week, I was about to pitch these linen capris due to their strange fit ... but decided to recycle them into a tote bag :)  If you click on the image and zoom in, you can see the pocket better.  I ripped it right off the pants and didn't even have to fashion a pocket on my own :)

 

My new creation with one of my tote bag models :)

And I finally finished this bib ... which I started months ago?  maybe years ago?

a little more

Alrighty ... well here's a couple of the pix of me.  These shots probably aren't what you were expecting ... Jeff has an older iphone that doesn't take the greatest pictures (plus he was pretty far away from me).  One can hardly tell who this is.  Nonetheless, here I am digging up the second croc I lost.

And now I'm running with it.  (I lost the first shoe almost right away ... closer to our house.)  If you look several yards behind me, you can kind-of make out the end of my tracks which shows how close I actually got to the owl ...