Happy Thanksgiving

Okay! I have Thanksgiving pictures, so I can finally tell the tale of our holiday trip. We weren't planning on going anywhere, but Tim was to be deployed until after Thanksgiving, and the longer I sat at home alone, and the more friends who left the area, the more I thought gettting out of town would be a good idea. Then, lo and behold, once I got my heart set on the idea of traveling, Tim came home early. Come to find out, he wasn't too oppossed to going away for the holiday either; so with about twenty-four hours notice, we packed up and took the kids to my dad's house in Hot Springs. Neither child had ever been there, so it was a long overdue trip!


Dad and Janne have a beautiful place on lake Hamilton. Dad only has to walk about a hundred feet down his stone walkway, past his purple martin bird house, to his dock where sits his bass boat. J had a fun time "driving" the boat, and we look forward to going back in the summer when he can ride in it.

In the winter, Lake Hamilton is drained several feet. I'm not sure exactly why, but I think it has to do with homeowners being able to have a season to work on their docks and such without having to take up scuba diving. So, there was mud instead of water off of Dad's dock this trip. I must say though, I don't think the boys (Tim included) could have had any more fun with water than they did with mud. A LOT of mud. Remember, toddlers are called such because they, well..toddle, so the plastic bags I put on J's feet to save his shoes were pointless. He needed a plastic bubble. "Why doesn't C have bags on his shoes," you ask? Because Tim wasn't supposed to put C down. Why do I bother giving directions and making plans! This family lives by the seat of its pants, and so far that has worked out well-and has been fun. The boys splashed, squished, threw rocks, and ran. I wish I had a picture of J after he fell in the water... what a morning!

Dad and Janne work at the Science Museum in town, so we went there a couple of times. It's one of the nicest science museums I've been to. Quebec loaned the museum its Circus exhibit, and the boys had fun playing with it: lifting barbells, making hotair balloons rise, walking a tight rope, contorting themselves to fit into very small spaces, etc.

Dad took our family Christmas pictures while we were there. I'll save the one we're using for our Christmas cards for our Christmas card, but it is near impossible to get all four members of this family looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. How do families do it with three or four kids??? Do you bribe them with ponies and remote control cars, or threaten them with frogs in their beds and having to hold your hand at the grocery store? We tried it all. Nothing worked (see below). But, the one we ended up with could have been worse; a lot worse. And it is nice to be the one on the other side of the camera and see myself in pictures for a change, even if I've looked better.

Thanksgiving was delicious, and the kids refrained from screaming or throwing yams. J ate quite a bit, actually. By the time we indulged in pecan and pumpkin pie that evening, we were all stuffed to the brim. Very yummy meal, Janne!

J and C were great in the car...for two days. As long as they had a movie to watch or snacks to eat, they were content. Thanks Dad and Janne for having us; I know the kids turned your house (and your lives) upside down. But, J still asks, "Pa Pa's house?" everytime we get in the car. That'll last a few weeks I imagine. They had a great time, and we'll plan on doing it again when there's water.

Happy Holidays, everyone! And, as always, take time to read a good book.

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I have good reason! We decided last minute to go to my dad and Janne's in Arkansas for Thanksgiving (a day or so before we got in the car to leave), and we didn't get back until this evening. In addition, I've had blogging technical difficulties; have you noticed my template has changed ten times the past few days??? And, now Dad is having technical difficulties with his computer, on which is our Thanksgiving pictures. So, as soon as he gets those to me, I'll update the blog on our wonderful trip to Lake Hamilton. Just listen to C, and "wait one minute," or maybe one or two days. I'll get them up eventually! Happy Holidays!

Tim's home safe! Yay! Now he has two toddlers following him everywhere and not giving him a moment's peace. Though, I don't hear him complaining about it a bit! Welcome home, Tim! We missed you!

Family Pictures from Two Weeks Ago

Great-Grandma, C, Great-Grandpa and J

Great-Grandma, J and Great-Great Aunt Mattie


Grandma ("Lolah"), J and C

Great-Grandpa,

Here's the tale of our Halloween week. . .
First, Lolah (my mom), my grandparents, and my great-aunt Mattie came into town for a visit. I don't have pictures of them because the CD from Mom's camera-which has their images on it- has not yet arrived, and since many of you are VERY much wanting updated pictures NOW, I'm posting with what I have. There may be a part 2 of this once I get some better pics!

We all had a jolly time visiting, romping with the boys, and going to a pumpkin patch. Above is our family picture of the season (unless you have a better one on your camera...mom... .  )

The boys explored the feel and look of pumpkins, and eventually, we chose two.

Back at the homefront, we carved them. And to all of you who read this from another country, this is what we do in America. We buy pumpkins at exhorbitant prices, take them home, clean them out with our hands and carve scary faces in them. Then we put a candle in the bottom, set them outside and call them "Jack-o-Lanterns." I'm not sure exactly WHY we do this, and I'm fairly certain it will conflict with my morals about witchcraft and satan getting too near my house. . . . Regardless, it's fun for the kids and it's tradition, so we do it. I know, I know... save the lecture. Now that I'm a mom, I have officially become a celebrant of the "innocent, child's-play version" of Halloween.

Back to the pumpkin cleaning-J thought it was gross, and C thought it was delicious.

J was proud of the very amateurish face he helped Mom carve, and C learned that fire is hot. Tim, I still think it was cruel to let C touch that candle, even if he didn't so much as wince, and he learned a valuable lesson.

Or DID he????

And DAD, just so you know, my first comment upon opening up this pumpkin was, "Why aren't there any BB's in here?" Mom thought I was joking. I said, "No, growing up, our pumpkins always had BB's in them." She then explained that you planted those in our childhood pumpkins via the "BB up the sleeve" trick so that we would have a surprise while cleaning them out. But you know what? I never got that from the experience. I spent the past 29 years wondering what redneck pumpkin patch it was from which Dad always bought BB riddled pumpkins, and actually lost sleep wondering how in the world those rednecks shot BB's into those pumpkins without leaving tiny holes in the pumpkin rind. Oh, either I'm really slow or Dad, chocolate gold coins, or something else that shouted, "MAGICAL SURPRISE FOR YOU!" would have been a better idea. Steve, did you know that? Those BB's were planted! It made for interesting pumpkin-carving conversation last week, anyway!

Then came Halloween. Again for the foreign visitors, this is when we dress up as something else (traditionally something undead, scary, satanic, or spooky), go door to door, say "Trick-or-Treat" and are given candy. And again..I know, I know...I have succumbed to a watered down tradition of something much more sinister. Katie, remember when we handed out candy in college with little notes attached that read, "Jesus loves you," and "Do not worry for tomorrow is taken care of"? Yeah-should have done that. But we didn't. HOWEVER, the boys were dressed not as demons nor ghosts, but as a bee and a dragon. Sounds like a Fairy Tale...

Those are Twizzlers. C loves them.
We made it home after an hour of trick-or-treating with a pillow case full of candy. Instinctively,both boys came inside and attempted to bulldoze all the candy into their mouths. C wasn't even bothering to take off the wrappers; I found a BOX of milkduds and a BAG of M & M's in his mouth. They're sneaky. After Tim I and went through all of the candy (yes, and indulged a little ourselves), we let each boy have one piece. They continue to get one piece each night IF they eat their dinner. Consequently, C has since had NO candy, but that's another story.

On a final note: Tim left unexpectedly this weekend for places unknown for an unknown time (about a month...probably). So Timmy, be safe, and see you soon!

We may not be able to truly afford a dog right now. I don't know that I have the time or energy to train and care for a dog right now either. But if there is one thing that I believe in, it's that little boys need a dog. So, after searching the newpaper under the FREE pet section for weeks, we found a litter that was just for us: 12 week old big, brown muts: part lab, part golden retriever, part Rotweiller, and part mystery. Perfect.

We chose the puppy that bonded with J instantly, and made sure that she didn't snap or get agitated when C poked her in the eyes and stepped on her tail. Then, J carried her home in his carseat and I am making the time and energy to train and care for her.

Another thing I believe in...giving pets literary names. (Of course you do, Tiffany. Aterall, we don't imagine YOU naming pets after baseball players, for example.) Though I must add right now, GO CARDS!!!!

And if we had a fish,

I'd name him Pujols.

Did I say GO CARDS yet?

For example. . .

I had a beta fish in college named Tolstoy. He died and I named his replacement Zora (after Ms. Hurston, of course). She died. Her replacement was named Allegory ("allie" for short). She died too; I'm not good with fish. A cat lived among us once-for a very short time-named Shadrach after one of the three non-flammable men in Daniel; our old dog, Eli, was named after Elijah the prophet, and Pablo, our chihuahua that Emma loves and cares for now, was named after Pablo Neruda-the Chilean poet.

So anyway, you can imagine my joy when we asked J, "What do you want to name your puppy?" and he answered, "Moon," after his favorite literary work, Goodnight Moon. He said, "milk" first, but we had to eliminate that one; you just can't name a dog "milk." So say, "Hello" to Moon, our new mut:

Things are going well. There is some aversion to wet doggie kisses, but we're working on that.

Finally, the third thing I believe in: pictures of already adorable little boys are made more adorable with a puppy. (I'll let you wonder as to whether or not I have stronger convictions on anything in life other than these three... ). Don't believe me? Just look at these moments:

We are a little more stressed than normal at the end of the day, but by the time the boys are in bed, we can happily say to our favorite things, "Goodnight, sun," "Goodnight, cheese," "Goodnight, music," "Goodnight, Moon."

It's that time of year in the south! Our house, the park at which we play, and the roads on which we drive are surrounded by white fluffy cotton.

This scenery is one of the many benefits of moving out of the military town and into the country. Unfortunately, we don't see autumn leaves in this part of the country; every tree is evergreen pine. But there is plenty of cotton in autumn!

It's almost harvest, so it won't be beautiful like this for much longer. At the park, me, J and C went over to a cotton field, and (sorry Mr. and Mrs. cotton farmer-we'll pay you if you tell me who you are) picked a fluff out of it's brown crusty ball.

The boys loved feeling how soft it was and rubbing it on their faces. I tried to explain to J that cotton is used to make his shirt and pants, but he looked at the cotton, looked at me, and it was clear that he didn't believe me. He just squinted, held up the cotton fluff and said, "shirt?"

I had to tell J that the cotton needed to go "night night" in order to get him out of the field. He wanted to pick as much as he could and rub it on his skin. So now, whenever we pass a cotton field (every 10-15 seconds...) J says, "Night night, cotton," and rubs his face gently where the soft cotton touched it this day.

I wonder how long it will be before they grow up and won't appreciate afternoons like this anymore.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world...

Red and yellow, black and white,

they are precious in His sight...

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

And He shows His love to them by sending docile butterflies to our backyard for them to play with for an afternoon.

Big Blessings in a Little House

My job last week? Find room in our 1600 sq. foot house for two very large objects. Hmmm....we could get rid of the refridgerator...or we could put the bath tub outside...

Don't get me wrong-we have plenty of house. It is far more than we need, but it isn't very accomodating for big things, like great danes, or curio cabinets. Even so, we were recently blessed with two large gifts from grandparents: a piano and a train table.

We spent yesteday putting together the train table in my former study-now study/train room. Conveniently, the directions were missing page 2, the page that tells how to put the actual table part of the train table together. But after some trial and error, the boys have a train table that fits beautifully in this room. And J loves it. That's an understatement. He LOVES it. Thanks Granny! I'll have pictures of the boys playing with it later.

Considering my boys being boys and the spacial issue, we used our piano gift dollars to purchase a digital piano. I never would have considered this before, but I was really impressed with how far they've come the past ten years. On grand piano setting, the tone is better than any actual grand I played at the showroom. Other pluses, considering it's for the boys? It has a volume control. It has weighted keys, like a regular piano. They aren't ugly looking keyboards anymore. You can hook headphones up to it, or hook it up to your computer for recording. It plays 65 songs on its own. You can add accompaniment. Did I mention it has volume control???? Very important, and therefore even I can even play it while the boys are sleeping.

We put the piano in what used to be the dining room, now the dining/music room as my cello and music had to move into the dining room also to make room for the train table in what used to be my study. Get it?

Anyway, it came to pass in all of this piano frenzy, Tim decided that he wanted to learn how to play the piano. And since J hasn't yet distinguished his right from his left, nor can he say his letters or numbers (all necessary skills for basic piano), I had time in my schedule to take on another student. Tim's only had one lesson, but he was really excited about his new ability to play "Old McDonald Had a Farm" and "Merrily We Roll Along." J was pretty excited about it too and chimed in with the harmony on my pitch pipe. Very cute. You better be ready for your next lesson, Timmy!

















So, our house is officially full, and we couldn't be more grateful for the gifts we have!