Smooch!

First of all, many of you let me know that you couldn't post comments on the blog last post. I have no idea what happened-blogger technical difficulity-but I saw that the post had a couple of hundred hits, so I felt the love even if you couldn't say it! And this post has some goofy formatting. Again-sorry. How it looks on the creation page, and the preview page, is different from how it actually posts. But I think most of you are smart enough to read words even if they are broken by a line. I'm tired of messing with it!

Onto this post...We had a fabulous visit with Tim's brother, Tom, his wife, Alexis and their 4 month old, Bella. They came in for 3 days or so. If Tim and I were to ever have a biological child, he or she would probably look a lot like Bella. She's adorable, so we can't complain! Both boys were exceedingly sweet with her. C wanted to kiss her whenever he saw her, and J was very attentive to her needs.

Naturally, Tim had a great time bonding with a baby girl.

We celebrated Christmas with them while they were here. The boys had fun opening presents "for Jesus' birthday", and have taken to saying, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" whenever they see Santa!

Unbeknownest to all of us, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" became our Christmas theme. Tom and Alexis got J a remote control Tarantella (of which both boys are terrified, by the way. Tim had WAY too much fun sneaking that scary toy into their beds. . . . It took a while before C felt secure in his bed last night.) Though, instead of screaming when it approached, the boys apprehensiviely laughed and ran away from it this morning. So, maybe it will grow on them.

In the meantime, we got Bella a felt book of the song, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," which she enjoyed gumming.

Then, C got a Karoke microphone from Tom and Alexis that plays, what else..."The Itsy Bitsy Spider!" C loves carrying that microphone around and full body dancing to the songs it plays!

Other gifts exchanged include a big puppy dog chair for Bella, a few DVDs for the boys, a sling shot for Tom (from Tim), a huge flying disk for the boys (Tim included), and the recently released New Testament on CD preformed by actors such as Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, and Angela Bassett, for me. Awesome.

Thanks Tom and Alexis! It was a very Merry early Christmas!

Ted, Tim's littlest brother (and youngest), and his wife Lisa are flying here as I write this to spend Christmas week with us. We haven't had the opportunity to really bond with them as a couple since they're still newlyweds, so we're looking forward to that time together. I'm sure we'll have plenty of pics to post from their visit next week. Have a Merry Christmas!

Each morning, we've taken to singing

"This is the day, this is the day

that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made.

I will rejoice, I will rejoice

and be glad in it, and be glad in it.

This is the day that the Lord has made.

I will rejoice and be glad in it.

This is the day, this is the day

that the Lord has made."

I can honestly say that I don't think either boy needed this daily reminder to be joyful. But it's done me good. I wonder at what age I quit joyfully leaping out of bed at 7:00 am, donning my reindeer antlers with glee, and giggling with wonder at the delectability of cheese. Kids have taught us, or at least reminded us, of a lot of lessons, not the least of which has been to be thankful for the day we have, and to live it with a joyful heart.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

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!