Smile as big as you can...

2011-12-30T08:54:00.000-06:00

A short post.

I've sort of abandoned this blog.

Not on purpose of course.

Life just gets in the way.

And that's funny,

because it's life that I like to blog about,

like to record so that I might remember.

All the little things,

and the big things,

that happen so suddenly.

And so I will start small

with grand hopes to go big.

Pictures and words to remember

my life as it was when my children were small.

Several weeks ago, on the coldest day of the year thus far, Sam and I stood out on the freezing tarmac to see this guy.

Do you see who I'm talking about?! Behind the brown hat in the lower right corner of the picture?

Yes, we stood there for over 20 minutes in the bone-chilling cold, hand-warmers tucked into our gloves and hats pulled down tightly over our ears.

It was all an amazing dream for Sam, our little pilot, the little boy who takes toy airplanes into the bath tub and flies helicopters on our heater vents. He has never been so still or so quiet as he was when he saw the largest aircraft he has ever seen, land on the tarmac right in front of him. Sure he has flown on planes, and has seen planes fly over our house, but this thing!? This beast? Folks, it is HUGE! Even I was left speechless! And then....then...he got to see 5 military helicopters take off into the southern sky. Talk about a dream! We were so close our hats were blown off of our heads. My little pilot, perched on my shoulders, remained quiet...still...awestruck...amazed.

Oh and of course we got to see that guy. But three year olds don't really understand who "that guy" is...even if they get a high-five from him. Good thing we have a picture to show him someday when he does understand. See? In the picture below? In the upper left hand corner, the little grey hood perched on my shoulders? That's Sam...getting a presidential high-five.

It was a great day, cold, but great. And, as I loaded my sweet red-cheeked baby boy into his car seat he looked at me and said "Mom, dat was cool! Me wanna fly a big helicopter too someday!"

Oh baby boy...I don't know if mama's heart can take that....

BoyCat

2011-12-18T21:37:00.000-06:00

I could spend a lot of time playing catch up. But honestly, I don't really remember what happened yesterday. So I'm just gonna start with a story. And a few pictures.

When my mom comes to visit, she brings a lot of stuff. Not stuff like luggage and personal belongings, but stuff like clothes for my kids or old place mats I might be able to use or a sequin purse she found when she was cleaning out her closet or a book she thinks I might like. Just. stuff. Earl calls it "the crap your mom brings"...

Once, not too long ago, she came and brought two small stuffed cats. One was pink, the other blue. When you put their noses close together, through the magic of magnets, they seemed to kiss. Very fabulous. Grace quickly claimed them as her own. I don't blame her. See...here they are. Darling, huh?

Until Simon (our old border collie dog) chewed the nose off the pink bear. "Pick your toys up or the dog is gonna chew them up!!!!" And so the pink bear was discarded and the blue bear was tucked away, all alone, in a toy bin. Until Sam found him. "GanTone bring this a-me!!" he exclaimed. And quickly fell in love with, and named the lone cat. So began Sam's undying love and devotion for "BoyCat"

Now I've never had a child attatch to an object. Sure Grace had her chou-chou (our family name for a pacifier) but this "BoyCat" is different. BoyCat has a personality. He has likes and dislikes (he does not like green vegetables, but loves anything sweet). He gets scared (he is especially terrified of alligators in his room after the lights go out).

BoyCat needs a bath at least once a week because he really loves to play outside and he gets quite dirty. And he always, always, snuggles in bed each night with Sam for a song and a story.

Have you ever read the story of The Velveteen Rabbit? The tale of a stuffed rabbit, who after much love and devotion, one day comes to life? Becomes a real rabbit? I know it's just a story, but sometimes I look at my blond headed little boy and his stuffed friend, and I wonder...hmmmm...what if?

And so, it is for this reason when we took our annual family photographs this year, I asked our photographer to capture a few of Sam and his beloved BoyCat. These are two of my very favorite pictures ever taken. Oh they just melt my heart.

You can almost see a twinkle in BoyCat's eye. He has a very important job to do...watching over this sweet boychild of mine.

Back burner blogging

2011-10-29T08:20:00.000-05:00

Blogging has taken a back burner in my life.
Itsa shame, really. I like to write. As I sit here listening to my family make pancakes in the kitchen (mama doesn't make pancakes...mama drinks coffee while the pancakes are being made), it feels nice to sit and put my thoughts into words. I should really do this more often...
So very quickly...here are some things that are sitting on the FRONT burners of my life.
--Both kids are playing soccer. There is a very LARGE difference between a U8 (Grace) game and a U4 (Sam) game. Imagine trying to herd drunk cats...this is very similar to watching 8 three and four year olds chase a soccer ball around a field.
--Both kids are in school.
--We renovated our kitchen. Pictures to come...maybe. I'm not making any promises, said the girl who hasn't blogged in 2 months.
--The weather has been gorgeous. We spend most of our "at home" time outside. Lots of outside time = very sleepy children. Love this.
--I made the kids Halloween costumes this year. Pictures to come...well...maybe...see above statement re. pictures.
--Earl has been traveling.
Honestly though...as I sit here, I can't think of much more. I know there's more, perhaps I need another cup of coffee. Maybe I'm just rusty on this whole blogging business. How about some pictures...when in doubt, post pictures.

Sam...helping Earl pack.

Earl, demoing the kitchen...isn't he darling?!

And Grace. Crazy, silly, bouncing Grace.

Alright...there is coffee to be consumed and soccer shin guards to be put on.

I'm out.

An update on Baby Dove

2011-08-26T08:55:00.000-05:00

Baby Dove flew the nest yesterday. She was the first one to attempt flight, and flew straight into my neighbor's garage. Welcome to the world little birdie. Stop flying into garages.
The neighborhood kids were outside ~~running crazy~~ playing tag under the tree where the dove have made their home. The kids were L.O.U.D. Loud like only 15 kids can be that have been cooped up in a classroom all day. And I wonder if Baby Dove didn't just get so fed up with the racket, she decided that flying the nest was her only option. I was sitting in another driveway and just happened to look over and witness this crazy first flight...I couldn't believe my eyes. I looked at the other ladies sitting around me...they were all still chatting. They hadn't seen Baby Dove's perilous first flight, and I honestly think if they had seen it, they wouldn't have done what I did next. I said "I think that Baby Dove just flew into that garage" and got up...I walked into the garage and began to search for Baby Dove. A gray bird blends in well with a gray concrete garage floor. I'm just sayin'. After a bit of searching, the neighbor came out. Don't worry, I didn't alarm him...we drift in and out of each other's houses all the time. He was not shocked to see me in his garage. He was shocked to hear that Baby Dove had chosen his garage as the destination for her first flight. And as soon as he closed the door, Baby Dove fah-lipped out. I tried to scoop her up...but she was fast! And I only ended up "herding" her into the tall Pampas grass outside. The children swarmed me. This was great!...exciting!...they were all talking at once "can I touch it?" "what happened?" "Are you gonna keep it?".... Baby Dove was terrified. This was the most action she had seen in her short little life. I was able to scoop her up and attempt to return her to the nest. But that startled her brother--still safely in the nest--and he flew off. He flew into a tree. Like a normal bird. And Baby Dove, startled by her brother, flew into the street. Great. I herded her under a car, told the children to leave her alone, and went back to chatting with the neighbor ladies, who all looked at me like I had 6 heads and probably a fresh case of lice compliments of Baby Dove, but said nothing. I'm a stranger in this world. Weird. Unusual. Abby-normal. I try to be normal. I really do. I only end up seeming more weird. Ahem...moving on. After 20 minutes or so I looked up from my attempt at making "normal" conversation, to see the three girls of the neighborhood gang (my girl included), all walking behind Baby Dove, who had found her way back into the middle of the street. *Sigh* They all wanted to touch her. Pick her up. Put her in a Princess lunchbox. I suggested we try once more to put her back into the nest. They agreed that this was a better idea than the lunchbox and lugged over a chair for me to stand on. And this time, Baby Dove stayed in the nest. I think she had learned her lesson.
We checked on her on our way to take Grace to school this morning. She was still there. I wondered for a minute if something was wrong with her. If maybe she had been injured in her shenanigans from the day before. But as I stood looking up at her, my children gathered around me, curious, wondering...she stood up and flew away. Into a tree. Praise be to God.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:25-27

For my momma...

2011-08-24T16:21:00.001-05:00

A nest?...A covey?....I dunno...whatever...a family of dove, has made a nest in the tree across the street. Our neighbor discovered it and showed my children one unseasonably cool Sunday afternoon while they were playing outside. My children showed it to me.

Very fantastic.

The nest is only about 8 feet up in the tree and when I stand on a small chair, my face is level with the birds. There are two babies. A week ago they fit nicely in their new home, snug under Mama Dove. Now? Well now they are spilling out of the nest...

See...

Geez! And I have the gall to complain about my house being too cramped!

The babies are rather darling. And unlike other baby birds I have had the privilege to meet, rather quiet...I haven't heard a peep out of them!

My have they grown quickly! I'm guessing they will attempt their first flight sometime very soon.

Do you know that dove mate for life? That they are monogamous? Well...they are. And they are quite a team. I've been checking on this nest for almost 2 weeks now and it has never been left unattended.

We had a terribly powerful storms roll through a couple of nights last week. I woke up, WIDE awake...I listened to the thunder roll, heard the wind beat the side of the house, and I began to pray for Mama Dove. I was so worried that I would find her nest on the ground the next morning, tossed to the ground, the babies spilled out. So the next morning, before I had my first cup of coffee, I raced outside in my pajamas, stood on the chair and saw--much to my relief--Mama Dove and both of her babies. Carefully nestled in the branches of a Bradford Pear, safe from the storm. God is good...even to a family of dove.

This post is for my momma. The woman that taught me, and continues to teach me, that we are all connected. Each and every one of us. She taught me to marvel at the mystery of nature and taught me to respect the wild things. xoxo--Kate

Today

2011-08-24T14:59:00.000-05:00

Today my daughter started 1st grade.

How quickly these 6 1/2 years have gone.

I walked her to the doors of the school and into her classroom. She told me she didn't need me to walk with her this year. That she knew the way. What she doesn't know is that I needed her to walk with me. One is never prepared for these moments in motherhood.

She wears a size 2 tennis shoe. When did her feet get so big?

She rolled her eyes when leaned down to kiss her goodbye. Where did she learn that?

She assured me that "yes Mom I can open my fruit cup at lunchtime...all. by. myself."

She is my challenge. My exuberant one. Full of fire and life and passion.

Earl and I have learned to mostly just watch. She has so much to teach us. She makes us laugh and cry and scream and wonder "Are we raising her right?"....Whatever "right" is...

Today my daughter started 1st grade.

Simply unbelievable.

Random thoughts from a messy mind

2011-08-21T13:10:00.001-05:00

I wish my life had a soundtrack.
I saw Bumblebee (the car, not the insect) for sale at a car lot today. Wonder if I could get a car seat in the back?
I learned to drive a stick shift when I was 27 years old. I like driving a stick shift and wish I had learned sooner.
Earl and the kids went to the Kansas City Airshow yesterday. A plane doing a stunt show crashed, killing the pilot. Wow. Interesting to watch a 3 and 6 year old process such a tragedy...There have since been numerous reenacted toy airplane crashes on my living room floor.
I have stopped eating meat.
I have also stopped drinking Diet Coke. Shocking, I know.
I have not however stopped my consumption of dairy. I like cheese. I really like yogurt. So sue me.
The debate is still out on eating eggs.
Earl took the kids back to the airshow this afternoon. They seem to be having a grand time.
I am home alone. I had fabulous plans to deep clean the house while the children were away. Those plans have since been cancelled and operation "Lazy Mom" is in effect. Cleaning can wait.
I just finished reading The Devil in the White City. It is a "heavy" read, but quite possibly one of the best books I have ever read.
Earl wants to buy me a Kindle. I'm not exactly sure I would use a Kindle. Most of my books come from the thrift store or are given to me by my neighbor. I also enjoy reading in the bathtub. Can you read a Kindle in the bath? This is a question I must google.
On Wednesday we will have a 1st grader living under our roof.
Our children no longer go to the church nursery on Sunday morning. They each go to their respective classes. This is mind-boggling to me and something I was not prepared for.
We have a pumpkin patch growing out of the compost pile in our backyard.
I wish I were more organized and less chaotic.
God is busy in my life. So busy that I feel pulled in 25 different directions...this makes me feel even more chaotic than usual.
My prayer for my life is that God shows me exactly where He wants me to be. Maybe I'm meant to be chaotic? I dunno....but I did buy a small planning calender and am trying to get all of my "chaos" down on paper. Maybe that will help....
This post is beginning to seem chaotic.
I'm gonna go read a book....

2011-08-18T08:54:00.004-05:00

Most of the time I blog about the crazy things my kids say and do. I joke that I drink tubs of coffee just to stay awake. And I ask you to pray for me....because frankly, mothering is not a job for the faint of heart and I try not too take myself to seriously. But truthfully...I struggle. Every-single-stinkin' day. I struggle with the decision Earl and I made over 6 years ago. The decision for one parent to stay home. It's a non-stop job. It's intense and often confusing. I spend my days doing the laundry, making meals, cleaning up after meals, refereeing, translating 3-year-old speak, and playing "Chutes and Ladders" (possibly the worst game ever...just when you think you've gotten to the end, *shwoop* you land on the big chute and slide all the way down to the beginning. Who thinks of this stuff anyway?!) The rewards are not those offered by mainstream society. No promotion here. No raise. No paid time off. No evaluation. No lunch break or even a bathroom break really. I'm raising America's future and yet society doesn't see my job as worthy enough to earn Social Security. If I were to define my life right now, I would use one word--sticky. And so occasionally I get myself into a self-induced funk when I think on these aspects of my "job"...I throw a pity party and drink lots of coffee.
It was on such a day that I decided to take my little "clients" to the library for the "Summer Carnival"! After the carnival, as we sat on the sidewalk to eat our popsicles, and I overheard a woman say to the little girl standing beside her "What's that honey? Oh...well of course we can call your mom and tell her how much fun you had!" And that's when I was hit over the head with a proverbial 2X4. No one has to call me. I don't have to hear about my children's lives from someone elses point of view. I'm there. Right there. Smack dab in the middle of this crazy, sticky mess that is my children's life. And honestly, even on the bad days, there is no where else I'd rather be....
Grace, my dramatic firstborn, drove this point home later that day when we went to the pool. I got to be there...smack dab in the middle of it...when she jumped off the diving board for the very first time.
See?
Very cool.

And then we headed home...for nap time, for quiet time, for folding laundry time (I do laundry all. the. time.) More of the mundane. But no, God is funny that way. Just when you think you've got it all figured out...WHAMMO....God shows up.
Wanna see what He did?
He did this...

He took an ugly green caterpillar we found eating the dill in our garden and turned it into an amazing butterfly. Upon our arrival home from the pool, we found her flapping her new wings in the glass jar she had attatched her chrysalis to only 11 days before.
I came home from my "lesson" at the library...from watching my girl take her first leap off the diving board...to the newness of a most fantastic creature.
It left me speechless.
And utterly humbled.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come! The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 This verse certainly illustrates the transformation of a caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly, but it also speaks of us...All of us...when we let Jesus into our lives.
This morning--at the library--I was disgruntled. I was tired. I was burdened with the humanness of my life. I saw the sticky fingers on my children instead of sweet smiles on their faces. I was an ugly. green. caterpillar. But slowly, throughout the course of the day, God wrapped Himself around my life. He showed me how beautiful my life really was...and my attitude emerged, much like the butterfly, new and fresh.
What a gift I was given!
Thank you God for my children. Thank you for the opportunity to walk through life with them. Thank you for libraries and diving boards and butterflies.

Things I learned while canning spaghetti sauce...in no particular order.

2011-08-16T09:19:00.001-05:00

I have amazing neighbors with amazing tomato plants. Seriously, every year they have a phenomenal crop of tomatoes. Even when everyone else's tomato plants wither in the heat and die, my neighbors plants double their production.
Tomatoes are very messy.
My kitchen looked like a tomato exploded. Cabinets, counter tops, the sink, the window. Everything was covered in tomato juice, tomato seeds, tomato pulp, tomato skin. It was shocking.
6 year olds like to "help" in the kitchen. But really, it is best to wade through the mess alone. 6 year olds create even more mess and ask a LOT of questions. "Well...we're doing this because it's fun. YES! I know we can just go to the store and buy some spaghetti sauce."
Skinning a tomato feels a bit like what I imagine skinning an animal must feel like. I sorta felt like I was killing them. I apologized, out loud, several times to several tomatoes.
Lucia Micarelli is quite possibly a musical genius. Google her.
Life seems fairly simply when you're up to your elbows in tomatoes.
I'm not Italian but I wish I were. I also wish I had either made the spaghetti sauce after 5pm or on the weekend...I found myself craving a very large glass of red wine.
I like food. I like to cook it. I like the smell and the taste and the texture. I like that, when I cook, I think of nothing else except the task very near at hand. In the entire 2+ hours that it took me to process and can the sauce, I never once thought about the balance of my checking account.
Lots and lots of tomatoes (read: about 20 pounds)=only 6 jars of spaghetti sauce.
Dogs won't eat the basil leaves that fall on the floor.
If you squeeze a tomato, juice will squirt out and at times, reach an alarming distance. I'm talking not just inches but feet, people. I think I have tomato juice on my ceiling...
If you ever start to believe that you are not wonderfully and fearfully made, dissect a tomato. Tomatoes are fascinating! I'm thinking if God put that much work into a vegetable, err fruit...whatever...then He certainly cares for and loves me more than I can ever imagine.
Fresh picked tomatoes taste like a firework in your mouth. There is simply nothing else like it. They taste of fresh air and sunshine. They taste like the heat of a summer day and newly cut grass. More proof that God loves me and wants me to be happy. Money won't make you happy...but a fresh tomato? Now that just might do it...
When you boil jar lids and then reach into the water with your little magnetic lid grabber...wear a hot pad glove thingy. Boiling water is hot. And metal lids are even hotter...more hot?...whatever...
I now have the up most respect for "Ma" from the Little House on the Prairie. And I have a new appreciation for store bought canned spaghetti sauce.
My sauce tastes pretty good...I think.
I will enjoy opening up a jar of sauce this winter...When the snow covers the ground and I'm so cold my teeth are cold.
I thanked the tomatoes.
My kitchen has never been cleaner. It took almost as long to clean up as it did to make the sauce.
All this spaghetti sauce talk is making me want a big plate of spaghetti and a glass of wine. It also makes me want to live in Italy.

I really have no nice and neat way to wrap this up. So this is it. Things I learned while canning spaghetti sauce.

Please pray

2011-07-21T09:23:00.000-05:00

I am a blog stalker. There. I admit it.
And I have a few blogs that I follow faithfully. Blogs of people that I have never met, and probably never will. It's a glorious thing...this technology that links us in ways that, 10 years ago, we only dreamed about.
And now I am going to make you a blog stalker. That's right...I'm asking for prayers for a family I have never met.
I am asking for prayers for Courtney and her sweet son Tripp.
Tripp has a rare skin disease called "EB" (short for epidermolysis bullosa)...you can read all about exactly what it is on her blog:
http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/
Please go visit her blog...read about Tripp...and pray. Pray for comfort, for peace...pray.
And remember that we are all connected...

2011-07-08T09:28:00.000-05:00

Grace got her ears pierced this past May. I don't know if I mentioned this on here yet or not. She did not cry. Not one little tear. She didn't even grimace. I was absolutely shocked. I figured my little diva would fall into a pile of tears and sobbing on the floor after the incident. But nope, she smiled proudly, looked at her daddy, and said "What do you think?!"

Well...Paw-paw got wind of the newly pierced ears and asked if he could buy her some diamond earrings. (Side note: Do you know that Earl is very good at choosing jewelry for me? Well he is...apparently it is something he learned from his father. So men...teach your sons well! Their future wives will thank you someday.) I told Paw-paw diamond earrings would be fine with me on one condition. They must have screw-on-backs.

So Paw-paw bought diamond earrings with screw-on-backs. They are bigger than my diamond earrings...and I am 32 years old. Isn't there some sort of law out there that says a 6 year old should not have bigger diamond earrings than her mother?

Grace was over-the-top excited about her new bling. I really didn't expect such a reaction...but I suppose every female human has some sort of "diamond instinct" built into their DNA. Grace knew exactly what these little sparkly rocks were. To say she was thrilled is a large understatement.

My little diva...rocking it out with diamond earrings...wow. There's not a baby book out there that warns ya of this stuff.

Oh and it's summer break ya know? Well....while baby brother takes a nap every afternoon, Grace and I watch an episode of "Toddlers and Tiaras" on Netflix. Grace says she really really wants to be in a pageant....oh. my. Pray for me. And pray for the man she marries...that he is very patient and likes to shop for jewelry.

Vacation 2011

2011-07-07T10:46:00.001-05:00

Wow...are you ready for this? Seriously. I just uploaded over 40 pictures to go with this one blog entry. That's kinda ridiculous. But whatever...go git a cuppa coffee. Yer gonna need it.

Oh and by the way...it's 4pm on a Tuesday. We're still in our pajama's and watching Toddler's and Tiaras. No...I am not joking. This is all true. I couldn't not make this stuff up if I wanted to...(P.S. Now it's Thursday...I'm reading thru the post to make sure it makes sense before I post it...it's raining...it's almost 11am...and we're still in our p.j's. I'm starting to see a trend here)

Vacation 2011.

This was our very first official "get-in-an-airplane-and-fly-somewhere" vacation. We went to San Antonio, TX. It's hot there. I'm not gonna lie. But Shamu lives there...and when Shamu splashes gallons water on you, you're not so hot anymore. Locals will tell you that it's a "dry" heat. Whatever that is....I say 104 degrees feels like 104 degrees whatever way you cut it. I told the locals I wasn't complaining...we had snow up to our mailbox this past winter. Bring on the heat! I can take it!

So the first day, Friday, we went to Sea World. Grace was super excited, as only Grace can be. She could hardly contain herself. She was oozing excitement.

We rushed to the front gates, eager to spend the day with Shamu and her (his?) friends.

(There's a little part in there about me losing my cell phone and thinking it fell out of my pocket. But it was all okay. Turns out in my excitement I left it on top of the car...all day...in 104 degree heat. It still works by the way. Now that's a quality product people.)

Our first order of business was to let the boys (the big boys...Earl and his brother) ride the Steel Eel. Then Earl made me ride it. Then we got a beer. At 10am in the morning. The vendor laughed and called us "weekend warriors"...I told him we were on vacation and had just survived almost certain death on a terrifying roller coaster. I deserved that beer.

Then we cooled off in the penguin house. Curious little creatures, penguins. God must have had a fine time dreaming them up. I have no pictures of the flightless birds, only a picture of my little baby boy bird watching them.

Then we went to see the Shamu show. And what a show it was! Very impressive! We even got to see the newest baby whale born in the park only months before. I cried when I saw the baby swimming alongside his momma...such a precious creation.

Baby cousin Austin fell asleep right in the middle of eating his goldfish crackers. Poor guy. I can't blame him...it was a long day! But boy did we have fun! And we didn't even see all of the park...next time, we'll go back a second day.

On Saturday, we went north to the Natural Bridge Caverns. The girls spent time waiting for Paw-paw by jumping from rock to rock.

Baby brother tried to imitate them, but got a little nervous....so he chose to squat and watch instead.

A few "cousin" shots while we waited.

And a picture of me and Earl. On a very large orange dinosaur. I'm not exactly sure what the dinosaur has to do with the caverns...but it made for a good photo op.

There was even a baby dinosaur. I told the girls to make a crazy face. This is what I got.

Then it was on to take our walking tour of the Natural Bridge Caverns. Here's why it is called "Natural Bridge Caverns".....

See the rock bridge created when part of the caves collapsed hundreds of years ago? No...we didn't get to walk across it. That's okay...it was kinda scary and narrow. I was totally okay with admiring it from afar.

And don't you love this sign posted at the entrance to the cave? Isn't it so true? And not just about spelunking...about life in general.

Entering the caves. Grace really doesn't know what she's in for, this is her first cave tour...but she's all in and she's excited!

See??...absolute excitement about the unknown. Look up excitement in the dictionary...you will see this:

A 3 generation picture. I sure do love all these boys.

Grace and Taylor at the very first part of the caves. We were instructed not to touch ANYTHING...and I don't know about you, but when I heard this, all I wanted to do was touch EVERYTHING!! It was tough, I'm not gonna lie...the cave walls and formations were so pretty and foreign and I wanted to touch them!!!

But...don't worry, turns out I'm not the only person that yearns to touch the rocks that grow like amazing stone flowers. There was ONE rock that was the designated "touching rock"...both girls were quick to reach out and touch it...so was I...

and guess what, it felt just like a rock. Go figure.

These pictures just do not do this place justice. We descended 180 feet down into the cave. And there we encountered room after room of rock columns, stalactites, stalagmites, and many other kinds of rock formations. Formed over hundreds and hundreds of years. It takes each column 100 years to grow one cubic inch. I think the tallest column was 32 feet high. For reals...that is crazy.

Oh...did I mention that Earl carried the baby the entire way? Yeh, he did. Sam was scared. I'm not sure how far he carried him...but I do know it was over a time frame of about an hour. And Sam weighs 35 pounds. That's quite a load to carry! And the floor was damp and slippery...and Earl had on flip-flops. Good times...good times.

The picture below is of the biggest room in the cave system called "The Hall of Giants"

Fascinating. Mind-blowing. Makes a girl feel very small in a very big world.

And here Grace is showing you a cave formation called "Fairy Castles"...she was seriously looking for a fairy after she saw this.

See...Earl carried the baby through the entire cave. He hung on like a baby monkey.

The whole group--well, except for me, but we've already talked about how momma is never in the picture. Always behind the camera. *sigh*

But wait! Earl remembered! A picture of me standing in front of a ginormous rock column! Oh Joy!

And me again...carrying Sam. Imagine that...someone carrying the 35lb 3 year old with perfectly healthy and capable legs. He might be a little bit spoiled...I couldn't say for sure.

And another picture of me with Taylor and a very pouty Grace...

And then we emerged blinking into the light...very thirsty and in Grace's case, cranky. Sam, who had been terrified of the entire cave experience, began to weep and wail as we exited the cave. He began to cry that he wanted to "go back into cave"...that he indeed was not scared. Maybe he felt like he had something to prove...I dunno...but I thought it was funny. So I took a picture.

After a hot day at the caves, we headed back to hotel to grab some lunch and regroup. Then we walked over to the Alamo for a quick history lesson before dinner.
I've been to the Alamo several times in the past, but it always fascinates me. To be right on top of such history...I just can't wrap my mind around it.

Sam liked the fountains best. Or maybe he liked the money he got from Paw-paw to throw into the fountains. All I know is he's smiling and no one is having to carry him...the day was looking up.

Earl really liked this diorama (is that what it's called?--whatever, it's a little model of what the Alamo and the area around the Alamo looked like back in the day) and he wanted to show the kids. I thought it was a sweet Daddy/Son moment...so I snapped a picture. Then I got yelled at by the Alamo staff for taking pictures inside the building...my bad, folks, my bad. Putting the camera away...

Another sweet Daddy/Son moment...outside...where a girl doesn't get yelled at for taking pictures. I sure do love these boys.

It was hot (but a "dry heat"...) so after the Alamo we headed to get some dinner on the Riverwalk. The wait was insane. We parked the kids at a table near the bar (not actually in the bar...what kind of parents do you think we are?!)...And got them some ice-cold lemonade...mommy got a margarita...daddy got a beer. Then the wait didn't seem so bad and the air conditioning felt oh-so-good!

The next day was Sunday. We headed north to Gruene, TX (pronounced "Green") and went to eat at the Gristmill. Earl had eaten there on a trip to TX a little over a year ago and I had heard about it from the Food Network. The food is said to be ah-ma-zing. While we waited for our table the kids sat with Paw-paw in the shade.

What a crew! Oh, and Grace is wearing sunglasses because she got sunscreen in her eyes and went into total meltdown mode. Sunglasses seemed to help both with the sunscreened eyes and the meltdown.

After we got seated at our table....Sam had a meltdown. Sheesh! Good thing I only have two children! The meltdowns seemed contagious. So I gave him my camera. That seemed to do the trick. The following pictures were taken by Sam.

A pretty good pic of Paw-paw!

And the next two pictures are of me, taken by Sam...doing what I do best....

Eating....(the onion rings were phenomenal by the way)

and talking with my hands....

Eating at the Gristmill was a great finale to our vacation. It was by far the best hamburger I have ever eaten. And the onion rings? Well...I ate them all and I did not share.

And now we come to the very last photo...

Sam's stroller parked in the motorcycle parking. 'Cause he's cool like that.

Kay...that probably the longest post I've ever written. It took me 3 days to write. If you've made it this far...Congratulations and thanks. We really did have a fantastic time in San Antonio. It's such a pretty city with lots of fun stuff to do. But most of all, we enjoyed simply being together. I have a pretty nice little family...if I do say so myself :)

Grace dances.

2011-07-04T15:32:00.001-05:00

It's the afternoon of July 4th. We spent the morning at a parade in a small town near where we live. Then we went to the store and bought beer and ingredients to make homemade vanilla ice cream. I've been cooking most of the afternoon. Zucchini squash quiche, a family favorite. Fresh corn. Peach Pie. Sliced tomatoes and cantaloupe. The house is dripping with the smells of summer food. Earl is outside mowing. Sam has been attempting and mostly failing to nap. Grace has been in and out, in and out...
"SHUTTHATDOORYOU'RELETTINGTHEBOUGHTAIROUT!!!"
...in and out. Life is grand.
I took a break from cooking to spend some time on the treadmill (Gotta work off all that butter and sugar and cream somehow!) and when I finished, I couldn't find Grace anywhere. I couldn't find Earl anywhere for that matter. The mower was silent. The house was silent (Sam finally gave into sleep). Maybe they went to get fireworks. Maybe they went over to the neighbor's house. I spent 10 minutes searching for half of my family before I spotted them in the school playground behind the house...hitting golf balls together...and cheering after each swing. Have I mentioned?...Life is grand.

But on to Grace and dancing. Here are the annual pictures of Grace performing in her dance recital. It never gets old...all the sparkles and sequins and frill. This tomboy must admit...I really like dressing up my little "doll"...Toddlers and Tieras watch out! And yes...yes I did put mascara on my 6 year old. Don't be a hater.

The boys waited in the auditorium while I got Grace situated back stage.

And then the show began.

There was some brief hesitation. The lights are bright! The music is loud! Are we all together? Where's my mom sitting? Oh! There she is! *Frantic waving*

There was some shuffle-ball-chaining...

And then just as quickly as it began...it was over. There was a bow. And then quick quick backstage for a costume change.

Because it wasn't really over. When you start Kindergarten you get to dance two dances. The second dance was a jazz dance. And my favorite!

There was some singing along....

And some terribly cute little poses...

I love this picture below. See the cutie in the back row? She's dancing to the beat of her very own little drum. A-dor-a-ble!!!

And then it was really over...no really...that's the end.

Take a bow baby girl...you are a rockstar.

The obligatory family photo with the dancer...by this point, baby brother was D-U-N. 3 out of 4 smiling for the camera...we'll take it.

Okay...back to the kitchen. There is pie to be made.

2011-07-03T09:04:00.000-05:00

Okay so I think my problem (well one of my problems...) is that I am very lousy at getting pictures from the camera to the computer to the blog. This makes for very lousy blogging...

It's July 4th weekend and we have nothing planned. No agenda. No commitments. We've done what we want, when we want. Which is actually very nice and has resulted in the following:

A trip to the farmer's market

4 zucchini squash and 3 yellow squash

Tomatoes

(Both of which I have growing in my garden but just not ready to pick)

13 ears of Amish Peaches n' Cream corn (drooling yet?)

Peaches

4 smoothies

3 bags of handmade pitas

2 ridiculously large cookies

A visit to the very busy pool with Daddy. (Love it when Daddy comes. Means mommy gets to lay by the pool and soak up the rays.)

Delicious afternoon naps for 3 members of the family and a High School Musical marathon for 1 member of the family who refuses to nap *ahem* Grace.

A family water fight with the water hose.

Feeding of tadpoles.

A clean bicycle.

Snowcones.

A trip to Walmart.

A night with no baths and a late bedtime.

I am quite aware that summer is half over. How did that happen? And there is lots to document. And not one picture has been downloaded to the computer. My memory card on my camera is super duper full...

I'm gonna start with what I have...

Pictures from Easter.

Naturally...

I've had this post in my "Que" since, well, Easter...

Would you like to read it?

I hope so...

I certainly would like to get it posted...you know, 3 months later.

Ah...the smell of vinegar and boiled eggs...

can only mean one thing...

An Easter tradition.

Dyeing eggs and then hiding them in strategic places in the backyard and crossing your stained fingers that the children find them all so you don't find them in late July (it is early July..so far I haven't found one egg...lucky me)...

This "whisk method" was not my invention. I stole it from somewhere. A magazine...another blogger. I dunno...but it is absolutely brilliant! No spillage. No cracked eggs. No eggs rolling out of the cups, off the table, onto the floor...into the dog's waiting mouth. Where ever, whoever I got this idea from...thanks from the bottom of my egg dyeing heart.

Sam demonstrates how easy the "whisk method" of egg dyeing really is...

1. Put the egg in the whisk

2. Put the whisk/egg in the dye. Have your Daddy steady the cup.

3. Concentrate really hard. Swish the egg in the dye. The more swishing, the better.

4. Smile a super cute smile. Break your mama's heart.

5. Take a break from egg dyeing to go to the potty. It's okay. Your mama will take a picture of you're amazingly hot daddy.

Hi Earl...

6. Remove egg from the whisk. Hold it up so Mama can take a picture. Smile and break your mama's heart all over again. (This kid has me snowed...)

But seriously folks...next Easter...Git a whisk.

And now a picture of my two favorite men.

I think Sam is doing a combo Spiderman web throw/Easter egg demo here in the picture below. I can't be sure.

Then I handed Earl the camera because there are so few pictures of me. I am always behind the camera. What was I thinking??! I wonder if I even tried to fix my hair...

I think I'm working on making the "Ugliest Easter Egg in the World"...A family tradition from my side of the family. My dad started it. And he always won. Seriously...he patiently mixed color after nauseating color until his egg was a nice shade of brown/green/yellow. Some years he even purposely cracked the egg. Ewww.

I think it's important to pass on family traditions. Even those weird and slightly demented ones.

Here is the one and only picture of Grace I am posting. We had the kids strip down to their undies during the dyeing process. Makes for easier clean up. You understand...right? Well...I just felt a kinda weird about sharing nekkid pics of my girl.

The final product. Beautiful.

And a silly little boy eager to go on an egg hunt. For reals ya'll...this kid is a mess.

And below...

in the foreground: my "ugliest egg"

in the background: Grace's "ugliest egg"

Naturally I say I won...Grace says she won. In the end, it was a toss up...

Then Earl went outside and hid the eggs. Over and over and over. He has got to be the most patient man alive. I was done by the second go-round.

And so that is our yearly Easter egg dyeing family event. 3 months later.

I'm really hoping to do better with the blogging. I've got so much material to work with. We are having a great summer. The kids are so fun this year. They both love to swim, both enjoy being outside, and they both know how to turn on the TV and make chocolate milk in the morning so Mama gets to sleep in. Life skills people...I'm teaching them important life skills.

~~Happy Easter~~ Happy 4th of July

Fail...

2011-06-15T08:52:00.000-05:00

Post everyday in June...WHAT was I thinking?! Yeh, epic fail.And don't get your hopes up on a post today.
The number of little boys in my house just tripled. I'm kinda loving it to tell you the truth. Little boys are fun! And they have cool toys. And their "drama-factor" is relatively low when compared to my 6 year old sequined diva.
But...
little boys never. stop. moving. They run everywhere. They ask a lot of questions about how things work. They are loud. They make noises you don't have to teach them...noises burned into their little male DNA that girls and women can never make no matter how hard they try. Gun noises and explosion noises and car engine noises. It's fascinating to me. They also require lots of what the experts call "large muscle group activity" and they go through wet wipes by the dozens. The word "sticky" doesn't even begin to describe it.
So there will be no posting today. Maybe tonight...but today? Well today I am busy finding Spiderman's web and digging nerf darts out of my hair.

ONE post in May? Really?!

2011-06-02T09:57:00.004-05:00

I think I see spiderwebs forming on my blog. Crickets are chirping. The lights are on but nobody's home. Was that a tumbleweed I just saw blow by?
This lack of blogging is pathetic.
Grace's tooth loss was NOT the only thing that happened in our family during the month of May.
There was a dance recital and soccer games. Our resident 6 year old got her ears pierced with Hello Kitty earrings. Paw-paw came to visit and brought diamond earrings to replace Hello Kitty. There was a school music program and a new roof. The dogs got a bath. I taught Sunday school. Both kids got raging ear infections. The cat killed her quota of bunnies and is now quarantined inside permanently. GrandTone came to visit. Tomatoes were planted, then burned by a late freeze and new tomatoes were planted in their place. A rain barrel was installed and filled and emptied and filled again. We've had lots of rain. There was a devastating tornado in Joplin, then a week later a tornado warning in Kansas City and a morning spent in the basement closet eating cantaloupe and watching Gary Lezak. We celebrated a birthday and mother's day. The birthday girl got a new Keurig coffee pot and pearl earrings...and she is in. love. I took a wagon-full of snow cone makin's up to the school and made snow cones for an entire Kindergarten class. Earl and I went to see The Hangover 2. Not a great sequel...save your money and rent it. Also make 100% certain that the children are in bed...fast. asleep. when you watch it. Totally not a movie for little eyes. We ALL went to see Kung Fu Panda 2. A GREAT sequel...spend your money, take your children, and go see it.
May was busy. The blog suffered. And so now I am choosing to do what I did a few months ago...blog everyday in the month of June. But just like last time...I'm not making any promises. Grace is out of school now. I have both kids at home and the fighting has already started. Phrases have come out of my mouth like "WORK IT OUT! If you can't work it out between yourselves, then I'LL work it out and you won't like my solution one BIT!!" and "He's the ONLY brother you're ever gonna have! Someday I'll be old and crazy, but you'll still have your brother! BE NICE TO HIM!" and--if I had a nickel for every time I said this one I'd be a millionaire--"Stop squeezing/sitting on/kicking/shooting nerf bullets at the cat!"
It's gonna be a long couple of months...
Pray for me...

"What did the momma tomato do to the baby tomato when he was falling behind?"

2011-05-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

She stepped on him and said...

"Ketchup!"

Ohhohohoho...hahahahahahhahaa...that joke gets me everytime. I know it's totally Junior high...but I love it. Love. It.

But seriously now folks...I have some serious "ketching-up" (hahahhahah) to do...

We'll start with this...

A tooth lost...

A major childhood milestone found...

(And dontcha just love the sweet chubby marker colored hands? Yeh...I do)

There was blood...

And I'm not sure if there was simply a lot of blood or just the fact that the blood was mixed with spit and it looked like a lot of blood. Whatever it was...it was pretty gross and I was prepared for the girl to be fah-reaked out. Nope. Not at all. Her excitement won over and only momma was grossed out by the bloody mess where her tooth had been.

We rinsed...and rejoiced. Then crawled quickly into bed and fell fast asleep dreaming of the tooth fairy.

And for the record...the tooth fairy must be loaded. HE took the tooth and left $5 in its place. Notice the emphasis on HE...Earl is defenseless when it comes to his girl. It's even worse now that she is sporting a toothless smile.

2011-04-21T09:20:00.002-05:00

It's almost Easter.

We all have bunnies on our mind.

The kids talk excitedly of delicious solid chocolate Easter bunnies.

I have been collecting items for Easter baskets as I prepare to be the Easter bunny.

And Sara the cat...

*sigh*

Sara the cat has been killing, gutting, and eating the ears off of real live baby bunnies.

Yup...spring has sprung

Christ conquered the grave

and Sara cat has been quarantined to the house.

Happy Easter.

2011-04-12T10:13:00.001-05:00

I have the bird flu...no...seriously...I do. My Kindergartner "shared" it with me. That's what I get for teaching her to share. Sheesh.

But...if you'll bare with me, I'd like to share with you our first experience with Youth6 soccer. Grace is on the Bluejays. Hence the blue jersey.

And Earl's the coach. No...really...he is. They gave him a "coach's bag" and everything. I think I mentioned in an earlier post that Earl has this freaky ability to understand and play any sport you present before him. This theory holds true on a soccer field full of 6 year olds as well. Any sane person would run screaming the other direction...well, at least I would run screaming the other direction. But not Earl...I'd venture to say he enjoys it.

Maybe it's because he's been wrapped around Grace's finger since the moment they met and he would do anything she asks of him...or maybe it's because he is genetically programmed to delight in all things athletic. It's probably a healthy combination of the two. Whatever it is...I'm glad it's him and not me. I am content to bring snacks and cheer, loudly, from the sidelines.

The first game was 2 weeks ago. That very same morning I was 30 minutes south running in a 10K run with a dear friend of mine. (We had a great time...just in case you were wondering) So when I finished up the run, I went straight to the soccer fields to meet my little Bluejay and her handsome coach. Because I was not home to help with getting the kids dressed, Earl had his very-first-ever-in-a-lifetime experience of putting hair in a ponytail. He didn't do too shabby. I was quite impressed.

Warming up before the game.

Practicing kicking the ball in...

And throwing it in...

And then the game begins. 5 minute quarters. 4 quarters.

We played the Orioles. They were bigger. And badder. And more experienced. Oh...and they were all boys. Girls and boys are two amazingly different creatures. And nowhere is it more obvious than on the soccer field. Earl called the "little" boy on the far right of the picture above a "man among boys"...and he was right. The kid was a machine. He kicked soccer butt...I think he may have been taking names.

Let's not talk about the score (which was something like 0-8, we'll never really know...there is no score keeping in Youth6 soccer) and instead, we'll talk about how much fun Grace (and Earl) had. It was nice to be outside in the warm air and only worry about which direction a size 3 soccer ball was going. Those two were truly living in the moment.

And then as quickly and chaotically as it began, it ended. There was Gatorade and oranges and pretzels. The girls were thrilled to have a sort of post game "picnic". The boys sat around grumbling about the score...or really the lack thereof. I can tell you that at the next game the Bluejays were able to rally and score 3 goals. Morale is rising.

Before I stop here...I want to show you a few more pictures. These were taken by Sam. He sat on the sidelines with me. He hasn't really gotten the hang of cheering for his sister. He was more focused on getting the hang of using my camera.

I just love the view point of a three year old. Earl must seem like a giant to him!

We have 6 more games before the season is up.

Here's hoping for more goals, good snacks, and lots of "living in the moment"

Oh yes...and a quick recovery from the bird flu.

The goofball turns 3

2011-04-05T09:29:00.000-05:00

This is the post when I show you what exactly can happen in 3 very short, very hectic, very crazy, very wonderful years.

In 3 years...Sam-O Whammo went from this floppy little baby....

To this crazy little boy....

We always knew he was a goof-ball. But he seems to become more of a goof-ball everyday. We don't blame him...he comes by it honestly....it's the name. Sam. Every Sam I have met since my Sam was born is a self-proclaimed goof-ball. They affirm my curiosities with a pride.

Me: "So you're name is Sam too? Are you an easy going, goof-ball like my Sam?" Random person named Sam: *big grin* "Yeh...I am."

Everyone needs a Sam in their life.

So...my tiny goofball turned 3 this month. And I'll say it again...I've said it before...I have NO idea where the time goes. Seriously...it flies out. the. window. I look at him at night--every night--asleep in his bed...all stretched out...and I wonder when exactly his legs got so long.

This year we celebrated long 3 year old legs with a ridiculous amount of Spiderman themed items. Spiderman socks. Spiderman bubbles. Spiderman shoes. Spiderman clothes. Spiderman figurines in various sizes. Like I said...Ri-di-cu-lous.

Oh and a green light saber...you know, for variety.

We did deviate from the Spiderman mania with the "toy" in the below picture.

Little plastic dirt-movers and beans.

You laugh...but seriously, the child loves it. He can sit for 20+ minutes pushing those beans around, making dirt-mover noises that only boys know how to make. 20+ minutes in 3 year old time is an eternity...

Disclaimer for photo below: My sister is a cake decorator. She makes jaw-dropping cakes. Here's her site. I think I missed that gene...or maybe she got all of the "cake decorator" gene that was available....whatever. And then she had the GALL to up and move 8 hours away. So here I am...with these kids that keep having birthdays and no one to make them a cake except me. I made the cake below...and stuck a Spiderman on the top of it with some red sprinkles. Do I get an A for the effort?...

(It did taste AMAZING if I do say so myself! I can cook a mean cake...just can't decorate it...)

and Emily...stop laughing...

Sam enjoyed the red sprinkles. Even going so far as to pick them directly off the top of the cake when there were no more left on the slice on his plate.

It's nice to have a child that appreciates your food. I feel like I spend the majority of my days convincing the kids that carrots and green veges are in fact not poison.

(Can't get the picture turned. Oiy)

And in this picture above, you see Sam throwing "fireballs"...his superpower. Yes, it's new. I know you're jealous. I am. I wish I could throw fireballs. It comes in very handy when your mama sends you to time out....

Again...unable to turn this pic in blogger's photo editor. But seriously...I love this boy...love love love him. Goofball.

And then this series of pictures below melts my heart. I give you "Earl and Sam"...am I a blessed woman or am I a blessed woman!?!?!

Sam got a Spiderman toy from our friend Kristy for his birthday. You push a button in the middle of his chest and he says phrases like "My spidey sense is tingling"...Who thinks of this stuff anyway?? Are there freaky toy makers in dark backrooms somewhere chuckling to themselves and thinking "Oh the parents will really get a kick outta this one"... (And by the way....Thanks Kristy...I'll be handing that one back when baby P goes through the Spiderman phase. It's not a question of "if"...it's "when *insert evil laugh here*)nKay...so this Spiderman (and his tingling spidey sense) comes with suction cup webs. I told the kids if they stuck one suction cup to their head and the other suction cup to someone elses head, they could hear each others thoughts. They totally bought it...Bwhahahahhaha!!! OH how I love messing with their little minds.

Happy Birthday my little goofball.

Mama loves you...mama loves you...mama loves you.

This will be quick...

2011-03-23T22:13:00.001-05:00

just wanted to share a real life example of God's prevenient grace.
Yesterday was Sam's birthday (more on that when I get pictures uploaded) and as soon as Earl got home from work, we loaded up and headed to IHOP. Sam wanted pancakes. What better choice? International House of PANCAKES. But...more on that later....Eeeeeeneway...
The days have been just beautiful so the kids had been outside playing in the cul-de-sac. When I saw Earl's car pull up, I quickly rounded up the offspring and loaded them into the van. Somewhere in this process, I put my phone on the bumper of the car. I think this happened between loading kids and running upstairs to get my purse. I can't be sure. Yes...I know this is pretty stooopid thing to do. I have no excuse save that I have been fairly forgetful lately.
And we were off...with the cell phone on the bumper of the car....
I had totally forgotten about the phone which was now joy riding on the bumper of my car. Kinda dug through my purse for it, figured I had left it in the house when I ran upstairs right before leaving, and forgot about it. Until we got to IHOP. And my momma called Earl's phone. Hmmm...that's weird. Why didn't she call my phone? Wonder if everything is okay?...I immediately called her back and she answered with "We have your PHONE!" Wait. What? You live 6 hours away. How can you have my phone? I seriously went through that thought process...sigh. Turns out...God was working in my life through a teenage boy and I was completely oblivious.
The phone had fallen OFF the bumper at the entrance to our neighborhood. A boy that lives in our neighborhood was driving to lacrosse practice and noticed the BRIGHT LIME green cell phone in the middle of the street. He pulled over. Picked up the phone. And took 30 minutes out of his life to be the hands of Christ. 30 minutes isn't a long time...but I'm certain he was late to practice and if I remember correctly from high school, coach's aren't too keen on late arrivals. He coulda pocketed the phone...coulda sold it for some quick cash. After all, it is an iPhone. They're kinda a hot commodity. But instead he called my parents. 6 hours away. Remember the cover is BRIGHT LIME green? I like it because it's easy to find in the bottom of my purse. But it also sorta looks like a cover a teenager might choose...and since only paramedics and people over 25 know what "ICE" means he thought the best route to finding the owner of the lost phone would be to call the contact listed as "Mom and Dad"...
Side note: Do you know what ICE means? It means In Case of Emergency. And I have "ICE-Superman" listed on my phone as a contact for Earl. My husband. Thinking I need to change how I've listed contacts on my phone...
So he called my mom. She told him where I lived. After knocking on my door with no answer...my mom told him to take the phone to "that little red headed girl next door!"...that would be my neighbor Staci. Probably one of the very best neighbors evah. Really. She makes ya a margarita when the day has gotten the best of you...or a hot tea if you have a nasty case of strep. Her husband will till up an entire section of your yard if you want to put in a garden and snow plow your driveway in the middle of a blizzard in return for a case of beer. Honestly...the. best. neighbors. She will also rescue your phone....when you leave it on the freaking bumper of your car. Sigh. If you're reading this...Thanks Staci....
So I got the phone back. It was rescued from certain danger and placed in trusting hands before I ever knew it was gone. It's all a lesson from God. He works through other people. This time he chose a lacrosse playing teenager. And it really wasn't even a big deal. We have insurance on the phone...it would have been replaced. And do I really need this fancy high-tech cell phone anyway? Really? I guess what I'm getting at here is that there are these small incidences...small moments...that teach us so much about the character of God. And I think it's important to wake up...look up...and remember that if He does this in the small corners of our lives, how much more will he do it in the big stuff?! He's working...all the time...moving in our lives. It is our responsibility to recognize it...to awaken to the beauty of it all.
So to wrap it all up...
Staci got a ginormous piece of homemade birthday cake.
And I called the teenage kid...thanked him a hundred times over and gave him what my dad would call a nice chunk of "walking around money"....I also told him his momma sure did something right raising a honest boy like that.
God...walking around in my neighborhood. Absolutely fantastic. I'm kinda glad I left my phone on the bumper.

I wish heaven had a phone

2011-03-11T22:11:00.000-06:00

Grace got her star moved. Twice. In one day.
Let me back up.
In Grace's Kindergarten class, each child has a magnetic star. This star starts out on the green every morning. It is true, even in Kindergarten, that God has indeed created a new day, everyday. Misbehavior can cause the star to move to yellow--a warning, a reminder to "slow down" and think about your behavior. If the behavior continues or escalates, the star is then moved to red. A note is sent home with the child and further action is taken if that is deemed necessary. Above said magnetic star can be moved back and forth throughout the day between green, yellow, and red as behavior warrents. It's a fluid system. And it works fantastically for my 6 year old and her need to please. The law of the star holds much weight. And simply asking "Where is your star?" upon arrival home from school can elicit a big smile or big tears.
Wednesday I didn't even have to ask. With ducked head and weepy eyes, Grace said "Mom...I had my star moved today." Once for talking and a second time for not listening. Oiy... I expressed my disappointment, told her she had to tell her daddy when HE got home, and asked her what she would do differently in the future. I left it at that. It was clear to me that the migration of her star from green to yellow was punishment enough.
Later that night...when the children were in bed, Earl and I sat on the couch playing a game (lately we're playing Mancala--an Ethiopian marble game) and I began to talk through the events of the day. Particulary the movement of our primary offspring's precious star.
It was then that he told me this story:
"When I was in Kindergarten, I got into a fight--a fist fight--with another little boy during recess. My brother had to pull me off of him." Earl sighed...then grinned and looked up at me and said "And that was only half day Kindergarten....it could be worse babe...it could be worse."
Oh how I miss my mother-in-law.
It's times like these I my fingers itch to call her and ask her exactly what kind of genetics I'm dealing with here...

I wish heaven had a phone.

Another song...

2011-03-08T14:14:00.000-06:00

I've noticed I seem to use a lot of song lyrics to narrate pictures of Grace. And I think the reason I do this is because she is such a musical little thing. It seems to be woven into her very core. And music (and often the lyrics that accompany that music) seems to fit her like a nicely tailored dress...or tutu in this case. Enjoy.

"My baby loves to dance

She loves to spin around

She's only two feet tall

but I don't mind at all

She hears a song in every little sound...

My baby loves me so

She loves me as I am

She lifts her little hands

Her wish is my command

I'll pick her up forever if I can"

--Lyrics from Andrew Peterson's song My Baby Loves to Dance

2011-03-04T22:03:00.000-06:00

Sigh. I am a slacker.
Moving on...

Earl found a CD. Of pictures.

Let me back up...

August 2007. Earl was going to San Diego for training with his former job. I tagged along. Nothing like getting a vacation and letting someone else foot the bill. 4 days before we were scheduled to leave, I found out I was pregnant (We so totally weren't expecting that). And the day after that we found out that Earl got the job he has now and we would be moving and he would be leaving for training for something like 7-8 months (I say 8, Earl says 7...for the record, I'm right). To say we were stressed is an understatement. We went on the trip anyway. Looking back, I'm so glad we did. And, although I was 8 weeks pregnant with a surprise baby, I insisted we go to our scheduled surfing lessons. It's another "bucket list" thing for me...I wasn't gonna let some baby ruin the fun. (Sam--my little surfing embryo--is now 3, and he's no worse for the wear. His initials even spell out SRF...Surf. No...we didn't plan that one. His favorite lullaby? "Little Surfer" by the Beach Boys) We paid a crazy amount of money for a CD of pictures to document our sad attempt at surfing.

Here are the pictures. Well some of them. The CD is sorta screwy and I can't get all 56 of them off and onto the computer. Probably a good thing though...there's a picture on there of me wiping out pretty good. I don't think my ego could take the ridicule. Oh and just so you know, surfing is the absolute toughest thing I have ever attempted. So the fact that there was only one picture of my wiping out is amazing. I spent the entire class wiping out. I had a belly full of salt water and sand in places I didn't even know existed.

I'll walk you through these...captions will be at the bottom of each picture.

This board/roller thingy here is supposed to help you learn to balance...I did fairly well at this part. I got kinda confident. Thought maybe I could be a surfer girl after all. Psshhh...stupid board.

Earl. Ever the athlete. I was raised by a man that could pick up any instrument and play it well. I married a man that can pick up any sport and play it well.

Stretching. Yes...I picked a pink board.

More stretching. I like this picture. Kinda a picture of marriage in a way. Push and pull...give and take....it's a very fine balance.

Okay so then our instructor (a very handsome young man named Jordon) made me get on the board and try to maintain my balance while he ~~shook the board violently with all his might~~ simulated waves. My confidence began to wane at this point. And just LOOK at Earl's face in the background! Is he laughing at me?!? I have enlarged this picture...ladies and gentlemen, I give you...exhibit A.

Of course Earl...ever the athlete...soared through this test with flying colors.

Jordon...showing us how to find our center of gravity and balance. Bwahahahahahah...right...cause it's that easy.

Earl...pretending to paddle out. The fact that he is so handsome keeps me from choking him somedays....

The classic photo. One of my very favorites.

And again...with Jordon. He made surfing look so easy...

And...out we go. This is our first time out. How do I know this? Look at my hair...it's still neatly pulled back. 5 minutes later the waves had ripped the ponytail right off my head and my hair was covering my eyes.

And so I've come to the last picture that I could pull off the CD. A picture of me...wiping O.U.T. Humbling. So very humbling. I was so sure that one didn't make it off the CD...

Would you believe me if I told you I had a a good time? I absolutely did. But I will not be surfing again. The next time I see a beach I will be sitting in a lounge chair drinking a drink with an umbrella in it.

This is a test...of our new turbo internet...

2011-02-10T09:35:00.000-06:00

and it PASSED!!!

We just upgraded to the fastest internet Time Warner offers.

I was just testing to see how FAST FAST FAST it will upload pictures to my blog.

Let me tell ya folks...IT. WAS. TURBO speed...

So here is the picture. The "test" picture.

It might make you laugh a little. It made me giggle. But partly because I forgot about it and then found it again when I downloaded the birthday party pictures. This is just a day in the life...a day in the life.

What tolerant dog.

Happy Happy Birthday!! From all of us to you!!! Happy Happy Birthday...we. love. YOU!

2011-02-08T21:59:00.000-06:00

I was beginning to wonder if Blogger had a "photo upload limit"...'cause I just uploaded a hecka lot of photos. They don't. Have a limit. Just in case you have an urge to dump 39 pictures onto your blog. I just did. It takes a long time but we have the slowest Internet they offer. Earl says he's gonna change that, and soon. I for one, am not going to stop him.

Rambling....always the rambling with me.

39 pictures you ask? Of what? Grace's birthday silly!

Yesterday our girl turned 6. I know, I can't believe it either. I'd upload a 40th photo to compare what she looked like 6 years ago as compared to what she looks like today, but remember Earl put all our photos on that ginormous external hard drive? Yeh, he did...And I don't feel like fishing a photo off of that thing. Not tonight anyway.

So...she's 6. She is so happy to be 6. She says she feels more "grown up" whatever that means. But honestly, for the first 2 years of her life I think she was just plain mad she had to be a baby and so naturally 6 seems to be a good fit on her. When you're 6, you can make your own chocolate milk and turn on the TV by yourself and ride a bike with only two wheels.

1...2...3...4...5...

To celebrate the occasion, Grace chose to invite a few friends to the local bowling alley for bowling and cake. We had so much fun!!!

Here they are. 5 little girls. All in Kindergarten. All twirling, whirling, giggling little things. Such silly little creatures. From left to right: Leah, Maegan, Arcadia, Adylyn, and Grace.

Bowling shoes were worn.

Pink bowling balls were chosen.

And carefully, s-l-o-w-l-y rolled down the lane.

Many different "launching" styles were used.

There was lots of watching. And waiting. And jumping up and down with fingers crossed.

And there was the fascination with the ball feeder-thingy. The phrase "watch out and don't smoosh a finger" was repeated over and over and over....

Seriously girls...someone is gonna smush. a. FINGER!!!

Even baby brother got in on the action.

Sporting a blue ball because "I a BOY mama!" and it also matched the blue icing on his face. But that last part was simply because half of what he eats winds up on him instead of in him.

This is my favorite picture. For several reasons...

Earl teaching Sam how to bowl...love it. Earl's butt....love it.
Ahem.

Then Momma tried to teach Sam to bowl. There is not an athletic bone in my body. Even when it comes to bowling. Yes...the bumpers were up.

I may not be very athletic, but I am passionate and I really do try and I wore rocking boots. Does that count?

Leah noticed my lack of finesse and graciously stepped in to help. Sam is now in love with Leah.

Around the 7th frame, the girls were starting to get squirrely. So I whipped out the big guns.

Birthday Cake.

Ariel Birthday Cake.

With lots and lots of crazy colored icing (which resulted in crazy colored poo later in the day...I'm just sayin')

Everybody sing together now...

"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you...

Happy Birthday dear GR-aaaace!

Happy Birthday to Yoooooooou!!!!!!"

And then there was the opening of the gifts....

one gift resulted in the highly desired "Zoobles"...think "Bakugons" but for girls.

And then each girl signed a bowling pin. Grace got to take it home. Almost as good as the "Zoobles"...almost...not quite.

And then the bowling resumed. Paired with some dancing. Lots of dancing. So glad there was no one in the lane beside us.

This next series of pictures is priceless. Ask me what a 6 year old Kindergarten girl is like. No really. Go on...ask. And I will show you these photos. They are worth a thousand words.

Twirling. Whirling. Spinning.

Crazy. Chaotic. Curious.

Dramatic. Diva. Darling.

There's nothing else quite like a 6 year old girl.

2 hours, 1/4 quarter of a sheet cake, 4 presents, and no squished fingers later...the bowling came to an end.

Here's the results. Yes, Grace bowled a 120. Remember...the bumpers were up. And yes, that's Sam's score...even after I bowled a couple of frames for him...

Best. party. ever. In all of her 6 years.

And it wasn't even really her birthday. It was the day before.

Here's what her actual birthday was like...

We started the tradition 3 years ago of setting our her presents on the coffee table the night before.

Then, when she wakes up, she comes running into find her goodies all laid out before her.

Yeh...she's a little bit of a diva.

A Crayola glow/light board (coolest toy evah!), a skirt from Justice, a silver/diamond heart necklace in memory of her Grandma, a Tangled Leapster game and a Tangled Polly Pocket doll. Whew...she might be a little bit spoiled...maybe...I dunno. Someone once told me "There are two kinds of children: Spoiled and neglected"...I think my mom told me that. I can't say for sure.

Earl and I went up to the school and ate lunch with the birthday girl.

The definition of chaos is an elementary school lunchroom.

So that's it...she's been 6 for 2 days. She wears it well.

I'm not entirely sure where the time has gone. But it has gone so very quickly.

Happy Birthday sweet Graceface. I love you so good.

xoxo

Momma.

6 years ago...

2011-02-06T21:21:00.000-06:00

February 6th was also Superbowl Sunday. I can't tell you who played the game. I can't tell you who won the game. What I can tell you is that I was in labor with the baby who has now become, 6 very short years later, our silly, singing, twirling daughter. We had no idea. Absolutely no idea what we were in for....and I really can't remember what life was like without her.
Thank you Grace...for picking us.

A post in which I show you lots of pictures but have nothing to "close the deal" and just stop blogging at the end without really wrapping it up.

2011-02-01T18:45:00.000-06:00

Ready? OK!

Phew...did you know I'm currently sitting in the house writing this post while a blizzard swirls outside? No really...it is. A blizzard. In the course of ten minutes, the weather man said things like "blizzard, low visibility, blowing snow, snow drifts, Arctic air, and the city is shut down"...you know, just the normal winter broadcast. "Locals" here say that this kind of weather is not "normal"...well, "locals" I've lived here through 4 winters and I hate to break it to ya but folks...this. is. normal. Go git yer snow shovel and try not to have a heart attack while you remove inches and inches of snow from your driveway.

But I digress...

Let me share Christmas 2010 with you. Beginning with a trip to the new American Girl store.

Grace and Bailey Rose (my 10 year old niece) were beyond excited to visit the new store and get their American girls ears pierced (I think there's supposed to be an apostrophe in there somewhere...maybe with "girls" or maybe "ears"...I'm at a loss...whatever)

This place is a mecca for little girls and their obsession with dolls. It is also very fun to visit as an adult...and breathe in the "new doll" smell and remember what it was like to be little. GrandTone started all this...she's a grown woman with a deep love for dolls. And so, when Bailey Rose was old enough to cradle a baby doll, GrandTone bought her a Bitty Baby. She did the same for Grace. Then as the girls grew, she bought each one an American Girl doll of her choice. Then? Well then she made doll clothes for them. You can read about the clothes she makes here and here, at her blog. They are exquisite and totally unique. There is another post to come about her Christmas gift to Grace this year...she made a TRUNK full of doll clothes for Grace's doll Julie...a zebra-striped trunk full to be exact.

Grace chose Julie when her time came to chose a doll. So when we entered the store, Grace was immediately drawn to the "Julie doll" display. (Each doll represents a time period. Julie for example, is from the 1970's. Explains the long hippie hair and 1970's genre clothing)

Then it was time to take the dolls to get their ears pierced. Grace was a little nervous for Julie. But the employees at the store make a big deal out of the ear piercing. They treat the dolls like they are real...

See? This employee was so sweet. It was obvious that she loved her job and wanted to make the experience memorable. She took the dolls into the back room and brought them back a few moments later with pierced ears.

We were told there was minimal crying.

(on a side note: Earl came home from work about a week after we had Julie's ears pierced and said "Do you know how they do that? How they pierce those dolls ears?" I said "No Earl...I don't. How do they do it?" "They pop off their heads. And put on a new head. A head with pierced ears." I told him I thought that was a load of bull and that I didn't believe it for one second. Plus...Julie's hair didn't look any better when she came out....it didn't look like a new head. It looked just as ratted and "loved" as it did before the piercing...Earl said his source was a guy he works with. I think I said something about guys not knowing anything about dolls, but I can't say for sure...)

We were at the store for a while. Partly because there was so much to see and partly because GrandTone told the girls they could pick out something for their dolls and she would buy it for them. There was shopping to be done.

I needed a bathroom break.

Look what I found in the bathroom.

A doll holder. No. joke. These people...they think of everything.

Grace shopped 'till she was about to drop.

Doesn't she look very metropolitan?

Grace and Bailey Rose and all those bags.

There was a Panera Bread across from the American Girl store and we are not the type to turn down coffee and bagels. Or any sort of food really.

My sweet Grace. How did she get so big so fast?

My big sister and her daughter (my niece) Bailey Rose.

Then we gave Grace the camera and asked her to take a picture of us.

Life, as seen by a 5 year old.

Then she whirled around and snapped a picture of Bailey Rose.

Interesting to see her perspective. You forget that her view is a bit shorter...

In an attempt to get more of our heads in the picture, we then gave the camera to Bailey Rose....

There, that's better. :)

Then it was out into the mall to find a "Justice" store.

I just love this picture below. These girls think their GrandTone can do absolutely anything. They think she's magic. And they love her passionately.

While we were in "Justice", GrandTone and Grace found the "Mall Jump"! They both came rushing into the store, asking if it was "okay to go jump?!?!?!?!"...I was shocked at first. The "Mall Jump" is a bungee cord, trampoline sort of apparatus. It looks kinda scary. And Grace is not very adventurous...this was totally out of her character. But I am totally open to trying something once...or at least until you break a bone. So I said "sure...why not?"

Grace was SO excited...look at her! Up on her tip-toes...she could hardly contain herself.

Here she is...waiting her turn. A ball of nerves and excitement.

Bailey Rose decided to join in the fun too. Here she is waiting to be hooked up to the harness.

And then you they hook you up and you jump into oblivion for 7 minutes. Which doesn't sound like a long time...but it is...trust me. I know this because I may or may not have asked to go next. And I may or may not have actually done a flip. No, you may not see the video. But 7 minutes strapped into that harness can feel like an eternity...

So this is the part of the post I warned you about in my title....where I just stop blogging. No closer. Nothing. Just "The end"...off to put on more layers in a desperate and futile attempt to get warm.

Sara the cat

2011-01-22T20:26:00.000-06:00

I have no pictures...I have nothing to report really. We have a new computer and all my pictures are loaded on a ginourmous external hard drive. Thanks Earl.
Well I guess I could report that the stomach flu came back...with a vengence. So it was good that the "puke fairy" left lots of supplies and it was also good that in a brief stroke of genious, I set some of those supplies back, you know, just. in. case. Well...folks...we have reached "just in case"...and it is not pretty.
I had no idea how much a two year old's stomach could hold. It's facinating really.
The final diagnosis?
Mommy had the stomach bug. Mommy did not save up her "sick days" and her "employers" made come into "work" regardless of her condition. Well there was that brief 20 minutes on the couch where the eldest "employer" brushed Mommy's hair and let her close her eyes and pretend to be asleep. But I'm not sure if that counts.
Sam had the stomach bug AND an upper respiratory infection resulting in a double ear infection and a super high fever. Did you know that when a person pukes, the force reguired to puke can force snot into the ear canal...resulting in-->yup, you got it...an ear infection. Lovely. The things I learn everyday. Amazing really.
What a lovely mix of snot and vomit.
Earl is still successfully avoiding the Farris 2011 vomit fest. Pray for him.
Have I mentioned bleach is a wonderful thing?
But...
this post is titled "Sara...the cat"
She is a funny creature. She really demands a post of her own every now and again.
So, for your reading pleasure...some tales of Sara the cat.

She sleeps on the floor vents all. day. long. I don't blame her. It hasn't been above freezing in a horribly long time, and we have inches and inches of snow on the ground. If I ~~wasn't cleaning up vomit~~ didn't have anything else to do, I'd sleep on the heater vents too. Sometime she gets so warm and cozy and in such a deep state of sleep that she rolls over on her back, paws drooping to one side, mouth hanging open. In my next life? I'm coming back as a cat.

We cleaned out Sam's room recently. Took out the rocking chair. Brought in a toy cubbie. He's a kinda big boy now with big boy toys. It was only fair that they be nicely organized and accessible. Now he can play Thomas the Train vs. Buzz Lightyear and not have to ask me to dig them out of the bowels of his closet. While going through his things, I found some chou-chou's (this is what our family calls a "binky"). Sam hasn't used them in months. But you might remember that when he did use them, Sara liked to steal them...and play with them...and hide them...and bite holes in them. You can read about that here. I tossed all but one of the chou-chou's into a trash sack. I don't know why I kept one...I just did. Maybe I'll dig it out when Sam is 16...just to remember that one time, not so long ago, he was little. So I tossed the rest and went about my organizing and cleaning. Soon I heard a rustling in the trash sack. It was Sara the cat. She was pulling the discarded chou-chou's out of the sack one by one and taking them downstairs to her "lair" to hide them away. Treasure!!! Oh I laughed and laughed at that cat! She was so quiet...so sneaky...so thrilled with her find. I didn't stop her. How could I? Later, I went downstairs to see where exactly she "hid" her treasures. And, there they were, neatly placed in her food bowl. Occasionally she will bring one upstairs and toss it around for a bit. But she always returns it to her bowl...for safe-keeping....you know, just in case Sam decides he wants them back.

Last one...

Last night, after Sam puked his final puke, he curled up in the recliner with me...he was quite a mess. Sour tummy...high fever... He just twisted and turned in my lap...half asleep, half awake. No position was a comfortable position. But the only place in the world he wanted to be was in my lap. So I rocked and patted and offered ice and rocked some more. About 10 minutes into his restless slumber, Sara jumped up in my lap. Right in the middle of the chaos. She loves chaos. It is her favorite place to be. She perched in my lap...pushed up against Sam....and looked at me as if to say "Here...can I try for a bit?" Sam reached his little chubby two year old hand toward Sara and began to pet her. She began to lick him. He relaxed. She purred. He rubbed her fur. She got very still. He got very still. She fell asleep. He continued to twist her fur with his little fingers. If it bothered her, she gave no sign. Soon Sam relaxed and he fell asleep. Sara's work was finished. And she hopped off my lap.

I am completely convinced that Sara the cat chose us...and she has a very important job to do.

2011-01-18T14:30:00.077-06:00

Everything she sees

she says she wants.

Everything she wants

I see she gets.

That's my daughter in the water

everything she owns I bought her.

everything she owns.

That's my daughter in the water,

everything she knows I taught her.

Everything she knows.

Everything I say

she takes to heart.

Everything she takes

she takes apart.

That's my daughter in the water

every time she fell I caught her

Every time she fell.

That's my daughter in the water,
I lost every time I fought her.

Yea, I lost every time..

Every time she blinks

she strikes somebody blind.

Everything she thinks

blows her tiny mind

That's my daughter in the water,

who'd have ever thought her?

Who'd have ever thought?

That's my daughter in the water,

I lost everytime I fought her

Yea, I lost every time.

"Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright III

New York, day three.

2011-01-16T15:41:00.000-06:00

Also known as "Bucket List" day.

I've always wanted to go to the very tippy top of the Statue of Liberty. I've said if/when I ever got to NYC, that is the one place I would insist upon visiting. So when I found out I would be headed to the Big Apple, I immediately got online and reserved my tickets to go to the "Crown".

Here's the scoop:

Before 9/11, the trip to the top took something like 5 hours and you only had a few seconds to look around once you got to the top. After 9/11, visitors are required to make a "reservation" months in advance. Upon arrival to the statue you are sent through a very intense screening process (read: MUCH more involved than airport security) and groups are taken up every 20 minutes or so carrying only a camera and the clothes on their backs...No bags, no purses, no backpacks. All belongings must be stored in a locker before heading up to the top. Groups are limited to 15 people and once at the top, you get to spend a good 10 minutes taking pictures, looking out the windows, and chatting with the park ranger. You also get this groovy orange bracelet to wear proving that you are indeed allowed to head up to the tippy top.

Now...if you read back to the very beginning of this post (which isn't so far away, because I've only just started my rambling), you'll notice that I got my reservation to the Crown about a week in advance. When I told the park ranger this, he told me to "be quiet!" and said something like "I have no idea how you were able to do that. People usually have to schedule the trip months in advance to get a spot." So I did exactly what he said...I shut my mouth, grinned really big, and started the climb up.

334 steps up to be exact.

I know this because I followed a little Japanese woman up the narrow steps. And she counted--in Japanese--every step. When I would "check-in" with her and ask what number we were on, she would hum to herself for a moment and then tell me in English what number step we were on. I thought that was pretty impressive seeing as how I can only count to three in Japanese. She and I became "friends" and she was able to speak a bit of English to me in order to tell me that she too was visiting alone, and that this was her second time to visit the Statue. The first time was before 9/11. She told me this time, things were much much different.

About halfway up, I paused to ~~get one full breath of air~~ "enjoy the view" and snap a picture. The below picture is me just pointing the camera straight up and snapping the button.

Then we got to the top, my Japanese "friend" and I. And Wow. It was worth the climb.

The picture above is looking out to the right. You can see the tip of the torch and a bit of her fingers.

And this is looking out to the left at the tablet she holds.

Then my Japanese friend motioned for my camera....to take my picture. I smiled at the thoughtfulness of it. And I almost flashed a "peace sign" but decided against it.

The picture below is of me facing out, toward the windows...you can see the innards of Lady Liberty. See the ripples of her hair on the ceiling?

Then it was time to go down. I think it was worse than going up.

See?? That'll make a girl dizzy!

On the way down, the park ranger told us to look for the reverse of Liberty's face.

Sure enough...there it was. Eyes, nose, mouth.

Do you see it??

And again, my Japanese friend motioned for my camera. She is looking up at me coming down the stairs.

I looked for her at the base of the statue, but couldn't find her. I guess that's how some people are. They come into your life for a moment...and then as quickly as they come they are gone.

Thank you Japanese friend...for documenting this very special journey for me. I hope you know how much it meant to me.

Once at the base of the statue, I began to notice the beauty of the architecture. The folds and curves of Lady Liberty's dress. The sharp lines of the pedestal. The minty color of the copper. So I just started snapping.

This picture below was taken at the very base of the pedestal. It is some sort of air vent. But I was fascinated with how the copper had "dripped" off of the Statue and onto the metal squares of the grate. It was lovely to me. One thing bleeding onto another...all things linked in this world.

This is what you see as you look out from behind the Statue of Liberty. I felt so proud to be American. It just washed over me. So proud of that flag and what it means to me...to my children. I wanted to be in the middle of it...be in that picture of freedom. But when you travel alone, you can't really take a picture of yourself (unless a nice Japanese woman offers to do so)...so I backed up the camera the best I could and got this picture....

And P.S. On the ferry from the Statue to Ellis Island, I heard a worker on the ship say to another worker "YO! Mikey...Little baby new year come visit you dis year?!" (Please say this to yourself as loudly as you can with your most authentic New York accent. Place strong emphasis on the "YO!") It was quite possibly the best true New Yorker I had heard. I sorta wanted to see if he would say it again so I could record him. But in true NYC fashion, he was very large and rather unapproachable, so I went on my way. *Ahem*

Carrying on then...

NYC skyline as seen from the ferry going to Ellis Island. I wanted to burst into song!!

"OH BEAUTIFUL FOR SPACIOUS SKIES!! FOR AMBER WAVES OF GRAIN!"

Ellis Island. Quite amazing if you think about it. Built solely for immigrants coming into the states. And what a beautiful building. Here is the Registration room. The audio tour said it was standing room only during Ellis Islands glory days.

The ceiling is all very intricate teeny tiny tile work

Okay...I don't know if you're able to see this or not. But it was so curious to me, I have to share. The picture below is a copy of a registration sheet. You have the person's name, age (in years and months), sex, and "calling or occupation". If you read, most people listed "laborer" or "farmer" under this last column. But about 7 rows down, a woman lists her "calling or occupation" as "wife". I absolutely loved this! Often, when asked to fill out a form for the children's school or medical records, I am asked the same question "What do you do? Where do you work?" and I am a bit shy to admit that "all" I do is stay at home with my children, that my "calling or occupation" is "wife, mother"...I am not shy anymore. I am proud to be grouped with the Ellis Island women. It is a "calling" and an "occupation" and I am dern proud of it!

There was so much history here...you could almost reach out and grab onto it. The air was so thick with the stories of people dreaming of a new land and a new life. This quote below made me chuckle...it was in the "medical room" explaining the tests given to the immigrants to measure their educational level.

Haha! You tell 'em girl! Wonder what she did become? What future America held for her?

So I spent all morning and part of the afternoon at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I can't really explain to you what it meant to me. It certainly lived up to all my expectations and more. There's something so fulfilling about marking something off your "bucket list"....

By the time I hopped off the ferry for the last time, my legs were so tired I was having sweet fantasies about the hard plastic seats on the subway...I had hoped to see "Ground Zero" as it is fairly close to the Statue, but instead I bought one of these...

A chocolate cannoli. There are simply no words to describe how amazing these things are...

And rode the subway back to the hotel where I fell into a chocolate cannoli induced coma and slept until Earl got finished with work.

We spent our last night in NYC just strolling around. I say strolling, but for me it was more of a "limping"--I must have walked 20 miles in the 3 days I was there. My legs were sore! Earl picked up on my sluggish-ness and insisted we find a place to "sit and eat". So we did. The Carnegie Deli. Perhaps you've heard of it. We shared the most delicious, most ginormous Reuben sandwich I have ever seen. I was looking around for the "Man vs. Food" cameras. Seriously, it was that big. Then maybe I got another cannoli...but who's counting at this point right? And we headed back to the hotel room.

What a memorable trip. We're still talking about it...still laughing about it...

Oh and just so you know...

Yup...I did it...

Iboughtahotdog. And it was pretty tasty. And...I'm still alive.

Thank you and good night.

New York, day two.

2011-01-13T19:09:00.000-06:00

I promise this post won't have as many pictures as the "New York, day one" post. I'm trying to convince Sam that pooping on the potty is what all the cool kids do. So I'm focused on that more than I am focused on this post....

********************************

Oooop...wait!!! HE JUST DID IT!!! My tiny son just pooped on the potty!!!!!!! Be right back...headed to Walmart to get the Sponge Bob p.j's I promised him he could have on this glorious occasion!!!!!

********************************

We're back. Thank you for celebrating with Sam and me...now...on to "New York, day two".....

Day two. On a side note: I slept great. The bed in the hotel was uncharacteristically comfortable.

The morning of day two I again had these great aspirations of being on the Today show. But around 8am, I rolled over...squinted at the clock, said "fuh-getaboutit" and went back to sleep...I slept in until 9:30. It. was. delicious. And totally therapeutic.

I got up, got dressed, and then went here....

Fluffy's cafe!

I know...great name! Got a coffee and a cannoli. Breakfast of champions. Also...just so you know, if you order a "regular coffee" in NYC--as in wanting plain 'ol b-flat black coffee--you will in fact get "coffee with cream" Good to know...good. to. know.

Then I called Earl's buddy's girlfriend, Heidi, to see is she wanted to go with me to the Museum of Natural History. She was just finishing up at the hotel gym (WHAT?! Gym...hotel?? Bwhahahhaha...right...gimme another cannoli) and we decided to meet on the front steps of the museum.

Earl told me that the walk to the museum was "quite a ways" and that I should probably consider taking the "train". I looked at the map (I did not consult the conceirge, I learned my lesson on day one with that guy) and saw that I could walk through Central Park on my way to the museum. Plus, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to walk off some of that cannoli and coffee with cream. Very quickly I started to see trees! I didn't realize I had been missing them...but when the trees of Central Park came into view, it seemed I could breathe easier...that my step was a little lighter. Don't ever take good-old fashioned trees for granted. They are a gift. Even if they are lying dormant and leaf-less.

Trees in NYC have a very important job. Filtering all that pollution we thrust upon them.

This tree, in the picture below, made me catch my breath. What a piece of beautiful artwork.

It wasn't a long walk. It took me about 20 minutes and I got to see Central Park covered in snow. What a memory.

I got to the steps of the museum a bit before Heidi. They're doing some construction/renovation to the front of the building, but in spite of the scaffolding, there was one thing that was familiar to me right away. And if you've seen "Night at the Museum" like I have, you'll recognize it as well...

Robin Williams!!!! Errr...I mean, Teddy Roosevelt. He comes to life in the movie (so does the horse)...and wouldn't ya know it? That dern statue looks just like Robin Williams....and while I waited for Heidi, I swear he moved...

I also spent a bit of time during my wait waging an inner struggle. To buy a hotdog from the nearby roadside stand, or not to buy a hotdog...Earl says a resounding "NO!" But what does he know? He's the most paranoid person I know. And after all, I was in NYC. Aren't you sorta supposed to eat a hotdog from a roadside stand? Luckily for me, I didn't have to decide because Heidi showed up and we headed inside...away from the temptation of the hotdog stand.

Here's an interesting fact about the Museum of Natural History in NYC. The admission is really just a donation. And the price is simply "suggested". So you walk up to the ticket counter and the conversation goes something like this:

Me: "One ticket for general admission"

Ticket booth girl: "$16 suggested admission price. Do you agree to that amount?"

Me: <loooong confused pause> "Ummmmmm...uhhhhh....yes?...yes!"

Now...here's something to remember when you go to this place of dead dinosaurs-->If you don't wanna, you don't have to give those people a dime! You don't have to "agree" to the $16 pricetag. Admission is free. FAH-ree. Nada. Nothing. All monies paid to get in the doors are simply considered a donations. Of course I paid. Partly out of confusion. But I did pay. But just so ya know--cause I didn't--you don't have to if you don't want to. You can hang onto that hard earned money, spend all stinkin' day in the museum, and use the money you saved to satisfy the appetite you worked up with a hotdog...from a hotdog stand.

I'm just sayin'...

Whew...

Onto the dinosaurs.

This dinosaur below is the very first one you see.

I don't think I can stress how simply ginormous it is...but it is...It's HUGE-mongous. Just believe me on this one...

Little back story to the next picture. Heidi is a Physician's Assistant. I am a nurse. Made for an interesting "team" wandering through a museum filled with bones. We were both absolutely amazed with the bone structure of these large creatures! LOOK at that ribcage! And that pelvis! A girl could camp out in there.

Heidi volunteered to take my picture. She thought I needed to document this for my children. So children...for your viewing pleasure, I give you:

"Momma standing in front of lots of bones"

And then I made Heidi take this picture. Me and my favorite dinosaur--The Triceratops. Don't ask why it's my favorite. I couldn't rightly tell you. Perhaps it's because that while it is thought to be a peaceable plant-eating dinosaur, it is also believed not many other dinosaur folk "messed" with the Triceratops on account of the bony plate protecting its neck. I like to think the triceratops invented the saying "Walk softly, and carry a ~~big stick~~ gigantic bony plate" Or maybe because it has three horns and that is a nice odd number for decorating...

Whatever...

I like the dinosaur. Let's just leave it at that.

We were at the museum for well over 2 1/2 hours. We looked up at one point and couldn't believe we had been there so long. Then we realized we were very hungry. I managed to avoid the sweet smell of the hot dog stand, and we made our way back to the hotel. Earl was back from work. I found him curled up in the bed, snoring away. So I curled up beside him and thus commenced the first uninterrupted afternoon nap we have had together in 5+ years. Fan-freakin'-tastic.

We met up with Earl's buddy and Heidi later that night as well as another co-worker/classmate/buddy who lives/works in NYC. After an $11 Crown and Coke in the hotel bar (worth every penny thankyouverymuch), we braved the NYC New Year's Eve crowd in order to find something to eat. We wound up at at a Thai restaurant where I ate some of the best curry I've ever eaten in my entire life. We returned to our hotel and the scene outside the front doors was hysterical. Hundreds of thousands of people lined up along 7th avenue.

Corralled in like cattle. Standing there...just standing there. No food or drink, not even alcohol. No bathrooms. No wiggle room...None. Shoulder to shoulder. Butt to butt. And if you decided that you wanted to leave to, to you know, get some fresh air? Well...don't count on getting back in 'cause once you're out...you're out. In-sane. Why? you ask? Why would hundreds of thousands of people take part in such bizarre behavior?

To see The Ball drop at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Day in Times Square.

Earl and his buddy mumbled something about a chemical attack, and we all know how I feel about crowds, so after buying a bottle of Crown and 2 bottles of wine (and maybe a cannoli-- but I can't say for sure), we marched directly upstairs to our quiet, uncrowded hotel room and watched the festivities from the 41st floor. Priceless.

I think it's the latest we've stayed up in years.

So that's the end of day two and the beginning of day three.

One more picture before I sign off here and a short narrative to go along with said picture:

Really? A $350 penalty for honking? Have you been to New York City? Have you even watched a movie that is set in New York City? Honking is like the soundtrack for New York! I snapped this picture and then asked Earl's buddy who lives in this outrageous city, if the law was actually enforced!? I think I said something like "If this for real?! 'Cause if it were...this would be the richest city in the world!" He never answered...I think he just laughed. Or maybe he did answer and I just couldn't hear him over all the honking.

New York, Day one

2011-01-11T13:45:00.000-06:00

Okay so by now, if you read this blog (and I know some of you DO...see my Puke Fairy post!), you know that this is really just a chronicle of my life. I often feel that the world spins much too fast and I forget the details of life. I hope someday I can look back at the words and pictures on this blog and remember. And smile.

This is my memory of my first day in New York City.

The place is big. The buildings. The smells. The noise.

Everything is big.

And I am easily overstimulated.

But I'm getting ahead of myself....Let me back up just a bit...

Earl was working in NYC, the stars aligned just right, and I was able to run away for a few days.

My mom, AKA GrandTone, drove up to watch Grace and Sam while I was gone. I think they had the time of their lives with her. It was like "GrandTone camp" and in the days following my return home I have heard such things as "Mom...GrandTone says art is a messy process!" and "But MOM! GrandTone let me sleep on the couch!"

I have to admit, there is something magical about my momma. She has always seen the world through a different lens. I never really appreciated it until I was an adult with children of my own. And while some women fear "turning into their mother"...

I have begun to embrace it. After all, isn't it inevitable? :)

Sooooo....GrandTone came...I left...and about 6 hours, 2 planes, 1 cancellation, and 1 delay later I found myself in NYC. Totally out of element and totally overwhelmed.

Earl came to get me at the airport. I told him he really didn't need to do that. That I was a big girl and could find my way to the hotel in one piece. But he read right through me and knew I all my talk was just talk. That I was indeed nervous about how to hail a cab and was confused about exactly where I needed to go. Many times in my life Earl has played a real life "knight in shining armour"...this is one of those times. His face in that baggage claim area was like lighthouse on a rocky shore. All my anxiety was gone and the excitement set in! I was somewhere without kids!!! My only responsibility was where to find my next cup of coffee and deciding how late I wanted to sleep in!!!! BLISS!! Total bliss!!!

I had taken a late flight into NYC, and by the time we got to the hotel, I was HUNGRY. So Earl took me to a deli across where I proceeded to eat mashed potatoes and my first ever cannoli. Have you ever HAD a cannoli? Well I hadn't...ever...in all my life. I'm an Oklahoma girl. Not a lot of cannoli's in Oklahoma. That's a shame. Cannoli's are ah-ma-zing.

So that was really my first day in NYC.

But the rest of this post and the pictures to follow are from my first full day in NYC.

Earl had to work from 6-2 so I was on my own. I had these grand plans about being on the Today show. Do you know how early you have to get up to be on the Today show? Ummmm....REALLY early. I rolled out of bed around 8ish...only b/c GrandTone called and said the children were looking for me on TV. Okay okay okay...so I got dressed, asked the concierge for directions to the Today show, got some coffee and headed out the hotel lobby doors into the big city.

The picture below is the very first thing I saw...

A front loader dumping snow into a dump truck. THAT is some serious snow removal folks. If you'll remember, the day after Christmas 2010 NYC got a ginormous snow storm. Something like 30+inches. I arrived the Wednesday after the storm. I've never seen so much snow. It was insane.

Then I saw this....

Police barricades. Lined up along Times Square in preparation for the New Year's Eve event. Oh...and more snow....

I started walking in the direction the concierge told me to go. Ummmm...yeh....he. was. wrong. And I got totally lost. Finally I found an NYCPD guy and asked him where to go. It's not tough to find the NYCPD...they're everywhere. And they know NYC like the back of their hand. Thank you NYCPD dude...where ever you are.

I found the Today show. I was waaaaay late. But I did see the back of Matt Lauer's head. And I met the nicest NYC native. An old man with a fascinating accent. He gave me a short "class" on the layout of streets and avenues, chuckled at my Oklahoma accent, and then directed me to St. Patrick's cathedral. But not before I asked him if he would please take my picture.

Here I am...that's the Rockefeller Christmas tree in the background.

And here is St. Patrick's. I found it quickly. The old man's directions were fool-proof.

Wow.

As soon as I walked through the doors of this place, the busy NYC world melted away. It was warm, and quiet, and absolutely reverent. It was the strangest clash of sensations. From the crowded, hectic streets to the hushed calm of the Lord's house. I have to say, it just might have been my favorite place out of all the places I saw during my time there.

I lit a candle and took a deep breath.

Wow. Pictures don't do the place justice. Neither do words.

Just go there...you'll get it...

It was special to me to see the church all "dressed-up" for Christmas.

This nativity scene was life-sized. I know it's difficult to tell from this fuzzy picture, but it was breath-taking. I was wishing that Grace had been there to see it. She loves nativity scenes.

Then it was back outside. I found more coffee and a cannoli. The breakfast of champions. Went to the American Girl store. Went to Saks 5th Avenue. Did you know that place is ten stories? Ten stories of clothes and shoes and fashion. I went to floor 4...then I left. Didn't buy a thing. Totally not my cup of tea...but I can say I've been there.

The shop windows were really cool though.

See?...

Little animated girls and animals. Kinda freaky...but cool.

Then I headed to the MoMA. Museum of Modern Art. On the way I found this...

St. Andrews. So headed inside. That's the beauty of sight-seeing alone. You can make as many "detours" as you like...

It was gorgeous inside. I don't think it was catholic. No candles to light. No crucifix. But beautiful all the same. The organ was a sight to behold. I wish I had snapped a picture of it. Honestly though, when I go into a house of worship like this...I simply forget where I am. And I totally forget to take pictures.

Then, on to the MoMA.

I knew they had Monet's there. They. were. huge!!! But I didn't know they had VanGough's "Starry night"...rather surprised me! It was so small! When I first walked up on it, I didn't really notice that it was the "Starry Night"...reminded me of when I saw the "Mona Lisa". All this hype over this small work of art.

I also saw Picasso's "The Three Musicians"...that was my favorite above all. Thinking of getting a print of it for my house. They also had an Andy Warhol exhibition. That guy was all kinds of cah-razy!!!!

Not a lot pictures from the MoMA. No flash photos allowed. Even if I did take pics, it wouldn't do any of those works of art any justice...

After the MoMa...my little legs were tired. And my over stimulation meter was off the chart...

I decided headed back to the hotel room, only to be greeted by Earl!!!....

He took me back to Times Square. I sorta had just wandered aimlessly through it that morning, and I'm not sure if I really realized I was in Times-freaking-Square. So he took me back so I could be 100% sure I got the full experience. And boy howdy...what an experience. The preparations were under way for the big New Year's Eve event and it was neat to see all the barricades and stages and lights...

And the people! Oh my goodness! The people! Everywhere!!!

And then there was this guy...

"The Naked Cowboy" Isn't he a site to behold? Nice...~~butt~~...errr...boots....

Earl and I had both heard that the top of the Rockefeller building was a great place get a stunning view of the city. They call it "The Top of the Rock"...That's where we headed next. The crowds were insane. See the pic below? We're in a sea of people. But I just had to get a pic of us in front of the famous tree. Side note: that's a real tree. Like grew from the ground tree. Living. They cut it down. Cut it down to decorate a city with no trees. It's not alive anymore. In fact we saw it after Christmas. And it was dry and sad and dead. This big fantastic tree. Dead. I have issues with this...but that's an entirely different post. Let's just leave it at this: if you feel like you just have to see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller center...don't. Go out into the forest and breathe in the trees around you.

ANYway...here's the tree...and Earl and me...and about 3,000 other people.

"The Top of the Rock" is 67 stories straight up. In this freaky elevator with a glass roof so those that want to watch our perilous assent can...I am not one of those people. I took one look at that glass ceiling, immediately grabbed Earl's hand, took a deep breath, and looked at my shoes. Heights and crowds are NOT my thing. Did I mention the elevator had about 20 people crammed into it? No? Well it did...soooo out of my element. So THEN when you get to the top...you have the option of going up 2 more stories. Via an escalator and then a flight of very narrow stairs. I may have some freaky fears, but I'll try anything once. And I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower so this was chump change. I'm going to the top baby!

And boy was it worth it!

Once I got to the tippy top, I was totally fine. Earl? Mr. "I wanna watch the glass ceiling as we fly up 67 stories" guy? He was a bit queasy!

And often he gets much too serious. That's just who he is...and that's why he has me...

Cause I make him do silly stuff like this...

"EARL! Act like you're squishing the Empire State building!!! I'll take a picture!"

Hee hee...

It was a gorgeous view. We were a bit worried that going up at night we wouldn't have as good a view as if we did if we went during the day. But we were wrong! It was amazing to see all the lights!! And buildings...as far as the eyes could see!

You tired yet? Hope not...this day isn't nearly over :)

After our decent from "The Top of the Rock" (and no, I did not look out that stupid glass ceiling!) we met up with one of Earl's co-workers. They were in training together and were now working together on the assignment in NYC. His girlfriend had come to join up with him as well so it was the perfect "double date". We found them in the sea of people flooding Rockefeller plaza (after Earl's buddy's girlfriend managed to scare holy heck out of him...but that would make a long story, even longer) and headed to Little Italy. Earl's buddy used to live in NYC so it was like having a personal travel guide. Once we got to Little Italy the atmosphere completely changed. No more busy crazy crowds, no more incessant honking...it was much more peaceful and the snow was much deeper!!!

These are BICYCLES!! Buried in the snow!

Seems like the news was right...the clearing of the snow was a quite lax in the outer parts of NYC. Times Square to Central Park was cleared quickly in anticipation of the New Year's crowd. Little Italy and the outlying areas not so much....

See? Not gonna be riding these bikes anytime soon!

We ate at a little Italian restaurant that served okay food but good wine. Then we headed to McSorley's....

A bar. It was incredible. Established in 1854. Serves only ale. Dark or light. Pay only in cash. Be prepared to get beer all over your jeans...and like it.

You can go to their website and read more. Do it. Read more....there's no other place in the world like this place.

The above picture was taken after I had lost count of how many of the below pictures I had drank (drunk? dranken? ah...whatever)...

It was--excuse my language--damn good beer. I dream of it some nights...I smelled my jeans as I was doing laundry when I got home...they smelled of McSorley's. I almost didn't wash them...Do you understand me? I'm trying to tell you how delicious it was...how absolutely amazing...I want to go back...now...

And now for the story behind this above picture. This is the reason I wanted to go to the bar in the first place. In the 1940's during WW2, soldiers would go to McSorley's and throw a wishbone on the light fixture. When they returned, they would removed their wishbone. Fast forward to 2010...there are still wishbones on that light fixture. And no one will touch them. The dust is at least 3 inches thick. It is quite a tribute to the men who lost their lives so that we may live in freedom.

I think at some point Earl may or may not have cut me off...I can't say for certain. We did eventually leave...but not before I made Earl take a picture of me by a snow-buried car parked outside the bar.

We took the Subway back to the hotel.

The below picture is titled "The guys try to figure out which train to take after consuming a lot of McSorley beer while I take pictures of us in the

subway cause it's so cool that we're actually in the subway in NYC"
Earl was not impressed.

So that's NYC...day one. I coulda left after that one day and been totally fine...but I didn't. I stayed 3 more days...and if you're willing to hold on for a few more lengthy picture-filled post, I'll show you what I did...

Want a teaser? :)

I marked something off my "bucket list"...ya know, that list of stuff you wanna do before you die? Yeh...that one.

Good night NYC.

A post about the new year.

2011-01-07T09:31:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year.

I feel like I have been cleaning up vomit all year long.

But we're all better now.

Bleach works people.

Believe in it. Embrace the power of bleach.

Now onto my New Year's resolution....

It has absolutely nothing to do with a little boy in sparkly "2011" glasses.

He's just super cute that's all.

Okay...here goes...

This year I have resolved...

dun-dun-dun...

To stop biting my fingernails.

Really.

I am a woman in my 30's and I bite my fingernails.

It is not something I am proud of.

It's just this nervous habit that stuck with me through childhood...into my teenage years...into college...and now, here I am, a self-proclaimed fingernail-biting adult.

I know...it's silly. Don't hate.

I'm so kicking the habit.

This year is gonna be the year.

Guess what Sam got for Christmas?

2011-01-05T07:56:00.000-06:00

Love is a battlefield...

That is, if you love Sam...

He got a Nerf Gun for Christmas.

What. was I thinking?

So...if you come to visit (which I wouldn't recommend as of now...we're still "infested"--see yesterday's post re. vomit and bleach) please remember to watch out for a little boy armed with a Nerf gun. Protective eye wear is not a requirement but it wouldn't be a bad idea.

Gifts from the puke fairy...

2011-01-04T17:29:00.002-06:00

You DO read this blog!

2011-01-04T13:33:00.000-06:00

Angels!
Angels left presents on my front porch!
THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!!!!
I busted my wedding ring last week. Stay with me...it'll all make sense in a second. Sent it home with my mom to be fixed. Fast forward to just 5 minutes ago...I'm sitting on the couch--not far from Grace, and her ever present "puke bucket"--I'm still in my pj's...I smell like bleach...Sam has no pants on (that's how we roll, he's in "potty training")...the door bell rings! MY RING...I have to sign for it, so I head to the door. AND THERE! ON MY PORCH! PUKE PRESENTS!!!! Bleach...glorious bleach! And more paper towels...I used up the last of my stash only 30 minutes ago. AND WINE!! Blessed WINE!!! Ramen noodles! Gatorade! MORE than I asked for! More! Isn't that the way? God showing off through friends. Giving more than you ever thought or dared to ask for.
Thank you...whoever you are...

Happy New Year

2011-01-04T10:17:00.000-06:00

Well...I planned to post everyday in December. Didn't exactly do as well as I would've liked. But I did get some quality posting up on the blog, so I'll take it.
Please do not expect a post everyday in January :)
This will not happe...
*Ring Ring*
This is when the phone rang...I was posting the above...and the phone rang...the caller ID told me it was a call from Grace's school. At 9 in the morning. I had sent her to school 30 minutes before. I had a feeling this had nothing to do with Sara the cat and her playground antics, and everything to do with Grace. Sure enough....
"Mrs. Farris?"
"Uhhh...yes?"
"This is Connie. The nurse at Grace's school"
"Oh...hello."
"I have Grace here. She vomited in class. You'll need to come pick her up."
"Yes...certainly. I'll be right there"
Poor thing. Barfed her guts up in the middle of class. Running a 101.5 fever. And her momma sent her to school! In my defense, I swear I had NO idea! She ate breakfast. Seemed a little overly tired, but I figured it was just getting back into routine that was wearing her out. Nope. It was the stomach flu that was wearing her out.
Mother of the Year folks...Mother. of. the. Year.
So I was gonna post about my New Year's resolution...just so you know, it has absolutely nothing to do with losing weight. But instead I'm frantically bleaching everything in the house. And caring for a little girl wrapped up in a Snuggie on the couch.
If you're reading this...and you live close...and you have to go to the store anyway...buy me some more paper towels and another bottle of bleach and a BIG bottle of wine. I'm running low....
Just leave 'em on the porch...ring the bell and RUN away as fast as your legs can carry you.
Oh and Happy New Year.

So...first we got there...

2010-12-20T12:29:00.000-06:00

A post about Thanksgiving...

finally.

When I was a child, and would go away somewhere fun--like Girl Scout camp for instance--upon arriving home, my momma would say to me "Tell me all about it!! So first you got there..." And I would tell her all the fun things I did on my journey...starting from the very beginning.

And so that is how I will tell you about our trip to Dallas for Thanksgiving 2010.

This was the first Thanksgiving without Jeanie...Earl's momma...Grandma. Oh how she was missed. I kept waiting for her to walk into the room...

So...First...we got there...

We flew out early Thursday, Thanksgiving day.

Once again, I will say...flying is the only way to go! The flight to Dallas is only 1 hour and 25 minutes. The drive? Around 10-12 hours depending on bathroom/eating/"stophittingyourbrother" breaks. I'll take the plane any day. And this year we even had to pay for Sam (he's over 2 now), even that did not deter me.

Grace waiting patiently in Sam's car seat...with a sleepy sort of early morning smile.

When we arrived, we went straight to Luby's for Thanksgiving lunch. It was painfully clear that someone was missing...there was even, accidentally, an extra empty chair at our table. Earl and I later decided that Jeanie was there...we just couldn't see her.

Grace and Taylor (Earl's brother's oldest child) were thrilled to finally see each other again! And I was the only one chose turkey! Everyone else opted for chicken fried steak. So un-American. The dessert, however, was the best part. Have you ever seen the selection of desserts at Luby's? No? Well, that is something you must see/select/eat at some point in your life. It is outta control.

I had chocolate mousse pie in memory of Jeanie. Then I had some of Sam's dessert. And maybe my father-in-law got an extra dessert, and I maybe helped him eat that. I can't say for sure...

Grace and Taylor and a very large piece of pie.

Then we went the the new Dallas Cowboys stadium. Oh yes...you read that correctly...your eyes do not deceive you. We went to THE Cowboys game ON Thanksgiving day...

Do you know that I was raised by a trumpet player? My brain is not wired to understand sports. At. all. You can try to explain it to me, you can draw me a diagram, I will even attempt to play the game...I am simply unable to understand it. I am also terribly anxious in large crowds. And this place was the definition of "large crowd"...98,000 people there. Most of them drunk. All of them very loud.

I took my knitting...and I stayed very zen thankyouverymuch.

All the "boys" in the family (baby Austin is 9 months old...he is sleeping in the stroller)

The girls...being silly...and excited! And just look....LOOK!...at how huge-mongous that stadium behind them is!!!! Tom (my father-in-law) said that something like 1 billion, 4 million dollars was spent on building it. So that is this: $1,400,000,000. And we're in a "recession"....

Earl and a very cold little boy.

The whole crew. Waiting at the gate to get in!

And then we got in. Well, the ladies got in. They had women go through a separate security line because we had to be patted down and I guess they didn't think it was appropriate for a man to pat down a woman....whatever. The point here is that the women's line went faster than the men's line...go figure. And so Marcie (my sis-in-law) and I made it through before the boys did...and we had the children. Naturally. We had to get creative with entertainment while we waited. So I pulled out the camera and had them strike some poses. This next series of pictures is the result of that. Grace really stepped up to the challenge.

Oh. my. Have I mentioned that my daughter is a total diva? Yeh...she is.

And then we entered the massive complex and rode four escalators to our seats. 4. Four. Quatro. Really...no joke.

The girls. At their first ever Cowboy game.

Earl and his brother. And baby Austin. Out of the stroller!

Paw-paw Tom arranged all of this. He was so excited. When the boys were little, Earl and his brother, Billy, they would go to the Thanksgiving Dallas Cowboy game every year. So as soon as we arrived, Tom went to the pro-shop, and got the girls decked out in official Cowboys gear...shirts and flags and big foam fingers. There was NO mistaking who we were cheering for. He even got me a Cowboys hoodie...but there are no pictures of me...I am always the one behind the camera. 'Cause I'm the mom.

Ummm...yah...She never stopped posing...

Right...I really don't know what to do with this child half the time...so I just take pictures. And that foam finger? She held that up everytime the crowd cheered. Didn't matter if it was for the Cowboys or the Saints. She held that finger high. Her daddy was so proud.

Taylor is 8...almost 9. She is a bit more reserved :)

Baby brother took the chaos in stride. Like he always does. Calm. Collected. Cool. That's our Sam.

And then...during the second half...he fell asleep. Saints fan's screaming. Foam fingers flying. Music blaring. Didn't matter. He. was. out. He slept for a good 30 minutes. People would look at him, then look at me in disbelief and say "Is he asleep?" Yes...yes he is.

It was a rousing game. From what I can understand :) And much fun was had by all. We were there from 12pm to 7:30pm.

The girls were beat.

This was their "status" 10 minutes after settling into the car.

So the next day...after some serious sleep and a good breakfast complete with homemade gravy, we went to visit Tom's brother Robert and his family. I blogged about his wife, Derelyne, last week sometime. She gave me hot coffee and peanut brittle. I will forever love her. And she offered to take a picture of all of us. So I crawled out from behind the camera and this photo was snapped.

Did you see Sam? Great...just. great.

We also celebrated an early Christmas while we were there. Baby Austin had lots of help unwrapping his present. This is his first Christmas, so I guess he had to have someone show him the ropes.

Sam got Buzz Lightyear and Woody figurines. He loves them. Sleeps with them every night.

Grace got an Easy Bake Oven. Cooking with a 100 watt light bulb. Brilliant idea....

Taylor really wants to learn to play the piano so she got a keyboard. We also got her a knitting kit...she wanted to learn to knit like me. I was more than thrilled to pass down the "art" to someone. And she picked it up quickly. I was so proud!

We're winding down the photos now...I think there is something like 28 photos in this post. That has to be a record. Don't worry...only a few more.

Sam thought baby Austin's walker was really fun. He never had a walker. I guess he's reliving his baby-hood. And Austin thought it was hilarious when Sam climbed in there all by himself!

Okay...last photo. I'm wrapping this up. We flew home early Sunday morning. Read: we had to get up at 3:30am. But...we were back at our house by 9am. Bonus.

Here is sleepy Sam waiting...waiting...waiting.

So we did it. We got through the first Thanksgiving without Jeanie. I can't really explain to you what it was like not having her there. I guess it was just...well...empty.

Lots of memories are being made and she's not there...memories without her. I think that's the hardest part.

We talked about her a lot. Laughed. Told stories. Remembered.

There is much to be thankful for.

So there you go..."First...we got there..."

Update

2010-12-19T21:49:00.000-06:00

I am really struggling to do this "a post everyday" challenge.
I brought the above said challenge upon myself.
What was I thinking?
The children are out of school/mother's day out for 2 weeks.
Say a little prayer for me.
And for them.
The birth of Christ approaches.
I am excited.
So are the children.
Our weekend was packed.
Over packed.
I am tired.
But clean.
I just took a long, hot bath.
I have nothing planned tommorow.
Except trying not to lose my mind.
Remember? The children are here...with me...all. day.
Pray for me.
I am going to bed.

2010-12-17T19:49:00.000-06:00

I have a really good excuse this time...
No really...
Get this...
*deep cleansing breath in*
I was trying to download a clip art picture of the nativity to go on my Christmas card labels and instead downloaded some sort of freaky thing that makes your computer think it has a virus so you'll buy the anti-virus softtware advertised immediately after the BIG RED letters appear on your screen screaming "Virus virus virus....trojen horse...virus!!!!!!" Can you even imagine how much I fah-reaked out!?
Don't worry...Earl fixed it. I love you Earl...for oh so many reasons. I think I love you most in this instance for not lecturing me and totally keeping your cool. Oh yeh, and for fixing the computer.
ANYway...
So that little incident kept me off the computer for one night and then last night I made about 25 sandart brownies in a jar for various teachers and friends and neighbors...although my friends are my neighbors, my neighbors are my friends...whatever...I made a whole heck of a lot of those puppies. And that is my excuse for yesterday...
I have no excuse for today...so here I am. But I am leaving. Soon. And leaving this post short and pictureless....
Tune in tomorrow.

2010-12-14T20:25:00.000-06:00

This is me...
dropping the ball...
again.
A new post everyday?
Seriously...what. was I thinking?
And tonight, I'm tired. With a capital "T"...
And I kinda wanna sit around and drool on myself.
Maybe do a little knitting.
Most definately want to do my best to warm the heck up.
It's cold here.
I'm not complaining.
I'm just sayin'...
C-O-L-D
I think my eyelashes started to freeze when I walked Grace to school this morning.
And it's not getting warmer anytime soon.
So in an attempt to fullfill my promise of a new blog everyday and cash in on some much needed "droolonmyselfwhilewatchingsmuttv" time, I give you...
Simply...
"Produce from my garden"
...circa this summer...ya know, when you could go outside with just a t-shirt on and not worry about frostbite.

Yum! So glad I froze some of that summery goodness to enjoy in the middle of winter.

2010-12-12T18:15:00.002-06:00

We went to Dallas over Thanksgiving. A blog devoted soley to that trip will be posted--with pictures- shortly (Not "shortly" as in tonight or even tomorrow, but I'll get to it...) The reason I am telling you this is to lay some groundwork for what I'd like to share with you in this post.

During our time in Dallas we went to visit Earl's uncle Robert. This is Earl's daddy's older brother. Robert has a wife named Derelyne. Family member's lovingly call her "Aunt D"...and boy howdy, she fits that name like a glove! I immediately took to this woman! Such a warm personality with fantastic memories of my mother-in-law. Memories that will have you rolling on the floor with laughter, wishing someone had warned you to go pee... She shared her peanut brittle receipe with me and made me a fresh cup of coffee. Aunt D...if you're reading this, the visit with you was the highlight of my trip. She also shared something else with me. A picture. Of Earl's grandpa. I haven't heard much about the man...just that he lived into his 90's. I couldn't even tell you his name...

Oh...wait...Earl says his name is Walter. Walter Robert he thinks.

But when I saw his picture I was speechless...

Here let me show you...

Are you seeing what I'm seeing?? That's Earl...20 years from now!

See?? Do you see the uncanny freakish similarity?? Even down to how they BOTH went bald the same. exact. way....

I always thought that Earl looked like his momma. And he does. Blond hair, blue eyes...short, strong legs. You see, Earl's daddy is over 6 foot. Earl is by no means over 6 foot. I can't wear heels because my 5'7" self would be taller than my husband...apparently though Earl's grandfather was not tall like his son (height came from a nameless uncle), but on the shorter side...like his grandson...Earl. Are you still with me? I'm starting to confuse myself. And that sweet round face I fell in love with? Well...that's from Grandpa Walter too.

If you had asked me before Thanksgiving, before seeing this photo if Earl looked like his daddy's side of the family, I woulda said "Nah...not really"...

But then I saw this photo! Crazy...just crazy.

Good to know that my sweet husband will age gracefully.

Thanks Aunt Dee...for the peanut brittle, the coffee, and the history.

What we did today...

2010-12-11T18:27:00.000-06:00

This morning at 8am, the outside temperature was 32...

By 9am, it was 30...

By 10 am, it was 28...

You see where I'm going with this?

It. was. cold.

And getting colder.

But we decided to proceed with our plans.

Our outdoor plans.

We're tough...we have hats and gloves and scarves and really warm coats.

This is our 4th winter here.

We are stocked with cold winter gear.

But folks...Old Man Winter doesn't play around...

and we spent a bitterly cold morning downtown at a Christmas celebration hosted by Sprint.

I love it when someone else foots the bill.

There was cookie decorating.

And lots of instruction to our youngest child not to lick the knife you spread the icing with and then dip it back into the community icing bowl.

There was hot cocoa.

Grace likes hot cocoa. No, that's an understatement. She loves hot cocoa. She will tell you it makes her all "warm and toasty" and when she says "warm" it kinda sounds like "worm"...that makes me giggle.

And then there was spillage of hot cocoa...on the craft table.

Nothing says "Christmas decor" like a sticky cotton ball and some pipe cleaners.

There was an elf. A really friendly elf. With crazy real-looking elf-sih ears.

And of course, the fat man in red. Grace took the opportunity to tell him she had been "really really good"....the jury is still out on that one.

He was a very authentic Santa. Even sported a real beard and it wasn't yellow.

20 minutes after arriving, we. were. frozen. I couldn't feel my thumbs and Sam was curled up in a ball in the stroller (although I'm not sure if that was because of the cold or his paralyzing fear of Santa). But there was a sleigh ride and there was no way I was missing out on that! Random fact about me: I like anything horse drawn. Carriage...sleigh...covered wagon...hay ride.
It is a memory people...tough it out and enjoy the moment!!

The city was so pretty...the buildings were so big. And we even got to see the horse poo...bonus. I would have taken more photos, but I couldn't feel my thumbs to push the button. You'll just have to take my word for it.

But then...it was time to defrost. So we found a restaurant that was offering free kids meals.

We ordered fried pickles.

I ordered a cup of coffee.

Grace asked for more hot cocoa. But settled for chocolate milk.

And we thawed out.

The temperature has since plummeted and the wind chills are below 0. I think I just heard the weather man say "-15"...which is totally wrong. On so many levels.

Praising God for our warm home and closets full of warm clothes.

Oh...and hot cocoa.

A song...

2010-12-10T14:48:00.002-06:00

"Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys,

Don't let 'em pick guitars or drive them old trucks,

Make 'em be doctors and lawyers and such.

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys,

They'll never stay home, and they're always alone,

Even with someone they love."

2010-12-10T14:20:00.002-06:00

I dropped the ball on posting everyday.
I missed yesterday.
Bummer.
Does the fact that my post from the day before was reeeeeeally long and had lots of pictures?
No?
Oh...well, then...
back on track....

Disclaimer: I making up for a few posts that didn't have pictures...

2010-12-08T21:44:00.000-06:00

This post...it will have A LOT of pictures. Go get a fresh cup of coffee.

P.S. I like blogger's new picture uploader thingy...there I said it.

About a month or so ago, I informed Earl that I needed to get away. Desperately. I mean, love the kids...love the job...love the life. But mommy was losing it! He said he'd see what he could do.

Long story not so long...Earl arranged a girls get-away weekend for me and this lady.

My momma.

Yes...I know...we look alike. Genetics is some cah-razy stuff.

We went here...to the Tulsa Performing Arts Center to see "Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz"

The musical is based on the book by Gregory Maguire called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I picked up the book at a garage sale this summer and really got into it. I found out there was a musical based on the book and I told Earl we HAD to go next time it came to town. As you can imagine Earl was beyond ~~horrified~~ thrilled to join me. He loves artsy sorts of things...like video games where the graphics are so good you can actually see the blood squirt out of your character's carotid artery, and the dull unending roar of a football game. "Sure honey...I'd love to go to the theater with you. Oh wait..what's that? Your mother wants to see that play too?" It was like the stars aligned. Earl got out of going to the theater...and I got my weekend away.

I was beyond excited.

On Saturday I drove down to my parent's house. A full 4 1/2 hours of uninterrupted time in the car. No one asking for a snack...no one throwing socks at me...no cartoon movie blaring in the background. It. was. heaven. I spent Saturday at my parent's house...just me. I haven't done that since college. There's something rather therapeutic about walking into my parent's house. My sister and I both agree that we sleep great there...

That night we went to the local dinner theater and ate our weight in mashed potatoes. Soul food.

Then Sunday morning, we headed to Tulsa.

First stop? Target of course. Silly.

Well...actually it was coffee...but the coffee was inside the Target. That has to be one of the most fantastic concepts in human history. Putting a Starbucks inside Target.

We shopped and shopped and shopped...then we found a Goodwill store...so we shopped some more.

Then we headed to our digs for the night.

Mom had reserved a hotel room at the downtown Marriot. Just steps away from the performing arts center. Read: we drank wine and did not have to worry about driving.

Mom likes to take pictures of bathrooms in the hotel rooms she stays in...

She's not right. Scary thing? I share half of my genetic make-up with her. I should be afraid. But I'm not...I'm kinda excited. She's fun...

And beautiful...

Earl told me to go buy a new dress for the show. Now listen. I don't buy new stuff. I get bargains. At the thrift store. At any given time, 75% of my outfit is made up of second hand clothing. But I obliged. And I found this dress....

It fit like it was made for me. And no, you may not ask how much I spent...thankyouverymuch.

The final product. Look Earl!...it's me and me in 27 years. Okay so, maybe we do look alike...I'm only taller because of my heels...

We ate some delicious mashed potatoes and Caesar salad at a swanky restaurant near the performing arts center. Are you seeing a trend here...with the potatoes? Yeh...we love mashed potatoes...these had spinach in them. Ah-ma-zing. Oh and hummus dip and pitas...

Mom decided, during dinner, to make sure her binoculars were in working condition. She's old hat at this live show stuff. I guess when you marry a trumpet player, you become really comfortable in a concert hall.

The show was over the top...unbelievable...everything I thought it would be and so much more!!!! It was life changing...I can't begin to put it into words. It sounds so cliche to say this but...just go see it for yourself.

And the flying monkeys weren't too shabby either...certainly a change from the Judy Garland Wizard of Oz version of flying monkeys, eh?

But no...really...go see it. Make it a weekend. Spend some intense quality time with someone you love and who loves you right back.

We got up Monday morning and ate breakfast at the Blue Dome Diner. Good. food.

We both hated to leave. We lingered a long time. Drank just one more cup of coffee.
We didn't want it to end...but it did and all too soon.

But not before my mother wrote this on the bathroom stall....oh. my.

Thanks Earl...Thanks momma...

Can we do it again next year?

2010-12-07T10:46:00.002-06:00

Sara can unwrap presents...
That is all I am going to say...
My blog entry for the day...
The stinkin' cat can unwrap presents...
Yes...
For. real.

Christmas past.

2010-12-06T19:55:00.001-06:00

Sunday morning--before church (read: the kids get up super early so we have lots of chillaxin time)--Grace and I sat together and looked through hundreds and hundreds of pictures and videos. We began with those of Grace, when she was a baby, and worked our way up to Sam's first few months of life before we had to pry ourselves off the couch and head to worship.

I was amazed! I see these children day to day to mundane day. They look the same to me as they did the day they were born. Except for a few teeth thrown in here and there, and oh yeh, they walk and talk... Okay so maybe they don't seem the same as they did when they were born, but I suppose what I'm trying to get across here is that I don't notice how quickly and drastically they change when I'm living life with them up close and personal. I guess you could say I can't "see the forest for the trees"...I'm just putting puzzle pieces together and I forgot to step back and take a look at the big picture...

So...here's me...stepping back...

Allow me to present...

a little snap shot...

Christmas past.

2005. Grace's first Christmas. She looks like a little doll. Look at those teeny tiny delicate fingers. Oh...we prayed for her so long and hard. And she came rolling into our lives and we have never been the same. She sat and stared at that tree for over 20 minutes. Never touched a ribbon. Never pulled an ornament. Never tore a package. Just looked...in complete awe. And we experienced Christmas for the first time as parents. Thank you Grace for that gift...making Earl and me parents.

2006. I couldn't find a picture of Grace during her second Christmas with us. I'll have to dig deeper. But...if you wanna come over...my very favorite picture of her is framed on our mantle. She was 18 months old. We took her to see Santa...cause that's what you do...right? She was dressed in the most darling pink dress...the cuffs were faux fur lined, the fabric was covered in a dusting of glitter. We placed her on Santa's lap. And she. began. to. WAIL. and kick. and flail. Santa sat stoically, a tight grip around her waist. This was not his first rodeo. A picture was taken. Grace was released from the fat man's lap, and the yearly tradition was complete. The picture? It's priceless. It makes me giggle everytime I walk by it.

2007. Her third Christmas. Her last one alone. We had just moved. Life was upside down and inside out. But she was still Grace...still twirling. I couldn't find a picture of her sitting still to save my life. Or with any clothes on....

2008. And then there were two. Sam's first Christmas. Grace's fourth. Goodness how quickly my little doll grew! But those eyes!!!
...michef...wonder...excitement...

Little brother. He's always had a rather worried look plastered on his face. I don't blame him. He came into a diva's world but he learned quickly to sit back and enjoy the ride.

He also was the exact opposite of his big sister in regards to respect of the Christmas tree and its decorations. He ate everything off the tree. Ornaments. Tinsel. Ribbon. I think he was part goat that first year.

2009. Grace's fifth Christmas. Sam's second.

Also known as the year Grace played the part of Mary in her own self-directed Christmas pagent....

And baby brother played the part of Herod....you can read about that here.

Christmas 2010. Grace's sixth. Sam's third. The annual photo. Nobody cried. Kinda makes a momma wanna cry...

Merry Christmas.

I know I say this a lot on here. Time goes quickly. Take lots of pictures.

2010-12-05T12:55:00.000-06:00

A new post everyday? What was I thinking?!?!

This week is the children's Christmas musical program at our church.
Thursday December 9th and Friday December 10th. Starts at 7pm. Nothing gets a person into the Christmas spirit like a stage full of singing children and a cookie reception.
I wouldn't say Grace is an angel...but she does play one on stage.
Come join us...you'll be glad you did.

Sentimental.

2010-12-04T10:08:00.000-06:00

I've become a bit...sentimental. You see, I have this kindergartener living in my house. Who IS she? I'm not the mom to a kindergartener...to an "almost 6 year old"..to a child with loose teeth...a child with legs so long they spill off my lap when I hold her....a child that can read real books and even sound-out words her father and I spell out in hopes that she can't understand us, like some sort of secret parental code.

Nonononononononno...it can't be true!

But there's this voice inside me that screams "Believe it!" and I find myself sitting so still, soaking it in...praising God for the blessing of my children. Begging Him to help me remember when they were little...what they sounded like...what their hand felt like in mine...the weight of them in my arms. Asking Him to tuck these things back into a special part of my mind...a place I can easily access and remember.

It's only been 5 1/2 years....and my brain. is. full. I feel like I am forgetting. I'm scared that I will get swept up in the sea of everyday life and lose the sweet memories of my children when they were little. I often ask God to help me remember!

God is good.

And He answers every prayer.

It's just how He answers them.

He's creative.

He created us in His image.

We are creative.

And so I am praising God this morning for creating the person who created video cameras.

In my weepy mommy sentimental "why are my kids growing so fast?" moments...I sit at the computer and watch the loads of video we have captured in 5 1/2 short years.

It makes me laugh

It makes me cry.

It helps me remember.

And in the spirit of the season...I wanted to share this one with you...

Grace is 2 1/2 here. She is the same age in this video as Sam is now. Crazy. Her language ability has always been, well, insane. (I would liken Sam's language ability to that of a caveman...) She started talking at 10 months, and hasn't stopped since. Enjoy. And this morning?...let's praise God for children, and videos cameras, and Christmas.

And just so you know, she loves Santa now. And to think, it only took 3 years of SCREAMING when she saw him to get over her inborn fear.

Yesterday...

2010-12-03T10:29:00.001-06:00

You may think that I devote bit too much of my blog space to a certain cat that has come to live in our house...

But believe me when I say this people, I could create an ENTIRE blog devoted soley to Sara and her stupid cat antics.

Yesterday...Sara climbed 3/4 of the way UP our 9 foot tall Christmas tree. Going up was easy. She managed to avoid most of the ornaments and almost all of the ribbon. It was the coming down that got her. She tried to jump straight out from her perch atop the evergreen, taking with her half of the decorations and leaving ribbons trailing in the aftermath. Cats love Chrismas.

Yesterday...The weather was above freezing so she spent her afternoon playing with the school children on the playground. Grace came home and asked "Momma, did you get a call from the school 'cause Sara was on the playground....again" *sigh*

Yesterday...She managed to kill and gut a mole. She left it as a present in the driveway. The neighborhood kids were facinated with the blood and gore. I scooped it up and gave it a proper burial. There is still blood on the driveway. Pray for rain...

Yesterday...Sara jumped into the kitchen window. Flat foot from the kitchen floor straight up into the window above the sink. Into. the. window. The window was closed. It's a miracle she didn't break her little kitty nose. She was trying to catch the birds that eat at the feeder there. The birds chirped mockingly...it almost sounded like little birdy laughter.

Yesterday...Sara, roughly a 7 lb cat, killed. a. full grown squirrel. I can't make this stuff up people. Killed it dead. My neighbor's husband offered to skin the squirrel...said it would be "good eating"...I have great neighbors.

Today?

Well...who can blame her?

Sara...is sleeping...

Cousin: a noun

2010-12-02T19:34:00.001-06:00

Rhymes with dozen

Meaning "a child of one's aunt or uncle"

But really...I think "cousin" should be a verb. At least in this family.

Cousin: a verb

Meaning to teach, to love, to hold close in your heart because you share a common bond.

To teach that removing one's shirt makes your cool factor go way up...even if you're only 7 and 2.

To stay up late reading and giggling even when your mother's are yelling at you to "TURN OFF THAT LIGHT AND GO TO BED!"

To carry on your back when liddle legs get tired, and in your heart for a lifetime.

To find cool trees and help each other climb them.

And to share that cool tree with the boy cousins and help them climb the tree too...

To eat pancakes with and smoother them in way more syrup than your mother's would ever allow...

To learn with...to grow with...to love and to teach...

To share the common bond of two crazy sisters...now aunts...

To cousin.

A verb.

2010-12-01T15:16:00.000-06:00

11 years ago, I bought Earl a flashlight. It was one of those mini-maglite flashlights. It was a present for his birthday. We had been dating a little over a month, and I had no idea what to get for him. I give my mom the credit. It was her idea...she suggested I buy him a flashlight, and she offered to help me engrave his name on the handle. Problem was, I didn't know how to spell his last name. We tried looking in the phone book, but he was "unlisted"...11 years later? Well, we're still unlisted...he's paranoid like that. So I took a guess...and I guessed right! Little did I know, someday that last name would be my last name...I was just trying to get a cool gift to impress my new boyfriend...

Earl? Do you still have that flashlight?

Oh...and P.S. It's Earl's birthday today...he wouldn't tell you so, but I will...He's getting sexier with age... ;)

Superheros, Pirates, Paw-paw, and neighbor kids.

2010-11-30T09:28:00.001-06:00

Halloween. Great holiday.

Grace was Violet from "The Incredibles." Her second year as a superhero and not a princess. I love that kid. Sam was a pirate. Begrudgingly...but a pirate all the same. Once he figured out the equation of costume + bucket + big smile = CANDY, he decided the costume wasn't so bad after all.

Paw-paw flew in to help us celebrate. He said the visit had everything to do with the kids and absolutely nothing to do with the candy...

If you've ever seen "The Incredibles" you will remember that Violet has long black hair. When I first saw Grace in this wig, I didn't recognize her. Seriously, I had to ask another kindergarten mom where exactly my daughter was in the class line-up. Nothing says "involved and attentive mother" like not recognizing your own daughter...

Apparently pirates like to ride in wagons and eat candy. Who knew?

Earl. Official wagon puller. Isn't he cute?!

All the neighborhood kids. Okay, well not all of them. But most of them. Two things to point out:

Notice the little girl standing to the left of Grace...that's Dakota. She's 4. She wanted to be Medusa for Halloween. I sewed over a dozen plastic snakes to a Barbie wig for her costume. They don't make Medusa wigs for 4 year olds....only Barbie and princess wigs. That's a shame.

And the sad little Buzz Lightyear in the foreground? That's Ayden. He's one of my most favorite children. And I don't really like children. He was a bit overwhelmed with all the costumes and candy and cameras...

This last picture isn't a Halloween picture. Just a sweet picture I took the weekend Paw-paw was here. These two are cut from the same cloth. And Sam is content to just snuggle up to his Paw-paw and watch the world go by....

It was a good weekend that resulted in a boatload of candy. I sent most of it to work with Earl...of course that was after I sorted out all the "good" chocolate and hid it. If you are really really really nice to me, I might tell you where...but probably not.

2010-11-30T08:43:00.000-06:00

Somewhere...somehow...at some point...I have gotten off track
I tried to get back on track a few months ago...
but apparently "catch up" isn't my thing...
procrastination is my thing....
I have discovered that I work well under pressure...
so I'm gonna apply a bit of pressure here...
I am going to blog every single stinkin' day until 2011...
Yup...
I'm gonna do it...
2010 has been a less than stellar year. In all honesty, it goes down as one of the toughest years in all of my 31 years. I'm ready for it to be over. But I'm bummed that I didn't "document" 2010 as well as I could. So I'm making up for lost time...

"Gracie had a little cat"

2010-10-11T20:56:00.000-05:00

Meet Sara the cat.

Again. You've heard about her a few times. Like when we first got her. And then when I blogged about her obsession with Sam's "chou-chou" (our word for a pacifier...binky...whatever. Which is now GONE! Can you believe it? Well start believing people. Two kids. No "chou-chou's." Mind-blowing, I know. But I digress...)

Well...I have a new Sara story.

Sara is NOT normal. She doesn't run and hide from tail-pulling, tight-squeezing children. She seeks them out. And when they do torment her...she doesn't try to get away. It's baffling to me. Any other cat would hightail it under the bed or hide in the basement. But not Sara. She even prefers to sleep with the children...whirling, twirling, blanket-flinging children! Sara the cat curls right up and rides out the night. I'm telling ya, the cat is odd. It should come as no surprise. She's been like this since the day we met her. Grace scooped her out of that nasty crate at Pet-Smart, flipped her over on her back, rubbed her tummy...and Sara began to purr! We even thought she might be deaf at first. Loud noises didn't scare her...screaming children didn't phase her...she seemed oblivious to the chaos our offspring produced. But she isn't deaf. She can hear the rattle of her food bowl from a mile away. She comes when you call her name. She simply chooses to join in the fun instead of be terrified of the noise. She has even made friends with the neighborhood children...all 10+ kids that find their way to our driveway after the school bell rings at 3:30 in the afternoon. These children love her...they know her by name. And Sara, in turn, loves them. She chases after them...she allows them to pick her up and cart her around the cul-de-sac...where the children are, you will find Sara the cat. And this brings me to the point of this post. Finally.

2 weeks ago the phone rang at 2pm. It was a school day. The caller-id flashed the name of Grace's elementary school. My heart jumped into my throat. I answered the phone...

School receptionist--"Hello, this is Donna at your daughter's school. Grace is just fine. (big sigh of relief) But...do you have a cat?"

Me--"Ummmm...yes. What color?"

School receptionist--"Gray and white"

Me--sigh "Yes. Her name is Sara."

School receptionist--"Well, we have a child here in the office that says the cat is on the playground and the children are teasing her. You should probably come get her."

Me (rather embarrassed)--"Oh...right...of course...I'll call her in. Thank you."

I opened up the back door and began calling for Sara. And sure enough there she was...smack dab in the middle of the elementary school playground. She looked up, then looked around as if to say "I gotta go now guys...but I'll be back tomorrow" and then ran home. Those kids weren't "teasing" her...she was playing with them! She was having the time of her life! She was in her element! Crazy animal!

The next day I kept her in during recess. She cried and cried and tried to climb the door frame to get out! There were children to entertain!

The day after that I gave up. And I prayed that I wouldn't get another call from the school. 3:30 rolls around. The bell rings. Grace comes running up to me. "MOM!!! Guess who came to the playground today??"

Oh dear...

"Gracie had a little cat,

Little cat, little cat,
Gracie had a little cat,
Its fur was white as snow (well sorta...she's part Siamese)

Everywhere that Gracie went (or any child, for that matter),
Gracie went, Gracie went,
Everywhere that Gracie went
The cat was sure to go (crazy cat)

It followed her to school one day
School one day, school one day
It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rules

It made the children laugh and play,
Laugh and play, laugh and play,
It made the children laugh and play
To see a cat at school

And so the school receptionist called her mom,
called her mom, called her mom
And so the school receptionist called her mom,
But still it lingered near"

My blog title

2010-09-24T14:23:00.000-05:00

I thought about changing the title of my blog. It was created late at night...I sorta just pulled it out of the dusty corners of my brain. I thought recently that since this blog has been something like a journal of our family, I should rename it to reflect our family. But then I got to thinking...
I like the title.
It has sentimental meaning.
To me at least.
So, you ask, what exactly does "Smile as Big as You Can" mean anyway?
Well...it all started with this guy...

He's my dad...

also answers to "BikeMan" and Grandpa Trumpet. Because he likes to ride a bike...and he's a professional trumpet player.

He's also sorta a goofball. Under his calm demeanor he is one of the funniest men I know. He's quiet though, so you gotta listen closely. (But really, who can blame the man for being quiet...surrounded by three LOUD women for most of his adult life? It's a miracle he's not been institutionalized...)

See? Goof.ball. In his defense, this picture was taken somewhere around mile 70 of a 100 mile bike ride. Remember? He likes to ride a bike...like...a lot. Borders on insane.

He is the inspiration behind the title of this blog. Smile as Big as You Can. When my sister and I were little girls, we used to say "Daddy! Smile as big as you can." And being the indulgent father he was/is he would stop what he was doing and smile. BIG. As big as he could. Read Cheshire Cat big. Showing all your teeth and most of you gums big. Make your mouth hurt big. It was great. And we would tumble over in peals of little girl laughter. I'm not sure how it started (Daddy, if you're reading this...where did it start?) but it is a rich memory for me. And sometimes...now, as a grown woman with babies of my own...when the day is draggin' on, I take a deep breath and remember to smile. As big as I can. And it helps....and it makes me laugh...and it bubbles up a warm memory in my heart. Of a daddy who taught me and continues to teach me that life is lived one minute...one day...one smile at a time.

I married a man just like my father in so many ways. Quiet, funny, obsessed with a bicycle, and above all a great daddy to my children. A daddy who will make a fool of himself just to hear his little girl squeal with laughter. So...I'm gonna leave the title as it is. I like it. DADDY! Smile!!!...As big as you can...