A Couple of Cute Pics

A friend send these to me today. Have I mentioned how much I love this boy?

(Of course I love my girl just as much .... just no cute pics of her today.)

Bubby goofing off with a mohawk:

Bubby on the recent church campout (a bit of ketchup on his face I think):

Have a great weekend !!

Bye Bye Santa

No more at my house. I am sad. My "baby" has wised up this year. He had WAY too many questions and wanted some serious answers. I guess in all honesty, I had grown tired of the "lie" anyway. Still, when the baby of the house is no longer into it, there is mourning in a way.

Here is an old pic we had made with Santa .... 2003. This is the last pic of the two of them on his lap. Fancy wised up that Christmas.

Hope you have a great Christmas morning.

Christmas Fun

Yesterday, we went to Six Flags - Holiday in the park for Bubby's birthday. That's what he had asked to do this year. My work conveniently gave me 4 free tickets good for anytime in Decmember. NICE.

We planned to go last Saturday ON his birthday, but the weather was YUCKY (Cold and wet)!! We got out there at about 4pm and had a nice few hours, but the cold air drove us home after about 3 hours. It had gotten down to about 37 degrees by the time we made it back to the car. That might have been tolerable without the wind. It was still worth the drive out there though. We enjoyed a few rides, $9 worth of hot chocolate and some good family time. Here are a few pics:

The Hubby and I enjoying an INSIDE show (and some warmth):

The kids and I in line for a ride:

Bubby being patient in line:

Bubby and I about to take off on a roller coaster:

Fancy and her Daddy ready for their turn:

It was QUITE windy at this point. I had to time the picture just right so that I caught Frosty standing upright. This was right before we made a mad dash for the car:

When we made it home, we decided to bake. That might not have been a great idea. It was already 8:30 and we started the task a bit tired. We completed the job though and had fun doing it. We baked around 200 chocolate chip, peanut butter , oatmeal, and sugar cookies. We also made "White Trash" (I didn't make up the name people). This stuff is TASTY !! It's peanuts, pretzels, cheerios, and golden grahams coated with melted vanilla almond bark. Addiciting !!

White trash:

We bagged up the goodies for our neighbors and put them in these adorable cookie boxes I found for a STEAL at Garden Ridge. We will be delivering them today. The rest of the cookies and "trash" will be enjoyed by us over the next week. After that, I'm sure I will need a date with the treadmill.

Goodies for the neighbors:

Daddy and Bubby hard at work:

Bubby rolling the peanut butter cookies:

Hard at work cutting out his cookies:

Fancy perfecting hers:

Oh yeah ... and one last thing ... here is our pitiful little gingerbread house. We were sad at how small it was. It seems I picked up the wrong box this year. Ooops. Bubby still had a fun time decorating it all by himself this year. Fancy wasn't interested in arguing with him over which candy went where.

Note to self: It is worth the expense to buy 2 next year. Do it.

Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

Another random old pic

Just because I don't have much else to post on ...........

Us - circa 2005

Have a great weekend !!!

Missing teeth

I was sitting here thinking I should go to bed, but got to thinking about how cute Bubby is without his two front teeth. I remember how sad I was when Fancy's returned. I wish they would stay snaggle-toothed for longer. It is SO cute !!

This got me hunting for a picture of her to compare to him.

SUCCESS !!!

2003

(Yes, this pic is a repeat .... sorry)

2007

An update on my niece

She will be ONE this week. I can't believe how quickly this year has passed.

We went to see her the other day and were excited to see that she is walking !!

Look how LONG her hair is !!!

She is SO cute and is the most calm, laid-back, serious, thoughtful baby I have ever met. She thinks my kids are NUTS !! I love how she just studies them.

Here she is looking up at Bubby who was trying to get her to smile:

And in this one, she's looking at Fancy who was working hard for a smile:

Happy Birthday Sweetie !!!

All he wants for Christhmath .......

ith hith two front teeth !!

(And a much needed haircut)




He turned 8 on Saturday. The years have flown by.



I remember Christmas Eve 1999 very well. Bubby was just over a week old. It was about 11pm. I sat with him alone in the dark after a long day of family, presents, food and fun. I sat holding him in the chair by the Christmas Tree in the living room of our tiny duplex. Everyone else was fast asleep. Bubby wanted one more feeding. I was exhausted. Sitting there nursing him next to the twinkling lights of the tree though, I felt so much joy. I remember studying his tiny feet and hands. I cried that night at the realization that one day his hands and feet would be bigger than mine. Every year, that day gets closer and closer. I cherish each day that he is still my "little bit" as we sometimes call him.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy !!

Random .....

The other day, the kids and I were out and about and saw a long wall made of bricks. It was just the type used in landscaping. Bubby said, "Look, it's the Great Wall of China!". I was surprised. We haven't studied our section on Asia yet. I was proud of him and his knowledge. This only lasted a moment though. I asked him where he had learned about the Great Wall. His response:

"Oh, they showed it on Survivor China!".

haha

A Day of Shopping

Last Saturday, we took some time to get our Christmas shopping wrapped up .... well that was the GOAL.



The Husband and Bubby are at fault for us not getting finished. Does anyone else have this problem: We ran into The Bass Pro Shops to pick up a gift card ..... 2 hours later we were leaving the store. It is a MAN haven. Fancy and I were not as entertained. I admit there are some neat things there, but 30 minutes was PLENTY for me. We exercised our patience and were good sports though.

Here are a few pictures I took (I had to do SOMETHING with all that time on my hands).

Bubby really enjoyed these turtles that were soaking up the sun (lamps) .... he could have sat here for HOURS. He had question after question. I did my best to answer them. Does this count as science?



(For the record, those are Fancy's hands with the nail polish ..... I thought it looked a bit like they were Bubby's. She was between Bubby and their Daddy.)


Bubby had to have his picture taken here as well .... he was a bit nervous though, so Daddy stood between him and the bear:

Merry Christmas

For those of you not receiving our card in the mail, here is the picture we sent out this year:

We took them by the beautiful tree at church last week. I thought I should say that so nobody would think that my tree is quite that fabulous !!

When these pictures were taken Fancy was 11 and Bubby was 7. He has since turned 8 .... more on that in another post.

Here are some individual pictures I took that day as well.

Every time I see a picture of them I am amazed at how fast they are growing. How I wish there was a way to SLOW it all down !!

Hark The Herald Angels Sing

We are working on learning this one written by Charles Wesley in 1739.

We learned that it was initially sung to a much more slow and solemn tune. More than 100 years after it was written, English musician William Cummings adapted a cantata written by Mendelssohn to fit the lyrics of this now well known song.

What a great song to keep us focused on the meaning of the season amidst the hustle and bustle of it all.

Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!

Peace on earth and mercy mild

God and sinners reconciled"

Joyful, all ye nations rise

Join the triumph of the skies

With the angelic host proclaim:

"Christ is born in Bethlehem

"Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored

Christ the everlasting Lord!

Late in time behold Him come

Offspring of a Virgin's womb

Veiled in flesh the Godhead see

Hail the incarnate Deity

Pleased as man with man to dwell

Jesus, our Emmanuel

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail the Son of Righteousness!

Light and life to all He brings

Ris'n with healing in His wings

Mild He lays His glory by

Born that man no more may die

Born to raise the sons of earth

Born to give them second birth

Hark! The herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hope the rest of your week is FABULOUS !!

24 hours in review

We finished up the indoor Christmas decorations yesterday afternoon. After a tasty dinner of grilled steaks and chicken, baked potatoes, salad and rolls, we sat and watched a movie with a fire in the fireplace. Fancy had also baked some chocolate chip cookies that we enjoyed during our movie time. What a fabulous Sunday.

The Husband was happy that it was rainy and cold yesterday .... he dodged the responsibility of getting the lights up on the house. I am hoping that task gets completed soon. I just LOVE coming down our street to see the house lit up.

Here are some of the decorations completed:

This morning, the kids and I got up and around slowly. It was nice to enjoy the first "real" day of our winter break. We officially started our break last week, but Fancy wasn't here, so it didn't seem real. After our showers, we decided the day was too nice to waste. We loaded up some books and headed for the park. I thought we could get some reading out of the way while we were at the park. I read a bit .... the kids opted not to which was fine with me. I just wanted us to be outside. I'm sure there won't be many 55 degree days left this year. They can catch up on reading tonight after dinner.

Here is Bubby having a chat with me about a "fun little guy" that he was playing hide and seek with. The "fun little guy" was a boy that looked to be about three years old. I love that Bubby plays with kids of all ages with no reserve.

Here is Fancy taking a turn on Bubby's skateboard. Notice he is there coaching her.

Here is my view .... I found a swing to sit in and enjoyed my music and a good book. I love being outside. There is just something about it. How can you beat all your favorite songs on your iPod, a really good book, perfect weather (sunny and 55 degrees) and laughing/squealing kids all around you? I don't think you can.

Right now, I am sitting here catching up on e-mails and reading friends' blogs enjoying the smell of a yummy pot of chili in the crockpot. I'll wrap up the dinner menu with some cornbread muffins. Easy but tasty..... I'm looking forward to it. Actually, I'm not sure I can wait much longer. Maybe skipping lunch was a bad idea. =)

Have a good week !!

In The Christmas Spirit

I am so glad to have all of my family together under one roof today.

Fancy and her Daddy got home safe, sound and just in time for church last night. It was so nice to have all of us there to enjoy some great worship music and a wonderful message followed by a nice pizza dinner with friends. This morning has been fun just listening to all their stories about their trip. They FORGOT to take the camera, so I am hoping to get some pictures from friends who went with them .... if so, I will post them.

We are putting up our Christmas decorations today so this morning finds our house full of activity and Christmas music. I couldn't be happier.

I had a bit of fun this morning doing this: We Got Elfed. Check it out.

Have a GREAT Sunday.

Another random picture

I am missing the other 50% of my family. Bubby and I have had a lot of fun this week so far, but still, I am ready for my girl and her Daddy to come home.

Here they are in the Summer of 1996 ..... how has the time flown by so quickly???

Welcome to my world

Well, it has happened .... my first run in with someone who decided to share their not so good opinion of my choice to homeschool my children. Ouch.

Bubby and I went to the local grocery store today to pick up a few things. It was a quick and easy trip .... up until the point of checkout.

Our cashier seemed friendly enough.... a man about 40 years old. He was scanning our items and chatting with us when he asked Bubby, "How old are you?" .... the conversation went downhill from there. It looked a bit like this:

Bubby: "7"

Cashier: "Are you ready for Thanksgiving?"

Bubby: "Yep ... but we aren't cooking turkey. My Dad and my Sister are in Mexico."

Cashier: "They got to go on vacation without you?"

Bubby: "No, they are on a mission trip to help people and tell them about Jesus." (aren't kids great - so simple - so bold)

Cashier: "That is great." (looks to me) "Where do you go to church?"

Me: "_____" (insert name of our church)

Cashier: (looks like he just threw up in his mouth frowns) "Oh that MEGA church."

Me: "Yes, it's a large church." (smile)

Cashier: "That's nice." (Seems at this point that he is a Christian, is happy we are too, but is sad for us that we go to the MEGA church).

Cashier: (changing subject - looks at Bubby) "What grade are you in?"

Bubby: "2nd"

Cashier: "Do you like your teacher?"

Bubby: "Yes" .... points at me.

Cashier: "No, I asked if you like your teacher."

Bubby: (smiling) "I am homeschooled."

Cashier: (looks at me like I have 2 heads) "What?"

Bubby: "Yep, my Mom teaches me."

Cashier: (No more eye contact with me) "Have you ever asked your Mom why she makes you do homeschool?"

Me: (inside my head) "Did he really just say that?"

Bubby: "No."

Cashier: "You should ask her why she makes you do homeschool."

Bubby: (squirming). "Hmm."

Me: (again, inside my head) "What in the world am I suppposed to say? How do I get this guy to back off without being rude? He know I am a Christian after all .... I have to be on my best behavior" ... I know, I know .... I should be on my best behavior anyway ... all the time ... work with me here. I say nothing. (spineless speechless)

Cashier: (looks at me) "I am a teacher." (as if to explain why he is disappointed that I do not send my kid to school)

Me: (grin) "Me too."

Cashier: "Oh .... a real teacher?" (small smile)

Me: "Yep" (yeah, I knew what he meant .... but I was on a roll .... and getting a bit bunchy)

Cashier: (looks somewhat relieved, like maybe he thinks it is a little better if I am qualified) "Oh, what grade?"

Me: (pointing at Bubby) "2nd .... and a 6th grader too."

Cashier: "Oh. (obvious look of realization that I did not mean a REAL teacher)

Bubby: (to Cashier) "What do you teach?"

Cashier: "High school math."

Bubby: (excitedly) "I love math ... it's my favorite."

Cashier: (shows Bubby his nametag) "Can you read this? What is my name?"

Me: (again - inside my head) "Is this a test? Is he testing my kid? What the heck?"

Bubby: (reads nametag)

Cashier: "Well, you can read."

Me: (Ok .... so at this point, I am M-A-D. I don't want to admit that, but I was. I was feeling defensive. How dare he question my kid like this? I was about to let him have a piece of my mind. Slow down .... I started seriously praying. God .... what am I supposed to say here? I don't want to be ugly. That isn't right and isn't going to help anyway.) Also important to note is that there are other people now quite interested in this conversation ... some baggers and the family behind me in line. I felt like I was on display. ugh.

Here is what came to me ... and I mean CAME in a flash:

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalm 119:11
(This is a key verse the kids have focused on in AWANA.)

Ok .... that is nice right? But not helping, or so I thought. I was thinking, "how is that at all helpful?" Then it hit me. Scripture .... ok, now my brain was filling with words QUICKLY:

"A kind word turns away wrath ...." Proverbs 15:1a

"But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. " James 3:8-10 (I will admit I do not know this one by heart, but OH should I. It just came to me in Cliff's Notes Version summary.)

"But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Matthew 5:44

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Anyway, basically, I knew I needed to hold my tongue. Being harsh was not the answer.

* I am beginning to see that this seems to be a VERY long encounter with this cashier, but all this went down in like 4 minutes at the most *

Ok, so let's continue.

Bubby: " Yep. Mom says I am a good reader." (begins to read EVERYTHING he sees around - showing the man)

Me: (In my head) "Well, atleast this guy sees my kid is not an idiot, and I didn't even have to be defensive about it"

Cashier: "Wow .... you are a good reader, young man." (looks at me) "Not bad." (sheepish grin)

Me: (actually speaking outloud) "Thank you. I am pretty proud of him."

I never did tell him why I "make" my kids do homeschool as he said. I didn't need to. I do not homeschool for him. I do it for my kids. My reasons are really not his business. I do not mind discussing my reasons with people. I was just pretty sure that he wasn't going to be convinced of anything in the amount of time I had with him anyway. I guess I don't really need to convince him of anything anyway, right? I would have seemed defensive no matter what I said in the way that situation was going.

I paid.

I smiled.

We took our things.

Bubby said "Good-bye ___" (inserting name he R-E-A-D off of the nametag).

Off we went.

I was thanking God all the way to the car.

Thanking Him for His Word.

Thanking Him for AWANA which is teaching His Word not only to my kids, but as it turns out, is soaking into my brain as well.

Thanking Him for the blessing of my two beautiful, smart, polite, non-defensive children who He allows me to raise and teach and love .... EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the LORD is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His, for He made, and His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under his care.
- Psalm 95:1-7

50 percent

That's how much of my family is home this Thanksgiving week .... me and Bubby.

Fancy and her Daddy left yesterday for Mexico. They went on a Mission Trip down there last year over Thanksgiving and it was a great experience. They knew they wanted to go back this year. We had actually planned on all going this time. Since I got laid off a couple of months ago and am now the new girl at work I couldn't get the whole week off. It makes it especially hard to get the days off over a holiday. I am really sad we couldn't go with them.

Bubby and I are planning to make the most of it though. I am looking forward to some one on one time with him. We just got home from the grocery store buying some tasty snacks and we are about to settle in for a movie on the couch in our jammies. What a yummy Sunday afternoon. Tomorrow we are going to the library, maybe a movie, probably out for lunch .... it will be a nice laid back day. Who knows what the rest of the week will bring.

Anyway, please be in prayer for my sweet husband who is leading construction on a church that our group is helping to build. I am sure he will work quite hard this week. Also pray for Fancy as she helps lead VBS and puppet shows for the kids. She will also be going out to a special needs orphanage to help bathe, wash linens, and just love on the kids. She is nervous about that. Last year, she helped paint the children's building they had built onto the church .... this year, she will be more personal with the people there. I can't wait to hear all about it. Also, be in prayer this week for the whole group ..... at last count the number going was 58. Please pray for safe travel home on Saturday as well.

Here are some pictures from their trip last year:

Fancy took HUNDREDS of Dum-Dum suckers she saved her own money to buy to hand out to the kids she saw while out and about .... looks like maybe she enjoyed one or two herself.

Here she is being creative. The girls all decided to paint a mural on the wall in the new Children's area. I think they did a great job.

I swear she brought home a little bit of every color on that wall. All those paint colors are permanently on multiple articles of the clothing she took on the trip last year.

Pictures from our past

I've decided that if I have nothing interesting to say, I can do something fun. Since I didn't discover blogging until recently, and a lot of my friends who read my blog haven't known me super long, I will randomly post some old pictures. Let's start today.

Going with the theme of my last post, I chose these for today:

It was August, 2003. The kids were 7 (barely) and 3 (almost 4). We were on a camping trip for a week (in my parent's RV so not too much roughing it). Speaking of that RV .... it's a sad story: We enjoyed it quite a bit. We had used it multiple times when they had it. One day they decided that since they NEVER wanted to use it (my Mom says her idea of roughing it is walking barefoot on the carpet at the Hilton) they decided to GET RID OF IT! How rude (haha). That system of them paying for it and us using it worked out fine for us.

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time:

Here is a sequence of pictures that will benefit from some narration: The Husband had left the RV to go fishing while the 3 of us were laying down for a nap. I had drifted off to sleep when I heard the RV door slam shut. It startled me awake, I looked for the kids. Fancy was sound asleep at my side but Bubby was nowhere to be seen. I bolted up and looked out the window and saw him, fishing pole in hand, crossing the "road" (a gravel road with NO traffic) to the pond where his Daddy was (about 30 yards away). It was the cutest thing ever. Such a big boy. He hade made up his mind where he wanted to be and it wasn't sleeping with Mommy and Sissy. I, of course, jumped up, grabbed the camera and followed him. I snuck up behind them and started secretly snapping pictures from a safe distance. Even The Husband didn't know I was there.

About five minutes into this cuteness, Bubby has to pee. Well, you know guys, so The Husband tells him he has to wait. Bubby continues to insist he must go now, Daddy continues to say things like, "Just a second". Here, Bubby is making some "adjustments" to try to settle things down:

Then Bubby is cold .... needs his shirt on (which he had brought with him for some reason) and by the way, the temp was like 95 degrees, but whatever. Daddy puts his fishing pole down, sighs, and helps him get the shirt on. I can see Daddy feeling a bit sad (and entertained at the same time) that his quiet fishing time is being run by this 3 year old's "issues". After the shirt is on, Bubby goes right back into the "I godda pee" mantra.

I am the one who will no doubt deal with the pee soaked mess and tears, so I am about to intervene when I see Bubby finally just solve his own problem:I think it is good that I have posted this now because surely there will come a time when Bubby wouldn't stand for it.