Adventures in CLAMSville

tidbits

2011-11-19T23:27:00.002-05:00

Sandwiched int he middle of his prayer tonight I heard Samuel say, "...Thank you God that you made Mommy say yes when I asked to play the wii."

Caitlin gained 3 pounds last month. Lovin' her thigh rolls.

McKenna is practically counting the hours until her birthday.

Anna and I got to go shopping together--thanks Gran Gran!--for a couple of hours today. She replaced the last of the fall festival fish with 6 new fish. The one that kicked the bucket today (Sparkles turned Dollie) has been replaced. They all have names, but your age has to be in the single digits to keep up with the names.

8 weeks

2011-11-03T20:14:00.002-04:00

So, our sweet Caitlin has arrived at the 8 week mark. She has ditched her pirate eye look. She has finally started to smile. We've seen her smile frequency increase daily at this point. She is sleeping well at night (11:30 to 8:00) when we use the "banana split". That's the name that McKenna gave to the Fisher Price Rock 'N Sleep that we borrowed from Rebekah. It's a beautiful thing, I say.
The kids attended the Fall Festival at church. It's a fun tradition that the kids are already looking forward to for next year. Anna was a gymnast, Sam was Batman, McKenna a fairy, and Caitlin was either "Baby Anna" or "Baby McKenna" (depending on who she looked most like). I was pleased to make Samuel's cape. It's just too bad that I procrastinated and waited until about 3:00 on 10/31 to start it. His mask was the easy part--snipped from the back of a Cinnamon Toast Crunch box.

One Month

2011-10-06T22:17:00.002-04:00

Today commemorates what might be the quickest month of my life. Caitlin is up to 9lb 4oz per our visit to her pediatrician today. I think she's gained all of her weight in the last 8 days. I didn't see much of a difference until then. Since then I see her changing daily.

Today also marked the end of Samuel and McKenna's soccer season through the YMCA. They were fun to watch. Their personalities were evident on the field which was one of my favorite aspects of spectating their games. McKenna did a lot of twirling. And skipping. Samuel spent much of his time on the ground. He was always the dirtiest kid leaving the field.

6!

2011-10-03T21:14:00.004-04:00

Well. How many posts have I composed in my head in the last 4 weeks? Just one, actually. But I've done it every day.

Miss Caitlin Raye made her grand entrance on September 6th. I don't remember the weather. I don't remember the cost of gas. I don't remember anything except the hours of labor and her arrival. It was physically painful and emotionally wonderful. A great day for all of us.

Since coming home she has found herself at home with us. She's been to cross country meets, soccer games, gymnastics practices, Bible studies, co-op classes, music classes, job interviews, overnight trips to see family, church services, and ice cream socials. We didn't miss a beat, but are enjoying her at home snuggly moments as well.

Caitlin isn't a loud baby, but she's a noisy baby. She has more grunts, squeaks, squaks, and gaks than any other baby I've ever known. She's loud when she's waking up, falling asleep, eating, and breathing.

The other kids have adapted well to Caitlin as well. Anna took about 30 minutes to go from standoffish to melted heart. She has designated herself the diaper changer. And she has changed many a diaper. She loves to get Caitlin up in the morning, unswaddle her, change her, and bring her to me. But before bringing her to me, the girls all have a bonding moment. Anna and McKenna do a "morning dance" with Caitlin. I have yet to see this. Part of me says maybe I don't want to. But down deep I think I want to see it. I love to watch Anna and McKenna interact with her. They love her so much.

And Samuel. Samuel is so gentle with her. He has said many times, "I could hold her for hours and hours". And collectively he has. He gives the sweetest kisses and sings the most caring lullabies. He so wants to have her sleeping in his room. He does, however, want the next pregnancy to result in a brother. (oh dear)

**Side funny: As I nursed Caitlin when she was about a week old Samuel walked into the room and stopped in his tracks. He looked puzzled and said to me, "I thought the thing that she sucked on was on the other side." He had no idea that I could use both sides!

**Side frustration: I struggle with getting the pictures where I want them. I suppose I should just be glad I got them posted.

McKenna, this time around

2011-09-01T21:56:00.003-04:00

McKenna woke up this morning and was lamenting about how much she wanted donuts for breakfast. I wasn't in the mood to go get any at a moments notice so I offered to make cinnamon rolls. You know, since no one delivers donuts. She agreed that cinnamon rolls would suffice. We went downstairs and I. kid. you. not. there were donuts on the table. Apparently, on a whim while picking up some milk this morning my dad decided to pick up three iced and sprinkled donuts. And delivered them back to the dining room table. (This reminded me of the time that McKenna sadly looked into the yard on a Sunday morning and said, "I wish we had a play house..." At that moment dad was in the garage assembling the one that had been purchased the day before. It was constructed and in the yard before we got home from church.) This girl has some odd timing for her requests.

Yesterday McKenna was circling the toys that she would like from a specialty toy catalogue that came in the mail. Samuel looked over her shoulder and asked if she would like to have the laptop. "Laptop? That's not a laptop. That's a 'learning tool for the next generation.'" Seriously.

On the night that the girls got "twinkle toes"

2011-08-27T23:16:00.002-04:00

Laura was here tonight.

Anna was showering.

Laura looked a bit confused.

"Is that Anna?"

I replied. Yes.

I realized. Not everyone is used to the white noise that our family has grown accustomed to when Anna showers.

Anna sings.

She sings loud. She sings opera. (Or at least opera-like) She sings in what sounds like Latin.

And we don't even notice.

But Laura laughed. She laughed because we didn't even notice that there was a second grader singing Latin opera from the bathroom.

Doesn't that happen everywhere?

It only took 33 years

2011-08-24T22:02:00.002-04:00

At the expense of my dear children, and over the course of two days, I may have just won my first game of monopoly. Ever. Until today I thought I had mastered losing with efficiency. I loved playing with the kids, though. They were so excited about it. They were SO into the game. At one point near the end of the game Anna looked at me and said, "You can have all of my properties (all of which were mortgaged) and give my $2000. Take it or leave it, Sister." I have no idea where she gets her competitive nature (smirk).

Perspectives

2011-08-22T23:03:00.002-04:00

Samuel has had such sweet prayers lately. They have one consistent element. "Dear God, please help Caitlin to get unstuck and for mommy to not have public pain." Love. It.

Anna is coming around to the idea of having a baby in the house. She will deny excitement if asked directly about her enthusiasm. If you just talk to her about the Caitlin in general she is very excited.

McKenna is just nervous about me being in the hospital. She's not looking forward to me being gone at night. How quickly she's grown accustomed to me being home at night. Not going to lie, I have, too. Going back to work whenever I do will be easier at night than during the day, but I sure do enjoy my nights at home!

Season still pending, and more

2011-07-21T22:16:00.002-04:00

With the potential end of the NFL lockout later tonight, it is fitting to report that there were some football conversations at home today as well. I put McKenna's hair into a ponytail this morning, using the first ponytail holders I grabbed. They were green and white and McKenna looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. "Mom, those are JETS colors! (audible gasp)" She later asked me for Colts tickets for her birthday this fall.

Samuel spent part of the evening outside driving his race car. He was completely outfitted with his racing vest, gloves, and cap. At one point he jumped out of the car, stomped up the sidewalk, and went into the house. When he came back out moments later I asked him what was the matter (after reminding him that there was a heat index of 115 and to kindly shut the door to the house, of course). He responded by pointing with an accusing finger to his pedal car and said emphatically, "My car stalled!"

Anna is still lobbying for a dog. I have decided that I might pay for her first tattoo before I pay for her first dog. Tattoos are less maintenance. I wonder if my position might be too hard and fast on the whole dog thing. I have no desire to add a dog to the family, but I absolutely love to watch Anna play with other people's dogs. You know, the ones that the other people take care of.

We were able to capture Caitlin's heartbeat on a recorder today at the OB. Build-a-bear, here we come. Again.

At our last appointment, we had another ultrasound and the tech asked if we would like her to turn on the 4D imaging. Um, yeah... We were able to see some amazing images of our little girl. I think she looks a lot like Samuel. It's so odd to think that already, instead of merely wondering if she who she will look like. The tech said that it looked like she already had some visible hair. THAT leaves me wondering. We've had such baldies that I can't imagine having a newborn with any substantial amount of hair!

(Still nameless)

2011-05-21T22:49:00.003-04:00

It's old news around here by now, but the scales will officially be tipped to the girl side with the arrival of our (still nameless) baby in September. We took the kids with us for the ultrasound earlier this month. Anna went in with her "I-still-don't-want-another-baby-in-the-family" chip on her shoulder. It was fun to watch the monitor and be able to recognize things before the technician pointed them out. I was much more excited, after working at Riley for a year, to see a complete spine and other body parts than I was to know if the baby was a boy or girl. I think that's ultimately why I didn't even want to know the gender. I just wanted to see the heart, spine, palate... The technician asked the girls if they could read. They responded that they could, and McKenna popped out of her chair to come over and see that the tech had typed "GIRL" on one of the images. McKenna yelled out, "It's a girl!"

I remember the kids' reactions more than Chris' or mine. Anna sat with her arms crossed and announced, "I wanted it to be a boy." (Naturally.) McKenna was all smiles, bouncing around the room. Samuel sat by my side, trying so hard to be stoic. His little chin and lip just quivered until he meekly said, "I wanted it to be a brother."

The updated status is that Anna seems to be much more excited. The hasn't in the last week made any comments, to me anyway, about not wanting another baby in the family. She's been excited about the purchases we've made for the (still nameless) baby. She's spoken in much more positive tones about her. Anna still thinks that Montana should be the name of choice. McKenna is talking to the baby every day, rubbing my belly, telling the (still nameless) baby how much she is loved. McKenna has been suggesting names that are reasonable, just not ones that we want to use. Samuel has come to terms with being the only boy. He's about as verbal about baby-excitement as I would expect a 5 year old boy to be. He thinks that it's pretty neat that he and I will be the only two in the house who have three sisters.

***

Anna recently asked to learn to play monopoly. We spent an afternoon this week (in May) sitting in front of a fire, playing monopoly. All five of us. So fun. Until Chris and I realized that we grew up with completely different sets of house rules. Still fun.

Some more Samuel moments that I don't want to go forgotten.

1. There is nothing better than watching Samuel hoe the garden, see an airplane fly low overhead, and go chasing it across the yard. Unless it's followed by watching that same little boy eat an ice cream cone on the swing. (sigh) Love these moments.

2. At dinner the other night Samuel looked at Nana and said, "I know what you mean by (insert hand gesture quotations) 'your girls'." And he listed Nana's daughters. But seeing the hand motions was so cute.

3. The kids were listening to "Stayin' Alive" in the van today. Sam was singing along then yelled, "Take it away, Girls!" And the girls started singing right where he left off. I was thankful to be stopped at a light because I was in tears I as laughing so hard!

Time Fillers

2011-05-08T06:06:00.001-04:00

So lately, my girls have been spending a lot of time playing three things.

1. Day Care
2. Orphanage
3. Runaway Slave

I'm left wondering where they are getting their inspriation.

What's left of my memory

2011-04-23T01:29:00.004-04:00

The last time I posted, I knew we were pregnant again...but now I don't remember if anyone else knew or not by then. I've thought more than once, "oh, I should post that." You know, so that someday I'll remember. But then I don't remember to post it once I sit down. And so it has gone for the last three months.

As many of these posts have been, forthcoming is a smattering of things that I remember that I don't want to forget. And I don't want to know how many I've already forgotten.

Plane tickets have been booked for the kids and I to hit the skies and head to DC to visit Carrie and Jordan for a couple of days before the crowining glory of the summer. The annual OBX trip. Nothing compares. Except maybe seeing how excited the kids are to fly to DC and eat at Georgetown Cupcakes. Samuel had a bit of concern evident in his voice this morning, though. He said over breakfast, "I hope we don't get on the wrong plane..." I assured him that I would make sure that we got on the right plane, told him about the tickets, checkpoints, etc. Anna said she didn't want to end up in Iowa. Wouldn't that be a letdown compared to DC... McKenna, the voice of reason, piped up that it would be OK if we ended up on the wrong plane, as long as that plane took us to Mexico. "I can do all the talking if we end up there since I know Spanish."

We've had a lot of conversations about Spanish lately, actually. Not in Spanish, just about it. For example, why is Spanish the language spoken in Mexic? I went into a little talk about explorers and such and McKenna sat with mouth open wide. "Wow, that must have been a LONG time ago." Yes, indeed it was, by the standard of her few years. "It must have been before 1985..." Yes, indeed it was.

We only have 5 more days of officialy schooling this year. And that's just because I'm drawing it out. Again. I think I don't like to end because that means that then we'll have a kindergartner, 1st grader, and 2nd grader. And I'm just not ready for that. It's my "Rebekah inspired mentality". I'm not ready to be a parent of K, 1, and 2 students...

Samuel learned how to ride his bike last month. One of his training wheels was broken. He asked Pops to fix it, and the end result was that he rode around the driveway with just one training wheel for a couple of minutes before having the second training wheel removed. The first time he tried with no training wheels, he was off and riding. Seriously. I was dreading teaching him to ride this summer. I've already determined that I am not cut out for teaching bike riding. (Beowulf I've got covered, at least in the elementary version. Seriously. We did that this week. Bike riding? Not so much.) I about lost my mind with each of the girls the last two summers. As it turns out, nothing to worry about there. The bigger trick will be keeping him from going at breakneck speed all summer. It's a good thing I know the way to Riley. (For McKenna, too. She's taken to teaching herself tricks on the bike. Riding side saddle across the yard, letting go with both hands... Yes, it's a good thing I know where to park at Riley.)

Anna is our baby lover. Well, she's a baby lover, but not so much ours, though I see that changing ever so slightly in the last couple of weeks. She has verbalized some anxiety about how life will change after the baby is born in September. She's worried about how we'll still have time to love her with a baby that takes up so much time. Anna is drawn to every other baby in the world. I am certain that she will fall in love with this baby the instant that she sees it, holds it, loves on it. I would love for that to happen sooner, but I think that having her see Chris and I love her continually and show added love for her new sibling will be tremendously helpful. The most involved that she's been has to think up lists of baby names. Always topping the girl list are "Hannah" and "Montana". (She's never seen or heard Hannah Montana, just picked up the name from being out and about.) We've told her that we don't really want the name Montana, and that Hannah might be a little too confusing at our house. Really. Nana. Anna. Hannah. I would never call anyone by the right name.

Today (well, yesterday, technically) was Good Friday. After work I was laying on Nana and Pops' bed with McKenna and Samuel. We had just turned off their new favorite show (Jake and the Neverland Pirates) when I asked them if they knew what day it was. McKenna knew it was Friday and Samuel's eyes lit up and he squeaked, "It's GOOD Friday!" They were able to tell me what the significance of Good Friday is. They knew that it was the day that Christ was crucified. They knew that He didn't stay dead. They knew that we celebrate Easter because He rose again, fulfilling the promises of Scripture. He is our Saviour. He is the only means of forgiveness of sins. My heart was glad. I don't want it to be a trite story to them. It's not. It's truth. It's so so much more than a story. I want them to know the story, but also for it to take root in theirl lives. To change them. To transform them. I was taking all this in, praying silently for their futures. Samuel interrupted my thoughts and said, "Mama, I want Jesus to be MY Saviour. I want him to forgive MY sins and live in MY heart." Oh, sweet boy... And so, with his sister looking on, Samuel prayed to ask these things of HIS Saviour. To lead him in such a prayer, to see his heart is one of the greatest priviliges I have ever known. (To have done so with each of our children leaves me speechless.) I will continue to pray for each of them. For Anna, for McKenna, for Samuel, for the baby that is to come. That they will not be childhood decisions that are made for any reason other than pure desire for communion with the God of the Universe. The God that made them. Who loves them. Who sacrified His Son to do for them what they would never be able to do for themselves. What a wonderful Good Friday. And Sunday's coming. I can't wait! (It was so fun to see Sam run to Nana this afternoon and say, "I asked for forgivness! I asked Jesus in my heart!" He jumped up to her just the way a grandson could only do with someone who shares his enthusiasm and shares in this eternal joy.)

linguistics

2011-01-23T16:03:00.002-05:00

"Sam, your enthusiasm is wonderful. I love it!"

"I'm not enthusiasticity..."

The Funnies

2011-01-22T22:10:00.002-05:00

My kids love to read the comics in the Sunday paper, in any other paper they find, and in comic books from the library. Even without reading them, they would produce plenty of their own funnies. I present to you three of my favorites from the last month.

Dad was working at a job site doing something with a nail gun or a drill. (These are perhaps interchangeable since a similar story--on his part--occurred with each.) He inadvertently screwed his finger to a cabinet door. He doctored himself up, not needing the assistance of a medical professional. He relayed this story to us over dinner and then said that it had happened a few days earlier. In commenting that it had healed well and didn't hurt very much he said, "The next day I even had to look at my fingers to see which one it happened to." From across the table, Anna stared in wonder. Finally she said, "Did you pray? Was it a miracle?"

McKenna is troubled. She said in a panic the other day, "My hair is turning yellow!" (gasp!) When we asked what color it used to be..."blonde." She was serious.

Samuel... Drat. I can't remember. Although today in the OSU vs. Illinois game he said that he was going to cheer for Ohio. But, "Don't tell Daddy. He won't be very happy with me because he doesn't like Ohio."

'tis the season

2010-12-03T23:27:00.003-05:00

On Wednesday night coming home from church Anna asked me what day it was. (Wednesday, December 1st, of course.) Nope. Correct answer was, "The first day of Honda". I assumed that she meant Hanukkah, so I asked what she knew about it. "Well, they had oil and burned lights for a lot of days." Who did? "The Judases."

Historical clarification is in order.

Introductions

2010-11-24T23:02:00.001-05:00

Disco Clarks, meet Kung Fu Clarks:

Thankful for forgetfulness

2010-11-20T22:45:00.003-05:00

One good one for each kiddo...

Anna: Driving home from Ft. Wayne this morning, Anna noticed a flea market. Inquiring minds want to know, "Mom, do they sell midgets at the flea market?" It was nothing short of a miracle that my first response was to clarify if she meant "gadgets". She did. Max Anders would be proud of my translation skills.

McKenna: I took the kids this afternoon down to Riley for the family tours of the new Simon Family Tower. It is nothing short of amazing. It will take some getting used to, though, because it is SO different than our current set up. Anyway...we were riding down from the 9th floor to the main level and had a long walk through the corridors to get back to the coat rack (and more importantly, to the kids, the snacks). The elevator's occupants were: myself, Anna, McKenna, Samuel, and the CEO of Riley. I knew who he was and am hopeful that he does not know who I am. I am thankful that I forgot my clarian ID. McKenna pipes up (in random McKenna fashion) to Mr. CEO, "Guess what I had for lunch?" I know what she had for lunch so I know this is going nowhere good. He plays along. "What did you have for lunch?" McKenna is frank. "My mom gave me one slice of an apple." Seriously? I work on the unit with kids who have feeing issues. I am supposed to know something about nutrition and what kids ought to eat. He looked at me quizzically. All I could do was truthfully admit that she did in fact have a very large breakfast. I stopped there. I figured the more I talked the worse it would get. But it was a very long walk back to the snacks. Which Mr. CEO watched my children devour. Great.

Samuel: OK, he gets 2. He's a funny kid. First, he announced recently that he wants to move to Canada. Why, you may ask? Well, because "I like the sound of the common loon and I think they have more common loons in Canada than Indiana." Our study of birds is paying off more than I thought. Second, we've been going back and forth between underwear and pull ups at night for him. The other morning he headed to the bathroom, unzipped his jammies and exclaimed, "I forgot I was wearing underwear!" Even knowing the context it was a very funny thing to hear. Alright, he gets 3. But they're all short. Samuel has taken to calling the Simon Family Tower something different. He calls it "The Tower of Doom". Perhaps that's a name that shouldn't stick. Not so good for a children's hospital!

Getting back on the wagon

2010-11-15T22:13:00.015-05:00

Well. I'm still here. Likely the only one, but that's OK.

How do I recap the past 9 weeks? With great gaps, I'm sure.

The highlights include...

We started in with the Iron Sharpening Iron homeschool co-op. Love. It. Sam and McKenna are doing the traditional style preschool and kindergarten classes. Anna is taking PE (she says, play and exercise) and ballet.

The girls ran in the elementary cross country race sponsored by Noblesville's cross country team. It was good fun for everyone, including McKenna. I know that actions speak louder than words and pictures are worth 1,000 words, but I promise, she did have fun. They each ran a half mile and did very well for their kindergarten and first grade divisions. McKenna came in at 4:07 and Anna ran 3:35.

We spent a rainy fall day at a local elk farm. Seeing elk. Feeding deer. Spending time.

We made a long overdue trip to Alabama. While we were there Chris and I decided it was time to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We did so in some fine NCAA football style and watched Alabama roll over Florida. It was when they were still ranked first and looked every bit as good as their ranking. It was an absolutely perfect day and night. Now I can be a real fan since I've been to a home game!

On the way home we spent a day in Nashville. I always love driving through, so it was fun to stop. We continued the kids' history lessons at the replica of the Parthenon. We had been reading about ancient civilizations and our timing could not have been more perfect. Have I mentioned that I love homeschooling. We are definitely a work in progress, but I love the opportunities it has already afforded our family.

We've played in the leaves. Lots of leaves. Lots of leafy clothes through the wash... (I cannot figure out how not to have this underlined. The button is missing...)

Anna turned 7 last month. That's hard to get my mind around. She is such a sweet girl. I love that she still likes to hold my hand when we walk though the store. She's a snuggler. Loves to snuggle on the couch and doesn't leave Chris' lap when he's home. She regularly finds her mistakes in her schoolwork before being corrected. She loves to learn. Asks fabulous questions. Loves babies. And the show Animal Cops. She's turned her daddy's world upside down and declared herself an Auburn fan. She's definitely sporting the missing teeth look very well. This year she wanted a donut cake. Thanks to Dunkin Donuts, she got one. And we have listened to nothing but TobyMac since 10/22.

Another field trip was to a local farm and pumpkin patch with the co-op. The kids had a great time and after working all night before hand, I can proudly say that I stayed awake the whole time! (I guess adjusting to the whole night shift thing can be another milestone in the last couple months.)

A friend and I took our kids and a friend to the Indianapolis Symphony for the first time as well. It was pure joy for me to watch my girls as their faces lit up at the start of the first piece. They were loving it. We also took the kids to the top of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument downtown. All 8 of us squeezed into the itsy bitsy elevator for the rides up and down.

To celebrate the girls' birthdays this fall we invited a couple of their friends to go ice skating with us. They all did remarkably well. McKenna ended up with a massive bruise on her elbow and upper arm, but we avoided the ER. Success!

Samuel continues to delight me with his take on life. He tends to use the largest word in his vocabulary to describe mundane things. He came outside today to ask me to help him snap his pants after his latest trip to the bathroom. I encouraged him to do it himself. He fiddled with the snap, looked up at me and said with pure desperation, "I just don't fink I'll ever get the hang of dis..."

McKenna. So sweet. I found her sitting on the steps tonight well after her appointed bed time. She wanted me to snuggle with her a while to help her fall asleep. I climbed up onto her top bunk and asked her why she couldn't sleep. She didn't know. I asked, "Did you have your eyes closed?" "No, not exactly," she replied. "Were you trying to read in the dark again?" (prolonged pause) "Rats. You got me." It might have been the pile of a dozen books that gave it away...

Brains and braun: the whole package

2010-09-08T22:55:00.006-04:00

We're studying creation right now for school. It's been fun to spend the last couple of weeks breaking it down with the kids. When I was reviewing the material with them one day I asked Samuel, "What had God not yet created after day 5?" Tricky question with the wording and all...I knew that...I wanted to see if he could think through what I was asking. Without missing a beat he said, "day 6". I've been had. Again.

Sam's also taken to creating a new version of croquet. Using an 8# shot and a sledgehammer on concrete.

Using a different mirror

2010-09-02T22:50:00.002-04:00

I was thrilled a few days back to get Samuel out of bed...well, my parents' bed where he'd been snuggled up watching morning cartoons. He looked so little surrounded by the bed covers and pillows. I scooped him up and said, "I love you, little man." He eagerly wrapped his arms around me and said, "I love you, big mama."

What? Big Mama? Me?

Apparently that's not exactly what he meant. "You're not fat all over, mama. Just on the sides."

Good for a thousand laughs and counting.

And with pictures!

2010-08-29T23:16:00.004-04:00

Samuel had his first shiner recently. You can't tell from this picture, but he sported it proudly. He looked in the mirror early on and said, "Oh, it was purple yesterday and now it's blue". I told him to expect other colors and that it would get back to normal in a few days. He thought lots of colors was going to be pretty cool!

Some months ago I promised the kids that if I got a job I would take them to see Toby Mac in concert this summer. I got the job. We saw the show. The kids and I trekked to South Bend to attend the World Pulse Festival, or at least the last quarter of it. The kids made the best of a sticky (due to the heat) situation and bounced their little legs wiggly on the bounce houses in the Kids' Zone. By the time they were done there, Amy Grant was finishing up her 90's set (serious de ja vu for me) and we headed over for the main event. During the show it was determined that

1. Anna enjoys a concert in true Kinnaman fashion. Mostly sitting, a little clapping, and a blank look. She later verbalized that it was "awesome."

2. McKenna is a better dancer than I could ever hope to be. She volunteered to teach me to dance but I think she's already determined me a lost cause. At one point I tried to dance like she was and appropriately, Toby said at that moment, "Stop!" McKenna thought it was because I was dancing. I don't remember the real reason he addressed the crowd like this. Perhaps she was right...

3. A concert is a great place to throw a tantrum. It was super hot and Samuel was probably a little out of his league in terms of endurance requirements for the day. He wavered between having a great time and flailing on the ground having a fit. Due to the loud music, he bothered no one. I hardly even noticed.

Anna is now missing a top tooth. Her smile is adorable, her lisp minimal. She is counting the days until she gets to go to co-op for ballet and PE. (Side note: She called PE "PC" earlier in the summer when we were shopping for new running shoes. When she realized that the correct terminology was "PE" she informed me that it should stand for "play and exercise" instead of "physical education".)

McKenna has new running shoes and thinks they're pretty great. She's confident that she won't come in last in her kindergarten half mile race this fall. :) We've had the it-doesn't-matter-what-place-you-finish-if-you-try-your-best conversation and she thinks that finishing last is OK, but these shoes will ensure that she doesn't. She is reading (er, "guessing the words") very well, even though she claims that she can't read.

Samuel is ornery. No doubt about it. He was, for the second night in a row being quite the pill at bedtime tonight. He knew that he had ignored and disobeyed me. He knew what that brought last night. As he got into his pajamas tonight he told me, "You are the nicest and best mommy. Nicer than the other kid's moms. Nicer than all the kids' moms." Nice comment, for sure. I will remember it always. Half because he then admitted that he said it because he thought it would want to hear it and it would get him out of trouble. Suddenly, bedtime seems like a small issue!

He might as well be a limo driver

2010-08-02T22:50:00.003-04:00

Samuel loves his red tricycle. He's got to be close to putting a hundred miles on those tires this summer. Recently he discovered that he can peddle it standing up. I mentioned to him that if he was going to ride like that he ought to wear his helmet. He replied, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm a professional" and peddled off.

If

2010-06-16T21:16:00.002-04:00

...I've run a proverbial nursing marathon then this must the "sprint" (if there's any left) to the finish. From this vantage point the past 26 miles weren't as hard as I thought they would be. Next week I'll reflect and likely think they were harder than they really were.

Another hodgepodge of things to remember

2010-04-09T22:25:00.003-04:00

According to my sweet son, I am "cuter than a baby baboon". I smile every time I think about him saying that.

We took the kids to the NCAA Final Four team practices and college All Star game last week. It was a beautiful day in Indy and we made some fun memories. The kids didn't care so much about the basketball, just that it was at Lucas Oil Stadium. Funniest thing of the day was when McKenna was watching the game and a Hershey's player drove the lane and hit a lay up with the Reece's players not playing much defense. With binoculars at her eyes she yells, "Don't they know how to block?!" The kids were also thrilled to be able to try Steak 'n Shake's new tropical punch kool-aid milkshakes. I tasted one. They taste just like the name sounds.

Anna is nearing the end of her kindergarten year at our (still unnamed) homeschool. I realized today that I have subconsciously been stretching this out as long as I can. She could have met all of her required days a couple of weeks ago. I'm just hanging onto the fact that my oldest is still IN kindergarten and hasn't yet completed it.

Perhaps most remarkably, we were able to get a good picture of the kids together, each child separately, and our whole family on Easter. No, that's not the remarkable part, though in itself it really is. The most remarkable part is that EACH of those was obtained on the first try. I never thought the day would come...

48 Capstone hours done, 64 to go. Graduation is one month away.

2010-03-23T23:39:00.002-04:00

What a fantastic day...a Mommy-date with the kids at Starbucks (hooray for free pastry day! and dark cherry mochas!), a day of fun and learning at the Children's Museum (without losing any children, even for a minute!), the girls' class at the library (and one on one reading about trucks and spiderman with Samuel), playtime in the yard (the wagon and super-fun swing are fixed!), almost an hour of reading to the kiddos (about Ruby Bridges followed by Little House on the Prairie)...

This week's quotables:

Anna playing with her dolls this week asking them which one wanted to do the "dusting and brooming"

McKenna asked me if the reason for my success in the wii fit games was "because of all my weight".

Samuel sang an original song to me in the car on the way to the museum. (He does this a lot, usually to 'sing me to sleep' during the middle of the day.) He sang "I love you, I love you, you love us so much, you love us so much, you love Jesus too, you love Jesus too, I love you, I love you". Of course I asked him to sing it again. The second rendition had completely different lyrics. "Please be nice all day, don't be upset with me, I love you, I love you".

Couldn't make this up

2010-02-24T22:29:00.002-05:00

In a random moment while getting ready for bed Samuel announced, "I'm going to change my socks every day 'til Jesus comes back." Oh, these kiddos make me smile...

I love when Samuel speaks...

2010-02-18T23:08:00.003-05:00

In a recent prayer Samuel was "thankful for Kansas", essentially so that they could keep all the tornados.

When I mentioned at home that our cohort lost a classmate after last semester Samuel sat quietly. Then he asked me if we looked everywhere for her.

In the spirit of the Olympics and having fun with the new wii game we taught Samuel how to ski jump with the balance board. He told my mom about it but it went more like, "I did the new game and I was a snowball but not every time". We had to fill in the gap. When the mii character falls off of the jump it tumbles down the hill and forms a large snowball around the person. After some practice Samuel was able to go from snowball to successful.

Samuel still tells me almost every day that we're best buddies.

Vitual hide and seek

2010-02-03T23:07:00.003-05:00

Mom? Mom! MOMMY! MOMMMMMEEEEEEE!! Where arrrrrrre you?

Since my last post McKenna turned 5, we managed to make it through finals and a miserable retail schedule, celebrated a wonderful Christmas, Samuel turned 4, 24 started again, and I started my last semester of nursing school.

I'm not feeling very witty because I'm still in resume writing mode. Ugh.

I should document, though, that one of my favorite parts of Christmas was when Samuel made me an ornament that said, "Hallelujah! I love you! I hope you don't get in a tornado. Love, Samuel"

Countdown to graduation...Three months and 6 days

At bedtime...again

2009-11-12T00:01:00.001-05:00

Me: Samuel, try to keep your pull-up dry tonight, okay?

Sam: Why?

Me: Well, I just know that you can. And pull-ups are kind of expensive. I don't want us to have to keep spending money on pull-ups if you don't need them.

Sam: Well...I would want to spend money on pull-ups.

Bedtime funnies

2009-11-04T21:43:00.004-05:00

Tonight at bedtime with the girls...

McKenna: Dear Elohim, Thank you for being a good God. Thank you for forgiving my sins. Be with Daddy. Keep him safe on the way home from Lafayette. Thank you for my family. Amen. Hey mom...did you know Elohim is another name for God?

Me: Yes, I know.

McKenna: Mrs. Swingle taught me that tonight. She's great. Anna, it's your turn to pray.

Anna: Dear Halloween. No, that's not it. Dear Heloise. No. Dear Eloise. No. Dear Mayonnaise. Shoot, that's not it either.

McKenna: Anna, maybe you should just say "God" instead. I'll teach you the other name tomorrow.

And with Samuel...

God, thank you for giving me a mommy. And thank you that my mommy is my mommy. (That's reason number 578 that I love three year old boys.)

Couldn't get 'em at Kroger even if I wanted to

2009-10-31T00:12:00.002-04:00

The next running grocery list has been started. I saw it tonight when I thought about adding something to it. I decided against it because I thought it was cute that someone (ahem, Anna) had already started "the list". In cute little kindergarten manuscript it reads:

Dog

Puppy

Things to be left unsaid

2009-10-07T22:50:00.002-04:00

Made it to clinical on time. Almost.

Got message that Chris had to work on day of "Fall Birthday" celebration for our girls, my mom, and all of my sisters.

Chris got schedule changed to accommodate our Saturday plans.

Chris's schedule for today got changed.

Chris contacted the greatest babysitters in the world.

Dad stood in the gap after Chris left.

Babysitter arrived.

Dad walked into town to pick up his truck since his ride (Chris) had gone to Lafayette.

I have minor meltdown at school.

I get the front and center slot at the flu clinic giving shots.

I hope my eyes aren't still puffy.

In walks the local news crew, camera man included.

Camera man was not my cousin.

I said I never wanted to be on the news. It was a life goal.

I was on the news.

I assumed that everyone read their news online.

I walked into Bible study.

I hear, "I JUST SAW YOU ON THE NEWS!"

Cat's out of the bag

2009-10-05T21:01:00.002-04:00

My son has a secret talent. He can stand atop a climbing apparatus at the playground and pee his pants. Without getting A SINGLE DROP of urine on his pants.

Good story...

2009-09-18T22:09:00.003-04:00

Mom and I took the kiddos out to dinner tonight (where McKenna was shocked to find a "carving knife" in her silverware wrap) and then did a little bit of hunting for a coat for Anna this winter. We ended up at Kohl's, naturally. There were only a couple of styles that we could find. Before heading for greener pastures (home...bedtime) Mom asked an employee if there were any other girls coats. The woman said, "It's a little early for those." From her place in the store's stroller McKenna piped up, "Well, then why are you playing Christmas music and selling Christmas things when it's still summer?" The Kohl's lady had to admit, "You make a good point..."

Just another day

2009-08-28T23:36:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday of this week Rebekah and I were laughing about the way it is when you get toward the end of a degree. You approach the start of a new semester with a different question. It's no longer a question of "what will this be like?" or "how will I manage?" It becomes the question of "did classes start today? or yesterday? have I missed it?"

Oh, the foreshaddowing.

On Wednesday morning I was enjoying a bagel as I read the newspaper. I was just into the front section. I always leave my favorite sections for last. I enjoy the paper much more if I end with Baby Blues, Mallard Fillmore, and oh goodness...the strip with Jeremy and his parents. The name escapes me. At any rate, I was enjoying the paper and really enjoying my bagel. I was thinking about how nice it is to have homemade jam. It was toasted perfectly. Chris and the kids were all omletted and pop-tarted up in the other room. It was quiet. I had coffee. It was still hot.

And the phone rang.

My fellow nursing student is on the other end of the line. "What are you doing?" she whispers. I reply with a chipper voice, "reading the paper and eating a bagel. What are you do--" Oh dear. I realize before my sentence is finished that perhaps if she really wanted to know about my breakfast she would have asked in a different tone. It hit me like a ton of bricks that I was not where I was supposed to be.

I was, at that moment, creating a first-impression with my clinical instructor. My clinical instructor who was sitting at the Marion County Health Department with 9 other students. I was already 45 minutes late. Not showered. Teeth not brushed. (Because of course, I had to finish my breakfast before I headed out to the dental appointment that I had scheduled for later in the morning.)

Nice. I really did miss knowing when the first day of class was.

____________________________________________________

Also, I had a tough conversation with Sam this week. He was BEGGING me to go over to his friend Master's house. Master is is newest imaginary friend. Newest being third in line after Jonathan and Jennifer. But they're not gone yet. Master is also Jonathan's friend. You might remember that they live in South Harbor.

Anyway, I play along and tell him that I haven't talked to Master's mother and that he won't be able to have a play date tonight.

We go inside a few minutes later and Samuel immediately goes to the toy telephone in the dining room. He punches a few numbers and begins a one-sided conversation. He covers the phone to tell me that he's talking to Master's mom. Apparently, she says it's OK for him to come over.

The poor boy was heartbroken that I still wouldn't let him go. Real tears for an imaginary friend.

A longer phase than expected

2009-08-09T21:57:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Samuel informed me while we were driving that I was no longer to call him Sam or Samuel or Sammy. Apparently, his new name is "Cute and Cuddly". He has maintained this for 10 days and has introduced himself to strangers (at the high school band's ice cream social) as such. He gets quite the reaction.

Repurposing furniture

2009-07-27T21:24:00.003-04:00

These children are playing with the "swirling sawdust workshop" by little tykes. It's a nice toy. Samuel likes his a lot. He likes it so much that today he decided to see if he could use it for more than just playing with tools. It became a stepstool. He pushed it into his open closet, climbed onto the blue top and cleaned off the tops shelf in his closet and got a new shirt to wear (that he of course put on backwards). He pushed it over to the bed where he climbed onto the blue part and took all the pillows off of the top bunk bed. He pushed it over to the other side of the room and got the trains off of the shelf. You know, the ones that he's not allowed to play with. And he got Chris' childhood toys to play with. Perhaps the tree-climbing and rope-swing swinging have been TOO good for his strength and agility. Maybe tomorrow we should just work puzzles.

Our weekly trip to the library netted an interesting choice. McKenna chose 3 Barbie books and a Dale Earnhardt Jr. biography. Huh. Weird.

Not this time

2009-07-21T22:13:00.002-04:00

It's true. Sometimes I get irritable. Irritated. Sometimes I'm not proud of the way that I respond to situations. Sometimes I wish I could push a "do-over" button.

Last week I took the kids to Chick-fil-A and had to bring the food that we planned to eat there home to eat (because McKenna threw up all over the dining room as we waited in line to order our meals. Did I mention that it was cow appreciation day and that the kids and I were all dressed like cows? It was a crazy mess.).

Anyway...we brought our food home. McKenna didn't eat hers and I put the her lemonade in the fridge, thinking that she might want it the next day.

Later that night Samuel waltzed into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door, and asked if he could have the lemonade.

I CALMLY replied (with no irritated tone whatsoever) that no, he could not have the lemonade.

He swirled around and dramatically left the kitchen swinging his arms and saying, "Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. Mommy's grumpy, grumpy, grumpy..."

Only this time...I WASN'T!

The obvious

2009-07-04T23:36:00.003-04:00

We braved the late night and took the kids to see the fireworks (that started about 3 hours after usual bedtime). The kids and their buddies from church were having a grand time with the glo-sticks that we took along for the pre-firework entertainment. After the main show was started, progressing, and entering the finale, Samuel yells with enthusiasm, "IT'S LIKE THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!"

Yes, buddy, it was a lot like that.

Then he finished, "But it's not. It's July 2nd."

??????

Funny little guy

2009-06-30T22:05:00.004-04:00

Samuel just cracks me up. All the time. Almost. But definitely at bedtime. Last night he asked me if God was really everywhere.

"Yes", I told him, "God is everywhere all that the same time--cool, huh?"

He replied, "Huh. So, he's at Meijer right now."

***

Last week all the girls in the fam (plus Sam) met in Kokomo for lunch at MacAllister's and to do a "what needs to get transferred to/from South Bend/Noblesville" lunch. It was fabulous.

The night before we left Dad told Sam his nightly "Alex" story. (Alex is really Sam. It's basically an exaggerated recap of the Sam's day's activities.) Alex was going to Kokomo tomorrow...

Samuel gets out of bed.

I put him back in bed. I tell him he needs to go to sleep so that he can be rested to go to Kokomo tomorrow.

"WHAT? ALEX IS GOING TO KOKOMO, TOO!!!"

I left in stitches.

First attempt

2009-06-02T21:47:00.003-04:00

Samuel is into everything lately. It doesn't seem like we had this issue with him when he began crawling or with the girls at all. Maybe I was too tired to remember.

Tonight Sam came out of the bathroom sporting an impish grin. I could hardly ask him "what" before he proudly announced, "I shorted my hair!" He then showed me the little blue safety siscors that had early been used to trim thistles by the grill. (We're all about repurposing around here.) He told me that his hair was getting too long so he shorted it.

My response? Yank out the video camera and have him retell the story. For posterity. Of course.

Day late and a dollar short

2009-05-19T21:54:00.003-04:00

Not Me Monday has come and gone. And here I am.

This week I did not (cough) fix my cell phone by using scotch tape. I did not just look at my computer and cause it's demise. I am not currently afraid to plug anything in and then wonder if it will work. Not me.

I did not have a conversation with my children about the water cycle. I was not trying to explain to them that rain does not come from Jesus urinating from Heaven. My children would never come up with something so proposterous.

I did not laugh out loud when Samuel got so excited about seeing a "fire department" on the corner tonight. It was not really a fire hydrant.

I did not let my children make new friends with the nicest (really) people sitting next to us at a track meet tonight. I did not catch my daughter asking the nice lady if she had any gum in her purse. The nice lady did not go rummaging through her purse and show said daughter it's entire contents.

At the conclusion of the track meet I did not realize what time it was and still decide to let my little runners take a lap around the track. I did not smile when they ran past me and made it a good half mile before I had to pull them off the track. I did not think the funniest thing was Samuel running backwards past a group of girls doing a cool down and yell "YOU CAN'T CATCH ME!" That would not have been funny at all.

This is not for Rebekah's benefit who currently shares the MckMamma fascination with me.

How to make lipstick

2009-05-15T19:25:00.002-04:00

According to Anna it's quite easy to make lipstick. Take some glue and put it in a bowl. Add whatever color glitter you want. Then add juice to make it the right color.

Not much to say here

2009-05-08T23:20:00.003-04:00

Obviously.

But I can make a list. I can always make a list.

1. Samuel has not spoken of "Jonathan and Jennifer" (his imaginary friends from winter) in over a week. For a while, we couldn't go more than 10 minutes without hearing about them.

2. My summer break is 4 days long. School starts back up in 4 days.

3. Anna began packing for the beach today. She packed a hat, three undershirts, four pair of socks, a pair of tights, and a HelloKitty stuffed "face" (not the whole animal). She admits it's too early to pack pajamas because she might want to wear them and then forget to repack them.

4. I let Samuel pee in the grass outside this week.

Tell it like it is, sister!

2009-04-07T22:56:00.002-04:00

One of the (many, many, many) things that I love about McKenna is that she calls 'em like she sees 'em. Tonight we had sausage in our dinner. This is still kind of a big deal for me because I've been anti-sausage since attending Christmas on the Prairie at Conner Prairie when I was in 6th grade...but that's another story. McKenna wonders aloud why we weren't having bacon. Um, because it doesn't do as well mixed with noodles? She often catches me off guard. The next question was the one that made me laugh (the other was just the lead-in). "So...what kind of animal do you have to shoot to get bacon?" Not where does it come from like most kids ask...McKenna just cuts to the chase.

Or this one...

Anna and McKenna were talking about the possible drawbacks of going to the beach this summer sans parents. Anna was hesitating a little bit. She wanted to make sure that she could call us and get the rest of the details ironed out before making a decision. I guess McKenna thought she was taking too long to decide. She cleared her plate and as she walked to the kitchen she said emphatically, "Welp...It looks like just one kid is goin' to the beach." I love that kid!

The only thing left to do...

2009-04-03T22:16:00.002-04:00

...is plant a sunflower. After the homeschool convention today, I feel energized and ready to tackle the academic and social rigors of kindergarten with Anna! I'm certain that she's going to fly through her math. She was whizzing along tonight. I'm glad she's excited about it, but how do I keep her under control until we "start" teaching her? It'll fill in any gaps, but I anticipate that we may end up looking for some extra material by, say, September. McKenna is chomping at the bit to start her handwriting book, too. Samuel didn't ask for anything but chocolate milk when I got home. (sigh, he's so cute) He's happy to be read to and I'm loving that. I'll read "Wocket in my Pocket" (I mean, recite....) for many more months with joy. This is a lot of rambling. It's just how I'm feeling after getting all pumped up about homeschool. Oh, and we're letting Anna choose where we start in her sciences. She picked birds over planets (sorry, Laura) and plants. She'll be delighted to know that she gets to learn about bats and butterflies, too.

Oh, and since it's time to come up with our school name I suppose I'm open to suggestions. Anna thinks it ought to be "Clark Family School". I can ramble well right now, but thinking up some clever or meaningful name is a bit too focused for me right now.

Risks of vaccinations

2009-04-01T22:14:00.002-04:00

OK, I know that with vaccines, especially live vaccines, there are risks. I firmly believe that the befits outweigh the risks. Seriously, I think if people had to see all the miserable diseases that they prevent on a regular basis that there would be fewer people who choose not to vaccinate their children.

So, when I took the girls last week to get their vaccines, I was cheery about it. I'd much rather have a grumpy girl for an afternoon (likely) than deal with the full blown disease. I was probably the most giddy person to visit the health department that day.

The experience was miserable. Bad idea. Not the vaccines. Taking all three kids by myself. Bad idea. Anna went first. I knew the nurse giving her the shots. She had to call in reinforcements. I knew her, too. Anna is strong. I got a nice upper body workout just holding her still for her turn. McKenna? Wailing in the corner before her turn. Samuel? Wailing in the chair. He isn't due until next year. McKenna is little. But she's fiesty. And much stronger than she looks. Again, it took three of us. Anna? Cowering in the corner. Still wailing. Samuel? Still wailing. Never moved from his perfect posture in the chair. He's NEVER been so still. Or so loud. And he's a loud little guy.

Good thing they tried to give them toothpaste (with sparkles, no less!) to make up for the pain. No such luck. I even took them through the secret underground tunnel from the new(er) judicial center to the old court house. Seriously. They continued to wail through the secret tunnel under the road. What kids don't love a secret tunnel? The ones who have just been given the gift of not getting hepatitis, I guess.

The funny part is that McKenna developed her usual spring cough that day. She starts coughing after we get home and despondently tells me that the shots didn't work. "I've got the disease!" For days, "I've got the disease!" over and over and over.

What an experience.

(And somewhere in there, we took Samuel out of his crib for good. It's out of his room. I'm not crying about it. Really. I'm not. I'm glad he's growing up healthy and strong. I am. And I'm not crying. Well, maybe a little bit...)

What not to wear

2009-03-17T21:02:00.002-04:00

What a glorious day! Seriously...75 degrees in mid-March? We enjoyed a full day today...parent conferences for McKenna (she's doing well, no surprise), a special morning just with McKenna (Barnes and Noble--that's my girl!, a picnic, and time at the park), a perfect day at the zoo with all the kiddos, and more running around in the yard. It was great. Just great.

However, if I ever had the chance to do-over the day, I'd reconsider the wardrobes. On a beautiful St. Patrick's Day, I wouldn't take three kids to the zoo who were wearing green t-shirts. EVERY kid at the zoo was wearing a green t-shirt. It would be have been much easier to ID them in a crowd if they had been wearing red.

In every sense of the word

2009-03-14T22:12:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty sure I define "non-traditional college student". The Friday that spring break starts, what am I doing but being at home at 7:30...with my pajamas on...and LOVING IT!

I'll laugh about this one for years!

2009-03-03T14:05:00.002-05:00

Samuel's MDO teachers were teaching about Jesus' miracles last week. They thought that perhaps the kids might not know what wine was, so they decided that for the purpose of having the kids understand that the water became a different kind of drink, they would substitute "kool-aid" for the wine. They are telling the story, they talk about the the water turning into kool-aid, and Samuel yells out, "MY MOM CAN DO THAT!"

Ha!

What's for dinner?

2009-02-24T14:53:00.003-05:00

I'm glad McKenna isn't in charge of planning dinner. If we had it her way, we be eating "homemade deep fried fish stick soup with carrots".

The future cost of free-right-now

2009-02-18T22:14:00.002-05:00

I could go a couple ways with this post...but I'll stick with the one I originally intended. Anna and McKenna had dental visits today. (I think I owe Kate Gosselin a thank you for showing our girls that her kids did so well at their televised visit.) McKenna was a champ. Anna was, as usual going into something stressful, anxious. The verdict on Anna is that, even without her molars in, there's not much room in the back of her mouth. Enter molars. Enter wisdom teeth. I'm no dentist, but that sounds like the making for braces or something in the future. Since neither Chris nor I had braces, I was hoping we could get through without the kids needing them. Things could change, but it didn't sound good today. Free (nice insurance!) today never sounded so expensive in the future.

Note to McKenna.

2009-02-15T21:37:00.003-05:00

Do not open until you turn 12.

I was studying last night and you wanted to help me. We finally decided that the best way for you to help me learn neuro and fluid/electrolyte material was to draw eyes and ears. That didn't satisfy you for long, but knowing that you couldn't read, and didn't have the knowledge bank to quiz me...you had to be more creative.

Please remember that you said, "Mommy, you don't need to study. You're already a nurse. (with emphasis...) AND YOU ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING!"

Love, Mommy

Little memories

2009-01-31T15:09:00.002-05:00

It's hard to imagine the future. I often wonder what things will be like, but it's hard since we never really know what will happen. Sometimes I think that McKenna will just be 4 forever because I can't imagine anything else. The real challenge, I guess, is in the remembering. Remembering the little things. Like how the kids imitate the noise of the coffee grinder...perfectly. Like how Anna doesn't like to have her hair brushed. Like how McKenna much prefers a barette over a ponytail of any sort. Like how Samuel says "twains". Like how sad it is when dress up clothes go from too big to too small. Like how McKenna agrees with me mid meal every night, "You're right! It is good!" Like how Anna sleepwalks into our bedroom every night. Like how fun it is to watch Samuel identify letters and the girls to identify words they know as we read. Like how amazing their memories are. Really, I don't want to forget any of it. The kids' scrapbooks are evidence of my not wanting to forget.

E.C.G.

2009-01-14T22:29:00.003-05:00

Tonight I was so honored to be a part of something special. My friend, my sister in Christ, asked me to come be with her for the birth of her beautiful baby girl. It was so simple, so painfully beautiful. I walked in having the experiences of birthing three children, but never having witnessed a birth without being the laborer. What a joy...

Reality

2009-01-06T21:08:00.002-05:00

McKenna now knows that The Disney Store is not the same as DisneyWorld. We kept it going as long as we could! Now she wants to go to the DisneyWorld that's outside...with REAL princesses. We had a good run...

What we need...

2008-12-21T23:59:00.002-05:00

Tonight was "sugar cookie night" at our house. The dough was ready and the kids were chomping at the bit to get going. The first order of business was to choose the cutters. We have a set that is used every year and some years we throw in a few extras. This year McKenna insisted that we use the cat. "We (she says with a sadly sincere face) need a Christmas cat." Huh. If only she knew how hard I'm working to keep the secret of the Christmas cat that is waiting to come home to us this week! We've been getting daily updates on how our little no-name feline is doing at our cousin's house across town. At any rate, doubling the recipe sounded like a great idea...until midway through the icing. We'll be finishing that tomorrow.

Wha'da ya know...

2008-12-06T23:40:00.002-05:00

Someone other than my family reads this!

Thanks, Erin! I hope our paths cross sometime soon! (That's nothing like neuro pathways, by the way...) :)

Recently...

2008-11-23T20:59:00.003-05:00

McKenna turned four yesterday. In the spirit of celebration we allowed her to choose the birthday dinner of her choice. After attempting to influence her decision, we were left to eat chicken nuggets, mac and cheese (from a box), and carrots. Real carrots. She's my girl, for sure. We like "real carrots" much better than the bagged baby carrots.

Samuel has been a handful lately. His latest antics include telling the workers at church that he's "not allowed" to go to the bathroom at church. This may stem from the fact that a couple weeks ago while in the bathroom at church he unscrewed the soap from underneath the counters. I heard it was a real mess.

Anna is loving finding new words to read wherever we go. She was trying to read the hymnal today but got confused by the hyphens. She struggled with McKenna's birthday yesterday. It was hard for her to not be the center of attention. It's the first time we've ever had to deal with that as parents.

We got about half our our Christmas decorations up tonight. Samuel calls them invitations. We put up lots of invitations. Oh, and his birthday is in the sanctuary. Read, January.

Date with Anna

2008-11-07T21:31:00.002-05:00

Today was a special day for Anna and I. We went with her preschool class to a matinee of Snow White at a local dinner theater. They did a great job of catering to the preschool crowd--juice boxes and rice krispie treats during the show. It was such a joy to watch Anna's expressions as Snow White sang, the dwarfs paraded right by her table, and then Snow White asked her if she was going the right way ("Am I headed east?"). She was just happy to be there. And I was just as happy. We got chinese for lunch. Anna, of course, out cultured me and used chop sticks. I also had to run down to school to drop some things off since I missed class this morning. It was great to run into some people I knew and introduce them to my shy one. Shy until they pulled out the extra Halloween candy, that is...

Anna's take on it all

2008-10-30T11:15:00.003-04:00

Anna asked this morning what a democrat was. We had a very general discussion about different views of government, that republicans and democrats can be friends and no one is a bad person just because they are democrat or republican. No policy discussion, no personal opinions. She asked if I was a democrat. Just a brief, "No". She sits a moment and says, "So, democrats want to play and republicans want to work, huh?"

Measure of a day

2008-10-29T21:57:00.002-04:00

"Sam, did you have a good time at Puggles?"

"Yeah. I didn't even bite anybody!"

Watch out, Mia...

2008-10-18T21:17:00.002-04:00

Anna has played soccer for a grand total of 9 weeks and has made marked improvements over the course of the season. We started the season as parents watching our daughter sit in the corner of the field, unsure this whole "soccer thing". Since week two it's been more Anna-esque. She flits and flutters around the field. She gets the concepts of the game, but she's not aggressive. Until the last ten seconds of the last quarter of the last game of the season. At that point, she gets control of the ball, takes it down the field without letting anyone take the ball from her, and scores a goal. I guess she wanted to make a dramatic statement at the end of the game!

Samuel was a show-stopper, too. Literally. During one of the breaks in Anna's game Saumel took off dribbling the ball. All the way down Anna's field, through the dead space, and into the next field where the U17 coeds were playing. They had to stop the game because a two year old was dribbling his ball through their field. I think they laughed. I couldn't tell because I was laughing too hard as Chris brought him back. Ahhh, memories!

McKenna is just McKenna. I love that. She named her new jaguar stuffed animal "Woofie" after the cat on Princess and the Pauper. (Anna's is "Seraphina".) The names they chose suit them well.

Life is good.

From a different perspective

2008-10-14T22:22:00.002-04:00

The way I see life is the way I see it. Having children makes me see some things from a different view...and I like it. My current favorite ways to see things differently are through Anna's reading. As a child, I loved to be read to. I remember story time at the library--the old one in town. I remember mom reading chapter books to us just as soon as I could sit still (and even when I couldn't). It's even better, though, to be read to by Anna. She finished Go, Dog, Go tonight after plowing through for the last two nights. She was so proud of herself. She was such a good thinker! I love to see things differently in regard to being tucked into bed. I remember loving bedtime as a kid. Dad carried us up the stairs and tucked us in. We heard stories about Ragde Namannik and about crazy young boys who carried lit candles through hay tunnels in the barn. Now I see--I'm the lucky one as a parent. Samuel still loves to be rocked. He loves his bed and his bedtime. He has no idea the joy that his bedtime is for me. Puzzles and games are another thing that I thought I saw correctly for the last 30 years. I didn't. I didn't know the joy of doing them with my daughter. McKenna is a puzzle girl. Sometimes because I can't figure her out. Usually it's because she just loves to put puzzles together.

I wonder what I'll learn next...

Word of the Day

2008-10-08T22:48:00.002-04:00

hannitize /han-eh-tize/ v 1: clean extremities using alcohol based cleanser, contraction of hand and sanitizer 2: the process by which Sean Hannity will potentially "fix" his offspring if child says, "dad, I'm a liberal"

Who knew that this word that my kids made up would be heard on national television?

Sam's Day

2008-10-05T21:35:00.003-04:00

If Samuel had a "Top Ten Favorite Things" list, it would resemble...

1. Fire trucks

2. His white tiger

3. Mowing the grass

4. Pancakes

5. A bath by himself

6. Putting people in the dungeon (followed by a deep "ha, ha, ha")

7. Climbing and jumping and running and falling and wrestling

8. Snuggling after his nap

9. Playing with trains

10. Snacks

I did what I could to pull off a spectacular Saturday for our little man. He got to eat breakfast--PANCAKES--at the firestation. He got to CLIMB onto and JUMP off of a FIRE TRUCK. We went to a cross country meet where he got to RUN a lot...maybe more than he really wanted to. (That's the price you pay when you're born into a cross country family. Sorry, dude.) We went to Anna's soccer game where he got to have a SNACK and get dirty enough to have a BATH BY HIMSELF in the evening. WHITE TIGER accompanied us on our outings, napped with Sam, and got to play outside. While tiger watched, Samuel MOWED THE GRASS. We PLAYED WITH TRAINS and SNUGGLED. We played outside where I, the poor pitiful princess got PUT INTO THE DUNGEON by that handsome little king. What more could a boy want? An Alabama win? Oh yeah...that happened too!

Aside...

Samuel climbed onto the couch tonight when I told him it was time for bed. He picked up a pencil and paper, looked crossly at them, and said to me out of the corner of his mouth, "I can't. I have to concentrate." (Then I had to draw him a picture of a fruit bar. Mine wasn't identifiable. Pops drew a much better one.)

Bad impression

2008-10-03T15:33:00.004-04:00

Oops. I totally stood up one of my professors today. I was supposed to meet her after class but my mind was on other things. Namely, fining a new (to me) yarn store where I could do some sisterly birthday shopping. Sorry, Bek, you won't be benefiting from my blunder.

What a night

2008-09-27T22:32:00.004-04:00

I've been able to be much more focused when I'm home lately. I have to be. My schedule insists that I remember that time at home is special time. It always has been, but sometimes I forgot. I was able to have a very special night with Anna tonight after "the little ones" (as she calls them) went to sleep. We got to watch Alabama run all over Georgia (well...I assume that'll be the end result. The game's still going as I write...), drink hot cider, and make scotch-a-roos. We snuggled on the couch, folded clothes, and talked about our day. We licked the spatulas (but "only because they don't have fresh eggs on them") and giggled at Daddy's silly laugh when Alabama is playing well. I am so thankful for each of my children. Tonight I am thankful for a wonderful evening with Anna, my little eagle.

Trouble, lurking in the dryer

2008-09-17T22:28:00.002-04:00

Anna's tennis shoes were very muddy. They are currently in the washing machine. Lights are off in the laundry room. I just realized there may be a potential problem. Should the lights on her shoes quit working she'll be pretty upset. Especially if she knew about the light show she missed as the shoes tumbled in the dryer.

Paradigm shift

2008-09-16T18:55:00.002-04:00

Ah, the ol' paradigm shift. Very social work-y. Fifteen years ago I remember laughing (multiple times) at my cross country coach who told us that if he were stranded on a deserted island and could only do one stretch, it would be leans. (We always wondered, "if the island is deserted who he would be worried about catching him doing a second stretch...").

Insert paradigm shift here.

Today, one of our professors said that if she could only take one drug (she didn't mention being stranded...perhaps she was concerned about refills) it would be a statin. A lot has happened that I certainly don't want to neglect, but that's a decent representation of where I was, and where I am.

The Unrealistic

2008-09-13T22:16:00.002-04:00

Some very unrealistic requests have been made in our family lately.

Anna and McKenna are wanting Daddy to be president. He's not old enough...yet. And then I'd have to say, still not realistic. Samuel wants "uncle Jack's pool" to be president. That's a 2 1/2 year old for you!

Anna's fifth birthday is coming up next month. Today she told Chris that she wants those things that you put in your hair and it looks really long. "Extensions?!" "Yeah, that's it!" Where did she hear about hair extensions?

McKenna is anxiously awaiting birthday number four later this fall. She'd like a saddle.

Today's focus

2008-09-11T20:35:00.002-04:00

At the risk of sounding like Lee Greenwood, today is just one of those days that I'm proud to be an American. I love the people who stand over 96th Street on the bridge with their flags and arms waving all day every September 11th. I love the freedoms that we have (and I pray that they remain protected). I love that men and women who are currently fighting for the lives of people that they will never know and who are thankful for the opportunity to do so. I doesn't feel like it's a choice this time around because it is such an easy decision for me, but I'm thankful that in the government of our country, I have a choice.

Not keeping score

2008-09-06T21:41:00.003-04:00

Anna had her first soccer game today. She was great! She bounced all over the field--definitely the most smiley kid on the field! She played the whole time (compared to sitting in the corner of the field with her back to her teammates like she did during practice #1), volunteered to kick the ball into play, and even scored a goal! She reported that she was so happy to have scored a goal that she just needed to do somersaults. And somersault she did. All the way down the field. Her teammates must have thought it was pretty great, too. Pretty soon there were three little Eagles somersaulting down the field! Good times for this new soccer mom. (I think we only scored three goals for the Foxes. What a day!)

Conversations with Jesus

2008-09-02T23:42:00.003-04:00

Samuel had a late night last night. Tonight he was awake longer than I thought he would be. I stole an opportunity to rock him in his room after the girls were asleep. (I just can't get enough of my babies and a rocking chair!) Sam is particularly good at letting us know when he's tired. During a late dinner recently he said, "I so tired. I sweepy. I need to go to sweep now." And pretty much, he did. Anyway, back to the rocker. I'm rocking him and telling him how much I love him. He says, "And Daddy loves me. And Jesus loves me. (pause) Jesus told me to go to bed now." That was the end of the rocking. He made a beeline for the bed.

McKenna and Chris had a tough day. McKenna was more whiny than usual. During the parenting relay that Chris and I are working on lately, Chris advised that McKenna may have a tough night. At bedtime while she was praying she said (completely unprompted), "Dear Jesus, please forgive me for arguing with Daddy today." I'm content to leave it at that. At this point, it's out of my hands!

This is so out of order. Before anyone went to bed (or got back out) we went to another cross country meet. It rained. A lot. Then it rained more. There were lots of delays, but after attending cross country meets for about the last 25 years I saw something new. They stopped a race that was underway due to inclement weather. Well, not just inclement. It was a storm. We had umbrellas. There wasn't much taller than us. The girls enjoyed the adventure, mostly. McKenna had a couple of moments when she, being a princess and all, didn't want to be soaking wet. Anna was a real trooper, enduring the weather. She kind of thrived. Runners (and some with pink shoes, even), rain, friends there with a baby, holding the umbrella, running on the real course, what's not to love!

One thing I'm not

2008-08-30T23:28:00.002-04:00

So I'm working with a group of nursing students last week and before getting busy we were making small talk. What was your previous job, where do you live, and so on. I mention that we live a few miles from Verizon near Noblesville. This peaks one guy's attention. He says that he used to go up there for a few days at a time...loved it...had a good time. When people say they come to Verizon for a few days at a time they're generally talking about Dave Matthews, Phish, or the Grateful Dead. Another guy mentions that he can't believe it's been six years since Jerry Garcia died. Without missing a beat, it just spills out of my mouth that it was actually August 1995. I impressed even myself. The first guy looks a little confused, but I proceed to explain. "Yeah, I was camping with a girl who was absolutely heartbroken." Now he looks even more confused. He says, "I would have never pegged you for a deadhead." It sounded...well, something...when I told him that I wasn't a deadhead. It was cross country camp.

Distractions

2008-08-25T22:15:00.003-04:00

So while I'm supposed to be reading, I'm doing a better job of watching Jon & Kate Plus 8. They say there's a marathon on Labor Day weekend. That should be fun for our girls because they'll see all the little Gosselins wearing "big rose dresses". The last marathon preview has those girls wearing the same dresses that are hanging in our girls' closet upstairs. I sense this will be a big deal.

Call Pat and Vanna

2008-08-20T23:13:00.003-04:00

Samuel has a new favorite dessert. He just loves the "corn on the cobbler" that we had tonight! With much chuckling, we finally got him to at least identify it as "peach on the cobbler". I think it would make a good Before & After puzzle on Wheel of Fortune.

Lost in Translation

2008-08-19T19:46:00.001-04:00

Tonight Anna was working on her Bible verse for her soccer team. Perhaps you've not yet heard this version.

"John 14:6. Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth and the Life. No one gets close to my father except for me."

Simple addition

2008-08-16T22:18:00.001-04:00

Adding up the pages of reading for the upcoming semester (minus four textbooks that i don't yet have), I have 10,709 pages to conquer.

What a croc!

2008-08-15T21:43:00.002-04:00

After a nice visit with my sisters this week in northern Indiana, the kids and I ventured home today. We made an impromptu stop at "The Pickin Patch" so that the kids could have their first experience picking blueberries. Success! Samuel sang the whole time about the exciting party we were having. Anna monitored all the buckets (even as she picked into her own) to make sure that we were not picking any berries that were blue. McKenna ate. She ate a lot. The first time I checked her bucket she only had three blueberries. We didn't stay long, but it was fun.

The trip home continued until we stopped for gas (maybe 35 miles later?) at which point McKenna asks me to get her crocs for her. Sure, but I can only find one. "Oh. That's because the other one fell off my foot at the blueberry place. It was under the van when we left. I forgot to tell you. Sorry." Seriously? You forgot to tell me? Only McKenna could forget something in the present. She's a lucky girl. My parents were headed up to Michigan for a wedding and were able to stop and get the missing croc. I wasn't about to turn around, so seriously, she's just a lucky girl.

While in South Bend we found a great chinese place for dinner. On the way there, we looked back and somehow Samuel is happily working on a tootsie pop. Shocked, I asked him where he got it. He didn't quite answer the question, but his answer was classic... "I needed it. I was thirsty and I needed food." My little guy is quite the schemer when it comes to suckers. He's probably got a stash hidden somewhere...

Piling Up

2008-08-09T23:15:00.003-04:00

Things that I need to jot down are piling up around here. I didn't realize this until talking with my sisters tonight. So, since my sisters constitute half my readers, this is mostly for my sake so that I can remember some funny things our kids have said lately.

*McKenna recently learned Tai Chi (as only our McKenna could do it), only she calls it Chai Tea.

*McKenna thinks that the Disney Store is Disneyworld. This could be quite a savings for our checkbook if we can keep this idea going...

*I drove the girls to church the other night in my mom's car. I'm still evidently not proficient at driving a manual because I squealed the tires more often than not and the ride wasn't exactly smooth. The girls thought that I was doing that because I loved them. They were having a grand time. When relaying the story to Chris, they said it was fun because we went bumpity bumpity bump! And, according to Anna, it's much more fun for me to drive than Pops because he doesn't make the loud noise (squeal) and make it bump.

*McAllister's is better known as Miss Allister's. She makes a mean grilled cheese.

*What's cool and what's awesome? Say one or the other and Samuel will either agree or correct you. "Yeah, dat's awesome" or "No dat awesome, dat cooooool."

Oh, gotta go. Olympics are back on!

It's growing on me

2008-08-08T19:43:00.005-04:00

AFTER

BEFORE

Pardon the unconventional order of things.

Buyer's Remorse

2008-08-07T23:49:00.002-04:00

I guess that's what you'd call it. Is there a different term for not being happy with a haircut? Not mine. Sam's. We took little Samuel today for his first hair cut. We'd put it off long enough, or so I thought. We should have put it off longer or asked for a trim. Although it was a compromise cut (Chris voted "buzz it"), it's so severe! Pictures might be coming later. I've got to come to terms with the fact that all that's left of Samuel's curls are in a small ziplock bag on my dresser. I could kick myself...

Once was lost, now is found

2008-08-06T14:45:00.002-04:00

The case of the missing tapes has been solved! After two years of combing the house for all the family movies that led up to Anna's second birthday, the search is over! All along they were in a box in the closet. Silly me. Too bad I missed them in that box the first six times I looked there!

The bad, the good, and the cute

2008-08-03T21:01:00.004-04:00

I had the opportunity this weekend to attend a women's conference with a couple of good friends. The time with friends was incredibly sweet. The conference, however, was an extreme let down. Too much fluff and humanistic babble (merely) laced with Christian truth. I wanted the meat. The truth. Something solid to stand on. I think it's sad that so many opinions get preached as truth. Not just sad, but scary both now and in eternity.

What did I miss at home? Evidently McKenna learned to read while I was gone. I know she's been looking in when Anna has been working on her reading, but tonight she read me the third book in the little BOB books series, rattling off "The dog has on a rag hat". She's never read this book! With Samuel taking care of the potty training by himself essentially and now this, it's tempting to think parenting is easy and that the kids can figure out things by themselves. It's just not that easy, even on the best of days. But boy is it fun to parent these kids!

Samuel's new cute-ism about it getting dark: "It's darking! It's darking!" Oh, and today we ditched the pacifier. He's not happy, but he's asleep.

Multitude

2008-08-01T23:46:00.002-04:00

1. Toilet paper should be strong enough to not tear when coming off of a huge, industrial size roll. I'm just saying.

2. Anna came running to me the other day in the yard--middle of the day--saying that she saw a bat fly across the yard and land on the porch. The heat must have gotten to her, right? I checked it out and yes, a bat was hanging above the dining room window on the porch. Anna's response was, "How unusual!" She also spent a good bit of the day reminding everyone that bats are good because they eat mosquitoes (2-4k, we've heard) and wondering if we'd "learned our lesson about bats".

3. I can't remember the other things that I was going to mention. My multitude just became a couple. Rats.

Severe disappointment

2008-07-21T21:22:00.003-04:00

It's hard to see your child be disappointed, especially when there's nothing you can do about it. This is a hard part of parenting...usually. Today it was just plain funny. I've learned recently that I'm terrible at hiding a smile in the hopes that my child will not think I'm laughing.

Anna is playing quietly and looks up to ask me, "Is Peyton Manning already married?"

"Yes, babe, he is."

"Well, is Eli Manning married?"

Again, "Yes, he is."

The wind? Out of her sails. Completely.

"Oh. (She's so sad that she can no longer sit up. She flops down on her back and drops the My Little Pony she'd been playing with.) That makes my heart so sad. I wanted to marry Peyton Manning."

Chris had a cow. Then he had a phone conversation with her informing her that at the age of 4 she need not be concerned about who she would marry. Not for a long, long time.

How's that?

2008-07-18T23:41:00.002-04:00

How do you say the capital city of Indiana? It seems that somewhere along the way all of our kids created a new pronunciation. Indaleeapolis. I love it!

No Wheels

2008-07-13T21:47:00.002-04:00

Today was monumental for our family. Chris and I took the kids to the Children's Museum after church. We did not take a stroller. We did not take a diaper bag. I didn't even take a camera. We just took the kids. It was somewhat odd to walk in without anything "baby" in tow. Remarkable? Yes. The fact that Samuel told us when we needed a potty break (three times!) and stayed dry while we enjoyed an afternoon out was even more remarkable! I guess this is the first line in a new chapter of our lives...

3rd candidate

2008-07-10T21:52:00.002-04:00

If the votes for the next presidential election were cast today, there would be one very confused four year old (eek--five year old by then!). Anna is quite sure that if she could vote, she'd vote for "Jon and Kate (plus 8)". Evidently when we've watched O'Reilly and talked at home, she's thought that John McCain was really "Jon and Kate". Dad got it right, though. That would be an interesting presidency.

For the record, Samuel was DRY ALL DAY! SIX, count 'em 6, successive successful trips to the potty. As of yesterday, it was like trying to drag a mule. What happened last night? Whatever it was, I'm loving it!

Out of order

2008-07-09T22:48:00.002-04:00

Rewind.

4th of July, Terre Haute, IN

The kids had a great time, and Chris and I were very entertained by the band, the kids, and the locals. Perhaps my favorite memory of this great day together was seeing Samuel get knocked over by the fireworks multiple times. We were at a safe distance and he didn't get hurt. It was the sound that knocked him off his feet. I didn't even take my camera (gasp!) so these images will just have to be burned in my memory! Stay away, alzheimers! (I used to think that it was "old timer's".)

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

2008-07-05T17:30:00.002-04:00

I can hardly contain my excitement for my friends H & W who are, as I write, getting introduced to their new son! We just returned from their daughter's 3rd birthday party where we chatted briefly about how long it might be before they got the call they've been wanting in regard to their expanding family. Evidently I left just a few minutes too early or I would have been there when they got the call! Well, I say too early. If they'd seen me for the last few minutes they would be quite glad that I wasn't there. I tend to make a scene when I get overly excited. My poor kids must think I'm a complete nut. W asked if the party would make the blog. I had said "yes", but as great as the party was (and we truly celebrate R's life!), the party just got trumped! Still, you made the blog. :)

3, 2, 1...

2008-07-02T15:33:00.003-04:00

Latest adventure:

I took the kids yesterday-by myself-to the movies. It was the first time any of them had been to a movie theater, so they were somewhat awestruck. The theater here in Noblesville does free movies for kids in the summer, so we saw (VeggieTales) The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. Samuel was just too cute...Bob and Larry! Bob and Larry! BIG Bob and Larry! It seems like I shouldn't have to still be so proud to take the kids to something like that by myself, but the I stop and realize that they're still little and new places are more scary for me than them. They don't know what (or who) could hurt them, and I am like a crazy protective mom in situations like that. So, for them or for me, who had the biggest adventure? I don't know, but we ALL had fun.

Loose interpretation, serious application

2008-06-28T21:41:00.003-04:00

A watched pot never boils. Similarly, a watched zucchini doesn't grow. I am so anxious to eat from the garden and it seems that the more I weed and tend and watch expectantly, the slower the growth rate.

But alas, after my frustration in the garden tonight I spotted the much anticipated black raspberries that were ready for picking! Off to get the long sleeves and shoes other than flip flops (I forgot I still had said shoes)... While picking the raspberries tonight I was so blessed. It was quiet. Quiet. I haven't experienced quiet in over 4 1/2 years. Seriously. I watched a bumble bee on a flower. I had time to do this and to just marvel in the beauty of what God created and has allowed me to experience. As I reached and strained for the all the berries around the old compost pile, I thought of a pathetic similarity between the way I think about fruit and how God thinks about us. As much as I didn't want even one (berry) to perish, it was a stark realization of how much more our Creator doesn't want us to perish--not even one of us. I am secure in my position in Christ. What a gift.

This security is guaranteed. Guaranteed. This is so amazing.

Perhaps someone should talk to the swimming commentator alongside Bob Costas (I'm drawing a blank, clearly) about what it means to be guaranteed. He guarantees that Michael Phelps will make the Olympic team in all 5 events he's swimming, unless he gets third in any of the races. Which he won't, according to Rowdy Gains. That's his name. What a digression...

Let the (pre)Games begin...

2008-06-22T21:15:00.002-04:00

Ahhh, it's almost time for the Olympics. I'm a self-described Olympic freak. I love it. One of my great childhood memories was when we subscribed to the "Red, White, and Blue Olympic Channels" the year we got cable TV. You couldn't pull me away. My mentality hasn't changed much has changed since Debbie Thomas took the ice in Calgary that year. The summer games blow the winter games out of the water, so this is going to be a fun summer.

I've done a good job at getting the kids hyped about it this year, too. Samuel saw the first dive of the trials today and say, "Whoa, dat's COOL!" Yes, sir, it is! And you should see him "do gymnastic", especially when he and McKenna do it simultaneously. Hey, maybe synchronized gymnastics could be a new event...

McKenna thought that Nastia Luikin (2nd place at gymnastics trials) looked a lot like Aunt Rebekah and that Rebekah could do all the same tricks.

Anna was impressed when they didn't fall, didn't step out of bounds, and did cartwheels and backflips.

I've always thought it would be fun to know someone who competed at the Olympics. (I told you I was a freak.) Since Emily Ayers didn't make it (elementary friend who was a tremendous swimmer) and Aaron Moody doesn't seem to be ready this year, my next best shot is through my dad who is currently doing work for some Olympic hopefuls. Track, even! I'm like a kid in a candy store...I just love the Olympics!

A couple of non-Olympic notes... Samuel gave me a good laugh at lunch today. He let out a rip-roaring belch and went about eating. I looked at him and said, "Samuel, what do you say?" Expecting a quick "excuse me", as he's been taught, I was caught off guard when he tried to reinact his belch. Apparently he thought I asked, "what did you say".

He's growing up all together too fast. He's had his monthly success on the toilet (he like to squirt the cheerios--there may be some truth to that potty-training theory) and this afternoon he dressed himself for the first time. He also slept on the bunk bed instead of his crib for the first time. It was his choice. Now I just have to suck it up and get his hair cut and ditch the pacifier. This is MUCH harder with the last than it was with the first.

Request

2008-06-17T23:01:00.004-04:00

We spent the day getting furniture ready for generation #3. The bedroom set that my mom used as a teenager and I used as a child has a fresh coat of paint on the top surfaces and the trim detail. Pink. I love that my girls love pink. It's so cute and little girlish. I sound like McKenna. She makes new words every day, often by adding "-ish" to a real word.

In fact, McKenna asked today if she could be "bare toe-ed" in the grass. (Who could say no to that?) After getting Samuel down from his adventure in tree climbing (a first), a request like not wearing shoes in the yard seemd reasonable.

Home again

2008-06-14T16:28:00.003-04:00

Time at OBX is good for a person.

Coming back to a "congratulations" letter from the IU school of nursing made it even better. Now, let the planning begin. My crazy 18 months start in mid-August.

curiosity

2008-05-31T15:29:00.001-04:00

Why do people drive motorcycles to Sam's Club? What, other than oregano, can you buy at Sam's and transport home via motorcycle?

Samuel today

2008-05-30T22:43:00.002-04:00

Last night was the first time we'd found Samuel sleeping on the floor in his room. He's been content in his crib for his entire life...all 2 years, 4 months, 17 days. We put him back in before we went to bed (after, of course, taking a "couple" of pictures to document the occasion). He was again on the floor this morning. And after his nap. But it's not just that he's on the floor. He's under his bed. He did offer an explaination. His pacifiers were under the bed. Of course.

I took Samuel to the doctor this morning and he acted like Spiderman during his exam. He got a Spiderman sticker and wore it proudly. It was Spiderman all day. I finally asked him what and how he knew about Spiderman as he's had minimal exposure (none?) to it other than seeing the consumer options at Target or a friend's house. His answer was frank. "TV." Oh. Silly me. I asked how he saw it on TV. "Daddy see Spiderman on TV!" Chris, however, denies watching Spiderman with Samuel.

Easier to breathe today

2008-05-25T21:50:00.003-04:00

On a more positive note than last post...

We are in the middle of an "opposite of archery" weekend. In archery you pack an hour of fun into four hours (sorry, Carrie). We've packed in too much fun stuff yesterday and today to last us a month and we've still got our "lunch party" tomorrow. (I love the terminology of preschoolers.) The details of our activities aren't probably so exciting for anyone else, but all the kids got some one on one time with one parent or grandparent this weekend. Now that's fun.

Perhaps one of the most successful moments was checking the receipt at Kroger. Seriously. We saved over $170.00 on this trip alone. And only spent $340. The only thing better would have been to top $200. There's always next month!