The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Ok, I know this is officially a Christmas song, but I just love this time of year. The fall season is so amazingly beautiful (the colors of the leaves shock me every autumn), there is a chill in the air, and you can just cuddle up and be cozy. For some weird reason, I actually enjoy the short daylight of the fall and winter and love dark fall evenings.

We have only made two trips to the pumpkin patch; it seems like we usually go 3 or 4 times, but with my kids getting a bit older, it seems we are also busier with activities. Carmichael's is THE place to go. They have dozens of animals that the kids absolutely love to feed. And a maze made of bales of hay. And a hayride, ponyrides, and mounds of bright orange pumpkins. See Ellie's project for other cool sights at the pumpkin patch.

Yet Another Jesus Question

Though the funniest Jesus question had to be Luke's, I have to document this one. As we were riding home from school, Ellie asked, "Mom, does God like it when we study?" I said, "sure He does." Of course God likes it when kids do their homework, right? Anything I can do to enforce that I will. But my "sure He does" wasn't good enough. She kept questioning... "I mean in the Bible, does it say studying is good?" I said again, "yes, I'm sure it's a good thing." "But does Jesus WANT us to study?" she demanded? I said, "well, I know He likes it when you study the Bible." I guess I had missed her point... because it was at this time she became exasperated and said, "MOM, does Jesus want us to STUDY stuff for school?" I knew at this point I'd better come up with a good answer. I thought a second... "well, in the Bible it says that Jesus increased in stature and wisdom. Anything that Jesus did would be good for us to do! And He did grow taller and smarter." I held my breath hoping this answer would satisfy her. Without missing a beat, she said, "So if I can do anything Jesus did, then I can get lost from my parents like Jesus did that one time."

Memory Lane

This evening (before we caught the mole, see below), we went around town for Kami to take pictures for her school project on Tulsa. We drove by the river and stopped at this spot. The trees in the background were so beautiful, and the weather was crisp, and it was fun to tell the kids about the history of this place...... this is the exact spot where Tom proposed! So, 10 1/2 years later, here I was with our three beautiful children. God, we thank you for your blessings upon us!!!

Animal Kingdom

This afternoon, Kami spotted a katydid on the screen door. We were all delighted with this leafy looking creature (that Ellie named Leif and that she said must certainly be "a cousin of the grasshopper and cricket"), so we captured it and put it in a jar for observation. But this was not to be the high point of our day. Around 5:30 PM, Ellie ran in the door and screamed, "Mom, there's a MOLE in our yard!" So, I dashed outside, expecting him to have scampered back into his hole, but there he was, big teeth, long claws, almost invisible eyes, just digging away. My first impulse was to crush him, as these little critters create all kinds of dirt sculptures in our yard and eat our flowers! But I managed to scrape him into Luke's plastic wheelbarrow and then into this box. (you can see the bloody nose we gave him.) Papa took him away for us. He said that he'd let him go someplace. I wish this pretty gross critter (that Ellie named Dirty), was THE neigborhood mole, but I have a feeling he's got a huge extended family under our house! EEK!

More Mudslinging

Here are some more pics of our trip to the pumpkin patch! Finally, with some finagling, I was able to post these pics. Isn't this the cutest family of all time? They are just as nice as they are cute. And I don't think they got a drop of mud on themselves. My family, however, was covered. Ellie took a spill, and didn't capture a picture of this, but Kami's pants had mud smeared on them up to the thighs! She was a bit disgusted. We had to strip off our shoes and pants on the ride home, so we didn't mess up Tom's loaner truck. But, it was an adventure I'm glad we didn't miss. Goodbye Ashley, Alex, Andrew and Aunt Anne! Come back again yall!

A Soggy Day at the Pumpkin Patch

Can you believe we went out to Carmichael's today? In the rain and 50 degree weather? Well, the pics prove it. And if I can ever get the so called "new and improved" blogger to post all my pictures, you'll see the wet and muddy fun that we had. We went out there with our cousins Ashley, Alex, Andrew and Aunt Anne, and Nana and Papa, and Kim and Hallie and Lauren.
















Since the cousins are leaving tomorrow, we wanted to try to fit in a visit out there. We actually had a great time. Just have never been to the pumpkin patch under an umbrella! I will try to post more pics later, but here is what I managed to get posted. In the 2nd picture, the goat sure looks like he'd love a kiss from Kami!!! And the last picture is part of Ellie's school project, but blogger is only showing part of it. If you click on it, you'll see the whole thing.

Under Construction

Hey family and friends,
I updated my blog today with the new beta system. It has some nice new features that will allow me to edit easier, attach labels to my postings, and other fun stuff. BUT, as you can tell, not everything looks right. I have NO IDEA how to get rid of those weird tool icons on the sidebar. Anyway, I will try working on it the next few days to get it all looking good again.

By the way, check out my Verse of the Day, on the sidebar. Click on the little speaker icon and you can listen to a man with a really amazing voice read it. Funny thing is, the first verse was Jeremiah 29:11, which is Kami's favorite verse. It is also a verse we are studying in CBS... the restoration of Israel. Thank you for visiting our blog and for all your kind feedback.

A is for Awesome

All the way from Colorado, are Aunt Anne, Ashley, Andrew and soon to Arrive, Alex. We visited with them last night over pizza! Of course, it's hard to believe Ashley, our baby cousin, has a baby of her own! And she is Absolutely calm and put together!! It's Awesome to see her thriving in this role. And it's fun to see the love and Admiration of Aunt Anne for her grandson. Andrew is Adorable, and Amazingly, sat at the table with the big kids. Never caused a bit of a fuss... he was a bit Awestruck by all the kids running Around.

Grandma I's House

The red, brick walls of Granny's house hold the memories of my life. Having slumber parties and innumerable holiday celebrations, playing dominos, enjoying the porch swing, learning to quilt, kissing Grandpa Ernie, wrestling with Mack and Pete, eating beans and cornbread at the big, round table, baking mudpies in the backyard with Heather, goofing around with all my cousins, smelling the scent of breakfast, gathering for a lunch of coneys, watching The Young and the Restless, hugging, taking pictures, laughing and smiling.... and that's just the crust of the apple pie.

That house is full of life, love, and one amazing 95 year old lady. What makes my heart soar is that my children are now making memories of their own right there in that same tiny house. Granny's house couldn't be any bigger than 800 square feet, but what it holds is rare and irreplaceable. The memories have taken residence in my heart, and I hope the same will hold true for all the kids as they play on the porch swing, walk next door to Harvey's (Mr. Raney's), run wild in the backyard and play games in the house. Granny, I don't think you'll ever truly grasp the effect you've had, not only on my life, but on the lives of all your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Another Jesus Question

Ellie:
Is this the tomb where they buried Jesus?

Two of the Most Precious People in My Life

Jesus Questions

Ellie: (playing with a toy phone and dialing her friends' numbers) Mom, what is Jesus' phone number? Is it 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10? Or maybe it goes all the way to 100.

Luke: Mom, does God like sports?

This last one makes me laugh, but also kind of makes me cringe. We are trying to get Luke to sleep without a pull-up, so we are not letting him go to sleep with a cup of water, which yes, he has done for a long time. He asks for water every night, and expresses his frustration to us at not having his cup, but we are trying to be strong and get him through this phase. We didn't know how serious the problem was until he told Nana a few days ago, "I pray to Jesus every night that He will give me a drink of water."

It's Fair Time

The Tulsa State Fair is in town! Kami and Ellie enjoyed the rides. This first pic is the first ride they went on together, but they soon graduated to more thrilling rides. Ellie even rode "Pharoah's Fury," the big boat in the 2nd picture. I would have loved to capture the look on her face as that boat came roaring down each time. It was not a look of fear - but pure excitement. She loved it. Kami and I rode "Round Up," which I loved when I was young. I have to admit that I was just praying this ride would be over, but Kami, of course, thought it was awesome. And then for the finale, Kami and I rode the Zingo together. She had a blast on it. She said, "I wasn't scared at all!" When Uncle Scott asked her to go on the tall ride that flies straight down to the earth in some-thing like 2.3 seconds (don't know the name of it) she politely declined. Thank goodness she's not that brave yet!!!! Thanks Papa for bringing your camera (as always) to capture these pics.

A Cowboy and A Cowgirl

More Wildness

A Wild Birthday

Today was Ellie's 6th Birthday party. We had it at Safari Sanctuary in Broken Arrow. The only thing I regret is not getting more pictures! Ellie and her friends had a blast looking at all the animals there. They had lions, tigers, a liger, panthers, bobcats and other big cats along with alligators, parrots, lemurs, wolves, peacocks, geese, zebras, and many more animals. Ellie's favorite was the 4 month old lemur. All the kids got in a circle and held hands and the lemur ran around the circle on their arms and heads.

The coolest thing about Safari Sanctuary (I did not know this) is that it's a rescue. Most of the animals have been removed from situations of neglect or abuse. One of the tigers and one of the lions actually used to belong to Mike Tyson. These people at Safari Sanctuary really love these animals and take care of them. They like to tell the animals' stories. It couldn't have been a more perfect birthday for Ellie told me on the way home, "I'd like to get a job working at Safari Sanctuary."

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

Yesterday, I arrived at your soccer practice to pick you up, but I was a little early. I was able to watch a little bit of you in action, and I mean action. Take in mind this is the tail end of practice, and you must have been exhausted, but when your teammate stole the ball from you, you were determined, with a will of steel, to get it back. So, with a look of intense competition on your face, you went after the ball. It didn't matter that your teammate was bigger than you. You got right under her shoulder and fought her for it. That's when a mom turned to me and said, "she's really a wolf in sheep's clothing.....she's such a sweet little thing, but put her on the soccer field and watch out!"

Happy Birthday Little One

Ellie, I've always called you my Little One, but since you turned six today, I don't know if I'll be able to call you that anymore. For your birthday celebration today, you wanted to go to Woodward Park. So, we did. We met Nana and Papa there and you opened your presents right there in the carpet of grass. Of course, you seemed thrilled about each and every present (you especially liked the guinea pig leash and harness). We spent a while enjoying the weather and jumping on rocks and exploring the trails. It couldn't have been a more pleasant night. I wanted to bottle the night up and keep it forever. I told Daddy on the way home, "it won't be long before they won't want to go to the park with us anymore. And it felt so right having Nana and Papa there with us. Let's keep this memory." As we were leaving, Ellie, you got a big bonus. Laddie, the "friendly puppy who doesn't bite and is looking for a buddy" was hanging out with his owners. You got to pet him for a long time. You laughed and smiled at the dog, talking with his owners about dog-things. You are the most precious six year old I know. And I'm going to keep calling you Little One.

Friendz - How Many of Us Have Them?

Friends... ones we can depend on!!! Let's be friends. Does
anyone remember this Whodini song from the '80s? I love
to see my kids with their special friends. We can always
depend on Hadley to knock on the door with a big smile on
her face: "Can Luke play?" It's hard to say no to that grin.
We can always count on Reiley to be as sweet as gumdrops,
literally humming a tune throughout her time with us. We
count on sweet Ellie to be friends with everyone she sees.
Today in the cafeteria at school, I watched as she called out
the names of everyone she knew as they passed by. It didn't
matter their age or gender. "Hey Sierra! Kala - hi! There's
Finn. FINN! (running to give him a hug.) Mom, Blaire will
come in through that door. Hi Blaire!" And we can always
count on Luke to want to be in the middle of it all.
We thank God for friends.

Dental Worries

Well, even though the dentist has installed these very cool TV monitors, Luke still wasn't very fond of Dr. Gerkin. In fact, he would not show the doctor even one of his tiny teeth. When the Dr. asked Luke to open his mouth wide like an alligator, he kept that jaw clamped down tight. When Dr. Gerkin asked me to open wide, I felt like doing the same thing Luke did. Dental visits are never fun. At least I didn't have any cavities!

Meet Maggie

The Princess Has Arrived!

At 7:26 PM, on September 12th, Maggie Rae was born! She is truly a beautiful baby, with a head full of thick, dark hair! She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces. Kim's labor was induced beginning at 9AM, so it turned out to be a bit of a long day for her, but the results were well worth it! Hallie and Lauren COULD HARDLY WAIT to meet Maggie! They were so excited and when they finally looked into her eyes, they were thrilled. Maggie seemed to recognize Hallie's voice. When Hallie spoke, Maggie would slowly turn her head and look around to see if she could find her big sister. And Kami, Ellie and Luke had a lot of fun waiting in the hospital for their new cousin. They got out of bed this morning singing "our new baby cousin comes today!" Welcome to the world, Maggie Rae! We are so glad you are here.

Ellie the next Mia Hamm???

After years of watching her big sister Kam play soccer, Ellie is finally getting her chance to play! She is on a team with her friends Savannah and Lydia, plus some other fun girls. They are the "Firecrackers" and the name couldn't suit them better. They played their first game with a lot of bang. Well, until about midway through the second half of the game. Ellie left her coaches (one of whom is Tom) and walked all the way around to the other side of the field. She stated flatly, "I am tired and sweaty and I need a ring pop." That is one of the things that Papa likes to do... buy the kids a ring pop treat and she was aware that she had not gotten hers yet. Well, after she finished playing the game, she got her ring pop.

Her Last Day as the Baby

Lauren and Luke spent some time together today. Kim went to get a manicure and pedicure for the big day tomorrow! We are all looking forward to meeting Maggie Rae. So, I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of my sweet niece. Little does she know that tomorrow, Maggie will be the baby of the family! I think she'll be fine with it though, because she loves to take care of her own baby dolls. She likes to take care of them and push them around in the stroller. (Luke wouldn't like it if I were sharing his secret, but sometimes, he comes up to Lauren and asks," Do you want to play babies?") They have fun taking turns being the baby. It is pretty hilarious. I know that Lauren will be a great big sister!!!

Luke's First Day of School

Luke has started going to preschool in a church just a couple of minutes away from our house. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and his friends Carson and Bonnie are in his class. He is proud to wear his Spiderman backpack to school!

A Boy and His Boots

The Duke got this idea in his head that he was going to go outside in the rain (it had stopped raining) and that he needed to get prepared for his adventure. So he went upstairs and pulled his rain boots off his door with a big THUD. Then, he found his "rain coat" really a size 2 vest, and grabbed Elle's rainbow umbrella. What followed was a whole hour of running and splashing through puddles. Jumping up and down in them... all to his heart's delight. Oh, the simple pleasures of childhood.

Poolside

Elle loves Marvin

This is The Princess of Heart's pet guinea pig. (She has another one named Edward.) She just adores these little animals and plays with them constantly. They really are pretty lovable - even I have taken a liking to them. I am proud of Ellie for taking such good care of them, feeding them, petting them brushing them.... but I still get stuck with cleaning out their cage!

Does this make me a good mom or a bad mom?

By letting these girls go crazy am I letting their creative spirits go free or am I teaching them that it is OK (and humorous) to stuff cheese sticks in their orifices?

Ready for School?

There is not much that K likes to do more than to ride around our cul-de-sac on her bike. On this night, lots of neighbors were out enjoying the cloud cover and sprinkles. It's hard to believe that 3rd grade starts in only two days!

Sweet Elle Belle

The Princess of Hearts always has a smile in her eyes for me. (and on her face too). I just love to snap pictures of her. Here she is drawing a picture for one of her favorite friends: Lindsey Loo!