buckling into the car...
walking into school
elise's nice teacher
playing in her classroom

 

red-letter days

yesterday was elise's first day of kindergarden. we had prepped and prepared her for the big day. we had gone school shopping with her cousins and their mom's, she had every school supply known to man, she'd had her immunizations, her health check, her orientation, and a partridge in a pear tree. the night before, cory gave elise & ian father's blessings. it was a sweet tender moment for all of us. that night, i felt the sadness of sending elise off into the lone and dreary wilderness. we were going to miss her being gone for 6 1/2 hours every day. she does so much around the house and is just fun to be with that i knew we would feel a loss with her gone. that night, as i went from room to room checking on the little ones, i was overwhelmed with the weight of the responsibility entrusted to me. i couldn't believe that three lives were completely given to me for me to nurture and care for. and then i couldn't believe that so much of it had passed already. so i had myself a good cry and except for a somewhat sleepless night, i was ready for the day ahead. we all felt a little excitement as elise put on her school outfit, packed her backpack and got ready. i thought she seemed so grown up and yet sooooo small as we walked her to her classroom. she was a little nervous and felt a little sad, but she was so brave and i was so proud of her. we had read the scripture in josua that morning, chapter one verse nine that refers to being strong and of a good courage. and i think that's what she was. i think it was an important moment in her life, to overcome the aprehension and realize she would be okay. and she was! when we picked her up at the end of the day, she had had a great time. she really liked school as we knew she would. ian missed her a lot too. every little bit he wanted to go pick her up. i think he had a good day with us, but he felt the difference with her not there. afterwards, we we went to our favorite ice cream place and everyone got cups of homemade ice cream. it was certainly a red letter day for all of us. to top it all off, last night everyone slept in their own beds all night. i think this is the first night in five years that cory and i have had the bed to ourselves. amazing! i was proud of all three kids for doing so well, but a part of me was sad that they weren't there with me. i love snuggling with them and i felt a twinge of "they don't need me to help them sleep anymore." it was another sign that they are growing up so fast and spreading their own wings. being a parent is the most wonderful, difficult thing i could have ever imagined. but i wouldn't trade being one for anything!

Annoying Survey

I got a survey from a friend. It has 63 questions which is entirely too many for even a survey junkie like me. But I thought I would occasionally post a few of the entries in a blog post. So here are the first 10.

1. Song that always makes you sad? It’s a Christmas song…maybe by Alabama. I think the name is “red shoes” or something like that. Its supposed to be sweet, but I think its so horrible it should never have been written.

2. Last thing you bought? Ice cream after Elise’s first day of school. (I had chocolate turtle and brownie batter. the turtle was not that great. shocking, i know. the brownie batter was YUMMY. I sampled several different flavors--pumpkin pie and apple pie. the pumpkin pie was really good. i would like to get a cup of it sometime...if i could ever get away from my chocolate addiction.)

3. Last person you argued with? Probably Cory. But I don’t think it was a big argument.

4. Do you put Butter before putting the peanut butter on? No. But Grandma Delia does. She makes a Peanut Butter and Butter sandwich. There's a story that once we were going to a family reunion or something right after church and grandma had packed a PB&B sandwich to eat afterward. When she went in the church kitchen to get it out of the fridge, she found it there with one bite taken out of it. I guess someone wasn't familiar with this type of sandwich.)

5. One of your stuffed animals' names as a kid? Bubbles. It was a stuffed St. Bernard. Elise has her now.

6. Did you ever own at one time a Barenaked Ladies Cd? No. I own very few CDs. I have lots of downloaded music, so i may have a song of theirs, but i can't recall right off.

7. Favorite day of the week? Probably Friday. I love the anticipation of the weekend. Friday night is the best.

8. Favorite Sundae topping? Chocolate and caramel. It has to be both.

9. Did you take Piano lessons? Yes.

10. Most frequent song played? If this means on the piano, its probably the pieces I’m practicing for choir. If it means on CD….I don’t have something I play repeatedly.

men are great to have around

this is not a new concept to me, but yesterday i was reminded again how grateful i am to have cory around. the kids and i spent the day at the beach yesterday and had the best time ever. the weather was perfect, the waves were perfect, the kids were wonderful....an all-around good time. since we didn't get home until around 7:30 or so, cory had worked a little late and then gone out to eat with his brother (whose wife & kids were at the beach with us) before heading home. he brought with him half of a french dip sandwich from logan's roadhouse. i had just snacked at the beach all day and hadn't had a real meal, so i was thrilled that he brought me his leftovers. the sandwich was delicious and filled my tummy and warmed my heart that he thought of me.

our trash pickup is on mondays, so cory brought the trashcan back down the driveway when he got home. sometime later that evening he mentioned that he was going to wash out the trashcan because there were bugs (maybe maggots) down in it. pretty gross. let me just say, that if i knew there were bugs down in that garbage can, and it were left up to me, they could have eaten through the daggone plastic before i would taken it around back to wash it out. not interested, no thanks! so, i was so thankful that cory was around to take care of us and take care of those manly details. what a great guy!

the santa complex

elise believes in santa claus. as a little background, i never believed in santa claus, even as a child, while cory's family were strict adherers to the santa code. he has good memories of believing. so yesterday elise asked me, "does santa claus go to sleep?" then she asked about the elves and then said, "and i know those reindeer go to sleep!" its been bothering me ever since. i realize that its august, not christmas eve, so that there isn't an iminent concern here. but since its in the genes, i might as well start worrying about it now. i feel like i'm lying to her. maybe that's too strong, but its close. in legal terms, i feel like i'm perpetrating a fraud on my sweet little girl. i think i'm afraid that once she's in school, someone will tell her that santa isn't real and she'll say, "yes he his. my mama & daddy said he is." and then i'll feel like dirt and she won't trust me. so my dilema now is, what do i do about this. should i just keep on letting her believe in her childhood magic and figure that it will resolve itself somehow. or should i do something to break the news to her? and if so, how? i thought maybe i could tell her about the real saint nicholas and the history of christmas (in short, simple, 5-year old terms) and then tell her that santa lives on when we are giving....or something slightly more eloquent when i've had time to think more about it. i'm just not sure. did you believe in santa when you were little? and did believing or not affect you in any way? and what should i do? any thoughts?

eat your veggies!

as the head chef in our family, i had the most rewarding moment last night. too often the well-planned menus, the creative and diverse dishes, and the love and effort put into them go quite unappreciated by the small fry in our house. frequently there are comments such as, "that's disgusting", "i'm not eating that", "what is that red thing", or "does this have mushrooms in it?" heard round the dinner table. i assumed that last night would be no different. i prepared a chicken stir-fry with fresh cabbage, zuccini, and squash, along with some frozen peppers and onions. the teryiaki seasoning just finished it off. i thought it was delicious, but thought that the vegetables might overwhelm the kids. i couldn't have been more wrong. i'm not exactly sure how or why it happened, but they couldn't get enough of the zuccini and squash, and a little cabbage. they ate all the squash and zuccini out of the dish and then asked me to cook more. they even ate them again for lunch today and thought they were great. ian even ventured into the onions and declared that he loved them. i was so excited over the whole thing i could hardly contain myself. it was the biggest thrill. elise told me today that Jesus thought yesterday was the healthiest day ever. i couldn't agree more!

its only a test....

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 9 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

my only question now is, "which one did i miss?"

Our New Puppy

After the loss of Milo, we felt lost without a puppy to love. So we have a new addition to our family--a yorkiepoo named Max. He's the sweetest little guy and we just love him to pieces. I think Elise said it best. After Milo passed away, we began talking about getting another puppy and how even if we got another puppy, Milo would always have a special place in our hearts. Elise pointed to three spots on her chest and said, "These are the spots for Milo." Then she pointed to another spot on her chest and said, "And this would be the spot for the new puppy." She's so right and expressed better than i did. So Welcome Home, little Max.

I really think he thinks he's a baby. Somewhere along the line, somebody forgot to tell him he was a puppy.
Elise and Ian love the little guy. They are so good at taking care of him and giving him lots of love.
If Merry Grace is one the floor, Max is determined to be right beside her. Another sign he thinks he's a baby.
And here's proof positive. He really did this and did it on his own. We were all playing in the floor when Cory goes, "Hey! Look what Max is doing!" And there is was with a passy in his mouth! So cute. 

And here are a couple more of Max and the passy. He's done this one more than one occasion. He also likes to climb in Merry Grace's portable baby swing. Next thing you know, we'll be tucking him into the crib at night. =)

the melting pot

cory & i celebrated our seventh anniversary by going out last night to a restaurant called the melting pot. for those of you who may not have heard about it, its a fondue restaurant. for our first course we got a pot of three different types of cheeses (fontina, bleu and butterkase) and were given veggies, bread & granny smith apples to dip into it. it was so delicious. i love cheese and this cheese was so rich and creamy and wonderful. this was definitely a highlight. for our next course, we had salad. i had the strawberry almond, cory had the california salad which had a raspberry vinaigrette. i loved the berries in mine, but cory's dressing was awesome. next we ordered entrees. cory got a cajun combination (shrimp, chicken & sausage). i got shrimp and sirloin. we chose the method of cooking (mojo) and began our main course. it was kind of time consuming to cook each individual piece of meat, but it was really, really good. and it was a fun experience and gave us time for lots of good conversation. we also had potatoes, broccoli, squash & mushrooms that we cooked along with the meat. after the main course, we had a chocolate fondue with a swirl of crunchy peanut butter mixed in. we had strawberries, pineapple, bananas, pound cake, brownies, cheesecake and marshmellows to dip in it. WOW! it was the best thing ever. i cannot speak highly enough about it. yummyummyummyummyummyummy.......it was really delicious food, great company, and a fun way to celebrate seven wonderful years of marriage and many more to come!

messy fun

yesterday the kids and i tie dyed some things. it was kind of messy, but a lot of fun & they were really proud of their projects. it was neat how they all used the same tools, but got things that really looked different.

this is elise's shirt.

This is merry grace's shirt.

This is ian's shirt.

This is elise's pillowcase.

 

and here is ian's pillowcase.

 

the daily grind

i guess its time to get back to the posts of daily life.

we have vacuum issues in our family. its like "the curse of the vacuum" or something. i think i've said before that my theory is that if i have to pick it up with my hands, then the vacuum cleaner isn't doing its job. after today, i have decided that i will have to ammend that theory. the dirt devil that we bought within the last year has not been perfoming up to par for about a month now. i thought maybe the "ani-clog" hose was clogged or maybe the bag was full. i ran through several different scenarios, but i still wasn't getting great suction. finally, today i took apart the hose (in a way i never knew it came apart) and found the source of my vacuuming woes. a fork!!!!! yes, a regular sized kitchen fork! and then behind that was the clog of all clogs. so i cleaned everything out, disposed of the fork, and now my vacuum cleaner is humming away--sucking up everything in sight. the kids were there with me as i dismantled the machine & when i pulled the fork out of the hose ian goes, "i do dat, mama." after talking with him and asking a few questions, it quickly became apparent that indeed, he did do that. i guess the best we can hope for is that he doesn't do it again. =) so my theory that the vacuum cleaner should pick up everything so i don't have to has now been ammended to exclude forks from things i expect my dirt devil to pick up.

sadness

last week our dog, milo, passed away. it was sudden and sad and our hearts have felt the loss so much. i have been amazed at the capacity my heart had to love a little animal. milo was such a good little dog. he was a protector, barking at any and all strangers. he was loving to our family. one of my favorite things was how when we were at mama & daddy's house, elise & ian would sleep in the floor. and every night milo would come into the bedroom with us and curl up at the kids feet and lay there all night. he knew his place was with us. he loved to jump up in your lap and have you rub him and was a good snuggler. i loved how sometimes when i would talk to him he would cock his head to the side, like he was really listening to what i was saying. he had the cutest little underbite, with one or two little teeth sticking out in a cock-eyed sort of grin. he loved to run and chase and sometimes looked like a little white jack-rabbit running through the yard. he was obedient, although a little stubborn--like when he wanted to jump up on the bed when he was dirty and we would tell him "no", it would take a little extra effort to get him down because he had a mind of his own. but he would sit and shake and was so humble when it was time to get a bath or go outside. there were so many things i loved about milo. and our hearts have felt the emptiness without him around. there has been a hole in our home, a hole in the yard where he should be running around and a hole in our hearts that will always miss him. but i have taken comfort in knowing that he is okay. i know that there is a place in the plan of salvation for animals, but more specifically for milo. i have felt the spirit comforting our hearts, and teaching us lessons that apply not just to our situation with milo, but to life in general. and i am grateful for that. i feel that my life has been changed by this event and that in many ways i will never be exactly the same. but all else aside, one thing is for sure--milo will always hold a special place in our hearts.

our sweet milo

 

fortunately

i was thinking about the pioneers, since yesterday was pioneer day, and in thinking about their struggles, i began to think about the many people in our country and throughout the world who have grave struggles. and it occurred to me how fortunate my life has been. i have never once gone to bed hungry because we didn't have enough food. i've never once thought we might not have a house to live in or at least one car to drive. i've always had more than enough clothes to wear, more than enough food to eat, more than enough house to live in. i've never been too hot or too cold because we were lacking in some basic necessity. i'm overwhelmed with how carefree my life has been. i'm quite sure that i can't comprehend what it would be like to feel like i couldn't feed my kids adequately. or that they got sick because they were sleeping in the cold or the rain. while we have certainly had our struggles, financially and otherwise, it just hits me sometimes how much i have to be grateful for. so often i'm thankful for my family and the gospel and other blessings that i'm in tune with receiving. but then i look at the most basic things that i take for granted and i'm overwhelmed with God's goodness.

sleep-deprived

why is it that when my kids have a long day and are completely worn out & i get all excited that we're all going to sleep good and long that it turns out to be the exact opposite? maybe one day i'll stop getting my hopes up....

times, they are a changing

i was struck this morning with how modern the modern world is. ian picked up an envelope off the table and held it up saying, "its email! here's your email!" and it hit me how funny it was that "email" was more familiar to him than just plain mail. when did that happen?

personal space, please!

when i have a baby, some people mistakenly think that they are allowed to invade my & my baby's personal space. i love for my family and friends to hold and love on the baby, but strangers....i do not want them touching my baby, breathing on my baby, handling the hands she getting ready to put into her mouth....the most recent incident occured at a restaurant while we were on vacation. someone else was holding her and the waitress came up and was admiring her. granted, she is s cutie, but come on! back away from the baby! she rubbed all over her hands for what seemed like an eternity, and touched her cheeks and so on. this lady was chinese, so maybe there was a cultural breakdown. although i've had similar experiences with americans, so maybe certain people just think that the "don't touch someone else's baby" rule doesn't apply to them. i guess we all feel differently about things and we all come from different places where different things seem okay to us. for me, i cannot imagine going up to someone else holding a baby that i don't know and touching them in any way. if the situation presented itself, i might comment that there baby was cute or tiny or something....people in stores in the south like to talk...but i would not touch them. obviously, everyone doesn't feel this way. so there's one of my pet peeves for the day.

independence day

our town had its independence day celebrationon monday & we went to it. it was so humid and hot. we spread out our blankets on the grass and had a little picnic. then the kids spent some time playing on the slides & bouncies. we listened to some great music by a military band & the nc symphony orchestra. and of course, the fireworks at the end of the evening. it was a fun family activity, even if the kids fell asleep before & during the fireworks. it was just a great independence day celebration.

there were lots of kids activities and games. ian and elise had so much fun, but it was really, really hot. 

how cute is this baby? 

keeping cool

cory also bought the kids popsicles to keep them cool. ian was really nice to share. 

sisters

elise helped keep merry grace happy 

cory bought the kids glowsticks to entertain them while they waited for the fireworks. 

fireworks

it took a long time to get to the fireworks but they were worth it! 

germaphobes, beware...

tuesday morning our ward had our annual 4th of july breakfast at the park. some of the men (cory included) arrived early to cook pancakes, eggs, and bacon on their camp stoves. afterwards (and during), the kids played on the playground. they had such a good time. and yes, here ian is LICKING the swing. disgusting! 

in step

i just think this is a cool picture of the girls. of course they had fun playing together. they always do. 

tommy boy

elise spent a lot of her time keeping an eye on tommy. here she has her ears covered b/c kyleigh keeps saying, "you're going to marry tommy." you can see that they're all keeping tabs on him. he was playing frisbee with another boy from church. tommy was really good, and after he threw it elise gave the "thumbs up" sign and said, "he's really good!" when the other boy threw it back (not so good) elise goes, "Aaannn" (like a buzzer) and gave a thumbs down. she really has her favorite. 

but he really is adorable. and so sweet! 

under thirty...

after the breakfast the young men & men played a game of softball with the teams divided up under 30/over 30. the over 30's won, but only by about a run & the under 3o's said they would have won if they'd played 8 innings instead of 7, but the over 30's were too worn out. =) 

sparkly

cory's family came over to our house in the evening for a cookout. one thing is for sure, we enjoy food and had plenty of it. i think we'd have had to get together every day for a week to eat all the food we prepared. but we enjoyed visiting together & then finished off the eveing with some fireworks and sparklers for the kids.