Be Mine

So excited to be getting ready for Friday's Valentine party

Looking good on one side

And on the other

Proud of all the hard work we put into a very special Valentine box

Princess on the Pillows

There's our girl reigning over her kingdom of pillows on our bed. It is her favorite place to burrow into when she's in bed with us. She just waits for either Brandon or me to get out of bed so she can pounce on our pillows and make herself comfortable. Sometimes she doesn't wait - she just tries to maneuver her way onto them without us noticing...I'm not going to lie - it's usually Brandon's pillows she tries to get on while he's still using them. She's polite enough to wait for me to get up before using mine. Of course, since she was so sick last summer, she pretty much gets her way on about everything, so we bestow on her the title of "Princess" of the pillows & just about everything else.

I Impress Myself

One thing that I do not usually lack is confidence...not sure why, but I'm pretty sure I'm always right & if you don't believe that, ask Brandon. I am probably fairly guilty of being a little arrogant at times, but I have to say that sometimes I even impress myself. Now, the joy of having a little boy is learning how to play with little boy toys like Hot Wheels and Legos and Transformers. I admit, I just don't have a great little boy imagination with those things, but something I can really get into is this set of building things called a "Zoobmobile" set that Luke got for Christmas. You can take these pieces and build really cool cars and trucks with them. Luke and I spent time building a few little cars with the pieces...nothing too difficult. And then the day came when I asked Luke which car he wanted to build that day & he pointed to the one that used every single part in the box - the 12-wheel flatbed. My confidence was shaken - it seemed too big, too complicated for someone of even my great abilities (see, I really do think a lot of myself). Well, needless to say, it took quite a bit of time, but we built that baby. Take a look at our masterpiece, which by the way, is now in pieces and back in the box because it didn't last.

Annoyed

Do you ever have to deal with people who annoy you? I have this person who is jumping on my last nerve. She canceled a 7:00 a.m. meeting with me this morning...after I was already at work before 7:00 to ensure I was on time, of course. This was her 2nd cancellation. That is annoying enough, but in addition to that, she constantly forwards me e-mails that she sends to her group of friends. We've never even met...call me Scrooge, but I don't want the poem she wrote about Christmas sent to my work e-mail. She also writes me long, newsy e-mails about her child (my student) that are completely unecessary & says things like "Yes indeedie doo doo" and other weird things. And to top it all off, she's begun to sign her e-mails to me "Love, _____" or even better, "Love ya, _______". Again...we've never met. Would anyone else find this annoying or is it just me?

Happy 2010!

Well...the Christmases are all over, the tree is down, the gifts are put away. I can't believe it's all over again for another year. Enjoy a few more pictures from our Christmas celebration with my family. The number of grandkids doubled from last year to this year & I can't imagine how rowdy these four kiddos are going to be in the years to come.

Reality returns Monday...back to school & the normal routine. It was so good while it lasted...happy new year!

Four Christmases...with 2 to go

I can hardly believe that it has come & gone already in a whirl of white. Really, it's not over yet...we have 2 more Christmases to celebrate, but at my house, the tree is down & things are starting to return to order. We started celebrating with a lovely Christmas service at church on the evening of the 23rd. We had a wonderful time with just the 4 of us, celebrating, opening gifts and enjoying one another's company in front of a cozy fire on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day came with a change of plans due to weather, but we made it safely to Gower in all the snow & wind to spend time with Brandon's immediate and extended family at 3 different locations. Tomorrow will bring more time with family...this time with mine & I'm really looking forward to that. Here are a few pictures from some of the fun times we've enjoyed over the past 3 days. I'm sure there will be more to come after tomorrow! Merry Christmas everyone!

Finally!!!!!

I have a dishwasher other than myself! It unfortunately took 3 weeks instead of the 10 days we originally expected, but the wait is finally over. I so appreciate not only having something that cleans the dishes for me, but also a place to put the dirty dishes instead of the counter! Those of you who know me well know how much I despise clutter & dirty dishes on the counter about drove me nuts. Luke got to enjoy the hole left by the old one the night before the new one came. And, I must give Brandon props for taking out the old one & installing the new one all on his own. He's getting to be a pretty handy guy to have around.

Christmas Celebration

I just noticed that the kid in the very front of this one is crying his eyes out - poor kiddo! Guess he wasn't as excited as everyone else.

We had a terrific time celebrating with Luke's preschool class last Friday afternoon. We enjoyed lots of yummy snacks before we got to see the kids perform 2 songs & 2 poems they memorized. You can't beat watching a preschool performance that lasts maybe 4 minutes tops. The kids were all really cute - their enthusiasm is contagious. Luke's favorite poem from the performance...The Pet Snowball:

I made myself a snowball, as perfect as can be

I thought I'd keep it as a pet and let it sleep with me.

I gave it some pajamas & a pillow for its head,

But last night it ran away, but first it wet the bed!

Too cute! Enjoy the video excerpt from "Ha, Ha, Ha for the Holidays below"

Another Christmas Tree

Thanks to Grandma Kay, Luke now has his very own Christmas tree in his room. He is sooooo proud!

RIP Dishwasher...

Thanks for only 6 years (almost)of service. Can't wait to do your job for the next 10 days while I wait for your replacement.

Black Friday

I never shop...but I always get the tree up. I did have to go to Target to buy new lights because 2/3 of my old strands were burned out when I plugged them in. That just brought it home why I don't want to ever have to go out and do any shopping ever again on Black Friday. Good deal lover that I am...it's just not worth it to me to fight all the people! I'll stick to getting my tree up (and checking the lights beforehand).

Check these out...

Flowers from Brandon's garden picked on Thanksgiving Day!

Counting my blessings

I have so much to be thankful for...so, I spent a little time this evening counting my many blessings. Here are a few...

My cousin Andy wrote this quote on facebook today & I thought it was a perfect fit for this blog - "The optimist says the cup is half-full. The pessimist says the cup is half-empty. The child of God says my cup runneth over." Mine definitely does...

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Halloween!

Luke had a fun Halloween, though it didn't turn out exactly as we had planned. We had planned to join Luke's cousin Brady for the evening's festivities. Unfortunately for Brady, he got sick at the last minute, so in order to avoid the bug, we struck out on our own. We got in some trick-or-treating only to realize after the fact that Luke appears to have come down with pink eye! So...in our quest to avoid illness, it still managed to find us in one way or another. The worst part of it all is that Luke now has to miss his first field trip at school tomorrow. He has been so excited to ride the school bus & go to the Red Barn Farm in Weston with his school buddies, but I guess it was not meant to be.

Handsome firefighter!

Posing with his faithful fire-dog.

Really scary purple teeth - made even scarier with the red eyes he's sporting!

Fall Party Fun

The food must be good since his face is so dirty!

Fun with friends

A firefighter playing with The Hulk...how sweet!


Giving The Hulk the "evil eye" instead of looking at the camera.

Having fun with Dad.

The fall party was a fun prelude to tomorrow night's festivities. If you're really astute and you remember that Luke was a firefighter for Halloween last year, here's why it's a repeat this year. I asked him a few week's ago what he wanted to be for Halloween. He replied, "A firefighter," then paused for a minute before adding, "It's the only costume I have, Mom." Like I was so silly for even asking... After explaining he could be something different and we could get a new costume, he was still set on being a firefighter. I wasn't going to argue!

Fun Day at the Zoo

We enjoyed a beautiful Saturday at the zoo this past weekend. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to enjoy seeing all the animals. The Kansas City Zoo offered free entrace and rides for teachers & their families, so we took advantage of the great offer. Brandon & I hadn't been to the zoo for years and Luke's first trip to KC's zoo. I must say none of us were disappointed. We had a wonderful time.

Fall is Here...

For some reason or another I am having a really hard time adjusting to the idea that fall is here. The fact that I'm starting to see my breath as I walk into work in the mornings is starting to drive home the inevitable...summer is really over. Normally, I love fall. I love when the air gets crisp & you start smelling wood smoke as you're out walking along. Not so much this year...I'm dreading what's to come - cold, dreary, drab, and did I mention cold? - winter. I'm not ready to trade in my capris, shorts, t-shirts, and sandals for sweaters, turtlenecks, long pants, and *gasp* shoes that require me to also wear some type of sock. Sorry for the complaints...I'll try to look at the bright side - gorgeous leaves turning into a rainbow of colors and the promise of a snug evening cuddled up by the fire with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. I'm just not quite ready for it yet!

Luke Funnies

I just wanted to make sure I wrote a few of these funnies Luke has shared recently.

After a weekend with my parents:
Luke, "Dad, I have something I need to tell you."
Brandon, "What is it buddy?"
Luke, "Grandpa Ron's battery van only has one leg left. It's in bad shape. It still has 4 wheels, but only one leg. That's bad."
-----We later find out Grandpa told Luke that his battery delivery van was "on its last leg". :)

Talking about Brandon's parents:
Luke, "Grandma Patti and Grandpa Fred always stop by on Saturday nights. Then they always go see a movie at 8/7 central."

Watching Tom & Jerry swordfight & hearing "En Guard!"
Luke tries to repeat, but says, "I'm Guard!" & pretends to sword fight.
Me, "No, Luke...En guard"
Luke, "No Mom, I'm guard!"

I just love the way the 4-year old mind works! Okay - 3 posts in one day...I think I'm done. :)

Fun with Cousins!

One of Luke's favorite things is to spend time with his cousins. We spent time at the pool with Brady & Cooper in August. Luke got to spend the night with them 2 weeks ago, which was a huge treat for him (thank you Aunt Krissy!). He is still telling me things 2 weeks later that he did with Brady and Cooper or things Aunt Krissy told him. Such as "Mom, your dad's birthday is before yours. Yep, that's what Aunt Krissy says." We also got to spend a little time with his newest cousin, Ellie, last night. She visited for a couple hours while her mom and dad took a class nearby. We are so thrilled to have a little girl cousin as part of the family now and you'll see from the pictures how cute and sweet our little Ellie is! Luke felt like pretty big stuff next to her.

Enjoying a snack between swimming

Brady thinks something is hilarious. :)

Cooper being his sweet, laid back self

Look how much bigger I am than Ellie!

All ready for bed

Ginger Update

Ginger has now been home for almost 2 weeks and is continuing to improve. One of her liver values is still fairly high, however, her kidneys are nearly back to normal & she is acting more & more like herself again. Every day she seems to act a little bit better & a little bit stronger. After seeing her unable to even stand up for a short period of time, we are grateful to have her feeling this well again. Below is her "room" she had in the doggie ICU at her hospital. In this picture she was down to only 1 tube, her catheter, but you can see on the leg that's not bandaged, the lovely shave job she got. Her fur is growing back, but it's still pretty obvious that she had shaved legs for awhile. :) Thanks again to everyone who prayed for her. She still has a little ways to go, but she's definitely on the mend & improving every day!

Ginger - shortly before heading home from the hospital

Enjoying a little ice cream (doggie variety, of course!) now that her appetite is returning.