Dot dot and C dub June 30, 2009

 

The past two days, the oldest two have been at their grandparents’ house: dot dot and C dub.  What an amazing time they had! They caught fireflies (something we don’t seem to have at our house!), saw a groundhog and a mole’s hole, dug in the compost and found worms, went for early morning walks, saw a bluejay’s eggs, got to see their cousin Bailee play softball, buy popcorn and hamburgers at the ballpark, and eat doughnuts for breakfast.  They didn’t go to bed until 11:30! If you know Eric’s mom and dad, you know how wonderful their yard is.  Dot used to teach 2nd grade and one of her specialities is teaching about how God’s creation works and really showing children the beauty of the details in creation.  C dub is a great storyteller.  My girls love to sit in his lap and hear stories about how he grew up and about the mischievous funny things he did   The girls howl laughing and make him repeat those stories over and over.

Today they brought the girls all the way to our house because they knew it would be naptime for the other two.  When Emma walked in, she had new tennis shoes that are so cute

I can’t believe all the amazing memories that must have been made on this trip.  I absolutely LOVE that my children get to spend quality time with their grandparents.  Eric and I are blessed with such incredible parents and I want my children to know them, love them, have specific memories with them, and learn from them.  That is exactly what happened the past few days and I am so very grateful!  thanks Dot and Wayne!

July 4th yummies June 29, 2009

I need some ideas!  We are going to a church picnic on the 4th and I was thinking of trying something festive!  Any ideas for something to bring to the party?

Reasons to love 2 year old boys June 24, 2009

They finally say,”Mommy I love you.”

You hand them something and they say,”Tank you mommy.”

They can’t tear their eyes away from the train at the Botanical Gardens.

They literally hop up and down showing you how much energy they have.

They copy their daddy’s humor.

They ask if the man next door is going to “CUT THE GRASS” every single day.

And when you rock them at nap time, they look you in the eyes and say, “Pway” which you slowly realize means “pray”.

that’s why I love my 2 year old boy.

Local journalists June 22, 2009

Olivia, Emma and I have been reading one of the American Girls’ series Meet Kit.  I have told them that if they would like to have one of the dolls that they have asked for, then they have to read the stories first.  We tried to start a series at the beginning of the year, but they just weren’t that into it.  So we are starting again- this time with Kit.  

 I am reading a chapter to them a day and hoping that the craft that we are doing will encourage them to want to know more about the story, the characters, and the time period.  Today we made our own newspaper like Kit does.  The girls took turns typing in a Word document what we did today and then we added some clip art.  Nothing fancy- but hey, there were some computer skills being used!

They printed it out and showed it to their daddy, just like Kit does in the story.  I would say their interest level was about mediocre for the project- not begging to do it again tomorrow, but mentioning it every once in a while the rest of the day.  Of course, my desire is that they will think this is the best thing that they have ever done and they will want to make it bigger and better tomorrow and read all about what Kit does too.  Maybe I should lower my expectations   Below is a copy of the newspaper.  We probably need to work on adding enough detail so that our reader can understand what has occured.  We went to some outdoor fountains today and there were games nearby that you could put money in and win prizes.

A DAY OF GAMES

 

June 22, 2009

Today we went to the fountains.  We played in the water with our cups.  The cup went  up on the water. 

   

There were games by the water.  The game’s voice said,” No chance what you’ll win.”

So  I shook the handle really hard, but nothing came out.

Cord played a game too.  Cord put his face down and the water came up.  We laughed.

It was a hullabaloo.

 

 

 **To order your own copy, just call us

Father’s Day June 21, 2009

 

I just finished reading Kelly Corrigan’s book The Middle Place, which is her story of breast cancer intertwined with her father’s stuggle with bladder cancer.  It is funny, revealing,  and compelling.  I love her writing, which alternates from wonderful storytelling to poignant realizations.  She LOVES her daddy and I found myself underlining so many of her thoughts.

Her daddy is a powerful voice in her life.  She adores him.  At the beginning of this memoir she describes her daddy this way:

“He makes me feel smart, funny, and beautiful…He told me once that I was a great talker. And so I was.  I was a conversationalist, along with creative, a notion he put in my head when I was in grade school…He defined me first, as parents do.  Those early characterizations can become the shimmering self-image we embrace or the limited,stifling perception we rail against for a lifetime. In my case he sees me as I would like to be seen.  In fact,I’m not even sure what’s true about me,since I have always chosen to believe his version.  I could have gone either way…” (4)

And when she discovers her breast cancer, she says,”Calling home.  Instinctively.  Even when all the paperwork- a marriage license, a notarized deed, two birth certificates, and seven years of tax returns- clearly indicates you are an adult, but all the same, there you are, clutching the phone and thanking God that you’re still somebody’s daughter.” (5)

I couldn’t agree more.  I have a daddy like this.  And I am so grateful to be somebody’s daughter.  Happy Father’s day to my Daddy.  I love you!

Lucy loves to stand June 20, 2009

This music table has been a hit with each child.   Cord loved it so much, but when he started standing on it, I took off the legs.  Well I am so glad that I could find all 4 legs again.  Lucy has been loving it!

Happy update June 16, 2009

Thanks to our wonderful friend Jeff Korotky ( who honestly has the unfortunate job of being on our speed dial for IT problems), I have computer access.  Seems that the Zellners can’t remember passwords which makes his job VERY difficult.  A huge thanks!

Eric has made it to General Assembly for our denomination and has really enjoyed his day today.  Thanks to my mom, we are surviving too.  We had a great day today and I am hoping the rest of the week looks the same.

I want to thank our church family who have been checking on me and offering me help.  Dale, Jessica, and many others have called and offered to help and I am so very grateful.

I am going to put my head down and push through the next couple of days

Computer sadness June 15, 2009

Four days ago, Emma and Olivia were playing games on noggin.com.  One of them has a habit of pressing buttons when she doesn’t know what to do next.  The computer eventually locks up and she closes it.  I find it later all messed up.  Usually I can undo the mess that she has made, but this time I couldn’t.  Very frustrating.  

Eric undid part of it, but we still can’t get the wireless networks to show up.  Eric is leaving for General Assembly early tomorrow morning – and of course taking his computer with him!

so no Eric, no computer! This could be a baaaaad week!

Backyard fun June 11, 2009

 

  Lucy loved playing soccer with Emma.  She laughed and laughed as they passed the ball back and forth.

 Cord wants the girls to chase him all the time!  Olivia was the willing runner tonight.  He laughed and laughed as she chased him.

 

Livy got her hair cut today too.  A summer ‘do.  She LOVES it!  She started by telling me she wanted to have her haircut to look just like Holley (my cousin’s wife). 

 Here is Holley at her rehearsal for their wedding.  Olivia ended up going a little shorter than that even.

It made such a difference tonight getting ready for bed- less hair to wash and dry!  I love summer.

nerds June 10, 2009

My new favorite quote:

Olivia to a loud talking Emma in the van,” You better quiet down. You are getting on momma’s nerds.”

Hey- you don’t want to get on my nerds.  It can be ugly