Happy Halloween ^-_-^

Robby made us a special Halloween pizzaKimberly the football player, Lindsay the pumpkin (her face is the stem and her pigtails were painted green for leaves), Garrett the mummy and Cynthia the cowgirl.

CRAZY BOYS

Garrett had three friends over Friday night. Let me just say-Boys scream just as loud as girls! We turned all the lights off and gave each child a mini flashlight. The older girls crawled around and jumped out and scared them. I'd bet the screams could be heard for miles (did you hear any screaming Friday night Jeff?)

What do you think of Garrett's glasses??

When it was time to wind down the boys went to Garrett's room (which was clean before the party-I promise!) and played video games.



The girls curled up on the beanbags and watched a movie

It was fun, but I sure am glad it's over!

Oldies but Goodies

These are from our trip to Cincinnati to pick Lindsay up from her summer trip to Grandma's (in Pitt). I don't know why I never posted them because I absolutely LOVE the face painting the kids had done at Cheeseburger In Paradise. Of course, Kimberly was too cool for it.

These are Lindsay's BEST friends-the frog band. Although they are supposed to be lawn decorations they spend most of their time in her room playing school or providing back up music for her beautiful singing. They missed her greatly while she was gone and designed their own "WELCOME HOME" sign to let her know just how much! She was pretty shocked --but not fooled.

Garrett's Birthday Lunch

Garrett's birthday was actually Saturday, but we had his lunch/family party today. Grandma Lulu was able to come in from Pittsburgh (on her way to a conference in Indiana) which was a huge surprise for Garrett. Grandma Helen and Grandpa Norman were here and Kestin and Jeni brought Sophie for her first visit to our house. It was a nice, calm afternoon of fun. The WILD party will be next weekend when Garrett has about 4 of his friends sleeping over! I think the girls and I might go hide out at Grandma Helen's and leave Robby

here to deal with all the craziness!

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Garrett's "special request" cake- Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (we also had chocolate ice cream!) That's MY boy!

Grandma Lulu holding Baby Sophie

Lindsay enjoyed the cake, she even got some IN her mouth!

Sometimes all the excitement is just too much

WORDS

While sitting at KFC with my mother and two youngest children Garrett overheard a conversation that he didn’t quite understand.

My mom had sent Garrett and Lindsay shorts for soccer and Garrett had his on. My mom was commenting on how long they were and how she almost bought a longer style because at the store she thought they looked really short. I went on to tell her how the kids had been wearing their basketball shorts for soccer. I said “They really looked bad. The basketball shorts are so long that they come down below their knees. When they wear them with their shin guards and long soccer socks they look like knickers!”

Garrett’s head spun around so fast I’m surprised he doesn’t have whiplash! He looked at me wide eyed, with disbelief. A few seconds passed and he continued to look at me as if he was anticipating a response from me. I asked him why he was looking at me that way and his reply was “WHAT did you just say?” It only took a second to realize what he thought he heard so I repeated as clearly as possible “knick-ERS. KniCK-ers.

With a most serious look on his face Garrett looked me square in the eyes and said “Speak more clearly next time!”

What would I do without a 10 year-old to keep me in line!

Happy Birthday Garrett !

Garrett, you are the most loving, caring, tender-hearted person I know. You bring joy to my heart each day. I know sometimes it’s tough for you being the only boy, but you handle it all so well. You are a superb big brother and your big sisters appreciate you more than they want to let on.

I’m so proud of you for all that you do with school and sports and Bible Drill. And even though you say you don’t like being in choir, I love to hear you sing! I admire the hard work and dedication you put into everything you do (except maybe homework and cleaning your room! :) You make me so proud.

I am impressed with the young man you are and look forward to seeing you continue to grow (both in stature and in wisdom). I hope you never lose your sense of adventure and quest for knowledge (one day you might need to know all those “facts” you like to collect!).

Your spirit never ceases to amaze me and your smile never leaves me unmoved. You are an extraordinary young man. God has a very special plan for you, I’m sure of it!

Happy 10th Birthday Garrett!

I Love You!

Jesus Doesn't Need Our Crayons !

OK. Lindsay is mad at me. I laughed at her. Not because I was trying to be mean (what she said was hilarious!). But it hurt her feelings. She said I was making fun of her. Of course I didn’t mean to upset her. But sometimes she says things that are so cute and so funny that I can’t control myself. Here’s how it went. . .

We were dusting and sweeping and cleaning the bathrooms. We had the radio on to keep us motivated. Lindsay is an excellent duster (she has her own Swiffer!) I like to turn several radios on so we can hear the music all over the house, and we usually listen to 105.9 (which is a Christian station). The song “We Fall Down” by Kutless came on the radio and Lindsay was singing as loud as she could. She really gets into her singing, but about halfway though the song she stopped. Looked at me with concern. And said “I don’t think that song is right.”

I wasn’t sure what she disagreed with, so I had to ask.

She threw her hands up onto her hips and tilted her head to the side while she explained. . . “If we fell down and dropped our crayons at the feet of Jesus he would just pick them up and give them back to us. He doesn’t need our crayons! He makes color with his hands!”

You have to chuckle, don't you!

(If you haven’t heard the song, the line she was trying to quote is “We fall down, we lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus”. She was close!)

Congratulations Garrett !

Hooray for Garrett!

He made the basketball team at school!

SMILE !

So. I already told you where we spent our day today, but I left out a funny conversation with Lindsay.

Garrett had his pictures first (which was a good thing. It was hard enough getting him over there clean with combed hair. I knew it wouldn't last long!). Lindsay watched as the mothers checked their children's hair, spit-cleaned their faces and tucked in their shirts. After a few minutes she started asking if her hair looked pretty and if her face was clean. I told her she looked beautiful! A few more minutes of silence and she asked "Mom. How long do you think it will take for my teeth to come back?"

Now, Lindsay has been a little sensitive lately about everyone making a big deal out of her missing front teeth. So, I said "Not too long. I can already see one of them coming through." She smiled her toothless smile and said "What time do I get my picture taken?" I looked at my day planner and told her "1:45. That'll be after we eat lunch." She looked up at me with her big blue eyes and with total sincerity she said "Do you think I'll have my teeth back by then???"

Blessings

Today was soccer picture day. Not only did each of my three soccer players have a separate picture time, but they each had a game today too! We were at the soccer field from 10:30am to 4:45 pm (minus the hour and 5 minutes we had to run to Subway for a sandwich at lunch time!). I took my school books thinking I might get some studying done while the kids ran around and got filthy before their pictures, but the books never made it out of my back-pack. The older girls were pretty talkative (I definitely didn't want to pass up a chance to have a civilized conversation with those two moody monkeys!) and Lindsay wants to be anywhere her big sisters are, so we sat in the lawn chairs and talked (while Garrett ran around and got dirty!).



Listening to them talk about their struggles and conflicts and interests and excitement I was struck by something about them. I can't really put my finger on exactly what it is, but the way they think about things really impresses me. They have grown into beautiful young ladies with good hearts and strong minds. YES. They are teenage girls with mood-swings and attitude problems and overly dramatic responses at times. But, I didn't have to look really hard to see that they are so much more than that! I was reminded today that God has blessed me with some wonderful kids. From the little toothless grin to the dirt loving, often stinky smarty-pants, to the sensitive and sometimes shy basketball queen, to the intelligent and caring free-spirit.



They aren't perfect. Sometimes they don't make the best choices.

But they always make me proud to call them my children!

Leave it to Cynthia !

So. We're driving down the road with the radio on and everyone trying to talk at once (NORMAL in our family!). Cynthia starts talking about something. . . For the life of me I can't recall what it was about!

I'm driving, singing to the radio, and half listening to the teenage-girl rambling when all of a sudden she screams "EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"I think I just ate a BOOGER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

After the screeching laughter subsided she explained without taking a breath "I was trying to take a drink and I missed my mouth. My straw went up my nose and when I just took a drink there was something salty and chewy on my straw! I think it was a booger!"

That's Cynthia for you!

Soccer

(Garrett stops to wave whenever he sees me taking a picture.

EVEN in the middle of the GAME!)

Blanket Monster

The "Blanket Monster" has a dangerous job. He has to chase his prey through the house without being able to see (blankets don't have eyes, you know!). He must capture his victim by following the sounds of their movement (and giggles!).

The neighbors always know when the Blanket Monster has succeeded in his task by the high pitch squeals of his victim followed by the thundering footsteps of the ones that escaped.

But sometimes. . . Not often. . . Occasionally. . . The blanket monster can be tricked. He can be lured into unknown territory and captured in the bathtub!

Today Was a Great Day to Enjoy the Outdoors

We enjoyed the mild temperatures at Huber's Orchard in Indiana.

Farmer Robby

Lindsay REALLY enjoyed picking apples. We ended up with three bags full!
Anybody got any good apple recipes?

Lindsay always makes sure we know when it's time to go home!

A Sad Day For Garrett

I was sleeping rather well when Garrett touched my arm. With a quiet voice he said "Mom. Are you awake? My lizard is dead." Now I'm not much of a morning person, especially when I get woke up unexpectedly. But I could hear the hurt in my little boy's voice. I sat up and reached for his hand, trying to decide how to respond to the situation. Garrett is an extremely loving boy and I knew his sensitivity would show itself today. He climbed up in the bed with me and snuggled under the covers for a couple of minutes. Then he got up, looked at me with his deep, brown eyes, and said matter-of-factly "It's time to bury him now."

Garrett went upstairs and took Leon out of his pickle-jar home and gently placed him in the jewelry-box I gave him to use for the burial. I wasn't really fond of the little lizard (or any other creepy-crawly thing) but I had to hold back tears when I heard Garrett saying "Good-bye" to his reptile friend. It was clear from his words that he had a bond with the lizard that no one else could understand. He never cried (atleast not in front of me), but he was somber and serious about his task.

He walked past me without saying a word and with the jewelry box in one hand and a kitchen spoon in the other he chose a final resting place for his departed friend. I watched through the kitchen window as he carefully dug a small hole under the bush near the fence; hoping he wouldn't bend the spoon but not daring to say anything about it. He finished the hole. Placed the "coffin" inside. And covered it with dirt. Then he placed a large stone on top.

I'm not sure what he was saying as he stood there with his head bowed, but I'm sure it came from his heart.

Remember When . . . . . . . .

Cynthia's "Light-Bulb" Moment

This afternoon I was working on a scrapbook page in the sunroom floor. Cynthia was laying on the couch behind me watching Oprah. The guests on the show were the cast members from the new movie "Why Did I Get Married" which includes Janet Jackson. After about 15 minutes of watching Cynthia started to comment on Janet's appearance and voice. She wasn't very impressed with her at all. After a few snide remarks she said "Isn't she Michael Jackson's sister?" I laughed at the seriousness in her voice, but I wasn't prepared for the next thing that came out of her mouth. . .

"Oh my gosh! Michael Jackson's BLACK!"

. . . What excitement the younger generation has missed out on!

Two Years Ago Today

It's still hard to believe this was our home. . .

It's funny. Even now there are days when I go looking for something that we don't have anymore. I have to laugh when I realize that I'm wasting my time. And I still get a little down when I think about the sentimental things that I will never see again. BUT . . . I am immediately reminded of how blessed we are. When I think about "what could have been" and how quickly I could have lost a part of my family---those pictures and keepsakes and trinkets seem so silly. I am grateful to God for watching over my family. And in some strange way that I will probably never fully understand, I am grateful that He allowed us to endure and gave us the strength to overcome the trying times of our fire.