Poor Joseph

Today the Nativity Scene made its debut. Brooklyn was in charge of Joseph, Mary, baby Jesus and a donkey. I looked over to see Joseph, lying supine.

"What's wrong with Joseph" I ask.
"He's dead."
"How did he die?" (The long journey to Bethlehem, living with animals, killed by the inn-keeper. What could it be?)
"He got a really bad flu....."

Okay.

I guess he should have washed his hands better. And, darn it, if he wasn't feeling well, he should have stayed home!

My son's obsessive compulsive disorder

His entire life, Ty has gone through phases of rather strange compulsions. For awhile he would sniff his fingers whenever he touched ANYTHING! He'd grab his cereal spoon and then sniff his fingers. Scratch his arm and sniff his fingers. It was odd.

Thankfully that stage is gone. Onto another. Today we noticed him doing a little hoot....."who, who...." Not like an owl. More like a very airy, loud whistle. We think he's trying to mimic an animal call of some sort. The boys haven't been hunting owls, so we're not quite sure what it is. Here's a snippet of our dinner.

"On Madagascar the penguin says (blah, blah, blah)....who...."
"Lets put flames on it. ...who....."
"I like this dinner, mommy.....who, who....."

He wont stop. But he doesn't even realize he's doing it. We've pointed it out and he says "What?.....who"

By the end of dinner Doug and I were cracking up but trying to not show it as to avoid giving the poor son a complex. So we'll just ride this one out....who.

Yesterday's Puppet Show

Tickets were made and handed out.
Chairs dragged into the kitchen and set up in rows.
Puppets ready.
On with the show!

Last Saturday's Date

Two really cool neighbors who don't have kids.
A trip to dinner and a hockey game with said neighbors.
One suburban.
One apparently very expensive earring falling from cool neighbor's ear.
Falling down, down into the abyss of "THE SEAT." You know the kind. The seat where the kids usually sit.....
One super cool neighbor digging frantically to find earring.
Two super cool neighbors now looking for earring in the dark.
One car owner who isn't too mortified since she recently cleaned the car.
One super cool neighbor who flips up seat in search of wife's earring.
One super cool neighbor who unveils a secret compartment in the seat, hidden by a closure that one husband and wife never knew existed.
And had never cleaned.
Ever.
Because they didn't know it was there.
One unwrapped peppermint patty, approximately 23 crayons, 12 army men, the equivalent of seven packs of granola bars all in crumbs, 37 cents, a napkin, 17 french fries, the head of a barbie,and one shiny, silver earring.
Five days since date and two super cool neighbors probably still scrubbing under their fingernails.

Just wandering around on the island out back. I believe the kids were looking for a salmon carcass they had found earlier. I opted just to take some pictures.
Someone taught them the "nanoo-nanoo" thing. A beautiful fall day.

Trying to find the right blue for my bathroom, which is currently the wrong blue. And it may not even be so much the wrong blue, but I can't find the paint to cover a patch we made. I think I gave it away. Oh well. A good excuse for a makeover.

I decided to be adventurous and let the kids help. I wish it wasn't so stressful to see three of them with paint brushes, but stressful it is. I remember stopping by a friend's home last year, and her 8 or 10-year-old was carrying around a red plastic cup filled with paint and a paintbrush, doing touchups on all the walls. I don't know how she did it.

A few squares to share

A couple of still-not-so-well kids mixed with some very cool, rainy fall weather made for a great day to try some sewing with Brooklyn. She picked some material a few weeks ago and I just haven't taken the time to cut out a few measly squares. But today was the day.

Brooklyn rummaged through the scraps and found some great pieces. Then she ironed the material. I marked the squares. She cut them out. And then I stood over her at the sewing machine and grabbed the material every time it started to go crooked. And then I remembered the its her quilt and she will the learn how to sew a straight line the same way everyone else does. So I backed away. Until I saw the material going crooked. I just couldn't help myself! But I will say that it looks mighty fine.

Its been a little busy around here

Its not that I've been doing nothing blog-worthy. Quite the opposite. We're just keeping too busy for me to find the time to sit down and write about all of it. We've been doing more for school than any year before, the kids are swimming again two nights a week, and I've started teaching piano lessons three days/week. Add to that a steelhead season that has captured Doug.

I've been busy making these massively adorable bibs and others just as cute.

Catching one of these

Building a couple of teepees for a pow wow

And sewing like crazy creating these super cute outfits.


Looking forward to this weekend.

A new version of Angels, We have heard on high

I overheard the kids singing some Christmas songs from the upcoming Christmas production. It went a little like this....

"Glo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooooria....How does it go? Oh, yeah. In a shellfish stable....Glo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooooria."

"Yeah, that's it!"

May I have your attention please

After a good four month respite, Brooklyn is posting again. Check it out on her blog.

I Saw Three Ships Go Sailing By...

Today we set sail on the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. We're studying Columbus this week so the activity was to make some ships. The kids found wood that would float and then widdled some holes for the mast and decorated some sails. We originally secured the masts with hot wax. When that failed on one, we used Gorilla Glue. And when the wax broke on another ship today, we stopped by Walmart and bought some bubble gum. Worked like a charm. We had to go to Lake Chelan today so we stopped by to see if the ships could handle a long journey. They would have been fine if there were no jet boats on Lake Chelan. We lost a sail and capsized the Nina.

And then off to the playground.



The kids wanted to try again to sail the ships from one of the docks. Ty let his boat go and it got too far out. The girls were kind enough to do a rescue mission and retrieve the Santa Maria. Not that they minded too much.

A note I received today from my pastor.

I laughed so hard and so long my stomach hurt. Really. I was still laughing hours after this happened yesterday.
I heard a noise outside my office. It was Ty. He was trying to get in all the glass doors, which were locked. He was definitely in a hurry. Then he looked around, and decided just to go ahead and pee right next to the building.
What he didn't know it was right under my office window. I went into Traci's office and said - "you're not going to believe this - take a look." We opened the blinds and were chuckling when all of a sudden Ty looks up, directly at me - perfect eye contact. I wish I could describe the look on his face. SHEER PANIC! He realized he was peeing outside my office window and the pastor was watching him from the window. LOL
Our eyes locked momentarily, his facial expression would have won us the grand prize on America's Funniest Videos - and then he was off like a world class sprinter! Traci and I laughed and laughed and laughed. I bet he was so scared - wondering what I was going to do. But hey - what is there to do - he's a boy and I can relate. Sometimes if I drink too much coffee and I'm heading over the pass - I have to find a tree myself.
It's just when a boy gets older, he gets more discreet and you make sure you aren't standing in front of someone's window. Just had to share one of the most memorable pastoral moments I've had - thanks to your boy. LOL
Sometimes I wish I would have started writing a book about 20 years ago when I became pastor. So many funny things have happened. Love you, Doug and your family. Thanks for being part of WFA and thanks for letting me share this funny story. Pastor Jerry

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

Tonight at approximately 7:45 I will have been married for 3,652 days.
That's 219,120 minutes.
Or 13,147,200 seconds.
Nothing but mostly pure happiness.
This includes but is not limited to:
Three awesome kids
Five houses
Six cars
7 nieces and nephews
18 pets - three dogs, three cats, six ducks, five chickens and a goose
21 acquired in-laws
42 camping trips
365 days in jail with 364 suspended (Just kidding. Needed a filler)
Approximately 350,000 miles driven mostly together
Many, many horrible dinners that were gratefully eaten
Hundreds of naps together
Thousands of kisses
Millions of kind words (and a few not-so-kind)
And tons of fun. The funny thing is that 13,186,800 seconds ago I thought I really loved him. Ha! Who knew I could love him even more. So, to the one who NEVER reads my blog, I love you! Happy Anniversary.

Ty turns 7

This past weekend Ty and Granddad celebrated their birthdays. Ty wanted to go camping for his birthday so away we went.
I, of course, forgot candles. But Auntie Tracy used to sell Partylite and just happened to have the "World's Largest Supply Of Candles One Could Carry While Camping," so we were good. Okay, she may not have had "The Largest Supply" because we definitely didn't have enough for Granddad to blow out....And, yes, the above picture shows my idea of a birthday cake. I'm not saying I'm proud of it, but its cake.



I've started having the kids pack their own bags because, by golly, by this time they should know what to pack for camping. I neglected checking the bags this time, though, because I was in a rush. Below is what Madelyn decided to bring to the dirty, dusty campsite. One thing is certain - the girl's got style.

Where Markers Go To Hide

Yesterday I was coloring with the kids at the kitchen table, sporting my new denim skirt, re-creating a Monet print, and thoroughly enjoying the moments with the kids. When it was time to clean up, I ran around the dining room and kitchen in search of the blue marker top THAT I JUST HAD IN MY HAND!!!! Where the heck was it? Had I tossed it in the trash? Was it under the fridge? Did the cat eat it?

Oh no.

Fast forward about 20 minutes when I stood up from the couch and felt something falling out of my underwear! For real! I have no idea how it got there. I amaze myself sometimes.

I mowed a park

On Friday I thought I'd be neighborly and mow the lawn next door. Our neighbor just comes over on the weekends. He's been gone most of the summer so his grass was REALLY long. And apparently I thought I needed to walk, oh, three or four miles pushing a lawn mower. The sick part of me kept thinking what fun it would be to be the caretaker of this property because it is pretty as it is, but could be gorgeous with a little TLC. And then I'd snap back to reality and remember I can barely take care of my own yard.


The kicker, though? He didn't even show up this weekend.

Tonight a family friend dropped off two motorcycles for the kids to learn on. I wasn't exactly excited about this as just prior to the man arriving, Brooklyn took the three-wheeler over the bank and heading straight for the river. In fact, she was drying her tears as motorcycle man pulled up. My personal opinion was that they should master the motorized vehicle with three wheels before we put them on one with two. But apparently I'm the only one around here who feels this way.

I will admit that after seeing the little 50cc motorcycle and all the accompanying gear AND THE KILL SWITCH ON A TETHER ATTACHED TO AN ADULT AT ALL TIMES my mind was put at ease.

So the kids all stuffed their adorable little faces into these helmets.

 

And away they went. Ty was up first. He and Brooklyn both did great.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I can live with this.

No posts lately. Its been a busy few weeks.
We've been:
Spending many nights in the tent outside


Bathing

Spending time with my family

Hanging out with cousins


And taking the kids for a few spins on the Columbia River, one of whom absolutely HATES boating