Baby butts and bad attitudes

Yesterday I spent the day with Christa and the babies, and no surprise, came home with pictures and stories. :)

The first picture is Lexi, about 15 minutes after getting up from what we affectionately call her "non-nap" (2 hours of singing in the bed but no sleeping). She generally gets up from these sessions a little ... well, manic is the best word I can use. Here she is eating yogurt with a wooden Crate & Barrel condiment spoon (she insisted), probably just after yelling something at me by the looks of her.


Shortly after this, she started slamming crayons against her color book and table, and I said, "Lexi, you need to be nice." She replied, "I can't WANNA be NICE, I wanna be MEAN!" So I told her that mean little girls have to go back to bed, and she started running circles around the room yelling at the top of her lungs, "QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK E-I-E-I-O!!!!" (We taught her the Old McDonald song last weekend. Just not this version.)

Next picture: two naked babies in the bath, one with the letter "R" hanging out of his mouth.





And last but not least, Mason hauling his naked butt up the stairs at the speed of light!

He seems like he's almost ready to walk - taking steps here and there, and walking holding on to only one hand. He'll be impossible to keep up with then!

All in all a very good day.

Good muffin recipe!

This is especially for my niece Shannon to try in her silicone muffin pan - but I thought I would post it instead of just sending it to her because they are really awesome!

Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Makes 1 dozen

½ c butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 ¼ cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
4 oz (1/2 c) chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Stir in the bananas, mix well. Add the flour and baking soda, stirring just enough to moisten. Toss in chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a lovely weekend, in spite of the extreme heat for this time of year! It stays surprisingly cool in our house - we have only a window air conditioner and that's more for dehumidifying than cooling - even at 90-something degrees outside all day it hasn't gotten above 75 in here. We are learning to appreciate the benefits of an earth-berm home!

Sunday night we had some friends and family out for a bbq - Greg used his new smoker and did a huge brisket, some chicken, and some bratwurst. They were all killer!

J.R.'s brother Joe and wife Gina and baby daughter Mikayla were visiting them, so they came along - here's a picture of Lexi and Mikayla in their new outfits!


Mikayla is 5 weeks older than Mason, about half his size, and runs everywhere! He got a new hat too ... I caught him in a classic Mason facial expression! He learned to wave this weekend - it's the cutest thing ever! He does it very slowly and deliberately, and is SO proud of himself!


Monday was a lazy day - Greg and I got up and went into Shawnee Mission for breakfast, and by the time we got back the sky was getting dark ... could it be? Rain? PLEASE!! Yes it was ... and of course the power went out in the thunderstorm. But no cause for alarm - we were prepared - we just lit some candles and got out the Scrabble board.

We listened to Focus on the Family yesterday - they had audio clips of soldiers telling war stories. It really moved both of us, and we realized that we take it all so for granted. I know that sounds cliche, but seriously, we tend to criticize the war protesters, and think and talk about how painful it must be to the soldiers, but our complacency and the fact that we rarely even think about those fighting for the freedoms we enjoy must be just as painful, if not worse. Definitely not trying to preach here, just something we realized about ourselves yesterday. I'm glad we listened to that broadcast - otherwise we would have just gone through the day like any other holiday, thankful for the day off work and nothing more. God please bless those men and women who have served and are serving in our armed forces!

Dead or alive ...

This is what we assume is a tree frog, splayed out on the window trim - kinda cute!

This, we believe, is the skull of an opossum - not so cute. My friend Brenda's kids found this in the "cave" out here - my nephew Alex will soon become the proud owner of it because ... well, I think he will love it, and to be honest it's starting to freak me out sitting on my patio.

Side bar ... "opossum" is the word that knocked me out of the spelling bee in 5th (?) grade - the kid after me had to spell "corn." Does that seem fair to you? I'm still trying to get over it.

A Day at the Races

Yesterday we went to Heartland Park in Topeka to the NHRA Drag Races. Christa and my brother Mike came along, and we had a fantastic day! Here are a few pictures of the cars running at night (cool to see the "fire" coming out of them) and one picture of a very large tire!


These particular photos were actually taken at the end of the day, when Christa and I realized that we had been so busy "people watching" and taking pictures of scooters and tattoos (see posts below), that we didn't actually take any pictures of the cars! So we handed the camera to Greg for a few minutes to get these shots.


It was super hot - 90+ degrees - most of the day, and we have some very interesting sunburns - we would add sunblock to the areas most likely to be burned as the day went on, and we all have various handprints and other pretty white designs in the middle of our sunburns.


We got home about 11:30 or so, wiped out!! We slept in this morning and I've been a deadhead all day. Too much excitement I guess. Which leads to the next three posts below - three themed collages of the sights of the day. Trust me when I say we spared you a lot - the passed out drunks, the dozens (maybe hundreds) of wedgies, and lots of people (men and women both!) with not NEARLY enough clothes on! EEEWWW.

I think if you click on the pictures in the collages it will take you to a website where you can see them enlarged, but I'm not sure - I'm so new at this stuff! It works on my computer - let me know if it does on yours! Enjoy!

Seen at the races ...

Seen at the races ...
Originally uploaded by aclayton123.

From the top - left to right:
1) Butt crack. No further explanation needed. (Except that I PROMISE I didn't see the paramedics until after I took the picture.)
2) Interesting footwear.
3) A lady who sat down - very quickly - right in front of us - we barely got our camera off the seat before she sat down!
4) The footprint Christa accidentally (really) left on her shirt when she crossed her legs.
5) Very cute little boy with BIG ear protection!
6) On the counter in the bathroom - WHAT IS THIS???
7) Very fun "small world" thing - this shirt says "Adams Central Patriots" which is where I graduated from high school 25 years ago in Hastings Nebraska!
8) Good head protection from the hot sun.
9) GREAT mullet! Nice pose too.
10) Remind me never to go out in public dressed like this.
11) Cute bald head blocking Greg's view for hours.
12)Very handy T-shirt - it's a map of Kansas - maybe in case he gets lost driving home?

Tattoos at the races

My creation
Originally uploaded by aclayton123.

Trust me when I say that this is only a TINY collection of all the tattoos we saw yesterday - but it's pretty hard to get pictures of most of them without being obvious! This is what Christa and I (the two of us being the definition of discreet, you know) could come up with.

Scooters scooters everywhere

My creation
Originally uploaded by aclayton123.

This is a small collection of the scooters we saw yesterday at the drag races in Topeka. (No they don't race these - there were just thousands of them! This post is specially created for my son-in-law J.R., who wants to get one. There's sure lots of choices for you - how 'bout that pink one? Or the moped with the nifty basket? And if all else fails you could always go with the bicycle. :)

Last day

Today was my last day as a City Union Mission employee. This has been a relatively short season - I just started in November, but my life has been mainly comprised of short seasons ever since the Lord claimed me as His own. :) I keep thinking I'm getting used to it but sometimes it still surprises me, and this one did! I loved my work and the ministry God allowed me to have to the clients and even some of the staff there, but in the end, my heart stayed home all the while I was at work. So, with my dear husband's support (and finally his pushing when I needed exactly that), I am back home full time and thrilled about it.

I will miss some of the good friends I've made at the Family Center especially, but plan to keep up with them in other ways, including volunteering and going to Camp CUMCITO this summer.

I'm tempted to look back and say, "Lord, What WAS that all about?" But I know better. I will just stay in the ready position, and do the next thing, whatever that may be.

Don't pollute!

So Lexi brought me this book to read to her the other day, one I didn't even remember we had, and certainly don't ever remember reading to her before ... it's all about pollution and the environment ...


And when we got to about this page, she put her hand over the words, looked up at me, and said, "WHAT are you TALKING about?" Cracked me up! Guess we better stick to the 7-words-to-a-page books for awhile (even though she has all of those memorized).

Too sweet not to pass on

This-n-that

This is the coolest muffin pan ever! It's silicone and can take up to 450 degrees in the oven, cleans up in a snap, and best of all, the muffins come out without any trouble! OK I'm a complete dork to get so excited about a muffin pan, you don't need to say it. My mother-in-law gifted me with this one and I am very very happy.

This is Greg's new smoker! Happy early Father's Day! Any of you that have experienced his smoked creations will know that this is a big event. Looking forward to trying it out and having lots of company to share with this summer.


Aren't these the most beautiful iris? I've never seen any quite like this - they're down by our garden. Reminds me of my Aunt Grace - her ENTIRE backyard was full of iris when I was a kid.


OK. It's Wednesday. These are STILL bubbles from Sunday. It's not really that funny any more.


Cute little turtle scurrying across my yard yesterday - I was shocked at how fast he was moving! Maybe he had a date?


What is this, you ask? If you look closely you can see that it is a bunch of "decorative" grass all laying down. Why would it be laying down? BECAUSE something really big has been sleeping there. Wow do I ever hope it was deer.


This is the fountain in the pond across the meadow from us - just pretty. And I promise sincerely I will not put any bubbles in there.

BJ is safe and happy in San Diego!

Their trip was uneventful, from the sounds of it, other than the minor issue of his friend running out of money two tanks of gas from San Diego! He called last night and had spent the day at the beach with some friends, and says he caught three waves and is definitely getting the hang of surfing! He is going to send some pictures as soon as he can get internet access - apparently the balcony of the house looks over the bay and is quite beautiful at night.

He said he would be a "pro" surfer by the time we go to visit in September ... I said, "Cool, then you can teach me!" and his response was something to the effect of, "Yeah that's gonna happen." Hmmm. You all should know what an athlete I am so it just stuns me that he doesn't think I'll be a good student! :)

His address is: 3344 Trumbull Street, San Diego, California 92106
His phone is the same: 913-484-1258 - he has free minutes after 7 p.m. (9 p.m. our time) and on the weekends.

He went to church on Sunday, and he starts work next Monday. More as I find it out!

Mason's birthday party

So here you have it! Mason's big day! The first shot is him sitting on his throne, holding court if you will, opening his presents (with a little help from a friend, of course!)

The rest of the pictures are a progression of a pretty cake with a clean boy in front of it, a dainty swipe to give it a try, "OH WOW THIS IS AWESOME" leads to two-fisted eating, and finally, the end result. Can't believe he didn't puke! He ate this whole thing in less than 15 minutes, I'm not kidding you!

And speaking of dainty ...


Think she might need a few lessons from Miss Manners?

A few observations from the weekend

No story here, just darn cute!


One of Lexi's favorite pastimes ... sorta scary ... lining things up. Give me an "O", give me a "C", give me a "D" ... whattyaget? A slightly OCD little girl! :)


This is what I call a lizard, also known as a skink, and there are lots of them out here. Let's just say I don't love them, especially the first time I found one in my house, and Greg found ME standing in chair waiting for him to get home and get it out of here. I showed this one to Lexi, and she said "OH NO! It's an alligator!" It's about 3 inches long. :)


Papa playing his guitar and Lexi dancing her heart out ... once again, just pretty darn cute.


OK, now for the observations, the things I learned this weekend.
1) The tiniest bit of bubbles goes a VERY LONG WAY in a fountain. This was about four hours after I put it in! Greg is still laughing. Lexi loved it!
2) One minute is definitely too long to melt chocolate chips in the microwave - no picture, the smoke alarm was going off and I thought it was probably more important to put out the fire than get the camera.
3) A squirrel, landing in the wrong spot on a transformer, will not only knock out the power to the entire neighborhood, but will still be smoking and sizzling when it hits the ground. Nasty. And definitely too gross for the camera.

Bible study ... a new look

We had Bible study out here yesterday - four of us meet every week (Christa, Brenda, Monica and I) and of course the kiddos. The kids play and we talk, study and pray ... usually we meet at Christa's but we did it here yesterday because I had to be here all morning for the Time Warner folks to come fix my incredibly staticky phone. The kids were having blast in the fountain and before we knew it they were SOAKED!



AND SO ..... one thing led to another ...




and we ended up with naked babies playing on my patio! It was so hilarious - of course we are out here in the middle of nowhere so no worries about visibility ...



and then (naturally) the Time Warner guy showed up. Here we moms sat, Bibles and journals and books out all over the place, and naked kids were everywhere he looked. Bet he had a story to tell when he got back to the office last night!! :)

Seriously, though, we're studying the book "Captivating" by John and Stasi Eldredge and I would highly recommend it. It has made us think and generated SO MUCH great discussion in our group. I just love this bunch of women - we always have a blast together (although today may have hit a new high ... or low ... however you might want to look at it!).

And he's off ...

Well, B.J. and his friend Will (who's been staying with us since they got done for the semester) left this morning for sunny San Diego. Did I mention how much I'll miss him? However there are some things I WON'T MISS ...

Like what their room looked like pretty much the whole time they were here:



As compared to ... {sigh of relief} what their room looks like now!

Seriously, please pray for them on their journey - it will be a very long drive. We sent them with lots of snacks and a MapQuest set of directions, and are praying Psalm 34:1-8 for us and for them as they go:

"I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from my fears.
The looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles!
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!"

Happy Birthday Big Boy!

Today is Mason's first birthday! A year ago this morning we were eating at IHOP at about 6:00 in the morning, before going to the hospital with Christa and J for her to be induced. It was a LONG day but once things got going ... well let's just say they really got going! It was an amazing and beautiful thing to witness new life (9 lbs 7 oz of it!) entering the world. Only God could create such perfection. Anyway, he's one year old today! He's just recently taken to giving big, sloppy, wet kisses that would TOTALLY gross me out coming from anyone else but somehow just melt my heart coming from him! He's a ham and literally the happiest baby I've ever been around. We are so thankful to get to spend so much time with him!
Look at all those teeth! He cut his top four teeth in about 3 weeks ... those were NOT his happiest days but he sure seems to be proud of them in these pictures!! His current favorite activity is crawling at the speed of light with a ball in each hand ... whatever floats your boat, little guy!

Lexi in her element ...

Lexi LOVES to play outside at Nini and Papa's house! She has a collection of cups, spades, a little wheelbarrow, buckets, and various other necessities, and a built-special-for-Lexi-by-Papa place to stand in front of the fountain. This occupies her for hours!
Don't ya just love these "raindrop boots"?! No amount of talking will convince her they're watermelon boots - I think she MIGHT have a mind of her own, I'm not sure yet. :) (She really cracks me up when she insists on wearing these boots with shorts or a skirt!)
She is so proud of herself for watering Papa's flowers (and shells, and rocks, and the patio, and lots of other stuff when I'm not watching closely!)
I love this little curly head posed right next to this quote: "One is Nearer God's Heart in a Garden Than Anywhere Else On Earth."

Life in Hobbit Hollow

This is what I see out my kitchen window. I read yesterday that nature is not primarily functional, but rather it is primarily beautiful. I would have to agree. I've never seen so much green in my life!

B.J. leaves tomorrow for San Diego until Christmas - he'll be doing a youth ministry internship at a big church called "The Rock." He's very excited and ready to go - we'll miss him! We are planning to go see him in September so will look forward to that.

I'm headed out to walk at Shawnee Mission Park with my good friend Joan, and then will get to go watch the grandbabies for awhile this afternoon. Life is good.