Birthdays and sick days!

Sick days first - we have had the weirdest wave of stomach virus sweep through here - Callie got sick on Wednesday (we babysat her Weds night); Greg got sick the middle of Thursday night, I got sick Friday evening, Brooke (Lexi's overnight friend, see below :) Saturday morning, Lexi Saturday afternoon, and Mason Saturday night. So far that seems to be the end of the epidemic but I haven't heard from Christa yet today ... it was either a total fluke or the FASTEST incubation period EVER for a virus!!


Anyway, that's not any of the fun stuff, just life stuff. Lexi had her new friend Brooke over here on Thursday for a 5th birthday sleepover! She was so excited for so long, "My very first sleepover ever Nini!" Brooke is 6 1/2 and so sweet with Lexi - they get along great and Brooke is sort of "motherly" with Lexi when there is any disagreement, letting her go first, have her way, etc. - I'm not sure that's great for Lex but it was so sweet of Brooke. It was HILARIOUS listening to their conversations without me participating in them - I can't begin to count how many times the two of them used the word "ridiculous." (Example: "Nini, it is so ridiculous that your trash can is in your cabinets." They teased, played, made ginormous messes, and generally had a busy blast. I did too! Because Greg got sick Friday was a little sketchy, so we packed up and went to Christa's after lunch until it was time for Brooke to go home. Here's a few pictures - I practically have a play-by-play posted on Facebook if you're my friend on there and want to look.

We started the day with a trip to Walmart (whoopee) and lunch at McDonald's ... the lunch of champions, huh?

The girls "get" the whole webkinz thing way better than I do ... I never felt so old.

Yeah all this stuff definitely camp out of the homeschooling closet. Should've known they were too quiet ... but really it didn't matter and they had a LOT of fun with "arts & crafts" the whole time they were together. They were also remarkably compliant with cleaning up their mess ... witha little help from a Nini, of course.

Trying to get the kitty - I had to rescue the poor thing a few times - he was definitely "over-loved." And yes, once again, there's Lexi's butt crack. Her signature, apparently.

Just before bed ... Lexi's new princess socks (lovely) and not too long before Greg got sick. Hmmm. Germs.

Bedtime - it only took them 2 1/2 hours to be quiet and go to sleep! Which might have had something to do with Lexi's 29.2 meltdowns on Friday afternoon ...

Long story short - I highly recommend to all Grama's out there to consider hosting your grandchild's sleepover sometime - I think I had as much fun as they did.

Babies

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Willie! He's officially declawed and de ... well you know. He seems fine, and thankfully he and Millie (formerly known as Billie Bob) picked up where they left off, no hissing or growling necessary. :)

Callie came to visit tonight ... she spent an entire hour crawling up and down the stairs. UP the stairs, sit in my lap, up from my lap, down the stairs, turn in a circle, UP the stairs, sit in my lap, up from my lap, down the stairs, turn in a circle, you get the picture. An HOUR! Oh to be so easily pleased. She is such a doll. Her mommy, on the other hand, is on my list ...

... mom sent no diapers or wipes and an imminent poop ... I had a pull-up ... unfortunately I changed her wet diaper into the pull-up BEFORE the poop ... found another pull-up thankfully since she totally peed down her legs, socks, etc. because the pull-ups are too big for her ... so when she went home she was wearing a huge pull-up and a pair of pajamas that are about Lexi's size. :) Hope they remember to change that pull-up before they put her back to bed! At least I THINK that's what I hope ...

When do you make an "M" a "W"??

You make an M a W when you take your new kitty, Millie, to the vet to get declawed and spayed, and the vet calls to say that they can't spay Millie because "she" is a "HE"!!!!!!!! So Millie is now "Willie," and we've renamed Billie Bob "Millie" (since she really IS a girl). This is all very confusing but eventually should clear up the gender issues we've created for the poor things ... and OH MY GOODNESS how could we not tell the difference?? I promise you we looked ... really looked ... at all the kitties and this was the only one that looked like a girl. I'll leave it at that and not humiliate poor Willie any further.

It was definitely one of the funniest phone calls I've gotten in awhile, especially when I told the vet, "Well we'll have to change her - I mean HIS - name now ..." and she said, "Oh we're calling him Milli Vanilli!"

We have a baby!!

Did I get anybody's blood pressure to jump? Heart skip a beat? No? Well it was fun imagining that it might.


We got this little tabby last night - she's 3 months old and we named her Millie (yes, it rhymes with Billie (bob) our other she-cat's name ... I really like rhyming. Plus she looks like a Millie. Trust me.) It has been hilarious watching the two of them circle each other and posture and growl and hiss and carry on ... wonder how long it will take for the power struggle to resolve?

When the sweet turns sour

Aren't they just precious? Seriously! I love both these pictures. And SoMeTiMeS they represent the reality of these little people. And sometimes they don't.

For example, the other day I was visiting them and they were having a rare mid-winter Kansas chance to play outside. The babies were sleeping, so Christa and I were sitting outside also with the back door wide open (to hear the babies, lest you think we were dangerously incompetent - the front door was locked and the garage door was too, so don't worry).

Lexi made the most perfect mound of dirt, and planted a wonderfully straight and tall stick. Dead as a doornail, but that was irrelevant, as you will see. She moved on to the swingset, and next thing you know Mason is on the porch with us brandishing said stick like a weapon. Lexi catches sight of him, and of course a screaming tug of war ensues. Christa grabs the stick, puts it somewhere too high for either of them to reach, and orders them off the porch. Mason went quietly (shocking, honestly) and Lexi's older sister mouth started running ... "Mason now that tree will NEVER grow and it's all your fault that she took it away from us and it was MINE and you shouldn't have taken it and it's all your fault that Mom took it away ..." and on and on and on. Eventually Mason said, "Do you want me to push you on the swing?" Sweet, yes? "NO! You shouldn't have stoled my stick! It's all your fault ... blah blah blah." After about, oh, 3 or 4 more minutes of her haranguing and his trying to appease her I finally went in, but it was quite a display of their separate personalities, and also just the generalized differences of birth order! More than that, it was really really funny!!

Am I the only one?

I'm SO jonesing to change my background, and the cutestblogontheblock website got shut down because their server is overloaded ... I'm tired of my "happy new year message" and you probably are too but I guess we'll all just have to deal until they get back up and running. Good luck cutest IT folk!

A picture worth a thousand words ...

... so I'll save mine for another post.

What a lovely visit ...

My baby brother Mike and his more-than-just-a-girlfriend Lauren came to visit this week from Colorado. We've had the best fun - Lauren and I set up a blog for her and she is absolutely obsessed now ... so go check it out here! We've had lots of time to just hang out and talk and laugh and catch up and get to know Lauren - although they've been together for quite a while now this is her first trip to Kansas ... we were glad to find out she really did exist and wasn't just a claymation figment of Michael's imagination!

Anyway, busy wonderful week ... really hate to see them go. Please come back soon??

23!!

Right after I finished saying I was slowing down on the posts ... it occurred to me that today is Brandon's 23rd birthday! He is spending it, as far as I can tell, on a bus somewhere in Uganda, ultimate destination Lira. He posted a beautiful (to me) blog this weekend - if you want to hear his heart, and how God is changing him, click here. Most of you know this, but he is on a 11-month, 11-country missions trip, and Uganda is country (and month, not that I'm counting) #4.

Is anybody there?

Sometimes I wonder if anyone is reading this ... judging by the comments (or lack thereof) either no is looking or the posts are incredibly NOT interesting. :) Oh well I know I really only do this for my own pleasure anyway, but I do wonder. So, if you want to make my day now and again, if you've been here, let me know!

I'm actually slowing down a bit for awhile ... I have some busy weeks coming up and probably a lack of good material now that the holidays are over and the kids are just pretty much fighting over stuff every waking hour. I'm back on the treadmill (yay me ... here's hoping I keep it up!), volunteering at the church office one day a week, of course still homeschooling on Monday and Friday mornings, Thursday Bible study is starting again next week, helping a new friend organize some rooms in her house, and other stuff I can't think of right now. So all of that to say, I have a lot of great God stuff going on that may lead to less blogging! Who can argue with that, though, really?

How to drive a cat over the edge ...

Greg recently bought a laser light for his own pleasure and to torture the cat. This fairly laid back cat has turned into a FREAK whenever Greg's around, climbing the cabinet where the laser light is stored, literally screeching at him from the moment he gets home until he gets it out to "play" with her. I really think she's on the verge of going nuts (or driving ME nuts, one or the other) ... is there such a thing as kitty therapy?

So here's a video sampling of him playing with her. Get a good visual of that light ... there's more to the story ...



She's a good jumper huh? Anyone know of contests she could be entered in, especially if I could mail her there?

Fast forward to Christmas morning. Greg's and my first Christmas morning home alone ... we decided to memorialize it by getting a picture of us sitting in front of our fireplace. So I set the timer ... ran to sit down by Greg ... the timer light (a LITTLE RED DOT) started flashing ...



... and out of nowhere the cat jumped the coffee table, ran up the couch, attacked the red light, and FLASH, Merry Christmas! Don't we look great?

Post 301!!

When I logged in, I noticed that I've posted 300 times! For some reason there is pleasure in that for me. :)

I have absolutely nothing earth shattering or deep to share right now, I'm working that all out inside my own head and you don't want in there, believe you me!

So, here's what I have for you to ponder for now: What the HECK is this thing that Lexi made and stuck to my frig? I fear that her artistic gene is rearing it's ... head again ...

Christmas baths ...

But ... wow ... if you didn't know I took it today, could you tell which baby this is?? The bath was required, by the way, because while we (four!) adults were otherwise occupied she drank (=spilled) an entire Coke Zero down the front of her, and walked around munching a square of sausage and egg casserole, frequently stopping to run her hands through her hair.

Just for fun, check out Lexi's bathtub pictures here. Is it just me?

More Christmas pictures to come another day, this one just had to be done between gatherings.

O Holy Night

The lump in my throat has been there all day, and the tears keep spilling over. Yes, my son Brandon is not home for Christmas for the first time ever, and yes, I mourn (as I do every year) the loss of Kiki and Terran. And yes, we went to see a sad movie this afternoon. :)

But as I've prayed my way through the day, wrapping presents, making dessert for tomorrow, checking plans for the morning with the grandkids, I realized that the lump, and the tears that keep coming, are rooted in humility and gratitude toward the God that made Himself a man, flesh and blood, sent to be born in the most humiliating circumstances, for the express purpose of dying in the most humiliating possible way, so that I could have access to the God that loves me, the God that I was separated from because of my sin. His righteousness prevented my sinful self from standing in His presence, and nothing I could do could erase my sin. Jesus' birth, life, death and resurrection were required for ME ... to cover MY sin ... so that I could belong to my God for all of eternity. What is required of me? To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Period. Period!!

How can I weep over an absent son, a failed adoption, a sad movie, and fail to weep over a God who chose to send His Son to die for ME, to fail to weep over the magnitude of the gift that was delivered to me ... and for YOU, should you choose to accept it ... over 2000 years ago. His promises are as good today as they ever were, and He is waiting with open arms. Believe.

Sorry folks ...

my intentions were good, but my body let me down. I'm fighting some sort of everything-above-the-shoulders virus - bad sore throat, sinus infection, ear infection, major headache ... so I'm down for the count for now. I do really have blog material so I'll get it up here as soon as my eyes can focus again!

'Til then,

NEWSFLASH!!

Christa blogged! I figured if I didn't tell you, no one would ever know, 'cause who bothers to look at a blog that hasn't been updated since May ... love you honey!!

Real blog from me tomorrow, I promise.

Ham Carbonara

I have a plethora (good word, huh?) of ham this season, so I've been messing around with new ways to use it up - I think this one is a keeper! Anyone else have some good ham recipes?

Total preparation time - about 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup cubed fully cooked ham
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup stick butter, melted
2 egg, beaten
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the onion and mushrooms in oil. Add the ham, broth and butter; heat through.
Drain pasta; add to ham mixture. Add eggs; cook until the eggs are completely set. Sprinkle with parsley and Parmesan cheese; toss to coat.

"X"mas?

Am I the only one who has been offended by the seemingly secular reduction of the word Christmas to "Xmas" - in other words, taking "Christ" out of Christmas? Well boy did I learn something tonight! Here's a brief synopsis - if it piques your interest, do some more research because there is MUCH MUCH more to the letter "X" as it pertains to our Christian heritage and faith even beyond what is explained here.


X·mas (krĭs'məs, ěks'məs) Pronunciation Key
n. Christmas.

[From X, the Greek letter chi, first letter of Greek Khrīstos, Christ; see Christ.]

Usage Note: Xmas has been used for hundreds of years in religious writing, where the X represents a Greek chi, the first letter of Χριστoς, "Christ." In this use it is parallel to other forms like Xtian, "Christian." But people unaware of the Greek origin of this X often mistakenly interpret Xmas as an informal shortening pronounced (ěks'məs). Many therefore frown upon the term Xmas because it seems to them a commercial convenience that omits Christ from Christmas.

Angie here again - The "X" was not only the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, but was used to mark meeting places for the early churches, to mark the graves of martyrs, and was used as an abbreviation for Christ in many early writings due to time, ink and paper restraints. In addition, many people could not read or write, so the "X" was a universal sign among believers and the places they worshipped.

This was fascinating to me - yes, there are many many merchants and unbelievers that simply shorten Christmas to Xmas for convenience, but now I know not only the original historical basis, but how precious it really is! I will never think ill of it again!

This is more like it ...

So, today is the first day of the new week, the week that will NOT be a repeat of last week. I went over to Christa's for our regular Monday homeschooling session, the last load of laundry is in the dryer, and two grandkids are asleep (I think) in my upstairs bedrooms. I brought them home with me to play after school ... Papa came home for lunch to a surprise of a big mess and happy kids. He wound them up like all good Papas do, and then went back to work ... at nap time no less. :) We've had a great day though - lots of "art" (Lexi's favorite), lots of Mason walking around saying in a growling monotone voice "I AM A ROBOT" (he got a robot toy at the Clayton Christmas gathering last night and it has obviously had a profound effect on him), a 100-piece puzzle that took all three of us to complete, and only caused 2 or 3 serious fights (no blood drawn, thankfully).

Dinner is planned, e-mails are caught up ... relief. But it's interesting, isn't it, that my day is just as full as last week's days, but it feels wonderful and energizing instead of draining? Hmmm ... that balance thing ... that priority thing ... God is good to keep teaching me these lessons over and over.

Busy-ness

I totally over-extended myself this week. On paper it looked ok, but in reality by the time I got to Friday night I was irritable, tired, and my house was a wreck. It seems like I have to do this to myself once every few months or so to remember why I need to not do that! Everything I put on my calendar was a "good" and valuable thing, nothing overtly selfish or anything like that, several get-togethers that were long overdue, several evening activities (which is unusual for us) ... anyway, I just know that when I jam my days full my husband and my house, at the very least, pay the price. So today I'm tired and basically worthless, which shouldn't happen for a stay-at-homer!

Is there a point to all this? Or am I just whining? Maybe I just needed to get it in writing as a reminder for three months from now when I schedule myself into insanity!