Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Two Christmas parties this week...

"Friday Night Mystery" was going to Christian Book Outlet for a birthday party for Jesus. The kids, all three of them, were laughing and excited when we walked in. "It's Bob and Larry!" Sissy really wanted to get close to them, but she needed Momma to help make her feel brave. Dash couldn't get enough of them. Anytime he wasn't standing next to them, shaking their hands, or giving them hugs, he was standing off to the side, smiling at them. For some strange reason, despite his initial joy at seeing them, Tornado wouldn't get his picture taken with them or even say "hi" to him because he was afraid or something. He's usually the first one in line.

The kids' stuff was on sale so I picked out another Christian dinosaur book for Dash and an Answers in Genesis Kids book for Tornado. We also got a Happy Birthday, Jesus! party set. It's so cute I'm going to have a giveaway for one, which I'll post tonight or tomorrow.

One night this week we went to the Christmas Extravaganza at Tornado's school. He was SO super excited to be there in party mode, to show us around and participate in all of the activities.
Both the boys were excited to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas. Sissy didn't want near him. I don't think she's ever gotten her picture taken with Santa, come to think of it? Tornado told him he wanted a marshmallow gun and a Tom & Jerry comic book. I think Dash sort of panicked when Santa asked him what he wanted. He had some things he had planned on telling him, but when Santa was looking at him, he got a little shy and flustered and finally just said, "....a car."

making ornaments

Then, the strangest thing happened...my sister Cary showed up! That's her holding the basket with the red ribbon.

Okay, it's not actually Cary. But to those of you who know her, doesn't that look like her?! I was freaking out! Tornado was jumping up and down, laughing, because he thought it looked like her, too. I couldn't stop taking pictures of her. I've actually seen her before outside the school, and even Dash has remarked, "That looks like Aunt Cary."

So I put some of these pictures on facebook and commented something like, "Remember this party, Cary?" and "Doesn't this bring back memories?" She called me to ask me when those pictures were taken, "When was that?" She was trying to figure it out, because SHE thought it was her, too. Mom and Dad, is there something you need to tell us?

The Rest of Our Weekend

Didn't get many pictures from our visit to my brother's house. My parents were there, too, along with all of my siblings and their families. I'll say it for the one thousandth time how much I love my family. I don't know when I've seen Dash in a deeper sleep than after we came home late Friday night. He was on the go with cousin Owen. They were all about playing dinosaurs and riding bikes outside. He was literally speeding away from us full throttle when we were trying to get him into the car to leave. All of the kids played together well, though. My youngest nephews, Pierson and Rush, get cuter and happier by the day, I think. I think they might end up being the sweetest ones yet. I've probably said that about all of them, though.

Cary, Ryan, and I went to watch New Moon Thursday night. Tracy was supposed to wait to see it with us, too. Cary got it out of her one day that she already went without us. But I think maybe she told Cary not to tell me. (The "don't tell her/him I told you this, but" 's get very confusing in my family. It's hard to keep track of what you're supposed to tell and not tell.)

Thursday, I said to Tracy, "It's going to be so fun going to see the movie since we all waited to watch it together!"

Wait for it..."Yeah!" she said.

"I mean, you haven't seen it yet, right?" I pressed.

"Oh, no," she assured, like just the idea of it was absurd. I waited for several seconds before calling her out for the liar and sell-out that she is. I'm just teasin' ya, Trace.
One picture I did get...I came home from the movie to find this peaceful, little scene. This makes my heart very happy looking at it. Six of the loves of my life, all huddled together, having a little sleepover. It won't be long before the other three can join in.

Remember this picture I posted a few months ago? That's my dad and brother, and although they have their differences (Dad is quieter and more introverted like me; Matt is more like Mom in the opposite way.), their similarities are funny and plentiful.

And they just get funnier by the day. This is how we caught them sitting next to each other.

In other news...

The girls got groomed. They came home looking like completely different dogs. We had thought we were feeding them too much, and they were getting fat.

Turns out, it was just all of their hair.

This Is My Thanksgiving Post

For Thanksgiving, we did what we always do (since Tornado was about 2, I think) - honorarily adopt a turkey from Farm Sanctuary. This year, our turkey's name is Mello. $25, which gets us this photograph and certificate, plus membership to Farm Sanctuary. Thanksgiving is...not really my favorite holiday. Don't get me wrong; I'm all about celebrating anything when the time comes. But I just hate that it's all about the poor little turkeys (and it makes me think of the Native Americans getting their land taken away and everyone who got killed on both sides back then...). I don't really understand why we have a holiday based primarily on eating an animal that suffered. A very smart animal with a good personality. Am I the Grinch who stole Thanksgiving?

Okay, but it's really about getting together with family and having a day set aside to feel thankful for everything, right? I'll try to play along. I really do like the "feeling thankful" aspect. We should really do that more often. And I won't even post the "videos" because I already did that on facebook, but if you want to see how most commercial turkeys are treated, you can see it here. Other than that, please understand my negativity (like I said, it's just not the best for me personally; some people don't believe in celebrating Halloween, Valentine's Day stinks for single people...you know, it's kind of like that for me), and I really do hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving Day.

I did, in fact, have one pretty, little pilgrim at her preschool Thanksgiving program. She very sweetly smiled on stage and every once in awhile she would sing a few words of the song - just when she would look at me, and I would mouth the words animatedly so she would sing, too. She and I ate lunch together after the program with the other kids and parents.

And one brave Indian boy. He did fabulous at his school's program. Papaw, Sissy, and I got to watch him and eat with him afterward. Googie came at the end and about started crying because she missed it.

We stayed put for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and it was just the five of us.

Tofurky is a joke of sorts that gets tossed around at Thanksgiving time. Well, we are one of those families that eats it and loves it. You know what I love as much, maybe even more than the Tofurky itself? The Cranberry-Apple Potato Dumplings that come with it. So good (but there are only 8 of them in the box). I did a lot of prep work for our meal the night before, and at one point I said to Ryan, "...I accidentally ate one of the dumplings." The box even comes with "Jurky Wishsticks" in case you just can't live without that tradition.

You know what I am most thankful for? No, not pumpkin pie, although I seriously LOVE pumpkin pie (I was in PANIC mode when I realized I only had one organic 365 brand crust in the freezer, and I had to MAKE another pie crust from scratch.). I love it so very much. I don't know why I don't make it all year round. Like every night. I am thankful for God's mercy and love. I am thankful for all of the many blessings He has given me (and really, there are so many...I don't deserve, and most of the time I feel whiny inside about what I don't have). I don't write that very often. I mostly always think it goes without saying how I feel about my relationship with the Lord. I don't speak enough about it, I think, because I don't want to sound trite or phony. I err by not saying it enough.

What is Tornado thankful for this Thanksgiving? "Googie" was his automatic reply. (That's my Mom.) Don't feel bad if he left you out; he didn't say my name either.

Oh! I'm also very thankful for my warming drawer. Such a non-necessity, but it's such a nice thing to have when I'm making big meals. I love it.

I loved, loved having the kids at home all week from school. I loved, loved that I didn't have to get up every morning in our panicked rush. (I can't wait for a snow day!) We got to snuggle in bed and do little projects together. We made crayons one day in preparation of making leaf rubbings. I have made these before, years ago as gifts. Lots easier when you have 3 eager kids helping. They really participated with this, and I guess it's a good fine motor activity, eh? (And uses up all our nubby and broken crayons.) Sissy loved it most of all, I'd say. Look how serious she was about it. I told her I was proud of what a great job she was doing and pointed out that she was making such a neat pile with her wrappers.

And then Dash asked, "Do you like my crazy pile?"

It just looks pretty.

One of our crayons has a big finger print in it because after I took them out of the oven, and they had cooled for a bit, Dash wanted desperately to touch them. I said, "You can touch it VERY lightly, but it's not completely hard yet. Don't push down on it." Well, of course, he pressed his finger down into that crayon as far as it would go. Of course, he did.

On Thanksgiving Day, while I was busy cooking, Ryan took the kids outside to gather leaves, then they worked on their big leaf rubbing sign, using our new heart shaped crayons.

The kids enjoyed making the sign so much, they made another one. This time they watercolored over the crayon rubbings like they did over at Filth Wizardry (fun blog, by the way).

Sissy, posing with their sign

Our noon meal consisting of rolls, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans almondine, Lemony Roasted Brussel Sprouts with garlic, Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing, Asparagus, Sweet Potatoes with cranberries, apples, and walnuts, and Holiday Rice (Thanks Tofu Mom, for the brussel sprouts and rice recipes!). And of course, the Tofurky roast surrounded in roasted potatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, and onions.

I took a picture of Ryan's plate...because I was so impressed at the sheer volume. My plate wasn't that full.

He even went back for seconds.

He's going to LOVE that I documented this. :) Then he had a big piece of pie. Ryan always likes to have dessert or something sweet immediately after a meal. I like to save a little something for later.

The bad thing about consuming all of this food is that we immediately had to clean up and drive 3 hours to see my brother and all of the rest of my family. Ryan said he needed 5 minutes to lie down. I gave him 5 minutes, then it was rush, rush, rush. That's okay, though. Spending time with my family is much better than a nap any day. More about our fun trip tomorrow!

REI Passport Activity/Hiking Trip

We went hiking today at Woolly Hollow State Park. It was our dogs' first hiking adventure. It was also a good time to pull out an activity that my sister had told me about: REI's Passport to Adventure. You can pick up a journal at your local REI or print off a copy online. (More about this activity at the end of this post.)We took off on the 3 1/2 mile Huckleberry Trail. And how perfect that we had just ordered Trail Mix Caramel Corn from Vegan Essentials.
Caramel popcorn, raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips, pretzels, and walnuts. It went fast.
Our pups may have "poo" in their names and wear pink dresses, but they went full force on the trail. Sissy had to have several rides, though.

Dash is back there, throwing rocks into the lake...well, we were too far from the lake at this spot, but he gave it his best shot. Tornado is lounging with some carrots.

The boys climbed the hill to inspect a possible fox hole/animal den.

Taken right after Dash accidentally stepped into the water...he immediately looked horrified when he stepped into the water, and he cried for half a second, then burst into laughter.

What we did find out on this trip is our pups can indeed swim. Dash was SO concerned about them. He's always that way about his dogs and animals, in general. (He gets so mad at me when I let them outside alone at night. As he should be.) He never wants them to get hurt. Even when we're saying, "They're fine! It's fine!" he is still looking back at them, checking on them, etc. He was so worried the dogs would fall into the water...and they did. The mossy rocks were so slippery, they slid right in. They were shocked but immediately swam to safety. They were swamp dogs covered in leaves by the time we got back to the car...Ryan and Dash are giving them a bath upstairs right now.

Dash and the dogs weren't the only ones who fell in the water. When we were climbing down a hill with mossy, wet rocks and running water, Sissy started sliding down on her bottom. I was holding her hand...I went down, too, trying to save her. My poor camera even got a little wet. It was like a comedy act. It all seemed a little slow motion, and it was right after this that the dogs plunged in, too.

The kids were so well-behaved and had a super fun time, as always when there are rocks and wide-open spaces involved. However, we were about 3 hours past time for Sissy's nap, and at the very end of the trail, she started to tank. She was griping at me here to leave her alone. I think she even used the words, "Go away!"

She was getting so mad at me for taking her picture she chose to walk away. But I did get her cute, little, wet rear-end.

When we finished our walk, we sat down at a table to work on our Adventure Journals. There are activities (madlibs, mazes, word searches, etc.) in the journal, along with pages for the kids to document their outdoor excursions. There might be prizes involved after you complete the activities if you can visit the store (looks like you used to be able to fill out form online for prize but maybe not anymore). Regardless, the journal itself is fun and worthwhile.

The page on the left is one of Dash's. It is the "What did you see today?" page. He drew pictures of walking the puppies, the fox hole, a rock, the puppies swimming, and...a zebra. Not sure how he came up with that one. On the left Tornado filled out the date, where we went, what we did, and circled the appropriate weather. On what he saw today, he wrote, "I saw moss. I saw broken trees." He wrote that he heard a car and water. On Sissy's page, I asked her what she did today, and I transcribed, "Going hiking...and going to Hobby Lobby (we did not go to Hobby Lobby today...focus, Sis)...and I fell in the water, and you fell in the water."

Two kids and two dogs were asleep before we got to the main highway...

Big Girl Bed

We finally took the crib rail off Sissy's bed and replaced it with the toddler rail. We could have done this already, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I finally found it in storage, and Sissy was very excited about getting a "big girl bed." She did a really great job the first night. The second night, she had a very sad face and wanted her other bed back. She was fighting back tears in a very sweet, brave way - her little lip was quivering, and it was apparent how attached she was to her other bed, a place she felt safe. She is used to it now, though. I personally wanted her out of the crib so I don't have to get up when she wakes up and calls for me. (Somehow she never realized she could crawl out of it like Dash did, oh so much earlier in life.) She can come into my bed and cuddle until I officially wake up or go downstairs and get her own drink, if that's what she needs. 9 years of being a mother, and I'm still not used to waking up early.

We really can't believe, in general, how much she has grown up lately. (It's like it's practically time for another baby, ya know? Hee hee - sorry, Hon, I have to throw that in there every chance I get.) She says the biggest things, and sometimes her voice is so clear, I'd swear she was 6 or 7 already (but mostly, she still has the tiny little, stuttery voice that I understand most of the time). Ryan is always amazed at how detail oriented, opinionated, verbal, social, and GIRLY she is. And she wants what she wants, and she likes what she likes. Which all seems very normal to me, the other female of the family. He's still learning the ways of women, even after 12 years. She always talks about the kids in her class by name and gives details about her school day. Which, of course, we have to pull out of the boys with 20 questions. This morning, we were dropping off Dash at school, when another boy was getting out of the car next to us. She said, "That's Ben. That's Dash's friend." (She said it with their real names, of course.) It was totally random; I really don't know how she knew that was his name as she's only seen him in passing. It's not like he's ever been to our house or anything.

I always write down the funny and cute things my kids say. Or the things they say I want to remember "just because." The other day we were walking along, and I asked her if she "needed me to hold her?" She said, "Um...um...(she was thinking about it)...I need you...but I'll walk."

P.S. Thank you for all of the nice comments after my last post. I feel much better now. :)

Favorite Smoothie and Playing in the Leaves

We drink a lot of smoothies around here. The kids like some of them more than others. The favorite lately is banana (we use several for one batch), So Delicious Coconut Milk beverage, coconut oil (read about health benefits), and frozen pineapple. They drink it faster than any smoothie. If there are leftovers, I make popsicles, which are eaten up quickly, too.
When we were looking to build a house, we went into it thinking, "How can we make life easier for ourselves?" One of our biggest requirements was NO YARD. This is against what most people want, but we did not want to spend our weekends mowing or with the added pressure of watering and keeping out weeds. Plus, fire ants are horrible in Arkansas, and they seem to be worse in grass. At least, we don't seem to have a fire ant problem at our new house like we did at our old house. Our 1.25 acres is wooded, and although Ryan does weed-eat a little bit during the summer (including weed whacking 4 wheeler trails through the woods for the boys), it's pretty low maintenance. So...when the leaves fall, we don't even have to worry about raking. In fact, we LOVE the extra ground cover. There are still some areas that are a little too exposed to mud from the building process. I think I might ask my neighbor for all of his pine needles next time I see him raking them up.

Ryan surprised the kids by raking up a huge pile of leaves for them to play in the other day. They were THRILLED. The pile is still sort of there, and I think they keep adding to it because every day they play in it at some point.

Miss Prissiness loved the idea of the leaf pile. She kept running full speed toward the pile, yell, "Cannonball!" just like the boys do, then would very gently lower herself into the edge of the pile. She just couldn't bring herself to fully embrace it.

Lots of frugal fun...and could someone PLEASE leave me a comment...I'm going on 7 posts in a row here with no comments. I know you're reading and coming back because of my fun, little Traffic Feed below, but I don't get out much or have a lot going on in life. Must. Have. Comments.