Our Thanksgiving

Well, I can't really believe that Thanksgiving has already come and gone. Ours was good. At least Rob got home in time. I picked him up at 2am Thursday morning -- I hadn't been to sleep, and got as much day-before prep done as I could. The turkey cooked WAY faster than I anticipated, so instead of eating at 4-5, we ate around 1. Thank goodness for the day-before prep! I only had to rush to get the two casseroles done.

I was very glad to have mom, dad and Katelyn here for Thanksgiving. Kate will be gone for Christmas -- her year to go to CA with Mark -- so this turned into our Christmas visit with her too. Though I didn't have her present yet.

Speaking of presents... I have NO idea what to get anybody. Any ideas?!?

To continue my random ramblings... Sam is sick. Don't really know what is wrong with him, but he is GRUMPY! He won't sleep over about 30 minutes at a time and just wants to be held. Held... by me. Only me. Nobody else. Do you know how hard that is?

Anyway... here are some pictures :-)


The girls wore the stockings to decorate the tree...


G-mama putting up ornaments



Blurry, but you can see that Faith just realized that Ma'maw, Granddaddy and
Katelyn are going to leave



Josh likes Sam's swing too

Sam's new girlfriend... the glowworm. He makes out with her :-)

I'm Back :-) and a Faithism

Been a while... seems like I've been going nonstop since Rob has been gone. The chaos will continue to increase, I am sure, over the next couple of months.

Anyway... Faithism --

Today Josh went to CDC (Child Development Center - our daycare) for a few hours while I went to volunteer at the girls' school. Sam and I came back home for him to eat and to get Faithers off of the bus before getting Josh -- I was running out of time! So, we got to the CDC, got Josh and were coming out when Faith asked me if it was the side of the day.

*What? The side of the day?

*Yeah - not the beginning or end, but the side (insert hand jestures here to emphasize side)

I guess we need to work on some vocabulary -- that would be middle.

And another...

She was so excited to show me her Thanksgiving art today. She went into her bookbag, brought out this piece of construction paper --

The teacher told all of the kids to color one side of the paper blue. Then she gave them the materials to glue their Mayflowers on. Do you see what she did? She told me that the sky is blue so she put her blue at the top.

Chicken Dance

Make sure you notice every other kid is being pretty subdued -- but not my Faithers!

Hoopin' and Hoppin'

Today was the annual Hoopin' and Hoppin' event at the girls' school. It is a time when each class comes to the gym and hula hoops and jumps rope. It coincides with the annual food drive. Theory is that we are exercising (making our hearts strong) and giving back to the community (making our hearts stronger in a different/giving way). Here are some pictures. I am having trouble uploading a video, but will try again later.

Faith doing the Animal Dance

Everybody sing with me now... Y-M-C-A

Grace seemed to not want to make a fool of herself. She would spin the hula hoop around as hard as she could and then stand there waiting for it to drop. She didn't even swivel her hips! She is trying to catch it in this picture-

Though it looks like she is airborne, she is not. Lazy butt slung it around and then stepped over!

Josh did NOT like the loud music -- he cannot stand loud noises. There was a little Pre-K boy holding his ears, too. PS - look at that fuzz head! That boy needs a haircut!!

Samboni slept through Grace's time, but was wide awake and on my hip for Faith's (which is why I don't have a pic)

Oh... and yes, I did hula hoop. There is actually a picture of it :-) But I am not going to post it here for the world.

Getting to know your family & friends

Welcome to the new 2008 edition of getting to know your family and friends. Here is what you are supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun. Change all the answers so that they apply to you.

1. What is your occupation right now ?
hmmm... occupation. Well, being a stay at home mom to four kids aged 6 and under seems to occupy my time. I get paid in giggles, hugs and kisses. Does that count?

2. What color are your socks right now?
no socks... flip flops still


3. What are you listening to right now?
Into the Wild soundtrack -- Eddie Vedder is YUMMY :-)

4. What was the last thing that you ate?
an Oreo :-p


5. Can you drive a stick shift?
oh yeah... and, most of the time, prefer to!

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
mom


7. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
yes!

8. How old are you today?
30


9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV?
College football -- though I definitely prefer to watch it live

10. What is your favorite drink?
Odd question... hmm... diet cherry pepsi, I guess. Though I have to limit myself since Samboni is nursing.


11. Have you ever dyed your hair
nope... not even once

12. favorite food?
mexican


13. What is the last movie you watched?
in the theaters? I have no clue. I watched Tinkerbell and The Holiday just last week.

14. favorite day of the year?
Christmas -- I love seeing my kids' excitement

15. How do you vent anger?
either sleep or go for a walk/run -- I know, two quite different methods, but it depends on why I am mad


16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
Simon -- and I think that is what Grace will be getting this Christmas :-) Then I can play again

17. What is your favorite season?
Fall


18. Cherries or Blueberries?
fresh Blueberries or dried cherries... just depends

19. Do you want your friends respond?
Yes


20. Who is the most likely to respond?
Those who have the time

21. Who is least likely to respond?
Those who don't have the time.


22. Living arrangements?
me, Rob (when he is home), Grace, Faith, Josh, Sam, Raleigh, Dixie and about 12 fish

23. When was the last time you cried?
I have cried daily since Sarah died. It is still just too new and sad. I can't imagine what her family is going through.


24. What is on the floor of your closet?
shoes, probably some dresses that the girls have pulled down

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to?
I'll say... Analee. Mom and Katelyn are up there, too but I've known A longer than K -- and mom and I really became 'friends' (from mother/daughter) around the time I had G. Something about the trip to Hood from Leonard Wood that shifted our relationship -- and it has been so fun knowing my mom as a friend -- though I still treasure her advice as my mom.

26. What did you do last night
stayed up until 1am doing absolutely nothing. I can't get to sleep when Rob isn't here.

27. What are you most afraid of
outliving my children

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers?
Spicy


29. favorite dog breed?
I don't really have one... though we have a rat terrier, she is a little too hyper for me.

30. favorite day of the week?
Saturday


31. How many states have you lived in?
four, if you count TX, which I AM counting since I lived there for 7 weeks and had a child there.

32. Diamonds or pearls?
pearls


33. What is your favorite flower?
roses

correction and funny videos

one and a half weeks to go, not two and a halfweeks. Thank goodness.

The kids had their first extreme sour candies today. Hilarious. I thought I was going to pass out from laughing. Bubba's is the only one you NEED to have volume for :-) Hilarious

Grace is the only one who stuck with it.

Faith went running...

Bubba thought sour hurt :-p

Apparently

According to mom, you know a three year old is a three year old when s/he starts using 'actually' on a regular basis. Well, I have one for you, mom. Apparently a four year old is a pre-k four year old when she uses 'apparently' in every sentence. Faith has started apparently-ing me to death :-) I had to tell her today that apparently every sentence doesn't need to end in 'apparently'. Apparently :-p

another week down

3 weeks down, 2 and a half to go...

There are quite a few ways you know there is a three year old in your house. First, the toilet paper is never on its roll. It is WAY too much fun to unroll it. This is how ours looks...

Second, if that 3 year old is a boy, there are hot wheels everywhere

Does this just scream "Yo baby. What's happening?" or is it just me

.

Here's Sam's new elephant. I learned a lot of lessons when making it. You really should exaggerate the size of things... like his trunk. Okay... it is dinky, but now I know. I also learned that the place you leave open to stuff is important and should be the straightest stitch possible. But you know what? He loves it. The trunk stays slobbery.

Sarah Parker

I am sad to say that Bubba's Sarah passed away this morning.

I pray for peace for the Parkers.

This is from Grace's 5th b-day party -- 2 weeks before Sarah's diagnosis. You can tell that she had already begun to favor her left side which was the reason she was eventually taken to the doctor. She was SO happy that day and would ask everybody for a bite of their cake :-) This is how I will remember her. Such a sweetheart.

Egg Tectonics

Oh... I remembered -- Faithism

Today we were watching the Science Channel. The show Understanding: Volcanoes, to be precise (not new -- it was OnDemand). I know, we are geeks, but Faith has an interest since this is 'V' week at school and you knowI love it. Anyway... the show was explaining plate tectonics using a hardboiled egg as a visual. The yolk is the core, white is mantle, shell is crust. But they were talking about volcanoes and how (back in the day) there was confusion about how the volcano seemed to move until scientists realized that the egg was cracked (plates and plate tectonics). Faith looked at me --

F: Mama, I know how the earth was made

me: you do? How?

F: It started as an egg and then it grew up.

Maybe the egg visual was effective, but not very clear -- at least not to the 4 year old audience. But I guess there probably aren't TOO many 4 year olds watching :-p

Blogs

Do you ever log into your blog, hit the 'new post' button and then completely forget what made you think you had something to write about?

Hmmm... maybe it is just me.

M&Ms

post #4 of the day ... a new personal record

I have a complaint. I remember M&Ms having the slogan "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands" -- doesn't that still exist? Whoever came up with it didn't have a three year old, hot sticky handed little boy! He has red, blue and yellow all over his hands!! He was a good sharer though... I got all of the red ones. They tended to be hot, half melted and stuck to his hand, but it was sweet for him to share.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JP!!

Movies

Post #2 of the day...

There are so many movies I want to see right now. Most are kids' movies, but that is kind of my life right now. Madagascar 2, HSM3, Bolt... I think I am missing one.

On a grown up note, I really want to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It is not showing anywhere near here, of course. Now that I know it is a book, though... I'd like to read it before I see it anyway, so looks like I will have time before it goes to DVD. I'd also like to see The Secret Life of Bees. I didn't read this one until last week, so I looked at who was cast in the roles and the casting people did a great job. I did like the book for that one.

So, as I sit at home not going to the movies, I have watched a few movies this week. A good friend of ours let us borrow Tinkerbell. Cute. The girls really liked it and Bubba laughed out loud at a few parts. It wasn't too long so it kept their attention most of the time. It didn't keep my attention all of the time, but I had popcorn to make :-) It had a good lesson of learning to like who you are.

I also watched The Holiday on Encore. I liked it... it was WAY predictable but it had Jude Law in it (looking SO very good) and that can make up for the fluffy story line. Who wouldn't like to look at him for an hour and a half movie ;-)

I also watched Stranger than Fiction with Will Ferrell. Unlike my dear hubby, I am not a fan of the typical Will Ferrell stupid silly movies (Talladega Nights, Old School, etc). This movie, though, I liked. Really showed that he is a good actor, not just a comedian (not that there is anything wrong with being a comedian).

Anybody out there watch anything good lately?

Goofing around with the kids

Goofy kids. You can't imagine how difficult it is to get all four looking in even close to the same direction. I think I took about 15 pictures to get one that is close. There are better pictures of each kid while another has closed eyes or tongue out. So, this is the best... even with Faith's arm up, Bubba's shirt up and Samboni looking at me and not the camera.

Sam has started learning how to laugh. There is not much better than the sound of a baby laughing -- or any kind of pure laughter coming from a child. Of course, Sam stopped laughing when the camera came out, but I did get a little bit. A very little bit.
*disclaimer... if you get motion sickness you may not want to watch -- Grace took it :-)

Completely unrelated, but look how long my hair is! Time for a CUT!!! It will have to wait another 2-1/2 weeks until Rob gets home, though. But this time I am going to do it!

Bubba's Sarah

This is the same message (minus a few details) I sent out in an email to a lot of you, but wanted to spread it as far as I can.

A little over a year ago, I wrote an email asking for prayers for a little girl that we call "Bubba's Sarah" since she was Bubba's little girlfriend. Her family found out last October (2007) that Sarah had an inoperable brain tumor. The doctor's didn't think she would last over a few months. Well, we are 13 months later and Sarah is still with us. However, her little 3 year old body is shutting down. The tumor began to grow again this summer and is now taking over her body. The doctors are not expecting her to live more than a few days. There are no more treatment options available for Sarah. Her parents have brought her home and are keeping her as comfortable as possible until it is her time.

Please pray for the Parker family as they go through this horrible time. Sandra and Kevin were always great to our family when Rob was deployed. Their other two children are young and will remember this forever. Please pray that God will bring peace to the family.

Though we can always pray for a miracle, I pray that Sarah is able to rest and stop hurting in whatever way it can come. Please take a minute to ask God to bless this family. I do not doubt the power of prayer and feel that now is the time to blanket the family in prayer. I cannot begin to imagine what Sandra and Kevin are going through. They need to be able feel His presence again. Thanks!

Love,
Melissa

Lots of ramblings....

Reason #427 why I am NOT a dog person. Dixie got another set of my headphones. Ugh... the foam ear inserts were gone - presumably eaten. The wires were completely chewed through. I guess I didn't put my iPod under my pillow quite far enough. UGH!!! Thank goodness I got the iPod case so she can't chew on it!


Gracie got the camera tonight. What a sweet picture of Bubba that she took :-) A budding photographer there.


Sam has a new face. There is a noise that I make and he usually smiles. However, if I surprise him, he gives me this face. It doesn't always end in crying, but often it does. I try not to scare him, but that face makes me want to pick him right up and hug him tight! He even does it with his pappy (pacifier) in -- you can just see it around the bottom. TOO cute.



Woke up last night to a strange noise which freaks me out on a normal basis, but when Rob is gone I get super freaked out. Well, I looked around and it was definitely in my room. From my closet, to be exact. What was the sound?!? Raleigh. Raleigh snores. It was Raleigh snoring! (that is our cat for those of you who don't know)

Yellow Ribbon Picture

Well, this is the official picture. I can't find a link to the local news story about it, but it was on. Grace said she was a movie star and, if they made the paper, a paper star too. :-) If I am not mistaken, the kids are at the top of the loop. MWR only planned for 2000 people and over 2100 showed up (which is why there is a patch of non-yellow). Pretty cool.

**UPDATE** found the link -- http://www.fox41.com/Global/story.asp?S=9305581

be sure to watch the video

On a seperate note... my heart broke tonight. We were sitting on the couch together reading and a truck came into the neighborhood. The truck was loud like ours and Bubba's eyes just lit up and he almost jumped out of his seat saying "Daddy's home. I hear his truck"

I explained that it was another truck and that daddy is still in california -- "is he going to be gone forever?" is what he asked. :-( Sometimes it feels like it.

Guiness Book of Records

G is participating this morning in a bid at a record. Over 2000 people are expected to be at the airfield onpost. They will be forming a gigantic yellow ribbon formation. ACS (Army Community Service) is providing yellow shirts to all of the interior of the ribbon and active duty Soldiers (in uniform) are forming the outline. Should be pretty neat and G will be a part of a record. Pretty cool, huh? The picture above is the current record making ribbon, with 1358 people. The ribbon here should break the record easily! I don't know if the record will technically go down, though. I heard a rumor that the schoolkids aren't going to count because there is a crazy 8-page parental consent that has to be done on every kid. It was going to be too logistically difficult to do - so I hopefully there will be over 1358 adults there!

I have to admit that it made me quite paranoid to let her go. I don't like the idea of her being there without me. But a good friend of mine is helping with the organization and staging and she told me the plan that all of the others (non-onpost schoolkids) will be in position before the kids get there. They will walk off of the bus, get in formation, have the picture taken and then they will be put back onto the bus. I am sure G will have some great stories this afternoon.

Bubbaism -- post #3 of the day :-)

So, I have started a new program with Bubba at home. Since he is not going to a preschool this year, I feel like I need to do something to get him ahead. I did an internet search and found a homeschool preschool program that is pretty easy and is only done in small batches (we do three 10-minute sections throughout the day to keep his interest).

Anyway, one of the things we do all week is learn a nursery rhyme (one a week). This week's is Hey Diddle Diddle. He is doing great at learning it (since this may be the first time he'd heard it) *except* he doesn't know what a fiddle is -- he says "the cat and the skittles"

Post #2 of the day... Sense Memories

I was magically transported on Saturday to 13 years ago. The kids and I piled into the van early Saturday morning and headed down to Elizabethtown to get diapers for Samboni. We left Target and went over to Kohl's (because Grace is growing TOO fast and has no longsleeve shirts). We went in and there must have been a sale going on (early bird type stuff) and so I abandoned the hunt for longsleeves because of the insane lines - with only one register open which is a whole other blog topic.

We head out into the parking lot to get back in the van and then it happened. One little sound and I was transported back. The sound resonating in the air was -- drums. Drums? Yep, drums. Specifically, a marching band's drum line warm up activities. Apparently North Hardin High hosted a band competition this past weekend. The drumline warm ups were one of my favorite sounds on competition days. Sense memory.

*On a funny note, when looking for a sound/movie for this post, the one that I found was from a high school band competition from Waynesville, Missouri!

Graceism

Yesterday morning, Grace woke up and RAN into my room yelling that we had all overslept. I knew that we hadn't, since I was up feeding Sam and watching the Weather Channel. I tried to explain that she was mistaken but she wanted nothing to do with my explanation. She said we MUST have overslept because "why does it look like that outside?"

Look like what?

It was light out. Last week, when it was time to get on the bus, it was still dark. I didn't talk to the kids about Daylight Savings Time, I just changed the clocks. Honestly, I don't know what to say about it. She was SO confused as to why I changed time. I started to tell her about the whole history (or what i know of it), but decided that it may be a little over her.

WARNING***CRUDE****Bubba-ism

I am proud to report that Bubba is officially potty trained (still needs a pull up at night, but completely accident free for 10 days now).

He still wants me to be in the bathroom with him. Today, he was pooping (I warned you) and talking when he got pretty quiet. I wasn't looking at him and asked him what was the matter. He said (CRUDE WARNING) "Nothing is the matter. The poop just fell out of my butt."

How do parents not laugh? I had to turn away from him so he didn't think I was laughing at him.

Who is who?

Today I put Sam in the NC State shirt and Bubba immediately told me that he wore that shirt too. I agreed that he had and asked if he wanted to see a picture of him wearing it. I pulled it up on the computer and it was taken exactly three years ago today! Talk about a feeling of deja vu! So, who is who? I'll comment with the answer :-)