Thanksgiving Memories

We had such a wonderful and special time in Arkansas last weekend for Thanksgiving! My Grandma is going to be turning 80 in February ... and I am constantly reminded that I really had no idea how long she will be with us. I am glad to give Jonah and Reuben memories of visiting her and seeing family that we often only see once a year: at Thanksgiving. We played inside, outside, ping pong, croquet, video games, made food, laughed, played cards, watched movies, and just enjoyed being together.

The whole family ... minus my dear older sister who couldn't make it

Fake geese are just so interesting!

Why not give it a hug! = )

Pierce taught Jonah to joys of Nintendo DS - not so sure this was a good thing!

My Grandma, Mom, and two uncles.

And my sweet boys ...

Could write so much more and put in so many more pictures ... but this is all I can muster together before heading to bed!

Highs and Lows

Yesterday was a day of highs and lows ...

With the boys, of course!

Jonah started our day out at 6:30 a.m.,
as usual for him.
Eli commented that it would be heavenly

if only Jonah made it to 7 or 7:30 each day.
Mind you, Eli only notices this now because he

HAPPENS to not have to get up at the ungodly hour of

5 or 5:30 because retails days are OVER!!!!!

(at least, for the next several years = ))

I headed to the gym,

Eli handled the boys.

When I returned home,

they had a time of bickering; refusing to get dressed; obey orders, etc.!

Jonah had his toy guns taken away since he refused to clean them up.

Reuben screamed because Jonah didn't share the guns to begin with.

Life was unfair ...

And then, suddenly, they sat together at the table and played fishing together.

You know those battery powered fishing games,

where the fish open and close their mouths? Yup.

Together and happily they fished ... for at least 20-30 minutes.

Sigh. And shower!

We visited my brother for awhile later on, got them down for naps,

Of course, after an over-tired-fall-apart-moment from Reuben.

I confess, sometimes in my zeal to have them nap at the same time,

I keep Reuben up a bit too long and suddenly he loses control.

Oh well.

But later that night,

We watched some of the KU game as a family.

Cheered on the Jayhawks (and played Mario during halftime).

Bathtime turned into BADtime.

Jonah fell apart about washing his hair (why is this an issue?),

and we ended it early to get these tired boys into bed.

As I sang and prayed for Jonah,

he put his little arms around me and said,

"Mommy, will you stay with me a few minutes?

I feel safe and happy when I am with you"

High times worth the lows?

Definitely.

It's basketball season.

Better yet, it is KU basketball season!

Regular season games have just started ...

and we're watching what we can!

We recently received a KU basketball promo-type magazine

in the newpaper.

Eli read all the stats that he wanted ...

and sat the magazine on the lamp stand.

However, several times in the last week,

we have found Reuben with it:

Laying on his back "reading" it;

Chilling on stomach "reading" it;

or sitting cross-legged, diligently flipping

through pages and exclaiming "BALL" over and over again.

What can we say?

If he goes to KU as a student for college,

He will be a fourth-generation Jayhawk!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Our Family Grows!

October 29, 2010, around 2:30 p.m., I received the most exciting text on my cell phone. It was from my brother-in-law, stating that Eli's sister was going into labor. Her water had broken (thankfully, she was at home), and contractions were beginning!

All of the family - Eli has six siblings - had been in an anticipated state for the week prior. Knowing that "any minute" can happen when babies are ready to arrive!

I was so excited that I was privileged to visit Melissa and Michael in the hospital during labor, along with my mother-in-law. This little baby surprised us all by being breech and needing to be delivered by c-section, BUT, she arrived safe, sound, and adorable! Little Tirzah already has the family wrapped around her sweet, tiny fingers.

Jonah is especially proud to "take care" of his baby cousin. He is constantly eager to visit his uncle and aunt's house, with a quick request to hold the baby. He does great and takes great care to be as gentle as possible with her. Reuben, on the other hand, looks at Tirzah with a bit of caution in his eyes - maybe he knows he's not the baby of the extended family anymore? Either way, we're glad to keep growing and I'm excited to have a baby to snuggle!

Mother and baby ... too precious

The Show Goes On!

I am 27 years old ... mostly proud of it!

As far as I know, for the last 27 years, I have dressed up in costume for Halloween.

Not "Halloween", really, but for the Harvest Party. A tradition dating 26 years.

The best thing I can compare it to is a school carnival.

Booths, games, a moonwalk, etc. Kids can come to our church for a safe alternative to traditional Halloween activites. They get lots of candy and have lots of fun!

I dressed up as a kid, dressed up as a teen helper, dressed up with Eli as a couple, and now ... there are four.

And yes, we dress up as a family ... a theme together.

This year we joined with our good family friends and dressed up as characters from the Disney Robin Hood movie. It was lots of fun, and a lot of work. At the end, it felt like maybe I had taken on more than I was going to get done, but we pulled it off - the show "went on" !!!

Can't wait til next year!