Gabby is almost 3!

A Day At The Dam

A present for Gabby so she always knows and remembers the adventures she and her brother go on.

I truly want them to be friends.

It breaks my heart when Owen says, "I don't like Sister!"

I know he just gets frustrated when she is stubbornly refusing to play his game.

She is going to be strong, though!

**Click on the title to see the whole book!
I can't wait to get it in the mail!
To see how I made it, go to
www.getyourstorydown.com

And if you know my website but have not gotten on lately...get to it!
:-)

The Grass Withers, The Flowers Fade...

a different cup gets used every time she needs a drink...

dinner dishes stay on the stove...

there is no "docking station" and mail piles up...

 dinner bowls, spoons, veggie bucket, and crumbs...stay where they're forgotten...

the dishes and laundry are NEVER done!...

newspapers and notebooks and Bibles and books get left where they were abandoned 

(after somebody was in dire need of...something...)

toys used, toys forgotten...toys left in the open but unseen...

so there they stay...

busy minds forget what was the previous minutes infatuation...

so batteries die and buttons get broken...

organized chaos (or a lost cause) make cleaning a task to be done later...someday...

so carpets rarely get vacuumed and floors rarely get scrubbed...

the air gets cool, the leaves fall, a rake can't do the job, and a the job is never done...

paint peels and maintenance-free deck is not really maintenance-free...

(a power-washer may do the job, but we'll have to wait until spring...)

siding puckers, bugs burrow and hide, rodents dig holes, 

dirt accumulates, weeds grow, branches fall, and vines take over...

I wish I could say these things never bother me...

I've realized that the most upset I ever get with my kids

(other than their gross display of selfishness and self-absorption that we all are guilty of...)

is when they interrupt me and what I am trying to do or get done.

How selfish can I be?

I'm trying to change that.

Nothing I am doing is more important than making sure they know I am available and that I care.

If I don't pay attention...they will demand it in other ways.

I have been heard saying that I don't like beginning something that I can't finish.

Some tasks I just don't start knowing this about myself.

Guiding my children will never be "done," for their needs are plenty.

So cleaning will have to wait...

I am made for so much more than a clean house.

"The voice said, "Cry out!" 

And he said, "What shall I cry?"

"All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness 

is like the flower of the field.  

The grass withers, the flower fades, 

Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; 

Surely the people are grass.  

The grass withers, the flower fades, 

But the word of our God stands forever."

Isaiah 40:6-8

Precious... and Precocious?

My precious, beautiful, sweet baby girl...

She wakes me up but gives me hugs.

She makes a mess but will clean up a spill.

She bugs her brother but will say, "Sorry."

She lets me dress her, but she'd rather be naked.

"Naked Baby!" as she likes to dance around singing.

She loves her daddy but plays hard to get.

She may play shy, but yells, "Hi!" to the check-out lady at Target 

and says, "Good-bye, Friends!" when we leave daycare.

She holds me tight when I leave her with Carrie,

but she tells me to go away when I come to pick her up.

 

So what is her unique niche?

Lately it's her "signature."

I know when Gabby has been in a room because of her "signature."

Can you tell what it is?

A little loop-d-loop...sometimes with more than one loop.

Yes, on walls, on tables, on couches, 

on Owen's drawings (oh, this makes him mad!).

Does Momma get mad?

Yes.

Can Momma get too mad?

Nope.

What's more important?

As my mother often said when we were growing up:

I just can't have nice things.

That's ok.

I'll have nice things someday...maybe.

Maybe by the time I can have nice things, I won't want nice things anymore.

For now...I two of the most valuable, wonderful, beautiful...very nice things:

Owen and Gabby.

Pumpkin days! etc...

I never really paid a lot of attention to Halloween...except for when I was younger.
I loved creating my own costumes.
Now it's really easy to just go buy one...
:-)

Perhaps it is because Owen is in school, but the kids really got into Halloween this year.

I was cutting out bats and ghosts and hanging them from our ceiling.

I drew many pumpkins and cut them out to tape to the window as well.

I didn't know I was such a good artist.  I realized my drawing was too good when Owen spazzed because his picture didn't look like mine.  Dang, I got to tone it down a bit!  :-)

Regardless, there were highlights:
We went to a parade...

 all dressed up...

 posing...

 posing again...

trick or treating...

 they got so excited at each of the 6 houses we visited,
you'd think they'd never had candy...
or so much!
Guess they forgot last year...
and the 4 parades we've been to in the last year!

 Great Gramma Gerry was happy to see us...
and give us a handful of candy!

 Owen didn't want to wear his mask because they knew who he was anyway.
The reasoning of a 5-year old...

Maybe Owen was into it because of stories and drawing at school...

another Owen Masterpiece!

And...

pumpkin carving!

The favorite part was the lighting of the candles.

They loved the glowing faces.

I don't know how these drawings fit into this post, but I had to share...

I guess this one above is Owen catching a butterfly...or trying to.

 

Then this one is us having dinner.

He was sure to tell me that we all have straight hair.

I love the detail...

But what I don't get is how he practiced his name...

and then got carried away practicing his numbers.

And then what came after 16?

I don't know if I will ever know.

Our Little Trip

It was Two weeks ago already!

Blessings come in the form of so many things.

In this case, parents/grandparents and siblings.

We flew out Thursday and came back Sunday, but it was an amazing trip.

When we were planning out trip, Lori asked what we wanted to do.

I said, "relax, sit by the pool, go shopping, go out to eat, and maybe a movie...all the things we don't make time for at home."

Of course, Lori went above and beyond to make our "relaxing" vacation a good one.

We chilled and hung out the first night.  So nice...

Then we were treated to a steak dinner at Burn's.

The food was exquisite, the wine amazing,and the company delightful!

We got a tour of the largest private wine cellar in the nation...or was it the world?

I don't know if we got it clear enough for me to relay it correctly...

The part we saw was only 10% of the whole collection.

We were also treated to a hockey game!

So, I will confess I have not been a hockey fan because I could not follow the puck.

But this time?  I got it!

I love soccer...so how could I not love hockey?

In addition, it moves quicker than soccer!  :-)

Everything about the presentation was really neat...

For the national anthem, the flag was passed around the stadium.

And, the goalie from the U.S. 1980 Olympic team was greeted, given a jersey, 

and was there to introduce the anthem.

It was our last night there and I really enjoyed it...but we were so tired.

Isn't it amazing how tired you can get while on vacation??  :-)

Lori and Matt are fantastic hosts!

We did miss our kids...

but were thankful they had loving grandparents to smother, care, hug, and kiss them while we were gone.

Thanks Lori for having us!

Thanks Gramma and Grampa for coming up and staying in our house...even when we were not here.

Thanks Granny Nanny and Poppa Steve for being the "bun" of our weekend!

(The first and last "shift")

:-)

Thank you Roger for loving me...and my family...

Kindergarten dreams...

 A 5-year old does not worry about what others think...all the time.

Owen gets so frustrated if he makes a mistake while writing because

people won't know what he meant.

He kicks and screams and gets so angry.

Perfectionist? Or just 5?

When asked by his teacher what he hoped for Kindergarten...

 

"To See Snakes!"

His drawing is coming along so well!

Like I've said, Owen has never wanted to practice writing or drawing.

But now...He sits and practices his letters, asking us to spell things...

and draws rockets...

then draws more rockets...

and sometimes he asks us to cut them out...more rockets...

then this came home from school one day...

Two happy rockets and two sad?  Is anyone else thinking what I''m thinking?

Why am I still chuckling about this?

Does this really start this young?

 

 

To be honest, I think the rocket theme came when the Book Fair at his school had a similar theme:

"Out of This World"

Perhaps I should scan some of his alien pictures.  

:-)

On another topic...

Yesterday we took a hike down by the river.

Had a snack.

Looked for some bugs...

 

Just enjoyed the crisp, fall air.

Then today we had swimming lessons.

Okay...I was "one of those" parents last week.

When his teacher just sat there and splashed him a few times and threw toys at him, I complained.

I was nice...Owen was having fun, of course he was!  

But I want this kid to swim!

Actually, what was annoying was I knew he could do his bobs.

He's been practicing in the bathtub for two weeks!

I know my son isn't "gifted" in this area...so it's not like I am delusional.

I just want him to show what he can do and try the next challenge.

(Wow, what a moment of accountability and reflection as I think about my own students!)

So...today was my "proud momma moment"!

Owen worked so hard and did it!

 

He got to ring the gong and have his name announced as he progressed to the next level!

 

For a kid who cried this summer because his teacher made him get his face wet,

and how he begged me to not take him again, 

HE IS DOING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now on to gliding!  I think he'll be at level 2 for awhile.

It sure takes a long time to run a marathon taking baby steps, 

but I am now realizing that is exactly what parenting is.

Baby steps through each stage, each lesson, each temper tantrum, each success, each frustration, each poop-in-the-pants-again day,  each demand, each cuddle, each apology to sister, each early morning, each night of broken sleep, each morning of I-can't-wait-to-see-my-mommy greetings at 5:55 a.m.

I will survive...and love that I got to join the race.

No prize.

No glory.

Probably No Thank-You...but it is all worth it, right?

:-)

God has a great sense of humor.