Some things I never thought I would say...

- "Your sister is not a dinosaur! Get off her back!"
- "Cheese graters do not make good hairbrushes, please take it off of Emma's head!"
- "No, you may not be naked for the whole day."
- "Please don't chew on the knife."
- "When she stops smiling that means she's not happy. So you need to stop squishing her."
- "Please take your arms off of Emma's neck."
- "Let your sister breathe!"
- "Don't put your knee on Emma's forehead."
And that's just this morning!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...or a tacky rendition of Christmas

Last week we decided to bundle the girls up to go for a walk around our neighborhood and look at Christmas lights. I think I posted about this before but I didn't have any pictures. Anyway, here they are.

Brrr...it's a chilly 60' outside!
This is the tacky house...
more tacky house...
tacky Santas at the tacky house...

Definately NOT!

As I just packed 6 pairs of shoes to take to California, I answered my own question ...that's definitely NOT normal!

Was there an In-n-out in Bethlehem?

"Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere, go tell it on the mountain that Jesus kept his fries."

That's Charis' version anyway.

What is normal?

Normal is "conforming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural".

So the question poses itself...Am I normal? I always think of myself as normal and compare everyone else to me. Our realtor is a member of our church and the first person we met when moving here. I found out after the fact that after showing us houses he went home to his wife and said, "I think you'll like them. They're very normal." I take that as a compliment but then I begin to think about things...am I really all that normal? Ask my husband and he'll say "no". But I think that's because I am not like him...or his upbringing. It's amazing how your upbringing can form you into who you are. For instance, before we go out of town or even to the grocery store, I clean the house. It drives him nuts that as he is loading the children in the car on the way to church I am inside the house picking up toys and putting sippy cups in the dishwasher. But when we're going on vacation I really clean the house. From top to bottom and everything in between. That is what I am doing today. My husband doesn't understand. "Why?" he asks. "If you've got to pack for 4 people for 3 weeks and remember formula, baby food, the camera, diapers, pajamas and get it all to fit in the car and bring stuff to keep 2 children happy for 7 hours, then why would you clean the house too!?!" My answer is simple..."That's the way my mom does it." But really, I like to come home to a clean house. When I arrive home from "vacation" I'm tired enough and the 10 loads of laundry looming ahead of me are enough to do, I don't want to have to worry about a dirty house as well. It seems simple enough to me, but is it normal? So that's my question to you...are you normal, like me?

We don't "do" Santa

The people at our grocery store are very friendly. Since we are there every Monday morning they seem to recognize us. The meat lady always gushes over the girls and there are 2 men that always say, "Good morning ladies!" as we walk through the door. I love it because they are so helpful but Charis always seems so shy and quiet. Well, this morning as we were paying for our groceries the check-out lady (who happens to have an extremely thick southern drawl) started talking to Charis. This is how the conversation went.
Check-out lady: "Have you seen Santa yet?"
Charis: (no response, looks at me)
Check-out lady: "What are you going to ask Santa for Christmas this year?"
Charis: (looks at me then back at the lady) "I'm not going to ask Santa. I ask real people."
Next lesson...be polite!

You're outta here!

Ben's got it now...the stomach flu that is. You know, I always thought I didn't have a problem with throwing up. It never really bothered me. I taught prechool for 4 years and during that time I dealt with a lot of throw up. It never bothered me. I've had children for 3 1/2 years and I've dealt with a lot of throw up. It never bothered me. My sister was here a few weeks ago and we dealt with a lot of throw up. It never bothered me. But Ben's on his own. This bothers me!

Strike Three!

Poor Charis...11:30 pm and she's snug in her bed only to be rudely awakened by throwing up. Poor baby girl! Ben's next...he's already called into work in preparation. I'll keep you posted. (Charis is currently laying on the couch watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Daddy...yes, it's 12:30 am.)

The flu strikes again!

Now mommy has the stomach flu...wah, wah. (Although it confirms my belief that I never want to be pregnant again. Oh, and a little word of advice...McDonalds doesn't not a good stomach flu make.)
_______
Emma and Charis got their flu shots today. Note to self...don't plan on both children getting shots at the same time when I'm alone at the doctor. It's not easy, especially when I have the stomach flu.

Random Thoughts

- KIX are very hard to sweep up.
- No matter how diligent I am, my closet is always a mess, I think it has something to do with a 3 year old who constantly tries on my shoes and an almost 1 year old who likes to empty drawers.
- Most people who work in the post office are grouchy, is that a prerequisite?
- I bought a gift card to the movies for a certain teenager on our Christmas list this year. It wasn't until after I paid for the card that I realized what it said at the top..."Have some fun in the dark"...hmmm.
- My husband should go to culinary school, then he should go to "Clean up the Kitchen 101" after that.
- Give me your feedback on flu shots...do you get them? do your kids?
- I would like a label maker, but that might just exaserbate the hyper-organizational issues that I have.

Waahh!

Emma has the stomach flu. She threw up 7 times in 3 hours. Ew!

How you know it's time to get away...

Tonight after dinner we bundled up the girls in hats, gloves and coats (it 60' outside) and went for a walk around our neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights. It was so fun! As we were walking Charis looked up at the lights in the night sky and said, "Look at all the airplanes!" ... They were stars.

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Charis had just gotten off the phone with Mimi. Mimi was telling her about their Christmas party that was last night. She said that Nicolette and Olivia (friends of Charis) sang at the party. Then we were sitting down to eat breakfast. Charis said, "I think Jesus was at Mimi and Papa's church at His birthday party." We explained to her that it's not like a birthday party that she thinks of with cake and presents and balloons. She said, "I think Nicolette was in heaven when she sang to Jesus on His birthday." Oh, we've got a lot of explaining to do!

Worst Nightmare!

Imagine screaming, shrieking, yelling, howling, terrorizing nightmares...I lived it tonight...here...I must really love my children. (There were 3 seperate birthday parties going on...enough said. But it all cumulated when I thought my wallet was stolen out of my diaper bag, turns out I left it at home.)

3 is such a serious age...

One morning Charis got herself completely dressed...shirt, pants, shoes & socks. So I said, "Charis you're such a big girl, you don't even need me anymore, do you?" She very seriously replied, "Well, sometimes I still have hard buttons."
_________
Over Thanksgiving Jesse took Charis out in the backyard to play with her sand and water table. Jesse was sitting in a chair on one end and Charis was sitting in another chair on the side. My mom laughed and commented, "Charis it looks like your at the psychologists office." Jesse turned to Charis and said jokingly in a mock voice, "Charis, tell me one of your childhood memories." Charis stopped what she was doing, looked Jesse square in the eye and said in all seriousness, "I'm having one right now."

Two More Questions from Charis and One from Mommy

(Charis) "Does Emma have a tongue?"
------------
(Charis) "Where's the big cheese?"
(Mommy) "What's the big cheese?"
(Charis) "You know, they come in all different sizes."
(Mommy) "Oh, I didn't know that."
(Charis) "Yeah, look there's one!"
(Mommy, looking) "Hmmm...I don't see what you're talking about."
(Charis) "Well, I saw the big cheese."

Thanksgiving 2007

I got a little carried away, I had too much time on my hands. So here it is...a crazy little three part poem (if you dare to call it that) about our Thanksgiving week.

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

And family gathered together,
We were to decorate every last feather.

Sugar cookies are what we had,
So we decorated them all...even my dad.

Icing, sprinkles and color too,
It looked as if we were in a turkey zoo.

Mommy had baked all day long,
With blueberry pie and pumpkin cobbler how could we go wrong?

We prepared our bellies,
For stuffing and cranberry jellies.

Pizza was for dinner,
We've found a place that is a winner!

As I crawled into bed that night,
Having family near felt so right.

(Ben did the turkey this year. Here it is...yummy, huh? It's some kind of brine that he soaked it in for 12 hours...it really did turn out good...the best I've ever had.)

(Decorating cookies with Mimi.)

(Poor Deidre...on the couch...all week long.)

(Yummy!)

(Our final products! gobble, gobble)

Twas the Day of Thanksgiving

And all through the our home,
The smells of food made our mouths' foam.

Ben and I cooked up a storm,
While the grandparents were in rare form.

Deidre laid on the couch all day long,
While Jesse read to her about cowboys and other such songs.

Finally all was done,
And I felt as if we had just begun.

Turkey, potatoes, stuffing, rolls,
cranberry sauce, green beans and food for our souls.

We remembered who we were thankful to,
And whose glory we are to daily pursue.

God is faithful in good times and bad,
But when we sin it makes Him so sad.

So remember your Creator today,
And take this very moment to pray.

Thank Him each day,
Whether your skies are blue or grey.

His faithfulness with never fail,
And God's mercy will always prevail.

(Ben and his awesome turkey)

(Oh, no, is Thanksgiving really almost over!?!)

(Our family...minus sicky Deidre on the couch)

(So cute! I couldn't resist another picture.)

(Trying to cheer Auntie up.)

(Our yummy feast!)

Twas the Day After Thanksgiving...

And all through the house,
not a creature was hungry (especially not Jesse's spouse).

We played outside,
Croquet, soccer and a wagon ride.

The children reveled in Mimi & Papa
Time spent with family...nothing can top-a.

Deidre rested on the couch all day long,
For her stomach was really not all that strong.

We ate leftover turkey, potatoes and stuffing,
By the time we got to the pie we were huffing and puffing.

After the kids were snug in their beds,
the adults sat on the couch and watched a movie instead.

Dial M for Murder it was called,
By Alfred Hitchcock, you know, the man that is bald.

This is all my mind can think of for now
So I'll just stop, stand and take a bow.

(Wagon ride)

(Croquet)

(I asked Charis what she was doing with those sticks. She looked at me in complete disbelief as if I couldn't tell and said, "I'm playing the Xylaphone.")

(Emma was wary of the sticks also)

(My happy baby!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Praise the Lord!

Oh give thanks to the Lord,

for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalm 106:1

Charis: "I'm a little bit of sad."
Mommy: "Why are you sad?"
Charis: "Because I don't have any children."
Mommy: "oh. Well, maybe when you are older God will give you children."
Charis: "I'm still a little bit of sad."
Mommy: "Why?"
Charis: "Because I don't have a daddy for my baby."

Quote of the day

More like the quote of my life...

“That she has trained her children for heaven, rather than for earth, for God, rather than for man--she is the parent that will be considered wise at last. Train with an eye to my children's souls. We are made what we are by training. Our character takes the form of what mold into which our first years were cast. The path of obedience is the way in which He gives blessing. Determine to make your children obey you, though it cost you much trouble, and cost them many tears. Obedience is the only reality. The mark of well-trained children is that they do whatsoever their parents command them - cheerfully, willingly and at once."

- John Ryle 1888

Busy as a bee

I know I haven't blogged in awhile. It's not for a lack of blog desire, it's for a lack of blog time. I've been uber busy these past 2 weeks. On top of cleaning, cooking, cleaning, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, cleaning, family time, cleaning and whatever else I manage to fill my time with, we've had house guests and one of the elders wives from church has asked me and another girl to organize a women's event for the ladies of our church. She also said that she wanted it to be a service opportunity. So after blowing a brain gasket trying to think of something to do, we came up with a ministry project to foster children around the Phoenix area. The Christian Family Care Agency is a group that provides Christian homes to foster children. We've partnered with them to provide their foster kids with Christmas gifts this year. So far we have 31 children that we're providing gifts for. Each child (ranging from ages 1 month to 18 years) has written up a "wish list" and different families in our church have signed up for individual children in an effort to fulfill their wish this year. It's been a really neat process and I've met some great people at CFCA. Then on December 1st all the women of our church will meet together to wrap the presents and hear a short message from Kim Maxwell (our pastor's wife). There are a number of families in our church that have adopted (including the Maxwells). I've always wanted to adopt a child at some point but this has really ignited that desire. Anyway, all that to say, I'm sorry I haven't blogged, I'll try to do better!

Closer to 30...

My birthday was on Monday. It was my 26th birthday. I'm still in shock. Although, the question remains....if I don't celebrate my birthday then does it really count? I conclude that I am still 25! It was a rather uneventful day full of diapers, bottles and spit-up much like any other day in our house. On the upside I didn't have to make dinner. Or I guess I should clarify, I didn't make dinner. I wasn't told that there were any other plans for dinner, I just assumed. As it turned out Ben took all of us to the Cheesecake Factory. I had my favorite...the Luau Salad...YUMMY! Then we all split a piece of key lime cheesecake. It was good. There was no silly birthday song, no candles to remind me how many years have passed, nope, just family, food and finger-lickin' good cheesecake. Emma enjoyed the whipped cream off the cheesecake...in case you can't tell. Last week a random woman told me that if she ever saw a baby that was a candidate for weight watchers Emma was it. Hmmm...If I ever saw a woman for mouth watchers then she was it!

Thankfulness

I copied this idea from Heather. It's a thankful chart. In each box there is a letter of the alphabet and every day we write afew things down that we're thankful for. It's teaching Charis to be thankful for everything as well as learning her alphabet.

The "Bahmas"

This past weekend Ben's mom came to visit from California. We also were able to have Ben's grandma stay with us. (She lives in Arizona, but about an hour away.) Charis still can't pronounce "grandma", it comes out sounding like "bahma" and "breat-bahma". Although she often refers to great-grandma as "old bahma". We're working on that one! Anyway, while grandma was here we went to the park and rode the train and carousel. Then on Saturday we went to the mall where great-grandma bought Charis and Emma each a pair of shoes. Charis got a pair of pink sneakers and Emma a pair of Robeez with piggies on them. They are so cute! Then we had some lunch and rode the carousel again.

Here is Emma enjoying the swings at the park. Listen to that little noise she makes...it so cute!

Questions, questions, questions...

Charis asked some very interesting questions in the past few weeks. I'll share just a few...

1. Do you know what Home Depot is?

2. Is God a boy?

3. When I get bigger can I be a mommy and wear a blue shirt?

4. Why are people brown?

5. Will God make me brown?

6. Why can't we buy our tires at Costco?

and that's just a few...more to come I'm sure!

Do you sometimes feel like all you do is laundry?

(This isn't even including the 2 loads of sheets that were in the washer and dryer when the picture was taken. That's a record of 8 loads in one day!)

Halloween 2007

I told you before that after the poll was completed I would let you know what we were going to do. Well, I never did, but now I can let you know what we did do. Tonight we went over to some friends house and 3 other families came (I think there were 10 children in all). We did a potluck dinner then walk-avaned (caravan but by walking) around the neighborhood. I think in all we had 2 Sleeping Beauty's, 1 Cinderella, 1 butterfly, 1 ladybug, 1 Batman, 1 Robin, 2 Marines and 1 Peter Pan. Ben dressed up like Dick Cheney...just kidding...he was just a hunter. I dressed up as the scariest think I could imagine...a pregnant woman! AHHHH!

Anyway, we had a fun night and after trick-or-treating we went back to our friends house where we celebrated one guy's birthday. (He's 30! Can you imagine that!?!)

I forgot to bring Emma's paci with us while we were trick-or-treating so Ben got this lollipop for her and it seemed to do the trick!

This is the pumpkin that Ben carved for Charis. She originally wanted Cinderella on the pumpkin...I think Tigger turned out cute!

On the way home tonight I asked Charis what her favorite part of the night was. She said, "Frit-r-freating!" I agree!

October 31st

Happy Reformation Day!

Papa's trip to Arizona

I'm finally getting to the pictures of Papa's trip. Sorry it took so long. (And sorry it's so abbreviated...Papa took most of the pictures on his camera.)

We went to the Bass Pro Shop which is near our house. I thought the sign at the front was hilarious!

"Welcome Fishermen, Hunters and Other Liars"

Charis was a little overwhelmed by all the animals and the indoor stream.

Waiting for the elevator.

I caught Papa in the golf section!

We also went to the park near our house and Charis tried to blend in with the other children crossing the log.

I love this! Papa pushing the swing right along with the other mommies at the park!

So cute!

Emma had a blast!

'Round and 'round on the tire swing.

We all loved having Papa here. But I think Charis especially loved him being around. She hardly ever left his side, even when she was sleeping!

Fatman

Tonight we were walking upstairs to help Daddy pick out a costume to wear to work tomorrow. As we got to the top of the stairs I said, "Holy Toledo Batman! It's cold up here!" Charis turned around, looked at Ben and said, "It's cold up here Fatman!" (I'm still rolling on the floor laughing about it...Ben on the other hand doesn't think it's that funny.)

Charis

"When I get bigger I can wear earwings and make tea! And I can carry the laundwy downstairs and bwush my hair! KEWL!!! (pronounced just like that)"
____
Ben likes Marvel comics so awhile back I bought him a pair of Superman underwear and a pair of Batman underwear. So today Charis said, "Daddy has Fatman underwear!"
____
"Mommy, your armpits are skinny!"
(Well, I guess that if I wanted any part of me to be skinny it would be my armpits!)

Emma leads with a score of 2-1

Emma- sinus infection, ear infection
Charis- sinus infection

Amox. 2 times a day for 10 days.

ugh!

A day of clever tidbits

Charis noticed an African-American man on the TV which prompted this:
Charis: "Why is that man brown?"
Ben: "Because that is the way God made him. Like God made you white so God made that man brown."
Charis: "Will God make me brown?"
Ben: "No, he already made you white so you can't be brown."
(Another man comes on the screen.)
Charis: "Look, they match brown!"
_______
After coming home from church tonight Ben looked around the house...which is a little messy and said:
Ben: "Wow, this place is a mess! What is it that you aren't able to keep up with it anymore?"
Melissa (thinking): "Excuse me?!?!"
Melissa (speaking): "Uh, yeah."
Ben: "It's probably that Emma isn't napping much so you don't have the time to clean up."
Melissa (thinking): "Yeah, that's it...it has absolutely nothing to do with you being home on the weekend and making as much a mess (if not more) then all three of us combined."
Melissa (speaking): "Uh, yeah."
_______
At the dinner table after church we were asking Charis what she learned about in Sunday school. The lesson was on the tower of Babel.
Ben: "So Charis, what did you learn about in your class tonight?"
Charis: "I don't know."
Melissa: "Did you learn about a tower?"
Charis: "Yeah! We made a tower with our bodies...like this." (She stands up like a statue.)
Ben: "What happened with the tower?"
Charis: "I don't know."
Ben: "Were the people building the tower obeying God?"
Charis: "Yes."
Ben: "Actually they weren't obeying God. What did God tell them to do?"
Charis: "To obey God!"
Melissa: "But what did God tell them?"
Charis: "Obey because your mommy and daddy protect you!"
_________
Charis saw her first baptism take place tonight so at the dinner table she asked:
Charis: "Why did the girl go under the water?"
Ben: "Well, she was baptized. That means that she told everyone that she is a Christian, that she loves God and she wants to obey Him."
Charis: "But I would need goggles."

Quick Wit

Thinking before you speak...yes...it's a good thing!
Earlier today we went shopping at a craft store. Emma was sitting in the front of the shopping cart and Charis was walking alongside. While we were paying for our purchases a woman walked up to us, looked at Emma, and said, "Well, it certainly looks like you're not starving to death!" At that very moment I thanked the Lord that I was able to think before I spoke. I wanted to say, "It certainly looks like you're not starving to death either." But I restrained my tongue, looked at her, smiled and thanked the Lord for a happy, healthy and chubby baby.

I'm starting to get a complex

Every morning I stretch before I start my day (it helps my back not scream so much). Yesterday morning Charis was stretching with me. I got on all fours and curved my back. I told her it was like a cat stretches. She said, "Actually, you look more like an elephant." Thanks babe!
_______
This morning Charis was getting herself dressed and she said, "Look, I have thighs like you, they're chubby!" Thanks babe!

Costco and you

We just got back from a trip to Costco. (I know it wasn't the greatest idea to take 2 sick kids to Costco with a Mommy that isn't feeling so great also, but when you've got 8 diapers, 1 roll of toilet paper, 10 wipes, and no pull-ups it's time to go...no matter what the cost.) As we were sitting in the food court area and enjoying our oh-so-tasty hot dogs I looked around and did a little people watching. I thought it was interesting how you could get a little clue into a persons personality and possibly their life simply by looking in their Costco cart. Take for instance the woman with a box of croissants, a box of muffins, a bag of chips, a loaf of bread and a pie in her cart. Firstly, I assumed she wasn't on the Atkins diet, then I thought possibly she has kids, teenagers specifically that don't have time to eat breakfast but need chips and a sandwich for lunch. Then I saw the man the was dressed in business attire and quite looking lost an wandering around with a box of Xerox paper and a Wii in his cart. I'm guessing he's not a Costco regular but ran out of paper and while picking up 1000 sheets of white paper just happened to see the Wii on the shelf and thought it looked cool for $300. This one in particular made me laugh...in his cart the man had 5 lbs of pistachio nuts and 36 rolls of toilet paper...maybe he should rethink that one! Then I looked at my own cart and I wondered what it said about me. Tell me what you think...200 Huggies diapers size 4, 8 pack of Kirkland wipes, 50 Huggies pull-ups size 3T-4T, 36 rolls of Kirkland toilet paper, 1 loaf of Milton's bread, 20 Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, 1 box of Cascade dishwasher soap, 2 apple juice bottles and a Sleeping Beauty costume. What does that say about me?

In addition...

Our visit with Papa was great! He just left today and when he kissed Charis goodbye she cried and cried and cried...me too. Interestingly enough, Papa not only brought a bed and a fish tank...he also brought GERMS! We're all sick (except for Ben). I'll post about his visit when I have the energy.

Papa comes today!!!

In just a few hours Papa arrives with a truckload of stuff. He's bringing a queen size bed (for Ben and I) an 100 gallon fish tank (for Ben) and whatever else my mom decided to load from her garage into the truck. See Ben and I have slept on a full size mattress ever since we got married 4 1/2 years ago. It was fine and would still continue to be fine but as one friend put it our "cuddling by default" is almost over! It really would be nice to have more room. Surprisingly we have fit all four of us in our bed...Ben usually is the first to get pushed out, but we've done it! When we moved here Ben decided to leave his fish tank in his parents garage. (He had an 100 gallon saltwater tank at our old house.) They are so excited (I presume) to get rid of it...now we get to store it! YAY! (sarcasm!) We are also SO excited that Papa is coming...even if he came with an empty truck we'd be excited!! He is going to stay until Tuesday so that means we've got all sorts of fun things planned...the state fair, a hike, the park, the pumpkin patch, church and Charis will probably want to watch Cinderella with him. Lucky him! I might not be able to post much over the next few says but don't worry, I'll be taking lots and lots of pictures!

**EDIT**
I forgot to tell you where we got the bed from...my parents are giving us their old bed (which isn't even all that old). They've decided to buy a Select Comfort mattress so they're donating their mattress to the needy (us). We love getting hand-me-down things...if any of you have 6 dining room chairs you'd like to be rid if, let me know...ours have seen better days.

Another anatomy lesson

Mommy: "Charis, why is the bathroom floor wet?"
Charis: "I went peepee like Luke!"

Monkey-Bar Buddies

This is a cute idea...but couldn't you just go to Walmart and spend $2.88 instead?

Halloween Poll

Please answer the poll...I'm quite curious to see your answers. When the voting is all done I'll let you know what we're doing.

Um...NO!

(Before you read this you must know that Miss Tonya is a friend of ours from church and she is about 9 months pregnant.)

Charis: "Mommy, I have a favor and a wish."
Mommy: "Ok, what's your wish?"
C: "I wish that you would do my favor."
M: "Ok, what's your favor?"
C: "I want you to get a big belly like Miss Tonya and have a new baby."

Anatomy 101

This morning Charis and I were playing and I was tickling her and telling her, "I'm gonna eat your belly button!" She was laughing and screaming but then she just stopped and said in a normal grown-up voice, "Please don't eat my button because then I wouldn't be a people, I would be a bee."

Thank goodness for digital!

Here are some of the not-so-good shots that I was telling you about (see earlier post, Photography 101). "Come here...give me a kiss!"..."Get away, AWAY!"
"My toe!!!!!"
"Did you use a q-tip today?"
"I'll punch your lights out if you take one more picture!"
"I told you, not one more picture!"