I Think My Wife's A Calvinist

Pretty funny to start off your week!

Maddie's Here! (Oh and Deidre & Jesse too.)

On Sunday afternoon Maddie, Deidre & Jesse pulled into our driveway and mass chaos erupted in our house! We were so glad they were here! Charis immediately got to work mothering Maddie.
Sunday evening we all went to church then out to dinner with the Yates family. Monday morning we took a walk to the park where Maddie slept, Emma did her typical wandering and Charis told Aunt Deidre what to do ("You climb up here, now you sit here, now you jump down from here."). It was fun though! Tomorrow we will all be joined by Mimi, Papa and Aunt Dottie! We can't wait!

Girls Christmas Tea

On Saturday a few single girls from our church hosted a "Girls Christmas Tea" for a few of the 3, 4 & 5 year old girls at our church. Charis had such a fabulous time having tea and cookies with the big girls. She enjoyed dressing up and I even let her wear a little make-up too! When I went to pick Charis up she took me on a tour of the house. She said, "This is where Miss Kim sleeps, this is where Miss Cassidy sleeps and this is where Miss Kelsey sleeps. But I don't know where their husbands sleep."

Man! You guys keep it hot in your houses! 54% of you keep it above 68 degrees! We keep our house at 67 and even then it's sometimes hot. Anyway, vote on the new Santa poll!

My brother-in-law just paid me the most wonderful compliment ever. He said, "Wow, Melissa, you have like a full time job picking up after these kids!"
Yes, yes I do.

Emma's Job

Emma found a way to re-pay Heidi for all the babysitting she does! Last week I had to go to the post office and ship a package internationally. I knew it would be too much for Emma so Heidi graciously offered to babysit. My intuition was right and 1 hour and $100 later we went and picked Emma up.

Fun Lunchtime!

I decided to make lunchtime a little more fun today so the girls ate homemade lunchables out of muffin tins.

They thought it was really fun and it actually make them eat better.

Let the Healing Begin

Charis' hand is starting to heal. I can't believe how quickly it's changing. This picture doesn't really do it justice.

Rice Krispy House

That dangerous rice krispy house is finally done. Ben and Charis decorated it last night. The decorating was so much more fun than the burning of her hand on the stove. Charis is doing pretty good. She slept through the night on Monday night but last night woke up saying that her hand hurt. The hardest part for her is that it is her right hand so she can't feed herself or go to the potty by herself. She's surviving and sure getting a lot of attention when we're out running errands. She even got a free candy cane bagel from Einsteins yesterday just because she was hurt!

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Major Owie!

Earlier this evening Ben & Charis were in the kitchen making rice krispy treats. I was upstairs with Emma. Suddenly I heard a scream followed by lots of crying. I ran downstairs with Emma and found a very teary Charis with her hand in a bowl of water. Ben explained that while they were melting the marshmallows she accidentally touched the stove top while it was on! I took one look at her hand and knew she had to see a doctor. She had about a 1 inch round chunk of skin missing from the top of her hand. Ben called the urgent care and they told him to bring her in. They said they could probably take care of it but if it was worse than a 1st degree burn that she would need to go to the burn center. Ben took her to urgent care. The doctors told Ben that she had 1st & 2nd degree burns on her hand. They gave her some very strong medicine (Tylenol with codine) cleaned the burn, cut off all the excess burnt skin, applied a cream and wrapped it tightly. We're supposed to leave the bandage on for 24 hours then take it off, clean it again, apply neosporin and re-wrap it. The dr. also said that for the next 6-12 months I need to keep it covered or apply sunscreen. He said she shouldn't have any scarring. Charis was so brave through the whole thing! Please pray that she'll be able to sleep. Right now she's watching Stuart Little 2 with Ben (it's 10:30pm).

On Saturday we went to Emma's little friend's birthday party. Emet was turning 2 and had a cowboy themed party. Janet (his mom) did such a great job...she's so creative! The girls loved dressing up like cowboys...don't you know all cowboys wear purple pearls? Somehow those ended up on Emma when we were rummaging through the dress up box getting ready for the party and they stayed on all day.

We had horse races...cowboy dancing...

a horsey ride...

pin the badge on the sheriff...

and super yummy ice cream sandwiches! Happy birthday Emet! Thanks for inviting us!

Christmas Concert in the Park

On Friday evening a few musicians from our church hosted a Christmas concert in the park. It was so much fun! They had hot chocolate, coffee and lots of treats. The adults sat on beach chairs and blankets while the kids ran around on the grassy hill. I didn't take too many pictures but here's one of Emma sitting and enjoying the music. It was so cold and I was so glad she was able to wear her jacket. She was probably sweating underneath but this is Arizona...when else is she going to be able to wear it? Josh & Omri Miles (friends from church) also put on a performance. When we got in the car after the concert was over Ben said, "Wow! That takes talent!" It really does. They did a great job! Thanks everyone of putting it on!

Missing Things

Usually I'll do ok but sometimes I'll see something that reminds me of California or my family or friends there and then I'll get a little sad. I saw this video on a friend's blog and it just really made me miss my church! Don't get me wrong, I love my church here but I just miss my California church. Wow! What a blessing to have 2 amazing churches!

Ducks, Ducks and More Ducks

On Saturday the girls & I rode bikes to the park near our house. We brought along a lot of bread to feed to the ducks. Knowing that a shoreline would not stop Emma from attempting a little swim, we fed them from behind a gate. After I turned this video off I regretted it. This little black duck hopped up on the ground next to Emma. He was begging for the bread that was in her hand. Instead of handing him the bread in her hand she reached down and grabbed the duck across his back. Getting a handful of feathers and wings she picked him up. All the while he was screeching and kicking his little webbed feet. Emma was laughing! I started yelling at Emma to "Put it down! Put it down!" Very gently she set Mr. Duck back on the ground. I "gently nudged" him out of the way and told him to run for his life. I wish I had left the camera on! We could have won $10,000 on America's Funniest Home Videos!

For the grandparents

My mom always says that she likes to just "watch" the girls. So here's a pretty long video so that she can "watch" Emma. Although, watching Emma is more of an interactive sport than anything else!

Light Poll

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Noah & Charis

Noah & Charis under the Christmas tree. (This was taken last night at the Cassaday's house.)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

On Sunday we decorated for Christmas! I was so excited to decorate because we didn't decorate last year since we were going to be in California. It was so fun to look through all the ornaments that we haven't seen for 2 years. Every year we buy an ornament for the girls. We try to get something that they did that year and were interested in or something they that really liked. Here's Charis with her Finding Nemo ornament the she got for her 3rd Christmas. This one is extra special because "Mr. Jack" (Jack Holbrook) found it at Disneyland and brought it home for Charis because he knew she loved Nemo.
Here is the tree all done, although I just realized you can't see the star on the top of the tree!

Ben spent a long time (3 separate evenings) putting up the Christmas lights and other various decorations on the front of the house. I'll try to take a picture of it all done tonight to show you.

In honor of a Christmas themed post I figured I should do this since everyone else is.

1. Wrapping paper or bags? I prefer to wrap with bags because it's so much easier but paper & ribbon presents look so much prettier and they are so fun to open. I try to do as much paper as I can.

2. Real or artificial tree? We have our first fake tree this year. Ben got a fantastic deal on the day after Thanksgiving. He waited in line at Home Depot at 5 am and ended up with a 7.5 foot tree for $49.99!

3. When do you put of the tree? We don't have a tradition. It's more like when we have the time. But I prefer it early in December.

4. When do you take the tree down? As soon as possible. By New Year's I'm usually so sick on red & green that I can't wait. (I know, bah humbug!)

5. Do you like Eggnog? In small sips. It can get to be too much but I do like an eggnog latte at Christmastime.

6 Favorite gift received as a child? Hmmm...I don't know. I distinctly remember finding a bike that I was getting for Christmas and still having to act surprised on Christmas morning. I may never have actually told my parents that until now.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Jesse, my brother in law. Seriously, I have no clue...which works because this year we're not doing presents for the adults.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Ben. There's always some crazy gadget that he wants.

9. Do you have a nativity? We have 2. One is made of olive wood and it's from Israel (my parents brought it back after their first trip there). The other one is a Little People Nativity Set. The girls love playing with it!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I usually mail them. The year before last I sent our "Christmas" cards out in February. I called them Valentines Cards. In all fairness, that year I had a baby and moved to a new state all in the same month, January.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't know if it's the worst I've ever received but it's pretty funny. 2 Years ago, while I was 10 months pregnant and after spending 14 weeks on bed rest Ben bought me a frying pan and a sewing machine for Christmas. You figure out the reaction!

12. Favorite Christmas movie? Hands down...White Christmas.

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? August...seriously, I bought Maddie's gift in August!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Just for white elephant gift exchanges.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Peppermint ice cream!!!!

16. Lights on the tree? Yes - white lights...only white lights! Ben & I have an on going feud about that.

17. Favorite Christmas song? There are so many I don't think I can just pick one.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year we're going to be at home and my family is going to come visit! We'll have 6 visitors in our home!

19. Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer? Probably not, Santa's a poser!

20. Angel on the tree top or star? We have a cool star on top...it drives Ben nuts every year because he can't get it to stay just right.

21. Open present on Christmas Eve or morning? We used to switch off with each family when we lived in California. This year we'll just do them on Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? I can't think of anything. It's a great time of year!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I love all of our ornaments! We try to get them from every place we've been. Come to think of it, I don't have a California ornament or an Arizona ornament.

24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? I love my mom's manicotti and meatballs & pasta. I don't think we'll be having it this year though. I'm doing the cooking. Maybe we'll do burgers or a Mexican night!

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Absolutely nothing! I'm going to have everything I want when I look around on Christmas morning and see my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother-in-law, my great aunt, my husband, my children and am able to hold Maddie in my arms!

Happy Birthday Aunt Deidre!

We love you!!!

Happy Birthday Papa!

We love you and miss you and can't wait to see you in 23 days!

Time with Grandma & Grandpa

Last Wednesday Grandma, Grandpa & Uncle Marc came out here from California. We had such a great time. I didn't take too many pictures but Grandpa was always there with his camera. If I get some of those I'll post them.

On Thursday we celebrated Thanksgiving. Ben's grandparents & their pastor drove down from Sedona for the day. Ben, once again, made a fabulous turkey and the rest of the food was great too! After we ate we drove over to some other relatives of Ben and had some more pie and played in the backyard. When we got there Murphy and their other dog (I don't remember his name) came out to meet us. Charis just about had a heart attack! She jumped on me and I've never seen anyone climb so fast! They put the other dog away (he's just a puppy) but left Murphy out. By the end of the evening Charis had actually pet Murphy all by herself. Emma loves all doggies so she had no problem pulling on his ears and smacking his back. He was so good, he just laid there enduring Emma with such patience.

On Friday we went to the zoo for the day. The girls, as always, had a blast. Here is a video of Emma communicating with the elephants.

The girls love to go to the petting zoo. It's so fun to see all the goats poop & pee and it smells so fresh! (We use lots and lots of soap & water & purell when we leave.)On Saturday we drove out to Cabelas. After a yummy lunch of buffalo burgers & pizza (for the kids) we went to visit all the animals. These are animals that people have really hunted and have been taxidermied and lent to Cabelas for everyone to enjoy. Charis took these pictures.

This is Kaylee. I'm not sure what the actual relation is to Charis & Emma but she is Ben's cousin's daughter. Our girls always have fun when Kaylee comes to play.

Oh, Emma!

I'm still fighting a losing battle against whatever germs are plaguing my body so when it came around to bath time tonight Ben volunteered for the job. He found it easier (or so he thought) to give the girls a bath one at a time instead of together. So he bathed Emma first, took her out of the tub, dried her off, put a clean diaper and warm jammies on her then brushed out her hair. Then he put Charis in the tub. She can pretty much bathe herself so he left her to play and splash and whatever she wanted to do in there for a few minutes. He was in our bedroom when he heard Charis say, "Daddy, come here! You've really got to see this!" When he went into the bathroom this is what he saw...

Oh! Emma!

7 Random Things

The rules are:
-Link to the person who tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
-Share 7 random and or weird facts about yourself.
-Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
-Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

My sister tagged me to post 7 random things about myself. So here it goes:

1. I'm deathly afraid of water. My biggest fear is drowning, hence, I'm scared of the ocean, lakes and other large bodies of water (just not pools). I've even had nightmares about being trapped under frozen ice and have woken up in the midst of an asthma attack.
2. My shoulders are double-jointed so I can touch my elbows to each other while having my hands on my hips. (Go ahead, try it!)
3. I had never eaten a corn dog until I was 19 and Ben took me to Hot Dog on a Stick. (I've never eaten once since.)
4. I'm allergic to honeydew and cantaloupe so I can never order fresh fruit as a side at a restaurant.
5. Ben & I went to my high school prom together. (You ought to see the pictures!)
6. I can't go to sleep if the house is a mess. Even if it means staying up until 1 am, I always clean up all the toys, all the dishes, fold the laundry...whatever it is.
7. When I was little my dream of growing up included living in a little cottage in the woods with a white picket fence and my sister coming over everyday to clean my house. Bummer that we moved to Arizona because I'm sure if we still lived near my sister she'd be over everyday to clean for me!

I tag Heidi, Tonya, Danielle, Cathy, Aunt Jen, Sarah & Janet

A few things before Thanksgiving hits

All week I've been grocery shopping, cleaning, baking and washing every piece of clothing in this house. Why? You ask...Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Marc, Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa & their pastor will be here for Thanksgiving! Grandma, Grandpa & Uncle Marc arrive tonight. (That's Ben's parents & brother.) I haven't been able to really blog since I've been busy with other more important things. So here's a little catch up before I have a bunch of Thanksgiving pictures to post.

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On Saturday morning as I was making Emma's bed I saw this out her window. I yelled for the girls to come in and they thought it was so cool! We were so close we could hear the hot air as they ascended and descended.

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On Monday morning the girls and I made the trek into Phoenix to deliver Christmas presents to Christian Family Care Agency. This year our church collected 50 gifts for the foster kids of CFCA. It was so neat to have the girls involved in delivering the gifts. This photo doesn't do it justice but the car was literally packed with gifts. That's why Emma & Charis are so close together...the seat next to Emma was piled high with gifts. The front passenger seat was full as well as under the girls feet.

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As we were shopping the other day I heard "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" over the loudspeaker. So I started to sing along..."He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake. You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I'm tellin' you why. Santa Claus is coming to town!" Charis looks at me with this look of complete disbelief and says matter-of-factly, "No he's not." (Thatta-girl!)

I don't know what Charis' current preoccupation with shooting animals is. She's never seen Bambi. The only thing I can think of is that Ben likes to hunt and sometimes talks about it. Last night at dinner as Charis was sitting there gnawing on her chicken leg she stops for a second, looks up at Ben & I and asks with a mouth full of chewed up poultry, "How did they kill this chicken? Did they shoot it?" We laughed then I said, "No, they probably chopped it's head off." She roared and laughed for the longest time. She thought that was the funniest thing she had ever heard! Then Ben explained that they do chop it's head off then it's feet then they pull it's feathers out. I half expected Charis to be completely disgusted so she surprised me when she took another bite and holding up her chicken leg said, "Well, they probably only chopped off one leg...the one I'm eating."

More Funny Things

Emma has begun to hit. She mostly hits Charis but she's hit me on quite a few occasions. When she hits I take her hands firmly in mine and look her square in the eye. Then I say, "Emma, no hitting! God made your hands for kindness." Well, it happened again this morning. Emma hit Charis so I took her hands in mine and said, "Emma, no hitting! God made your hands for kindness." Then Charis pipes in, "And eating...like with a fork."
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I've been trying to learn how to french braid Charis' hair. This morning she sat so still for almost 20 minutes while I butchered the braid on her head. I knew she was starting to get antsy when she said, "You know mom, we could just leave it down today." A little while later I told her I was sorry that I couldn't do the braid but that I would keep practicing and get it right. She so sweetly said to me, "That's ok, you tried your best, mom."

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A Girl After Her Daddy's Own Heart

Mommy: "Charis get some shoes on. We're going to Costco."
Charis: "What are we going to buy?"
M: "We need to get a turkey for Thanksgiving."
C: "Why can't we just go shoot one?"

As we were driving through the Trader Joe's parking lot looking for a parking space Charis very excitedly says to me, "Mommy! Mommy! Did you see that bike twailer?"
M: "No, I didn't. What did it look like?"
C: "It was purple and orwange and lellow...like a beeee-you-ti-ful sunset!"

Our church is putting together a care package to send to a missionary friend of ours. Someone suggested to send it in a beat up box so it won't look as enticing to the customs guys. We just got a package from Grandma past week that came in a great sized box but it's too brand new looking. So I thought the best way for something to get beat up is for my kids to play with it...look at our new toy! (For this week anyway.)

Fresh Squeezed Homemade Lemonade

Our lemon tree is producing fruit...a lot of fruit. So the girls & I decided to try our hand at making lemonade. It turned out really yummy! Here's what we started with...sugar (lots of sugar), lemons & water.The process...super fun and super sticky!

The finished product...mmm!

Pump It Up!

On Saturday we went to a birthday party at Pump It Up. It was really fun! The girls had a blast and napped for 2 hours on Saturday afternoon.Poor Ben had to follow Emma all around. Most of the stuff was too big for her to do on her own.

Charis did this slide about 92 times...she loved it!

Emma did too, of course Ben had to be the one to get her up to the top, which was no small feat!

Here's one of our pastors & his wife (Smedley & Janet Yates) demonstrating our new marriage counseling program at our church.

Again we're trying for a group shot.

And yet again, it's not really working.

Yeah, it didn't really work at all.

My Birthday

On Thursday night we went out to dinner with the Cassadays for my birthday. Charis was the designated photographer for the evening. She did a pretty good job. After dinner Ben bought a Godiva chocolate cheesecake to take home and we spent some time walking around the mall to work off our dinner so we had enough room for that delicious cheesecake.Heidi & Noah

Emma & Mommy

Trying to keep Emma happy and entertained before the food came.

Noah trying on hats in Janie & Jack

Charis trying on hats in Janie & Jack

Noah & Kelly waiting for us mommies while we drooled over the clothes in Janie & Jack