Thanks Aunt Dana

Dear Aunt Dana,

Daddy thought a special surprise might help curb my grumpiness over the weekend, so he decided to give me that new Big Bird that you sent for me. It didn't help with my grumpiness, but I sure do LOVE it. I can't help being grumpy - my nose is running; I am sprouting two new teeth, and I'm not sleeping well these days - it's a rough life!

Big Bird goes everywhere I go; he's even taking a nap with me right now. When mommy and daddy couldn't find him anywhere, I just knew I could count on you to find him. After all, birthday girls have to stick together. Tell my cousins and Uncle Marc hello.

Love, Hannah

Our Ducks

Well, they aren't really our ducks! They do live on the golf course in our neighborhood, and Hunter truly believes that they are his. On occasion he will concede to sharing (a rare but welcome event) them with Sissy; however, he claims the white duck all to himself! Hannah's sweet, chubby little fingers have been mistaken for bread a couple of times, so she's a little leery of the ducks. She has now learned how to throw the bread which seems to be helping her warm-up to them again.

We generally go on a walk each day, weather permitting. We went yesterday but not today; the temps dropped almost 30 degrees here overnight. It's a little chilly for us right now! Not to worry though, we should be back in the 70's by mid-week.

Art Project

Last year, a friend and I took the kids to a pottery store so that they could paint their own ceramic ornaments. Hannah was too young to paint then, but Hunter loved it. I was planning on letting both kids do the same thing this year, but the store closed a few months ago. So when I saw these little ceramic holiday figurines at the store the other day, I thought they were a must have. I envisioned a mess, which is why they are outside in their diapers (thank goodness for 80 degree weather), but I wasn't quite prepared for so much chaos. Hannah only tried to eat the paint twice. Chaos aside, we had a very fun morning.

After a morning of painting, I now have a new appreciation for the kids' preschool teachers. I had my hands full with two; I don't know how they do it with 8-12. Needless to say, I'll be putting a little something extra in their Christmas baskets this year.

Hunter's all ready for his next project; he keeps asking to paint outside. I think I may have started something!

Santa's Little Surprise

We had a surprise visit from Santa last night (aka UPS), and we can proudly say that we have now joined the digital age! We are the proud owners of a new digital camera! Santa was certainly quite generous this year. Once I figure out this whole process, adding pictures should be much simpler. Thank you Santa - We love you!! With any luck, I'll post new pics tomorrow.

Today's humor: We were outside playing this afternoon as the jets were practicing whatever they practice. They were a bit noisier than usual. Hunter looked at me, gently covered his ears, and said, "Mom, my ears are too loud!" What a funny little fellow!

Blessings!

The Blessing of Boring

As I was talking with one of our friends in Sunday School today, she said something that really made me think. Her husband is deployed to Iraq right now; she is also in the military, and they have three young girls - she's a busy lady! When I asked her how things were going, she simply said, "Things are going well. To be honest, our lives are pretty boring!" I couldn't help but giggle at her response; with all that she has going on, boring hardly seems an accurate representation of her life. Yet, she didn't mean boring in the sense that nothing is going on, rather she meant boring in the sense that things are going well and there hasn't been anything too dramatic or difficult to handle.

I have thought about that comment all day and boring is exactly how I can thankfully describe our lives right now too - not that we don't have some crazy days (in all senses of the word crazy!). We stay busy and always seem to have something going on, but in reality our lives are pretty boring. Boring really is wonderful!

A recap of last week in pictures:

Breaking the RulesCatching up on our Reading
Self-Defense or Conflict Resolution??

Still Learning

Hunter's turn NOW!! (his favorite phrase)

Blessings to all!

My Little Helpers

Cleaning has never been so entertaining in our house. Giving these two a wipe is like giving them a piece of candy. If only their excitement would rub off on me:) For some strange reason, Hunter needed his pants off to clean this time around - who knows! Even Hannah was a bit baffled at that one.

Nonetheless, we somehow manage to get the house relatively clean on a semi-regular basis. Of course, there are always a few extra messes but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Blessings!

Perfect Weather

As the weather continues to be absolutely perfect down here, we are enjoying every minute. We spent the weekend outside. Hunter desperately wanted to play in the sprinkler, which he probably could have done, but it just didn't seem right seeing how it's the beginning of December - much to his dismay, no sprinkler. I guess there's always tomorrow!

Hunter's working to perfect his bicycling and baseball skills while Hannah is enjoying being able to do almost anything her big brother can do. She has finally figured out how to climb on the fort outside (she can't get down yet but it's a start).

Pete's home for the weekend; loosely translated, that means he's in the woods doing what he loves - hunting for wild game. No pigs tonight maybe next time :)

Love to all! Pictures coming soon!