Better Hit The Mall

alternately titled: Better Review The Calendar Unit

Cole (as he casually loads his dinner plate into the dishwasher): "So it's two hundred million thousand days until Christmas?"

Mama: "Um, no."

Cole: "Well, how many then?"

Mama: "Three hundred and sixty four."

Cole (jumping up and down for glee): "THAT'S SO SOON!"

Mommy P-I

Quote of the Day:

"(contented sigh)....Me love Mommy and Tom Selleck." --Reuben, age 3

Birthday, Please--Double Shot

Better late than never....here are the photos of Reuben's birthday!

This was the first year that we made a "do" out of Reuben's day--I guess because it was the first year he was really aware. His birthday is so close to Thanksgiving that we usually just celebrate with family that weekend instead. This year, he was emphatic that he wanted a Thomas cake and that he wanted to eat it with his friend Ella. We invited Ella and her family over for dinner and figured that was celebration enough (7 kids between the two families!).

I really really love making my boys' birthday cakes. This one was particularly fun.

It was mostly completed when Reuben woke up from his nap--of course he was thrilled to walk out of the bedroom and discover it, and kept saying, "that Thomas face is so funny, Mom, it's so FUNNY!" The cars are filled with black jelly beans ("coal"), green gummy frogs and candy legos. Of course.

After dinner we did something special: a Birthday Walk for our birthday boy. We lit a candle and placed it on the floor, to represent the sun. Then we put labels for each of the twelve months all around the sun in a circle, and asked Reuben to stand on the November label.

He got to hold a model of the earth that I had made out of playdough the day before. Justin talked briefly about the day he was born, then we had Reuben walk once around the sun, to represent his first year of life. He stopped on November, and Justin shared a little about his first year of life. We continued on in this fashion until he (and the earth) had made three complete circles around the sun.

The cutest part was that every time he would stop on his birthday month and listen to Justin talk about his toddler years, he kept trying to sneak a bite of the earth!

Happy 3rd birthday, Reuben, we love you!

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And Sean just celebrated his first birthday...with a STORE-bought cake (see how worried he is?),

a dinner of finger foods (in true one-year-old fashion) and a new rubber ball! Sean-boy, what a gift you have been to us this last blessed year! We love you and are so thankful for the chance every day to watch you grow and learn.

Dive in, little boy, welcome to toddlerhood!

Belated

Around here we are

Finally home from our 8-day Thanksgiving
Finally healing
Finally beautifying the breakfast nook/homework table
Finally (already?!) digging through the Christmas decorations
Finally digging through the photographs of Reubsy's third birthday to share

so until the next installment, here's a fun conversation from yesterday:

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Cole: "Mom, all I want you to make me is broccoli and carrots, for the rest of my life."

Mama (proud and scared): "Oh? Why is that?" (cringing)

Cole: "Well, because broccoli makes big toots, and Olivia says that carrots make you see in the dark. So then I could see big toots in the dark."

Reese: "Me, me too!"

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Happy (belated) Thanksgiving!

Happiness

Cole: "Do you know what I need to make me happy?"

Mama: "Yup."

Cole: "What?"

Mama: "A hippity-hop, a pair of underwear, your slippery socks, a rubber room, maybe some bubble gum and one can of silly string."

Daddy: "And a whole bottle of maple syrup."

Cole: "No, I just need to be taller. Then I'd stand on that table over there and climb on top of the ceiling fan."

Is that all? Who knew?!

The Birthday

It's coming...

One Month

In one month, I have
mourned the loss of my fifth pregnancy
cried over the deaths of two co-workers
listened to my husband explain to me why he lost his job



I have also
purchased new clothes for growing, healthy boys
bought groceries and gasoline with cash
worn tank tops because my house is nice and warm
eaten hot meals lovingly prepared by family and friends
given to others out of my excess



In the next month, I will
celebrate the birthday of my three year old son
sit round a table with 17 others in thankfulness
help a sweet one year old blow out a candle


"the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised"! (job 1:21b)