Wordless Wednesday

Happy Thanksgiving Week

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

I love Thanksgiving turkey. It's the only time in Los Angeles that you see natural breasts. ~Arnold Schwarzenegger

May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!

~Author Unknown

You Are The Stuffing

You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together. People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Christmasy School Spirit and Very Cute Kids

WINNER and some stuff

Sorry it took me so long to post the winner--I meant to last night but Brett wanted to go to bed early since he was getting up early to go hunt for deer. He did not shoot any deer, but that's beside the point.

By the way, I did pick a winner by random luck-of-the-draw, I just wanted to wring you for all the sucking-up I could get. :)

And the winner is......duh duh duh DUUUUHHH...... Hanah!!!!! Mother of three cuties and wife of a pilot. We've never met, but she's a friend of my sister Kami's, and she has a fun blog, which I'd link for you except it's private, so I don't think it would do much for ya. Anyway, Hanah, you can send me your address if you would like the blanket so I can ship it out.

Thank you everyone for your comments. It made for such a wonderful National Comment on Kayli's Blog Day!!! :) Christy, your haiku was definitely cool--it involved me and the word worship. And I was happy to hear from a few that I didn't even know read my blog! (Nicole, I really can't wait for the day of your blog's unveiling!) Thank you for the embarrassing moments, shameless flattery, offers of chocolate (especially Canadian chocolate!) and general good will. It's too bad I didn't have enough prizes for everyone.

On to the other stuff. There were two things I had meant to say in my 13 things post that I forgot about...oh yes. I was going to say that there's now volleyball at the church every Tuesday night and I've gone twice now and IT IS SO FUN!!!!! Oh, how I LOVE to play volleyball!!!! Honestly, it is so great to play after what seems like years! When we first moved here and I was pregnant with Hazel I used to play with the single's ward. Sigh. I love volleyball.

And the other cool thing I thought you all should know was that when Jethro was at college mentors last Tuesday (an after-school thing with Purdue students he was invited to join), a Big Buddy (not his Big Buddy but another kid's Big Buddy--he was sure to point out) fixed his backpack zipper!!! I thought the zipper was way beyong fixing. I don't know who you are Big Buddy, but I love you!!!

And here's some fun pictures. I have taken a TON of pictures this month. More than usual--and the month is not over yet--we still have what I'm sure will be a fun-filled weekend with Aunt Kami and Uncle Leo this week!!! Woohoo!



See, I told you that Brett starts to read a book and then falls asleep every single night!
And here was some excitement for the day. A bat came into the space between the door and the screen door of our garage. Brett apparently woke me up in the morning yesterday to ask me if I wanted to see the bat. He says that I said (or moaned, he asserts) no, but I have no recollection of that. Anyway, we went out and saw it after Brett came home, and we just left it there for the night because Brett and Jethro decided to build a nest for it the next day. Brett thinks it is hibernating.
So when Brett touched it with his glove to pick it up to move it to it's nest, this is what it did. Scary eh? Especially with the really freaky hissing that it made as well.
Now you can see how small the bat is. It's the little brown thing in the bottom left corner. Such a small thing to make such a big man afraid! Just kidding. Anyway we did get it moved to its new home.And that's all I've got.

Thursday 13 stuff

1. These pictures are so cute. And don't you love the new collages you can do with Picasa? If you haven't updated to their new version, do it! There's some cool new stuff.2. I took pictures of Jethro yesterday because he hasn't had a good send-to-grandma picture for a while. They turned out very cute. And Jethro was so cooperative! Yahoo!
3. I especially love the mustache ones which I showed yesterday. I could honestly die laughing looking at those.

4. Yesterday was fun. When Jethro got home from school Hazel asked him if he would play stoy (store) with her and he said sure. So they played for a little while so nicely. Makes a mother so happy.
5. Later, Hazel was playing Library with me and I was the librarian, and she said, "Can you be my mudda? Because my mudda died. I'm an oyphan." So I told her I would be, and I asked her what happened to her mother, and she said somebody killed her. I asked how, and she said "They took a knife and poked hoy." And I asked why, and she said, "Cause they thought she was mean." Interesting game, Hazel. 6. This is all the kids last night after baths in their fuzzy p.j.'s.
7. Talmage is soooo happy these days. He's got smiles galore. This one just happens to be in a bonnet. You all have pictures of your baby boys in bonnets, right?
8. Hazel's so girly. It's almost worrisome. Well, not really, but she only likes pink, princessy, girly things and that's it. No exceptions. When I was little I hated pink.
9. Last night I had a dream that I was dead and this guy--an angel?-- was trying to get me to go to heaven, but I didn't want to go with him, so then he took me to hell, where burning logs were hurtling down from the sky towards me. Then he said, "This is the alternative." After that I went to heaven with him. Weird dream.
10. Jethro is a funny guy. He's so into ixl.com right now. His teacher had to pay, I believe, to get the class set up, but it's a site where you practice math and earn medals and stuff. He's very competitive and wants to have the most medals in his class. When he got to 25 medals, he got a recorder for a prize from his teacher. Today he got a prize for getting to 50 medals and it's a little wooden tic-tac-toe game with black and white marbles. He's in heaven.
11. I can now play Hot Cross Buns on the recorder.
12. The picture above and below are my favorites from the shoot yesterday. I can't decide which I like the best. What do you think?



13. I think I did a bad thing. Well, not SO bad. I cut Talmage's hair. I know--how could I?! But it was getting to that stage where it's really long on top and short on the sides and back. So I took the clippers to it, but I wasn't expecting it to be as short as it ended up. Brett says maybe his nickname could be 'Butch' or 'Sarge.' After I gave him the haircut I was like, "Who's this kid?" because his hair is a different color underneath--lighter and a little more reddish--and of course, he's always had really long hair. Anyway, he's still the cutest boy ever, as you can see.

Wordless Wednesday

p.s. I'm going to give another day or so to still comment on the post below--just in case.

Exciting day!!

All right folks, are you ready for this? Today is a VERY exciting day. Because I declare it National (and International for you Canucks) Comment on Kayli's Blog Day! Fun fun fun. Fun for you, fun for me, for the entire human race (okay, maybe not, but that's how the lyrics go). So, how this works. You leave a comment--witty, funny, informative, or boring. And I read it and smile. Okay, if you need an idea, tell your most embarrassing moment. Or your first kiss. Or something you read in National Geographic once.

And just because I am nice (and not because I think you need an incentive), I am offering to some lucky one who comments this prize:

It is a soft white baby blanket (afghan I suppose would be more precise) with purple flowers that I started making YEARS ago before Hazel was born. I got it close to finished except for the tying down of the flowers and petals. Then I picked it up and worked on it a tiny bit before Ethne was born. But didn't finish it. Then I finally got it out again and finished it off.

So, to be eligible for this giveaway, you must make a comment. And I'm not promising to use a random number generator to choose the winner, either, so think hard about perhaps offering much flattery, chocolate, or promises to clean my house.

Anyone who doesn't want the blanket, it's still International Comment on Kayli's Blog Day, so a comment is still obligatory, whether you're friend or foe, sister or stranger. And the flattery and chocolate would still not be a bad idea.

Thank you. Have a nice day.

(And a disclaimer on the blanket--it's got a lot of ends sticking out the back. The back is not pretty. But the front is. And it's probably just a decor thing, not so much a wrap-your-baby-in blanket, since it's got all those bumpy flowers.)

Talmage's surgery

So last Thursday was the big day. It was kindof a big undertaking to get everything prepared, because they couldn't tell us what time the surgery would be until the day before. So we had to get babysitters for the kids without knowing the time. But let me just stress that so many people were helpful and kind, so it worked out. The hospital where we went was an hour away, so we ended up having to leave at 6:30/7:00 a.m. One of my kind visiting teachers came that early to stay with Jethro until he had to go to school, then another friend picked Jethro up and drove him to his friend's house to be watched (the mother couldn't pick Jethro up at that time because she had to pick up her own kids). A friend watched Hazel, and another friend watched Ethne all day.

So we got to the hospital and talked to a nurse, the surgeon, the intern, and the anastethiologist. It's funny how many times they ask the same questions (which I was asked in the pre-registration over the phone the day before too). Maybe they think they'll trick us and one time we'll forget and say "yes, he has had a blood transfusion before." :)

Anyway, they were all very nice and explained things. Brett asked if he could watch the surgery but they declined, based on hospital policy.

So then, the nurse took him and walked away. Talmage was very brave.

Brett and I waited in the waiting room for the next two hours and more, which was a far busier place than I'd have imagined. We both just read books, and I had this weird feeling that we shouldn't be just amusing ourselves when Talmage was in there having surgery. A nurse came in twice to give us updates and tell us that everything was going fine. Then, the surgeon came up and told us they had finished, and everything had gone great. The hernias (both sides) were very big and they had to repair some of the floor besides just tying them off.

Since it would be a little while, we had lunch in the cafeteria and then they let us go see him. (Tips for if you ever do something like this--bring more snacks and remember to drink water.)

That first look was pretty heart-wrenching. He looked so pale and fragile and small in his big bed with all the monitors hooked up to him. And they told us that after the surgeon had talked to us he had had a little difficulty breathing when he was coming out of the anasthesia, and they had had to leave the breathing tube in for a little bit longer, so they decided to keep him overnight to watch him just to be safe.
It was a very rough night for Talmage and I. He was very sore and very fussy. I REALLY couldn't wait for the night to be over. But we made it through and were discharged the next morning. Talmage did a lot better when he got home, although on the subsequent days he has been fussier much more than normal (normally he's not fussy at all). I can't really blame him, and on the whole he's been such a tough guy.

I have to again say how grateful I am for all the people who helped us out during this--two women just offered to bring us meals and it was so great! I am so appreciative of people stepping in and helping out. It makes me want to be better at that.

Here are some pictures of Brett and Jethro working hard yesterday. I look at Jethro and I think 'when did he get so big?' as usual. Brett paid him a quarter for all his help. I told my sister Amy that and she said, "And I thought we were hard done by when we were kids," or something to that effect, but hey--Jethro was impressed. :)
(If you want to see the pictures bigger, you can click on them.)

This is Brett making a face at Hazel through the window. I think it's funny.

And some pictures from today just for fun.

Wordless Wednesday

ponderings

Okay, so has anyone ever actually eaten a parsnip? Because really, I didn't even know what one looked like until today when I searched for one at the grocery store. A recipe I was trying calls for parsnips, but I just couldn't bring myself to take a chance on an unknown vegetable when a little bag cost $2.99, and a similar sized bag of carrots cost only 89 cents. And wouldn't you think that the reason nobody knows what parsnips are is because they just aren't very good--carrots are much the better choice? Kindof like, nobody really eats turnips because it's just accepted that potatoes are much better? Anyway, I was not brave enough today to try it and find out.

And now, I have just gone into the kitchen to check on kids and found that my pot roast was burning. The recipe only called for 3/4 cup of water and it had all boiled out and now the bottom of my pan and roast, is burned. Hmm. Definitely salvageable, but it makes me wonder how the recipe thought I could also cook all the potatoes and parsnips in just 3/4 cup of water.

Before I go, one more thing to wonder about. If your child ruins two backpacks in less than that many years, does that mean it would be more cost-effective to buy a nicer backpack? But really, even the cheap ones are about $15--so you'd think the zipper wouldn't break in 3 months. Ruff.

Must go change a diaper. And fix dinner. Adios.

Sad story and misc.

Here are some pictures of my youngest brother Ethan playing football. He's a senior at his highschool, which I can't remember the name of right now. Here's a video of a few highlights too, iffen you're interested: Ethan's highlights

Wow--look at those muscles!!

If you know my family, you might have already read on my sisters' blogs that he got tackled and tore his MCL, so he's out for the count. So sad! He had a couple college football scholarships ready to go. But he's a punk, he can take it. Then again, he could end up like:

Uncle Rico: Back in '82, I used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile.
Kip: Are you serious?
Uncle Rico: I'm dead serious.
How much you wanna bet I can throw a football over them mountains? Yeah... if Coach woulda put me in fourth quarter, we would've been state champions. No doubt. No doubt in my mind.

Uncle Rico: So what do you think?
Kip: It's pretty cool, I guess.
Uncle Rico: Ohhhh, man I wish I could go back in time. I'd take state.
Napoleon Dynamite: This is pretty much the worst video ever made.
Kip: Napoleon, like anyone can even know that.
Uncle Rico: You know what, Napoleon? You can leave.
Napoleon Dynamite: You guys are retarded!

Just kidding. We love you Ethan (not that you're reading this or anything)!! In fact, just the night before his injury, Jethro was in the tub playing with some tub paints that Ethne was given for her birthday from Grandma Bell , and he said, "Put a 3 on my chest! I want to be Uncle Ethan! A football player!" (Ethan's number is 3.)

In other news, I had a pretty productive day. I made bread, did dishes, finished all the laundry, changed sheets on everyone's bed, bought a new vacuum, and bought a new pair of glasses. But do you think that I have mopped my disgusting floor yet? No siree bob.
Brett was home all day, which is a pretty rare treat, and helped the kids do their chores and played with them and helped me and changed the oil in the car. It was a good day.

It turned very cold and wintery. Waaah! Dark and dreary, just like all the other winter days in Indiana. So here's a song to play to make the coming of winter a little more poetic:
Summer Again
Really, go listen--it's a *beautiful* song.


And here's a picture of Talmage and Jethro at about 3 months. Brothers? I think so. (Although Talmage certainly wins the hair-growing contest.)