Christmas Picture

Merry Christmas 2008!

Great Christmas Song

Ok, just for total fun, this song will make you smile over and over and over and over...

The group is Straight No Chaser and it looks like they are some sort of college mens group. Just don't wander around youtube unsupervised!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

Woodworking

It is way after dark, it is way below freezing, but my husband is outside. I can hear the saw. He recently remembered he likes to do woodworking. Who knew? I thought I married Mr. Urban. Nope. His mother once claimed the handsome TV cabinet in her living room was made by the high school version of Chris -- never met that skinny baseball player. I admit I have been a doubter. But maybe... Within the last month, he has made a bike rack (two boys somehow have about 7 bikes. I think Becky leaves her extras here, I'm not sure. Maybe my kids are thieves. Need to look into that); fixed a wooden picnic table; made two wood ricks (racks?); and.... drum roll please....... my very own, sliding doors, dual compartment, shoulder height COMPOST BINS!! Yeah! I guess me throwing veggies and egg shells out the kitchen door wasn't working for him anymore. Now I can compost like a pro. The current project is some sort of storage cabinet for the guest room. I'll keep you posted. I admit, having a husband who fights fires at work and makes things with his own two hands on his days off (after a full day of "Homeschool Dad" while I work) makes me want to put on lipstick and fix him hot chocolate. Gotta run!

(I will get pictures soon, but my trusty camera died. I buried it. If you want to get us something for Christmas, that would be it!)

Half Marathon

Well I ran 13.1 miles. Not fast. Nike won't be calling. But I did it! Everyone is already asking when I'll do the full marathon. I guess whenever I can figure out how to get all those hours of practice to work WITH my family. They are totally supportive, but it is just too much time away from them. I am not giving up, but I'd rather wait until they are on their own or have them run with me. I can only have them around for so long, and its already going way too fast (unlike my mile time!). My brother also ran his first marathon today. He did incredible, and BOTH of us reached our goals! Yes!! I guess I need to find another high energy burning hobby that we can do with the boys. Any suggestions?

Boys.. love 'em or at least don't get peed on

Here is the problem. Life is so funny I end up telling Chris all these hilariously true stories and I forget to write them down. Or video them. Like Tate used to have no front teeth, and he gets so giggly when I read funny books, I was going to video him so I could watch it over and over for years to come.... but I got busy laughing and forgot to video. And now his HUGE rabbit-sized adult teeth have come in and all I can think about are how much braces are going to cost us. He still laughs with his whole face, but I'll never get those gummy smile days back. And Sam did this goofy, grinny, little "hi mommy, how did you sweep?" voice in the mornings, and so I made sure the video camera had batteries, but he woke up recently and the little voice is gone. I could've cried. Now its, "The sun is up and I'm hungry." Still good, but where is the blankie-dragging baby? All that about "they grow up so fast" .... I know I will not be able to breathe if Sam ever starts saying "three" correctly. Its still "free," as in "No, I am not four, I think I am free, or maybe six, I don't wemembah." I tried to shove Sam into size 4 footsie pjs last night, but he is just too big. I was starting to panic, pushing his shoulders down and forcing the zipper. He said, "Mom, I think I am just too big for these. I can borrow bubba's." I wanted to scream: "No way mister, you are MY TINY BABY, wemembah?"

But then we also have days like Thursday....

I taught at the college, did one last workout before my half-marathon tomorrow (which we will never speak of again if Micah beats me) and drove home before dark. I was tired, looking forward to egg nog, snuggling time and microwave dinner. As I drove up, I noticed Chris on the roof, putting up a 12x15 tarp. I guess our indoor Niagara Falls days are coming to a close. But its not supposed to rain for days.... After I parked, I heard a booming voice, not exactly friendly, from above: "Sammy peed on the dog. You need to deal with it." As I stood in the driveway, bags in hand, I considered this greeting. Then I heard the dog whimpering from the backyard (she is an inside dog). I yelled up at Chris to come and talk to me for a minute, but he just said, "You need to talk to your kid.... And wash that dog." Then he stomped back over the eave and disappeared.

Tate was jumping on the trampoline, with Sam no where in sight. Tate informed me that Sam was grounded forever and asked if I wanted details. I should've said no. He was good for the play-by-play recap; I almost think he may have rehearsed it:
"Okay, we were jumping together like this (he jumps to show me what he means) and then Dana was under the trampoline down there (he point down as he jumps) and then she came out to chew her bone right there (he points to the NW side, next to the trampoline, still jumping), and then Sam stopped jumping (Tate suddenly stopped, very dramatically) and said 'I am going to pee on Dana now.' (Tate lets his jaw drop as he shakes his head, to demonstrate that he is very upset by this development) and then he just walked to the edge, pulled his pants down and peed on the dog (he points again to the crime scene) and then as Dana started walking away, Sam peed harder and got her more wet." Tate waits to see if I will laugh or cry. I am determined to not show any more emotion concerning Sam and urine. It only seems to encourage him. We have to get to the bottom of this.....

So far, besides the soccer field public peeing incident last spring and the unfortunate Mother's Day extended-family-gathering incident on The Rib Crib's front walk, we've had to endure other urine-related offenses. He peed on Tate's favorite stuffed dog in retaliation for a petty offense, and has aimed at innocent plastic army men when he lost them in a battle. Also, this is really unbelievable, he peed on Tate after he lost a heated verbal exchange. (Although, it is frustrating to argue with Tate. You always loose.) In general, he seems to be missing that part of the brain that warns us that peeing on a person to show dominance in not an accepted practiced in the human race.

Back to the present smelly situation.... Dana was not a stuffed animal, plastic army guys, or even a person who so easily fits into our built-in shower and can shampoo himself. This is my 60+ lb very hairy friend. And all I could think of was that only 72 hours earlier, Sam had been by my side as we washed her. I seemed so ironic......

Monday after work, Dana was certifiably stinky. I had been waiting for the weather to warm a bit to hose her outside. But after a week, I couldn't take another minute. So I gathered up shampoo, wash cloths, conditioner, six full-sized towels, a hair dryer and went to our never-used upstairs guest shower/tub. Never mind its reserved for guests and leaks through the floor somehow (we just try and not think about the water stained ceiling mostly), I'd already determined that the shower stall downstairs was just too tiny. What could I do? It was below 40, and to pay the groomer was over $50, plus I can't get her into a car. Literally. But Sam said he would help. Great. He stood in the tub and waited for her entrance. Long story short(er).... Chris ended up having to get the rope and pull her, choking and gasping, into the bathroom. She's never even been in there before! I had to push her into the tub, and Sam held the rope. We locked the door behind her. I didn't want to clog the drain, so I told Sam to try and pull off wet black hair and set it on the side of the tub. Which is also black. Sam didn't mind, but he was pulling too hard and hurting her. She was miserable. And my "don't worry honey I won't let even one hair go down the drain and Sam will help me" plan of setting the hair on the side of the tub wasn't really working. It was sticking everywhere except the tub: Sam's face, arms, clothes, head.. And we don't have one of those hand-held things, so to wash her I had to position her in the stream of water by shoving her in and holding her down, while Sam, also getting wet, scrubbed. The amount of black hair was staggering. I didn't know how to contain it. But them I had a grand idea -- A lint brush! I keep them everywhere, but the only one I wanted to send my little hairy wet guy to retrieve was in my car. So while he ran down, I held Dana. When he returned and handed it to me, I loosened my grip in order to turn and figure out where to start rolling, and she made a break... one jump out of the tub, slipping on the tile, banging into the cabinet, crashing into the door, slamming a large wet dog print on the hallway wall and tripping and dripping down our carpet stairs. Then she did it..... she shook over and over and over and over and over.... all over downstairs, running in mad circles as she did. Tate screamed and went into the bedroom, locking himself away. Chris was still on the roof, looking to never be seen again. Sam was singing upstairs, back in the shower, I guess no longer on the "help mom wash the dog committee." I tripped back upstairs and grabbed the towels and hairdryer, and went downstairs to at least fix my terrified dog. The house will be..... ignored until no children or large animals live here. 30 minutes later, I had a glossy, show-ready puppy, asleep on my bed, content and warm. ....... Ahhhhh, now time for egg nog.

Where is Sam? OH NO!! The water was still running upstairs! I ran back up and there SWAM Sam, in black, hairy, chunky, smelly DEEP and wavy water, still clothed, joyfully kicking as hard as he could, flinging black hair and murky water all over the entire bathroom.

I think the dog has been easier to keep clean this week, even after two showers. Luckily, on Thursday the dog shampoo and lint brush were still in the upstairs bathroom.

Are Boys Strong?

I am dressing a small child for a wedding, but have only gotten as far as drying him off after his bath and getting his clothes from the closet......

Small child: Mom, is my pee pee stwong?

Me: Yes, well, I'm not sure, I mean, I don't know, well, its just that, hey do you want to try this shirt on?

Small child: Mom, do you think I have stwong pee pee?

Me: I don't really know what you mean...

Small child: Let me see here......

Small child taking the small white plastic hanger from me and trying to hang it -- with his shirt still on the hanger -- ONTO his little pee pee. It is unsuccessful

Small child: Awww man, it just fell off!

Me not sure what to do

Small child thinking.....

Small child looking for something else that can be hung, and successfully spotting a flashlight with a circular handle

Small child: Lets try this one.... (trying to hang the flashlight handle from his pee pee) Awww maaaaan!! That one didn't work either!!!

Me hoping this creative experiment is drawing to a close

Small child: Mom, can I make my pee pee stronger? Like.... exercise?

Me thanking God no one else is in the room to give him any ideas

Reading Time with Tate

After practicing the "better late than early" reading philosophy with Tate, he has gone from letter-recognition only to third grade reading and comprehension in about 16 months (not that I am counting, right?). Tate can't go anywhere without a stack of books. He is still focused on about 90% WWII aviation history, but he has branched out to armored vehicles, just a bit. There is a little conversation I have with him about once a day, but when I heard Chris incredulously describe having the same interaction this afternoon, I laughed so hard I had to share it with you.

It goes like this:
Tate is curled up alone on the sofa with a pile of WWII Western Front photo history books, softly talking to himself. Sam is busy at the lego table, and Dog Dana is asleep under the dining/kitchen table. Chris approaches Tate after a long night of working at the fire station, holding a cup of coffee and just wanting to spend time with his little buddy. As he moves books out of his way, sinks onto mom's old couch (thanks Mom) and sighs deeply, Tate cuts his eyes and looks a little annoyed.

Chris: "What are you reading there, big guy? What are you learning about this morning?"
Tate: "................."
Chris, trying again: "So, Tate, Daddy missed you soooooooo much. Do you want to hear about the fire we had last night?"
Tate: ............ LOUD SIGH with a mumble "i'm having private reading time"
Chris: "That is great! Let's see what you are reading!"
Tate: "ummmm, dad? I really need to have privacy right now. I can't make up war stories if you are sitting here."
Dana, the 60 lb dog, wanders over and lays at Tate's feet.
Tate: "Well HI Dana! Thats a good girl! Are you going to sit by me?!"
Chris: ????? "So, the dog gets to sit by you... but I can't?"
Tate: "Yep. She doesn't keep trying to talk to me."

Puppy Potty Training

Remember our puppy? The dog-lover who decided to buy a EXTRA LARGE BREED DOG the last week of July promptly revealed that he actually had no idea how to do anything with a puppy, so I could just handle all that. (Yes, I am speaking of my handsome hubby) "After all, Katie, you have trained two of your own puppies before. And you do like to read and research, so this would be like a fun little new project for you. You aren't even working this August!" So fifteen library books and three videos later, I had a plan.

We named her "Dana" for Mt. Dana in Yosemite. It is the largest mountain around that area (over 14K) and Chris and I hiked it over Labor Day 1998, when we fell in love and decided to get married (yes, all in the same weekend, ten days after we met). We've never been back and so just thinking about Mt Dana makes us sigh... Good dog name. While I was floating in the fuzzy bliss of intoxicating puppy breath and memories of hiking/ planning a wedding, Chris decided that he needed to "take a vacation" to Dallas with his college buddies for a long weekend. Of course, Dear. No problem, Dear. You should go to Dallas, I would be happy to handle the puppy. (Never mind I did change my mind within 24 hours - before he left even - but it was too late. "Let your yes be yes.....") Do you have any idea how much a 43 lb dog can pee? It is truly amazing.

By the time Chris arrived home from his "vacation," I had used over two bottles of carpet cleaner, scraped up about 45 pounds of dog poo, washed four loads of towels used to dry the puppy after her baths, scrubbed and disinfected the crate multiple times, called and left several nasty messages on Chris' cell phone, threatened to take the dog to the pound, cried a river, and called to scream at my sister (former vet assistant) to come and PICK UP CHRIS' DOG!! and keep her - for $25 a day - until further notice. Why in the world did I think this would be fun?

The dog did eventually get the hang of relieving herself outdoors, just like everyone said she would. My sister picked up some extra cash for her boarding services, and Chris and I are still married. But I did say NO!! when he suggested that Dana would be much happier if one of her siblings came to live with us.

Now the current debate: to fix or not to fix the female pure bred? Tate has conducted a street survey, and the vote (according to Tate), is 67 for NOT fixing so we can have puppies next year, 1 for controlling the pet population (yours truly), and 1 abstaining (Grandma Faye refused to cast a vote after I gave her a stern glare).

Stay tuned!

Sammy and Dana goin' fishin' in our koi pond.

Person Place or Thing

This is Tate's favorite game to play with me lately. Sometimes I make him stick to a subject (Old Testament, Persian period, things found in Florida, etc..) but usually he just randomnly thinks of something and I have to guess what it is in 20 questions with yes/no answers. Last night I could NOT get the person he was thinking of. He was a famous American, involved in music, but not rock-n-roll. He might have been on TV, well, maybe not. He was not in the Civil War or Revolutionary War. It wasn't Elvis, any jazz musician, or Steven Curtis Chapman (my favorite). He wasn't alive right now, well, maybe he is still alive.... Hmmmmmmm.....

After I got extra guesses and even some hints (you love him, Tate says). I had to give up. Which I hate.

"Oh! You are going to kick yourself! It's......(snicker and smile).... Handel!"

......... "Who?"

"...... Mom, are you kidding? You know Handel, right? You know, from The Messiah?"

....... "Yes, yes, I know Handel,.....but......"

"How come you didn't even guess Handel? You listen to him all the time and you didn't even think of him!" Then Tate rolled his eyes, snorted and walked off.

me: ......."but......"

(For those of you who might not know who Handel is, he wrote The Messiah, but he wrote it from HIS HOME IN LONDON in 1741!) Details details

My Mom Got Married!

We are so exhausted after the eventful week, I'll have to post pictures later after I have time to look at all 5 million of them. But Mom did get married in a fabulous (and short!) ceremony! We had a great party afterwards. Here is one quick picture from the rehersal dinner of Sam (3) and his cousin (Becky's 5 year old), Mike. (I know, I am such a mom posting pictures of my kid even though it was someone else's wedding) Some people like to label Sam's signature ears "Elf Ears," but as long as you know they are from CHRIS' side of the family!! The kids had such a great time celebrating!

Sammy Lovins

Sammy has always been a demonstrative sweetie, but he is really going through a romantic phase recently. Tate had a period when he was "in love" with Grandma and planned to marry her, then it was on to Isabella. But Sam has only had eyes for Mama lately! He spent all day yesterday singing love songs to me ("I am in wuv with my Mama"... "she is so booootiful" etc...) and came over at least a couple of times an hour and said "I really need some hugs and kisses from you!" He told Tate and Chris, while stroking my "soft face" that he was my boyfriend and that I was his girlfriend. He asked me if I could not marry Dad but marry him instead. I thoroughly enjoyed all this romance!

Then last night, he was in my room, still singing to me while I was getting ready for bed. I was only half-listening to the lyrics to yet another future top-ten billboard chart hit when I distinctly heard "We are in wuv and we'll get together and make a baby...." I was a bit alarmed, but just figured that he wasn't paying attention and was just rambling. But then after the next chorus he repeated the rated R words again, and again. I was wondering what kind of smut TV he had been watching at Mother's Day Out (they did have a sub one day!), when I decided to ask him about what he was singing. I walked to where he was playing on the bathroom counter. He had two big flosses, and one little floss. He proudly said, "Look Mom. Here is my little floss family! They are so in wuv!"

A Great Day!

We had the BEST day yesterday!

For starters, yes, Sam is still puzzle King! Here he is dancing after an "advanced" puzzle. With no help!
We had a yummy lazy summer breakfast. The boys have taken to scooting their chairs all the way around the table so they can both sit right next to Daddy and talk.
Now, here is where it starts getting really good! Yesterday was the last day of my college summer class, the last day of the boys' once-a-week-during-the-summer-day-camp, AND the final day of Tate's week-long super intense competitive soccer camp! Whew! Lots going on! Chris picked me up for a romantic celebration lunch while the boys were bowling/painting at camp, and told me that we were getting a dog! Yeah! We've talked about it for nearly 11 years, but we finally did it! We picked the boys up from camp together and told them we had a great surprise!

We wanted a female Burnese Mountain Dog, and there was a litter Chris has been following only a couple of hours from our house!
Can you tell which one we picked?
Here is the proud papa, with his 11 week, 20 pound girl, on the way to show her off out our first outing...

Tate's final night of soccer camp! Unfortunately, she didn't feel like walking a half-mile to the fields in 100 degree heat. She laid down and wouldn't be moved. So......

Chris got to carry his big "baby" all the way, while Sam, unhappy at losing his free ride, complained.

Once I got the soccer fans set up, I tried to get as many pictures as I could of my little soccer star.
However, he is far too serious to pose for me!
He is in the white jersey with the blue socks and purple shorts on the right side of the huddle. This was during a drill.

Look at his cute "team" uniforms! His team was "Spain."
Mom, please. We are trying to get ready for the tournament.

To make a very exciting night a little shorter, Tate's team (which was co-ed mixed ages, with Tate being hands-down the smallest and least experienced) made it through the first round of the "World Cup," barely. The team never complained when Tate got the only foul (hands on a punt) or missed tackles or kicked the ball away from his own player. He cheered for everyone and never even understood the tournament brackets, even at the end. He was having the time of his life. I just prayed he wouldn't loose it for them, and not cry when they got kicked out. (There is lots of intensity in competitive soccer with kids, as we are finding out). Well, they made it through round two, beating the second placed team. Then round three! Then they were in the final World Cup! Tate was so excited! It came down to the last 45 seconds, still no score, when the big girls scored one against Brazil, for the win! It was pandemonium folks! We were jumping and screaming! Sam was so excited for 'brudder,' and I was excited for Tate to have such a great experience! I missed all the great team photos, since I was so enthusiastic, but here is one of the kids dumping water on the student "coach."

We went home exhausted, and slept hard (of course after Tate called everyone he could think of to tell them he won the world cup in soccer!).

Today... we spent all day loving on puppy. Aunt Miranda and Uncle Matt came to meet their new "niece" and kept saying how big she is... (Look at those paws!)

So Sam laid down next to her and they both stretched out.. turns out, Sam is right! He is the biggest!

This is living!!

Top Ten Reasons to Attend an Oklahoma Family Reunion

10. Free swimming
9. Catch up on gossip (“Did she have
plastic surgery? He is living with whom?”)
8. Free fishing
7. Kids get to meet new cousins: first, fourth, sixth, whatever
6. Possible business connection (“So you are telling me that if I call this 1-800 number, I can make 25K a month while watching TV all day?”)
5. Free FOOD that we don’t
have to cook or clean up after!!
4. Aunt Linda is always giving away cute
clothes/shoes. Hang around…
3. If you come and act stupid, I’ll write about
you on my blog!
2. Rumors of the Amish guy coming and bringing ice cream!

and for the number one reason to go to your local family reunion....
1. If you are single, what better place to hook up?! You already know
everything about the family!

My mother's father's side of the family (which, because of so many sisters in one family marrying brothers in another family, ends up being my whole entire family, and most of north-east Oklahoma) had a family reunion this past weekend... here are some fun re-caps:

We did meet lots of new cousins. I realized my boys only knew their first cousins. They played hard all day with many many more second and third cousins!

Tate with second cousins (below) Tyler and Chase
The Amish people did come to make homemade ice cream. Although, I don't know what kind of Amish people Aunt Linda rounded up that used a motor instead of hand cranking it. I may have to report them to the "Better Amish Business Bureau of Cheating" for using a rigged-up Honda motor. They also accepted a ride in her mini-van instead of leaving at day break to pull the horse and buggy. I am pretty sure they will go to Amish hell now. But, they may be forgiven if God tries the ice cream. That was the creamiest, richest ice cream I have ever had.

(above) the evidence I am using for Amish blackmail

(above) expaining to the kids how it works

Aunt Linda explaining to Zach (second cousin), Tate and Sam how they used to do it at their house, growing up. She seemed to believe that since she was one of the littlest, she had to sit on top of the ice cream maker, while my mom (one of the biggest) cranked it. My mom confided to me that she actually made Linda sit on top of it to keep her from running all over the place and getting into trouble!!

Tate and Sam enjoying the yummy ice cream!

My dear sweet little brother and brother-in-law took an opportunity to toss me into the pool. (the picture below is me with Micah; notice he is counting with his fingers above my head. They were plotting this!)

As I was screaming for help from my giant husband, he said, rather weakly, "now, you guys better put my wife down..."

And they said, "OK!!" and into the deep end I went. The pic below is Micah and Matt, with Tate looking on. Tate got revenge for me by throwing ice cold water on Uncle Matt. Thanks, Tate!

No one seems to care that I had spent 45 minutes in Stage that morning trying on shorts and sun glasses while my husband and boys waited in the car so I could look nice and cute for the reunion. (sniff sniff) My brand new clothes are now officially not brand new! And do I even need to mention how many hours of velcro rollers it took for me to get my thin hair poofy enough to make an apperance in the July humidity!? That's what I get for vanity. I did manage to hurl the new sunglasses into the grass as I was soaring through the air. but.... the pool felt great!

The food was awesome. Very Oklahoma-ish. We (meaning an uncle) catered from Charlie's Chicken, a local chain, and the Rib Crib. This is Dennis and Chris (Chrissy in the back ground)

Here are some real conversations from my cousins at the reunion that might make you smile:

my first cousin: "I hate going to Wal-Mart, too. All the people exercising just get in my way."
me: "Excuse me? I had no idea people went to Wal-Mart to exercise??"
first cousin: "Oh yeah. There isn't anywhere else to go in our town. And the funny thing is that they drive around 30 minutes to get the best parking spot by the front door."

my first cousin's fiance: "Yeah, our wedding is scheduled the first day of rifle season. My dad's side of the family is pretty upset about that. They don't want to miss out." (she thinks this is pretty funny!)

me: "So, its sure nice to meet one of my great uncles. What do you do, anyway?"
great uncle...?? Bob? maybe:"Me? Oh, the lawn mostly. Yep, thats about it. I like doing the lawn."

me: "Wow. You have a blog site, too? That is great. I love to blog."
another first cousin: "Yeah, but no one in the family knows..." (This person's blog address will be kept a secret for his/her blogging protection!)

an aunt: "So, how many times did you get lost before you made it here?"

a thrid cousin, once removed: "Now, I know you are one of Carol Sue's daughters, but which one are you?" me: "The best one."

my mom's fiance: "Can you believe these roads out here! I got run off the road three times trying to make it to her house!"

a cousin: "So..... why don't any of her sisters come to family stuff?" another cousin: "Well.... no one really remembers. They are real real mad about something, though. Huh... I wonder what it was?"

I didn't get many pictures, because I was so busy talking and having a great time! If I didn't mention you, I just ran out of room!

My motto is, never miss out on a chance to get to know your family, and always
kiss and make up if you get mad. Life is too short! Our family isn't perfect,
and even though we had a great time together, there were lots of people who
didn't come. Some were working or on vacation, but some just didn't feel welcome
to come, I'm afriad. We miss them. I think God misses people who don't feel
welcome in His family either. We usually don't mean for it to turn out
that way, but family rarely goes accoring to plan. If you have rifts in your
relationships, make it right. Your kids like knowing there is a big family
backing you up. And they already know good and well your aren't perfect, so you
don't have to pretend.

The good-bye sign at the end of the gravel drive; it was great to see everyone! See you next time!

Country Livin'

Since we chose to live quite a ways out of "town," the gas prices (yawn) have made us do a few things differently, like revive the old Honda and drive it instead of the huge full-size truck - we probably should be doing that anyway. But we have not considered moving closer. We love it! This is what we see as we turn our corner on the morning commute. (Don't tell me you can't see them, I didn't even come to a complete stop, just snapped a quick pic.) The same deer are around at dusk as well. We've also had foxes, racoons, ground hogs, and all manner of wild birds in our yard. We're gettin pretty good at bird calls and learning their manners as we watch them month after month.

HOWEVER, this is what we see IN THE MORNING IN MY BEDROOM before I leave for my morning commute. Mr. Lizard decided it was too hot to sleep outside, so he crawled in under my bedroom door. We have discussed the rainy-day worm invasion (see April post of "Worm Rescue"), but I really don't have that same special spot in my heart for lizards. Luckily, Tate is a fast catch and we relocated him quickly outside. I really need to seal that door up (meaning Chris).

And here we are with neighbor friends (12 miles away neighbors but that is close enough out here). Sam and friend taking a drive in the John Deere for fun. Yes, it was fun.

Tate and his buddy showing off the muscles. They are both about to turn 7 and they feel like men. Tate is in grey. Arrrrg!!
Finally, Sam Story:

The boys and I drove to church Wednesday night (we left my heathen husband at home taking a nap) and Sam fell asleep on the long, green, hilly drive. We got there a little after dinner had already started and it was raining. I had set my hair in curlers but since we are new at this church, I didnt' think I should walk IN with the curlers. Plus Tate told me not to. So I tried to reach around and shake Sam's knee to wake him up, but he was out cold. Tate jumped out and was running for the door, so I had to get out and stand in the rain, ruining my nice, poofy hair to unbuckle Sam and carry him in. Before his eyes were open, he lifted up his little index finger and pumped his thumb, and whispered: "pshew, pshew. gotcha." Then he fell back asleep. I was shot by my sleeping warrior! I laughed so hard I forgot all about my gorgeous hair, now stuck to my face. I love boys!

Puzzles by Sam

Sam can put jigsaw puzzles together, and likes them!

Since my two children are quite different and excel in different things, I try awfully hard not to compare. But Tate could do the whole USA puzzle when he was about 23 or 24 months old, so as month after month went by and Sam still didn't show an interest in jigsaw puzzles, I admit, I have been nail biting and "doing" puzzles on the floor in front of him more often: "Look at Mommy, Sammy! Isn't Mommy having fun!? Don't puzzles look exciting! I wonder where this piece goes? Can Sammy help Mommy?! I bet he can!!" Sam casually looks over and says, "Good job Mom. Now I am very busy driving cars so you'll have to finish all by yourself." Sigh.
But today, he got out the puzzle boxes by himself, picked out a good one, and did it, alone, over and over and over. I watched from a distance, and bit my tongue to not help. Its hard for me to believe that the whole world doesn't want my help, but Sam is living proof. He did stop for a quick picture, but besides that, he was content by himself. He even became a bit territorial when Tate or I walked by too close and tried to offer encouraging words. "I CAN DO THIS BY MYSELF!! DO NOT HELP ME!"

Great job big boy!

Proud to Be FREE

In New York harbor stands a lady,
with a torch raised to the sky.
And all who see her, know she stands for
liberty for you and I.

I'm so proud to be called an American
To be named with the brave and the free
I will honor our flag and our
trust in God, and the Statue of Liberty.

On lonely Golgotha, stood a cross,
with my Lord raised to the sky.
And all who kneel there live forever,
as all the saved can testify.

I'm so glad to be called a Christ follower,
to be named with the ransomed and whole.
As the statue liberates the citizen,
so the cross liberates the soul.

Oh, the cross is my Statue of Liberty,
it was there that my soul was set free;
Unashamed I'll proclaim that a rugged cross
is my Statue of Liberty.

-by Neil Enloe

taken from http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm

Summer musings by Katie

Lazy summer musings...

(This is long!) I am only teaching one class for the college this summer, and barely doing that. Tate and I are working hard to finish second grade before mid-August. I can take him to work with me in the fall, but since I tutor at a 3-5 grade center, well, you see the problem. He needs to be able to "do" the third grade work. I don't think he'll actually do much, but I do need him to be able to go to the third grade class at least a half day a week. So we press on to be sure his reading and math skills are ready. But that sounds so different than what is actually going on around here. Lots of fun field trips and playing at home!

Here is Tate "studying":

And here is Sam doing "PE" at a Wing family thing. He was fearless on this thing! I was very proud. I tried to show off and nearly threw my back out. Wasn't I just in gymnastics the other day??
With cousins at the same party: Makayla, Mike, Sam and you can't see Lacey but she is riding too. They also had a huge slide into the lake, a trampoline in the middle, a zip line which Miranda and I managed to break, and a canoe which Tate enjoyed.
Here we are finishing up our unit on Medieval Times at the Renaissance Fair. We took tons of pictures, but lets just say it was VERY AUTHENTIC. The period dress, the drinking, etc. I am thanking God I was born in 1975 and not 1475. My breasts would never have supported the dresses. My innocent children have seen their first and last Renaissance Fair, since most of the boobs were at eye level to my six year old. But I am still glad we went. Jousting, drama, shooting bows and arrows, pirates, meeting Henry VIII, all the things we've studied the last few months. Chris didn't go, and I am glad. Miranda and Matt did go, and I am glad it was Miranda with me. She could appreciate the big boob shock with me!
Sam in the sword fight. He thinks he won, good enough for us!
Tate in about the only picture without boobs everywhere. And not mine.

Back home.... My little home is becoming what I have always hoped it would: A little "school" with happy chatter, lots of games, lots of playing, and lots and lots and lots of books, reading, puzzles, discussions, and growing. I read "I am living my dream of being a wife and mother" in Sarah's newsletter last year, and it made me stop and think. I never had a dream of being a stay-at-home wife and mom, but I did always hope I'd have a dead-sexy tall husband, and homeschool lots of children! I just never worked out all the details. I'm glad I didn't try to. I DID dream of so many kids that they'd be underfoot everyway you looked! I dreamed of long nights by the fire, reading stories and then talking about them, debating current events and discussing Biblical history around the breakfast table. Yesterday, I looked around at our living room - where we do a whole lot of living! - and I realized, God has given me the desires of my heart. I have Chris, Tate and Sam (no more, but not for lack of trying!), but they are always underfoot! (har har!!) They are more than I could wish for....although a little girl wouldn't kill us!

Tate reading Morris the Moose.

I am growing, too. I find myself learning to relax on outwards and work a little harder on inners. (Is that a word?) Being a parent and seeing yourself so perfectly (err... something...) reflected every day will do that to you. I love the saying I read in some home school book:

"You can teach your children everything you know, and they will still become who you are."

Yikes! Chris and I remind each other of that often. Especially when our perfect children are fighting, throwing temper tantrums, or complaining. All we can think is, "Wow. I didn't realize that is what I act like!" Thats the thing with homeschooling and not having TV.... there is no one else to blame character flaws on! As I watch our boys grow, I also have come to a much deeper place in my faith. I certainly don't have all the answers, but time and time again, I see that God does. (even the answers I don't agree with... yet) Just when I think I may "deserve a break" for all my years of hard and intense Bible study, I find myself back to a place where I long to know God more and more. Where I .... must... have Him be a bigger presence in this family. The Bible stories I memorized sermon notes to and translated in college sound so different when four big blue eyes are opened, jaws are dropped, and they beg to hear more. ......
"Did David's army kill the bad guys? ....Did God get mad at Pharoah for killing the babies!? I want to tell God to get them!! ...Samuel did WHAT!!??? He stabbed the evil king? YEAH!!!" Notice the war theme in all the stories!?? They are boys!

The other morning over oatmeal, Tate was jumping up and down and slobbering as I told him about the two guys on the road to Emmaus. I taught that passage once for a large crowd in California (I use the word "teach" here for my southern Baptist readers). Needless to say, I have it down pretty good. But I can't tell you the difference I felt as I watched Tate's face when I did my best dramatic voice..... "he took the bread, like a piece of wonder bread... then he prayed over it, then he tore it into pieces.... and he reached his hand across the table and handed it to them..... (imagine jumping and squealing!!) ...... then..... POOF! He disappeared the instant they realized it was..... JESUS!!!" Tate screamed: "Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! I knew it was Jesus! I knew it would be him!! He is alive but they didn't know it!! They know it now!! What did they do? Tell me Mom, what did they do!?" So I asked him as he bounced around his chair, "What would you do?" "Tell everybody! Ahhhh!!" And so it goes. If that story seems fuzzy to you and you want to look it up like my CA friends did, write me and I'll point you in the right direction. Its there.

I have been studying Daniel again, too. My brother is trying to straighten out world history with Biblical history, which is, hands down, my most favorite thing in the whole world to do. I imagine that is what heaven will be like. Endless Bible studies taught by whoever is the star. We can even have class discussion. I'll be the best student, raising my hand, "Paul, could you please descibe the bright light in more detail?" So, back to earth, I am reviewing lots to help Micah with quick lessons. I can't get over Daniel, can you? Germaine is doing it too in China, which is fun. I love the internet. I do wish sometimes though that we could email God real quick. Its so easy to feel connected with people around the world, I just thought He could set up a quick service. Like on Bruce Almighty. har har

Well now for the struggles. Two of them. One, Materialism. I thought, I mean would've bet on, I didn't suffer from this one. Growing up, college, CA, overseas, I didn't give it much notice. But now I see it was there, just covered up a bit. Yuck. Just because you don't deal with something, well that usually means God knows you couldn't handle it! Not, as I supposed, that I was so mature and spiritual! God protected me that whole time because He knew how I really face the temptations any younger. I didn't do so hot even lately. I knew moving home to the Materialism Capital of the History of the Human Race would present challenges, but I didn't realize how quickly I would get knocked down. Now I am fighting back, but struggling.

The thing is, when you are so caught up in stuff, no matter how harmless stuff is, it keeps you less focused on what really matters. I know you know this, I am just saying it anyway.

The other struggle, I really want more kids. I find myself happy but... can I use the word.... coveting, maybe a little??.... the families I know enjoying pregnancies again and twins, etc.... I have heard with my own ears from two different parents with more little blessings in their homes recently: "I go to work to be away from her for a while." And "Trust me, you DON'T want more kids." These were off-the-cuff comments, and I know they probably didn't even mean what they said. BUT. I think you are blessed, and so does God! If you find yourself tempted to pray for me about my "struggles," let's instead keep our perspectives and pray for our world. There are so many right now, as I sit with my healthy, happy family hooked up to my high speed internet with my SUV in my attached garage with an automatic door opener shoving chips into my mouth, who don't have enough to eat, a place to sleep, or worse, the knowledge that they are loved and created by a God who is CRAZY about them. Here is my favorite quote, then I'm going to go read to Tate and let him read to me, while we snuggle with Sammy and listen to the rain....

"This is the true joy of life: the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

George Bernard Shaw

Blessing from a little clot seeking to become a mighty, unstoppable force of change in our world!

Tate's Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Tate! We love you!
Tate is celebrating his 7th birthday at Grandma's backyard pool with lots of good friends.

These are all friends from the best preschool in the world. Even though everyone is too big for preschool, these are still Tate's buddies. One little girl who has been Tate's friend the longest (I went to OBU and Golden Gate with her mom and Chris and I just love their family) is moving, right after the party, out of state. Hence, we moved the party up -- over three months! --at Tate's request so she could come. We will miss them!

Enjoying homemade snow cones by fabulous Uncle Matt. His gift was coming to the party and making snow cones for all the kids (over 15) and parents. He was a big hit!

Another Kendalynne creation: Tate's favorite things -- Snoopy and a WWII tank. This is Snoopy with the Allied forces invading Germany. The most popular part was the cookie wheels. Sam (3) and Mike (5) The cousins left the lake after five days in time to swing by our party. Sam was so happy to see Mike, his "bestest buddy in the world" as he is known.


Thanks for coming!

Camping Out in the Backyard with Dad

We borrowed a tent from Uncle Scott and the boys have been delirious with excitement waiting for tonight... the campout with Dad! (in the backyard)
Sam and Tate worked together to drive in the stakes. They all put up the tent as a team and tucked in all the "pets" right away (Penny and Sneakers were tired). They left the top fly off the tent and plan to look at stars all night.
Then they made the campfire and got everything ready for marshmallows, chocolate, whatever Dad will let them burn! Later they have frog hunting planned. They are looking for a certain type of tree frog for the new terrarium. (And sadly, its boys only! I have the whole house to myself! Yippie!) I plan to.... grab a book, paint my nails, catch up on sleep, and sneak out later to take pictures of the cutest little boys in Oklahoma NOT sleeping (but I bet Dad passes out!). I love this time of year!