it's in the mail...

i try...i really do. i get the cards designed, envelopes stamped...rob even addressed them this year - but there are still some on the kitchen table. sorry. AND a few came back today from the mailman...oops. so here you go. if you didn't get your card yet here it is. i just saved you a trip to the mailbox.

countdown...

12 bags of leaves

11 missed naps

10 rows up from vince











9 years of attitude














8 happy monsters














7 meals on the run











6 players from Nickel Creek











5 hours later











4 weekend performances











3 turkey cookies











2 best friends











and...1 more post to waste some more of your time!

little Dickens...

sarah played with her group on Main Street in Franklin for the Dickens of a Christmas Festival. weather was great, kids were adorable, camera was charged. enjoy. (and, no, that is not me upfront in the big fluffy hat.)

"ingle ells" edited version

ok...so he can't really sing but he sure is cute!

nuthin...

well, i sit here procrastinating...wanting to upload new pictures but my "thinga-majig" doesn't match the "plug in deal" on my camera's "output thingy." how's that for 5 years of college.

so i'm just posting so those of you, i mean both of you, who actually read this blog know that i'm ok, just busy, slightly unorganized and also completely incapable of finding the right "doo-dad" for my camera.

since my last post we have been on a "date with elmo" (which ben LOVED!), had a really good Thanksgiving (thanks to gobblegobble.com - best turkey ever) and one "Christmas morning" (my mom and grandpa bill were in town.) i now need to clean the house for "Christmas morning #2" - dad and karen are coming.

i am working on this year's Christmas card...the first design didn't make it past the judges (i.e. rob's many opinions....) but i am well into the 2nd and final design (regardless of the final score from the judges!)

i got the fancy new blog tree from my friend's blog (bronie - sorry, no finders fee)...so enjoy.

fiddle...i mean, violin

here is a picture of sarah before her recent violin group recital. she looks just like rob (if he wore his hair in a bow...) thankfully another dad in our music group is a photographer so he took pictures for all of us. she played several pieces - her favorite one being the fiddle stuff - "Boil 'em Cabbage Down". yee-haw.

sideline seats

another flag football season over...at least we ended up with a better record than the Kansas City Chiefs will probably have. This is the first game (the last game of the season) where I could actually take pictures instead of tackling Ben in the end zone the entire game. Next year we have the possibility of 'real' football - full pads, full tackle, full schedule...not sure who will chicken out first...me or Caleb.

little big news...

it's officially - official. not sure how to word that but...rob's new adventure with friend and former boss from Word Music, David Guthrie, is ready to go. you can listen to their first kids' musical on-line for free...and check out the cool logo and book cover (shameless self promotion).

and yes, ...caleb has a solo (#15 'Life is Good with Jesus...the first solo "i give my life to you...." that part.)

www.littlebigstuff.com

i'm going to try and be cool and put a link the website...i hope it works.

when the cat's away...

well, this is what happens when you leave town/work for 10 days...this is, or was, rob's office. i can't even type...i'm still laughing.

he's home

well, rob made it back safely...no pictures to mark his crash and burn once he hit the bed. we celebrated by eating at our FAVORITE place...SATCO! the kids are both dragging stuff to school tomorrow for show and tell.

el shrek

how funny that rob found shrek in peru. disney is EVERYWHERE....scary.

caleb got a gold medal today at school...still not totally sure how his name got pulled but who cares - he's happy. the weather has been unbelievable this week so we've been outside as much as possible. that's it for now...less than 48 hours til rob is home - the kids are definitely counting!

candy hangover...

we survived halloween. the weather was perfect and i sent both the older kids off with friends...it was the easiest year yet! ben stayed home with me to pass out candy...he spilled 3 millions nerds all over the den. i ate more candy than i gave away to trick or treaters. all in all, we passed out around 11:00 pm and were not late to school this morning....so life is good!

update from peru

rob has been able to e-mail daily (which is amazing to me...how simple it is to communicate these days no matter where you are) and he actually called this morning. the kids were ELATED! ben was still asleep but he must have heard me tell the kids "dad's on the phone!" because he started yelling "i wake - i wake mommy!"

from rob: "My talk went well and people really understood what I was saying. We served them communion which was amazing. To look into their face as we served them the elements ... they stood and we walked from person to person—actually stood to form a cross—the chairs were set up with the aisles to form a cross. It was pretty amazing. They were wiping their eyes as we served and told them, Dios te bendega, which means, God bless you. When we were finished, I gave the benediction and used, “Depart now in the fellowship of God the Father ...” and when I got to, “By the goodness of God you were born into this world,” I caught myself thinking about God placing them in Peru at this time—extreme poverty, struggle, etc., and why not me? I’m getting a much bigger picture of God."

rob is looking cute with his scruffy face...he hasn't gotten sick but several from their team have been (everything from exhaustion to stomach "issues").

sisters...

i think the last time we had our picture taken together was.....well, a very long time ago.

NOW photo taken at mom's wedding reception: me, bettina and anya.
THEN photo sometime around 1975ish?: bettina (our horse dixie) me, then anya.

nice to know that my highlights in my hair still match (although they cost more now...)

what goes down...

well, we had so many people ask about our drive back to texas that i assumed everyone heard this story. of course, a picture is worth a thousand words...and a few dozen pieces of macaroni and cheese.

just 2 hours away from home we stopped to eat dinner and, as you can see, ben had some macaroni and cheese. well, this is what happens when you don't chew. it WAS a brand new car seat...

isn't it nice that we stopped to capture it on film...we're saving this one for the high school graduation.

sleep number...

well, no more complaining that we 'need' a king size bed. this is a picture of rob's accommodations in peru this week. when the kids saw this they kind of laughed - they were thinking what i was thinking..."guess dad won't be able to sleep in."

rob is able to e-mail us and said that it is hard to sleep with all the noise of the roosters and other animals. i am thinking of teaching ben how to crow while he's gone.

the other picture is the view from the church where they are staying. rob is trying to e-mail pictures for the kids all week so i'm sure i'll have more to post later.

happy birthday

today is my dad's birthday...and if he ever checked the blog he'll see this group shot from his birthday party! the cousins had fun being together...i don't have any cousins so i always love it when the kids get to be around each other. (can you tell we're in texas....caleb has on his dallas stars jersey and his university of texas hat!)

first paying gig.....

more pictures from the wedding weekend....caleb played the piano and sarah played the violin at the ceremony. it was very sweet. ben just played the audience....he loves a crowd! the reception was at the barn and the kids loved being able to run.

which one of these....

ok. perfect picture to sum up ben's personality....the kids were all dressed up for my mom's wedding and i thought it would be a great opportunity for a nice group shot. oh well. at least they are in focus (kind of....)

95 degree pumpkins....

every year we've been out to a farm to get our pumpkins (usually in sweatshirts and jackets....) and this year was really HOT! it definitely didn't feel like fall but we still did the corn maze and tried to snap a few pictures in the shade. ben especially enjoyed trying to see the animals....i took the picture of him climbing the fence just a few feet away from the "do not climb the fence" sign.

good-bye....

our maggie died this past thursday....i think ben misses her the most. he has a stuffed animal that looks just like her and keeps asking for 'maggie' - so i bring him his stuffed dog and he'll tell me, 'no, BIG maggie.' she was almost 12 and the house seems very quiet....well, not QUIET, but less loud.

pajama day!

Ahhh, don't you wish we had a universal pajama day. A day where you could run errands in your pajamas. The kids had a spirit week at school (crazy hat day, pajama day and school t-shirt day) and they took it very seriously. Ben HAD to wear a hat in the carpool line for crazy hat day. The week ended with Sarah being sick so we had pajama weekend. I'm hoping the school will have no whining day, clean your room day and be nice to your siblings day next year.

fast food, old friends...

One day off from school and we hit the closest McDonald's. Even Ben recognizes their logo. I just thought I'd post this picture since I'm rarely in front of the camera (and now you see why....ha). We were so excited to visit with our friends (like family) from our old church....that it made me realize how quickly time passes (Sarah was Ben's age when we left.) Having a day off in the middle of the week was great!

pinwheels for peace....

I'm sure Hallmark makes a card for this too.....Pinwheels for Peace Day. I do like this project the kids do at school. It's a little corny but at least it's 'artsy' and does promote not being mean on the playground. All across the nation any school that wants to participate plants their "pinwheels" on the same day and the kids write about peace and what that means. It may seem a little Beaver Cleaver but seeing hundreds of colored pinwheels is pretty neat. After posting these pictures I'm thinking I should have titled Sarah's picture...pinwheels for pigtails (whew. I must have been running late that morning.....)

"mommy....!"

I was at the store the other day and Ben proceeded to say over and over and OVER what 'sounded' like "mommy." The woman behind me in line commented how sweet it was that he seemed to really love his mommy. I didn't have the heart to ruin it for her.....he was actually gripping 2 pennies with white knuckles and was thrilled to be holding "money." So, of course, Ben's new FAVORITE toy.....a singing piggy bank. His friend had one and I gave in and bought him one. At least it's not a singing credit card.