Pictures!!

Er...okay, this is why I shouldn't even try to have a blog -- I'm not consistent.  An unfortunate failing of mine.  Sometimes I operate in survival mode only, and the blog is a tiny, unnoticed blip on my radar.  But I'm back!!  And with pictures!

These are pictures from Kevin's side of the family's Thanksgiving.  We had it at the church since the group is so big, and nobody had a big enough house to hold us all!  It was really fun, though different.  Cooking a big meal in a place you haven't done that before is weird.  :)  It was so fun to catch up with everybody!

Here's a pic of most of us chowing down!

The kids celebrated by riding a scooter up and down the halls, playing with the water fountain, and of course, eating!  More pics from my side of the family soon!

I, unfortunately, don't have a lot of pics of Christmas yet (on Kevin's iphone and the flip, which I haven't learned how to import yet), but I will post some cute pics with more later.

 Ryleigh, Sharise, Alexis, and Blam-O taking a stroll...

 Ryleigh and Alexis posing...

 Zander and the Reindeer...

Some pics from when we went looking at Christmas lights at the park in Granbury with Blam-O, Sharise, Stacie, Amanda, Alexis, and Lucas!  We had fun, but it was cold!!

Kiddos in some Christmas outfits:

Lily's coat is a bit too big!  Should have taken it off to show cute dress underneath.  :)  Couldn't get her to stand by her brother and sister at all!

This is all for now...more later....

Sundi

Wordless Wednesday -- Look at That Smile!

Who wouldn't love that smile?

-Isms As You Wait

I have been really bad and not posted anything about Thanksgiving or Kevin's birthday or Christmas decorating, largely because our digital camera has gone on strike and I'm reliant on getting the photos from family members and Kevin's iPhone!  And I really want to post photos -- they make every post better, right?

So, until then, I thought I'd post some sayings, some Ryleigh- and Zander-isms, to brighten your day or night.

• Zander to his dad:  "I'm AstraZeneca, and you're Evil Dr. Pork Chop, and you're going to capture me, and I'm going to say, 'Let me go!' and you're going to say, 'Never!!'"
• Ryleigh:  "I want mushrooms in my cereal."  She means marshmallows.
• Ryleigh and Zander:  "Oh, no!  The tomato picked up her house and put it in Mushkin land."  Said while watching The Wizard of Oz.  A "tomato" is a tornado.  After watching a little while, Ryleigh scathingly said, "All the people in this movie are missing body parts."
• Ryleigh, singing an impromptu song to God:  "You are glorier than anything and joy is in Your hands.  I'm good at art, but you're better than me."  There was a lot more than this, but this stanza made me laugh (while she wasn't looking, of course -- she was in a serious mood during this song).  By the way, Kevin was videoing her while she was singing this, and right in the middle of her five minute song, Zander came streaking through the living room without a stitch of clothing on!  He thought this was totally hilarious.
• Zander:  "I like that song about baby Moses in the manger."  Er...I need to clear up some things about the story of the incarnation.
• I'd add some Lily-isms, but she pretty much only says "no" right now to just about everything!  :)

Have a great day!

Sundi

My Childhood Thanksgivings

My childhood Thanksgiving's make me feel stuffed just thinking about them!

Mom rousted us all out of bed very early in the morning (easy for her, hard on us) to begin helping with the meal preparations.  Every year my biggest job was set the table, getting out the special dishes kept in the bottom of the hutch -- I still do this job every year!  I also helped with various jobs around the kitchen.  We always had a pretty formal sit-down meal, with nice dishes and glasses and everything loaded elegantly on our dining room table.

We always had turkey, chicken and dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, corn, rolls, fruit salad, some kind of other veggie, and dessert.  Dessert was usually something different year to year, as Mom tried out some awesome new recipes, but it usually also included pecan pie.  Dad always made the mashed potatoes and fruit salad.

We would all sit down, pig out (but in a refined sort of way), and then roll ourselves out of the dining room to either nap, watch Cowboys football, laze around, or some combination of all three.  Some years I remember going for a walk, but I don't think we were that healthy most years!  :)

Some years we went to my grandparents in the country.  We had much of the same meal, except we didn't have turkey because my grandpa didn't like it.  He had too much of it during World War II, and didn't like to eat it anymore.  I always thought that was fascinating, like my grandpa had some secret mysterious past.  More pigging out and napping and so on....

I always loved Thanksgiving!  A day of thankfulness, lots of food, and time spent together relaxing is definitely my cup of tea!

Sundi

Belated Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Dress Up Day!  Lily was being a bit camera shy, but thank goodness for Bob-Bob!

Unexpected Interruptions...

Well, I had planned on having already written several posts on Thanksgiving and traditions, but other things have held my attention over the last few days.

First, we are still battling illness!  It's of the minor kind, not the I'm-dying-kill-me-now type, but it still has kept us at home and away from those we're afraid to spread it to.  And it's been one of us at a time, which has really spread things out!  I have never dealt with such a long bout of illnesses, but fortunately it's nothing serious and I thank God for that.

Second, a very, very dear friend of ours was rushed to the hospital after she passed out and woke back up having seizures.  There is still not a definitive diagnosis at this point.  I went and saw her last night and have been praying, praying.  She is totally lucid, but obviously deeply concerned about why this is happening.  To be totally honest, I am frustrated as one of her closest friends to not be able to go see her and give her comfort today, but I need to stay with the kids, and I know she is completely safe in the Lord's hands.  Hopefully I can see her tomorrow at some point....  If you're reading this around the date I've posted, please pray for her!

So all this to say, I will get to those posts soon.  And a special post on the challenge of switching children's rooms, sleeping arrangements, and furniture all in one night....while they're asleep!  :)

Stomach Bugs and Christmas Plans...

Well, our household has been overrun with two separate bouts of a stomach bug in the last thirty days or so, and I'm exhausted!

The first bout was much more virulent and laid us all out, even putting Kevin in the hospital as it severely messed with his blood sugars.  That night was insane -- I was sick, Lily was sick, and my husband was severely sick.  My parents came over and took the kids (praise God for His providence in this!), and so when it became apparent that Kevin was very ill, I was able to follow the ambulance right out to the hospital.  After a brief stint in the ICU, Kevin recovered, we all recovered, and I was feeling a sense of relief that we got that little virus out of the way for the rest of the season.

But early this week it started again...duh duh duh duh (ominous music).  Thankfully, it is much less severe!  Today Lily is the sick one.  I've missed a lot of church and social events, but am grateful it seems this next bout is almost over.  I'm a little bit leery now to think it might not come back, but I'm praying we have seen the last of tummy sickness for a long while!

On a more cheery note, the last couple of weeks I've been preparing for the upcoming holiday season.  I love the holidays!  I love the smells, sounds, cooler weather, sparkling lights, yummy food, fellowship with family and friends, and most of all, the sense of utter gratitude I have towards my God for the many gifts and blessings he has chosen to bestow on me.  The most important of these is His Son!

I'm hoping to write more over the next couple of weeks about how we have celebrated Thanksgiving and Christmas in the past and how we are celebrating it this year, and about our various traditions and holiday memories.  If you'll be reading, I would love you to join in with your own experiences, traditions, plans, and remembrances!

Sundi