Mia

Happy Birthday, Maria!

Thanks for being such a sweet & snuggly niece.

We love you!

Here we go again!

snow... Snow... SNOW!Here is what the first storm melted down to with the help of a couple of weeks of just peeks of sunshine & some pre-snow rain.
Then it came & beautified our world once again.
"Look, it's snowing cotton balls!" Andrew said.

Catholic Schools Week

Andrew's first Catholic Schools Week:

sporting his Husker gear on Team Day,

his Daddy's old blue bunny suit on Animal Day (forgot to take a photo!),& his Bishop gear on Vocations Day. So adorable!Rebecca & I celebrated at home by playing babies & tea party. She served root beer, eggplant, & chicken.When I asked her what she put on the chicken to make it so delicious, she replied ecstatically, "FROSTING!" A girl after my own heart.

My big sis

Happy Birthday, Melissa!

We love you!

Brainwashing

Me: What does a mama chicken say?

Andrew: Bock, bock!

Me: What does a baby chicken say?

Andrew: Peep, peep!

Me: What does a mama duck say?

Andrew: Quack, quack!

Me: What does a baby duckling say?

Andrew: Aflac! Aflac!

Look out world...

here she comes! Congratulations, Teresa!

You rolled over for the first...

& second...

& third time today.

Way to go!

Chicken Lips

Happy Birthday, Doug!

Thanks for being a great brother, uncle, & godfather.

We love you!

Pig English

Rebecca: Will you read me this story?
Me: Sure. "Si le das un panqueque a una cerdita..."
Rebecca: No! No! Don't read it in Spanishes.
Me: But the book is in Spanish. What do you want me to read it in? English?
Rebecca: No! Read it in Pig!

***I love all those books in English AND Spanish by the way. If you give a pig a pancake, If you give a moose a muffin, & If you give a mouse a cookie are our favorites.***

Photo Fun

" Let's take a goofy one now."

(Teresa made her hair do that just for the picture.)

Does that look like a heart to you?

Matthias

Happy Birthday, Matthias! You're becoming such a big boy.

We love you & we're praying for you.

Have a fun day!

Speaking Her Language

Here's a little of that crazy babble to enjoy...
And nothing says "I love you" like a two-legged kick to the noggin. ; )

Storefront

As much as I love the hours it keeps them having fun, imaginary play like this... ends up being just a lot of stuff to clean up in the end. Any suggestions for making the clean-up as fun as the creation?

Long Lost Friend

Rebecca: The sun!!! It's coming to our house! Andrew: I sure love it when the sun comes out!

Me, too. =]

Nine Words

NINE WORDS WOMEN USE
(1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.
(2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.
(3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.
(4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!
(5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)
(6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man.. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.
(7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome.. (I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' . that will bring on a 'whatever').
(8) Whatever: Is a woman's way of saying...Go to H***
(9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

***

(This is another funny e-mail I received, written I'm guessing by a very wise husband. I didn't know we were so predictable! You'd think we were specifically taught these or something.)

Reach for the stars!

Congratulations, Teresa! You've taken your screaming to new heights! All that chatting, singing, & babbling during the day must be working your vocal chords well. So, now instead of that sweet, little baby cry, you have the I'm-freaking-out-why-don't-you-love-me-anymore cry when I so much as lay you down. It's so intense that Andrew & Rebecca think it sounds like their "pretend" cry... so they laugh. Ah, sibling love. We used to only hear a smaller version of it when you had accidently scratched your face or had a huge bubble waiting in your tummy. No more... you're growing up. Hooray!?

Cinderella

Rebecca: (in tears) My bippity-boppity-bop isn't in the book basket!

My Little Artists

Rebecca's latest masterpiece:

"my garden (red splotch), doggy stuff, a "huffy" (puppy) thing, & a circles"
Andrew's latest creation:
"that's me with my cat on a leash & some flowers & a fire with sticks & a mouse in the colorish grass & a goose in the stormy sky & (I don't remember what he said the yellow thing is... probably a bee... kind of looks like a flying lobster to me!)"

Grocery Nerd

Well, even though Darren is calling me a "grocery nerd", I can't help but be giddy with excitement over my last Hy-Vee run. I saved $32.72!!! That's just coupons, so it doesn't even count all the things majorly on sale. I feel like I just won a marathon! Certainly rejuvenates my coupon-clipping energy. Anyone else get a thrill from saving?

Above is another of Andrew's grocery lists. I especially like that his mispronunciations are evident in his spelling. Can you guess what he thinks we should get? My favorite is the second one. (Answers in the comments.)

Prayers

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my Uncle Brian. He passed away last weekend. Due to the weather, we were unable to make the trip out to Illinois for the funeral this week. (My parents left Monday & made it there, only to find the power off in the entire town of Aledo. They had the wake & funeral by candlelight!) I ask your continued prayers for the repose of his soul & for the comfort of his family. May we all appreciate every day we have together as a blessing!

Ding-dong

Rebecca has recently decided that she's big. And she's acting so grown-up! She's been doing 25 piece jigsaw puzzles, making up goofy songs that she KNOWS are goofy, "reading" books to Teresa, drinking out of a big cup without a huge mess to her shirt... so many big girl tricks. She's recently become fascinated with this Little People set that my sister, Denise, so generously lent to us. You can see she set all of the people in a circle for a tea party & all the animals in line for a "water party".
When she had it all ready to go, she asked me, "Would you come & ding-dong my door?"