Say Cheese!

Seriously Cheesy!  Ok Aunt Gwen.......here's your required picture.  They loved their new duds, and they LOVED the chapstick eggs! and washcloths!  I think Wren took hers to school for sharing today!  I can't imagine all the strange household items and toys that must get shared regularly! LOL.  I wish they'd slow down on the growing now though :(  I didn't get to have them when they were little......so it would suit me fine if they would stay little a while longer.

This was Iley's request for her hair style today.

My sorry attempt at corn rows!  In my defense.....my victim was extremely wiggly, and kept dropping her chapstick egg......

 Iley wanted a picture of the top of her head too.  ??

 This is the way they watch the ipad.......mere inches from the screen......huddled together like a couple of small gnomes.  I can never decide if Iley's eyes are worse than we think....or not as bad.  She wants to watch anything on the screen this close up......but she can find a hair in the bath water, or a tiny gnat that  has dropped in, without her glasses on??

Blogging Blues

Sorry everyone for the long absence.  I haven't had a lot of material for blogging.

This is what our Saturday mornings look like.  The girls are always up waaaaay before we want to be....so....the night before, we shut their door.  They are not allowed to come down until Mom or Dad open it.......at least that is the  way it's supposed to work.  It took 3 weeks of Wren getting sent back up, for her to get the concept!!  Now if it's been too long (she thinks) she opens the door.....tells Iley, "the doors open.....go on."  Then if Iley doesn't get sent back up (which she always does if one of us didn't open the door), she figures it's safe for her to come down too.  This reminds me a lot of the penguin story......push one off the cliff....if he doesn't get eaten by a shark it's safe for the others to jump in.  This girl is so smart!  Even if it doesn't work! Once we do open it, they LOVE getting in bed with us.  We can handle about 15 minutes of this before it starts to get too wild.  Then it's "everybody out of the pool!"

 I love that she is looking at her signing papers!!

And Iley.....is playing with all the loot that Wren hauled down the stairs, and spread the blanket for, and set up.  Once it's set up Wren is soon done.  Her favorite part is just thinking it up and hauling it around, and setting it up.

 They stuff their backpacks full of stuff and haul them around.......rarely actually getting anything out of them.

 Saturday eve. we made a run to Hays for  basket ball shoes for Sherman who decided to sign up at the 11th hour.  We had to deliver a load of molding to a customer, and make the mandatory stop at W@lly world.

 Iley insisted on wearing these green sandals....it was too chilly for them...and they would NOT stay on her feet!  But some people cannot be convinced.......or at least not without more effort than I had the energy for....so she wore them.

 .......and they kept falling off.  But OH JOY.......we ran into Calli, one of Wrens class mates, in W@lly world.  They were so excited to see each other.....like they hadn't just seen each other all week:)

Wonder of wonders.....Iley sat here and petted Tito for 5 minutes!

The girls hit the clothing jackpot this week!!!  They got a box of clothes from their Indiana friend, Anya...and a box of clothes and these cute little wash cloths and some egg chapstick from Aunt Gwen and Grandma!  They were delighted!  THANK YOU ALL SO SO MUCH!!!

Wren progress:  Today before school I told her with out signing...."Go get your coat"  I said it slow and enunciated each word, made sure the boys were quiet.....and she signed back to me with raised eyebrows in question "coat?" YEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!  I know she is super smart and probably used all her environmental clues, and knew it was time for that......BUT.....she was busy doing something with her papers, and I stopped her by calling her name, made sure she was listening......and she seemed to have heard it!   Thank you Lord for progress be it ever so small.

Then today her teacher sent home a note saying that the class was all sharing something they were thankful for, and she signed with NO HELP....that she was thankful for Jesus!  Wow.  ONLY GOD.  We pray before each meal, and at bedtime......but she really doesn't have enough language for us to get the whole concept across.  I pray daily for God to give this little girl language!!  She has so much inside that little head that she wants to share, but doesn't have the tools yet to express it.  It's coming......but SO much slower than I imagined.  I know that God has a plan for this little girl.......and as crazy as she makes me some days, I'm so glad I get a front row seat to watch it.

Saturday the boys had their friends over again to do more work on their fort.  Wren always heads out the door with anyone going.  She loves to be DOING something.  When they all came back in, Harrison says "she is one tough little girl"  I said why is that........imagining that she fell off of something, or hit her head, or something of that nature.  He says "we walked all the way down to the pasture, out to the jumps (motorcycle) over to old 40, around by Uncle Gary's, and home.  She never complained once."  She's a trooper!  If they would have taken Cat Cat.......she would have started whining ......with out ceasing.....about half way through......and had to potty at least twice.  But no worries......she had no desire to go.  She was quite content by the fireside, licking her paws just dink donking around with her puzzles, and toys, and pencil and paper.  Wren would have had the living room rearranged and the entire contents of the toy box relocated in the same amount of time.

  Iley loves to sit on your lap and  talk and connect with words, and be silly.....Wren would rather just hug the stuffing out of you and move on to the action.  They usually get along pretty well.  Iley's biggest complaint.."Wren not listening to ME"  Wren's biggest complaint......."Iley won't come play with me" 

Fish Tacos

Thatcher's request for his birthday supper was fish tacos with apple pie for desert.   We start with a flour tortilla, then a sour cream sauce with green chiles in it, then grilled fish, then cheese, then mango salsa, regular fresh salsa, and cole slaw.  They are delish.  

The pictures are kinda crummy, but here are the party guests and the food.

Harrison did eat them too!  He is just a fast eater and was done before the others.

 The girls both LOVED them, and of course ate all their guacamole dip too......i'm sure their teachers were groaning at their garlic breath the next day!  Iley asks everyday to have her hair in pig tails....."cause it won't stay out of my face!"

 This is a totally rotten look on Mr. T!!

 Inspired? Crazy? Creative? Weird?  a little of each?...........with a little help form their brother Mr. Mess......they came up with this lovely idea.

Surprisingly......no one got dumped!

 Sunday I let them wear the dresses from Thatcher and Kyndahl's wedding, to church.  They are almost to small for them, and I figured it would be the last time they wore them.  They had so much fun......there is nothing quite so satisfying as a dress that twirls!  They spent the day spinning around and around.  An added bonus for Iley................"Moooooom  I'm done!".......Wipe your self, says Mom.........I can't says Iley.......My hands are full!  She was trying to keep all her skirt tails out of the toilet!

 It was crazy windy, but that didn't stop them.

 Be afraid little dog.........be very afraid!

Today, the naked dolls got a ride........they only tipped once....that I saw.

 I had to make some scotcheroos for a  Pizza Party for Sherman's football team........Wren (who goes with anyone going) had left with Troy and the boys to run some friends home, and Miss Homebody stayed with mom. She promptly pulled her stool up where I was mixing, and asked every 2 minutes if she could lick the spatula yet.  When she finally got it, she licked it so clean, I could have put it back in the drawer with no one the wiser!!  She is a little sugar fiend!

Sherman was filling us in tonight on all the things that he likes about school.....the things he doesn't.....the teachers he likes........the ones he thinks are strange, or dress weird, or normal,  the funny thing is, he was dead on.......I was laughing so hard....... He's one of those kids that you would never suspect of having  this much insight!........Gwen.....oh how I wished for you!!!!.  If they only knew what this quiet mild mannered kid was thinking!!  I said "Sherman, you didn't say that to them did you?!"  He says "Mom, I'm not that stupid!  I don't want to get sent to the principals office!  That would just be awkward!  Well I guess that's one way to look at it.   He says he "just does not see why you have to have reading!  I mean, who cares about text structuring, it's not like I'm going to be reading along and think to my self "now THERE'S the main idea right there"  or "huh the text structure of this sentence is such and such"  Seriously, if you want to study that stuff in college, fine, but if they really wanted to teach us something, we should have spelling everyday!  I seriously stink at spelling!"  When he was all done, and I'd dried my eyes, I asked him...."I really want to know now what you REALLY think of ME!"  "Go ahead.....don't spare me!"  He says " you are totally awesome mom"  I told him "thanks, but it's really just that you are the same kind of weird as me so you don't know if I'm normal ;)" ha ha!!  I LOVE this kid!

Happy Birthday Thatcher

 Happy 22nd Birthday!!!  We LOVE YOU!

He came into the world looking worried. He had reason ya know.  I wish I could post the picture of Ash holding Thatcher, grinning angelically, while Thatcher had his little hands all clenched with a look of fear!    His 2 yr old brother  about loved him to death some days.  When Thatch was 2 weeks old,  I had laid him on the floor in the living room to run do something, and when I came back Ash was sitting, straddling him like he was riding a horse!  I have a picture of Ash pushing him in the baby swing....Thatch was about 2 months old maybe.....Ash is grinning delightedly, and Thatcher has a pain like grimace on his face :)  I wish I had a scanner because I have some of the cutest pictures of them both.  He finally out grew his big brother, and is not in the least worried about him now :)

 

           He was Always my child that said "I'm going to mawwy you mommy"   He was and still is my most affectionate one.  He was never afraid to give us a bear hug.....even at school in the middle of his friends.  I used to drag him antique shopping with me, and he'd charm all the old ladies in the shops with his big eyes and grin....and 20 questions.   He was.......and still is sometimes..........the one that stirred the pot.  No one was allowed to get very comfortable.  No chance of anyone sticking to the sides with this guy around.  He is charming and sweet, and could strike up a conversation with a fence post if the fence post had some information he needed or thought was interesting!  He has definitely added some spice to our lives.  He has a big heart, and is a sweetie.  We Love you so much Thatcher!!!!  We are blessed to be your Parents, and are so thankful that God chose our family to place you in.