Moon Feathers, Three Feathers, Tabeechi, Tabeechet,...

These are just a few of the new names I've heard echoing through the house of late. The boys got some costumes for Christmas and have enjoyed them thoroughly (for one day, at least). I'm left with the dilemma of ethnic "p.c." lingo. Native Americans? Indians? Victims-of-land-thievery? I mean, they don't really care so much what they are. What they enjoy is that they have an outfit to go with their tomahawk and bow and arrow set.
Here's my little Squanto and Tonto after they shot a buffalo (a.k.a. the television set...and yes, it will be obsolete in 2009....and yes, it weighs 1,000 pounds...and yes, i'm done deviating from the point.)


Don't shoot! I'll give you all my wampam. It's in my teepee...promise,
man!

They say they're in the Blue Lizard tribe.
Two members and counting....

random pictures from our Christmas...

Our Super Awesome Tree that we fetched with our buddies,
the Misners. And, yes, we had a white Christmas. It was gorgeous.
Big snowflakes came down softly all day and into the night.

Christmas Eve Service at Church!
Avery sang out while Miles fiddled with his tie and yawned a lot.

Okay. The picture of Brent and I is notable only because
we're actually in the same frame. Amazing. And this one
on the right is Nana (my mom) with our kiddos.

Miles got a leather to add some "edge" to the pallette.

Pop Pop (my dad) is seen here entertaining Jillian.

Kate

Hey friends,
Please check out this blog ( www.katesnodgrass.blogspot.com ) and consider praying for Kate. She's a young mom of three boys. We used to go to the same church. Just as we were getting to know eachother, we moved. A year later, she was diagnosed with brain cancer. She underwent surgery today for the second time. Please pray for her, her husband and their boys.
Thanks!

little girl

It's been awhile since I've dedicated a post to my little girl. It's no secret in my home that she lights up my life. She's usually smiling. And if she fusses, all she usually needs is a reassuring smile. And her smiles melt my heart.

There are almost five years between Miles and Jillian. I almost can't believe that we went so long without having a little baby in the home. But, most of you know that it wasn't our plan, rather it was planned by God. By the time Jillian came along, we were done with diapers, those ridiculous baby accessories (swings, random baby seats, exersaucers, etc.), naps, worries about choking hazards, worries about SIDS, worries about unwashed hands touching our little one or someone breathing germs on our healthy infant, and so much more. We were even done with training wheels! Two boys on two wheelers makes one feel like they've reached a certain point in life. I'm struggling to put into words this feeling. All I can come up with is that as I remember the neighborhood where I grew up. And I think of those ancient people that were my friends' parents, I realize that's me...that's us...we're those parent's that are going to be some vague memory to other children on the block... strange.

well...that was a major detour...but i'll leave it...

so, without further adieu, here's "little girl"

Schnazzy Scheetz Guys

I just had the most fun shopping for my boys!!! Yes, BOYS are fun to shop for! Avery sang in the Christmas concert for his school on Thursday and so I actually bought a dress shirt and dress pants and tie and even A BELT! I'm so casual, that I've never before bought my son a belt...and he's seven! What was so fun was Avery's excitement when he came home to his get-up. I don't know if this will be cool or tacky (story of my life), but in lieu of cheesy (and uncomfortable) dress shoes, my boy donned some slick black Puma's. sweet. I did most of the shopping while Avery was at school. With Miles by my side, I could sense the longing in his heart--or was it my own--for some of his own duds. So, Miles got a dress shirt and (clip-on!) tie as well. He calls it his suit. So cute.

when it's 50+ degrees in minnie

no...it's not 50+ degrees here...it's really, really snowy.

but. we had a 50+ degree weekend a few weeks ago. and do you know what we did? we enjoyed it. we thought, "this is nice." if we were natives, we would have gotten out the Christmas lights and decorated the house. but, we're still mentally on a weather schedule with the St. Louisans. we didn't realize that when it's 50+ degrees in November "up nort", you get out a ladder and hang lights. by the way, i believe i saw some people in my neighborhood keep there lights lit well into may. ridiculous. you never witnessed such free-spirited behavior in the burbs. good thing i love it here regardless of year-round Christmas lights and political yard signs that should have been taken down 10 years ago.

a snowy thanksgiving

no pictures of turkey. no picture of the whole family. but, the memories are (hopefully) locked in. we shared this holiday with our dear friends, Steve and Tiffany Dykstra. i think Tiffany was my first friend from our church here in minnie. i was in tears when we first met. figures.

it snowed today. i was so glad. i love these winters. our family must embrace them...or they might just swallow us up. so. we get out the gloves and snowsuits and smile at the cloudy skies and say, "thank you, God, for the beauty of snow." He truly is amazing. God. There is nothing that we can create that he hasn't given us the resources for. He is the source. He is the Creator. He is involved in all. In our Thanksgiving devotion with the Dykstra's, Steve led us in a time of praise. i was thankful for this: God is in all things. even though satan tries to separate from the Amighty God, and tries to work his own plan, God is the Master over all. Whatever one might intend for evil, God is over all and intends it for good. He will redeem. He is Good. He works Good. i praise Him for his sovereignty over all. He is our greatest Hope.



here's the pics we do have.

the guys played a LOT outside...even in 3/4 " of snow





this is probably the only time "little girl" (as i usually call
her) will don this pink vest. isn't it swell? i wish i had one.



i said, "Brent, could you put her in the Thanksgiving outfit?"
and this is what happened. can you tell what's missing?



yep. the shirt. brent tends to bring
comic relief into my life regularly. love him.
this pose also made me laugh. she just stood
there, leaning back...i finally just relieved her
of her little soldier stance after a bit. (Sorry there's no
tights, Mom. She pooped out of those early on!)



Tiffany and her newborn
Jude AND Steve with Jeneva.

Sew Crazy!

So I thought I post a few pics of what I was working on! It's pretty fun, but it takes over the house. Pins, scraps and thread end up everywhere. Needless to say, Brent is happy when it gets packed up and put away for awhile. I must also say, though, that he is so supportive of my need to create. If you need homemade, one-of-a-kind baby gifts, I'm in business!!

Kim Was Here!

Hey, friends. Long time...no blog. It's been very busy. We had Halloween (still need to get pics from Uncle Steve). Kim came from Baltimore. Wade came from St. Louis. I sewed a bunch of quilts for a craft fair and all the nooks and crannies of time were simply filled. It's been manic. I should probably be sleeping, but I wanted to sneak in a little post of Kim's trip. She sent a bunch of fun pics from her visit.

Kim and I had baby girls 4 days apart. She was the VERY first person I told when I found out I was expecting. Brent was out of town and I was in shock. I called her to apologize for being edgy in a political conversation we had earlier in the day and the news just rolled off my tongue. I don't even think I believed it. I told her, "Now you need to be pregnant." And she said, "I am." I started crying. I was really in a very happy state of shock. Well, roughly one year later, I had the pleasure of hosting Kim and her little girl Lucy for a few days!

We had so much fun. We visited Cafe Latte a few times. Shared a bottle of "Mommy's Time Out" (not in one day, of course!). We made "BFF" onesies for the girls. We had a great time. It was fun to see Kim in her new Mommy role. It was so natural and wonderful. Lucy's a darling little baby! Miles couldn't get enough of her! I'm sure I'm forgetting some cute quotes and "memorable" moments, but I'm just toast right now. Nevertheless, it was a wonderful visit. Hopefully the first of many!!

Big Girl Standing Up

I love this little song Kim sings. She's always singing. It's like actually being in a musical.
The girls (and my boys) LOVE this little jingle!

Happy Birthday "Mi" Guy!

Well, yesterday marked Miles' 5th birthday! We had a great time. He woke up to the birthday tradition! A balloon and SUGAR cereal!!! This is a tradition we started in our family when Avery turned four. Just for fun, I wrapped up a box of generic Lucky Charms . He had so many cool gifts that year, but what got the biggest reaction was the box of no-name cereal. So, about 10 pm the night before Miles' birthday, I sent Brent out to get a balloon and cereal. It was too late to pick up a balloon from the dollar store, so we thought Lunds would have the best selection. Well, we don't go to Lunds and it had no birthday boy balloons. But, Brent bought one anyway. I was so annoyed at what he came home with, but I'm actually thankful now, because it took this blahg and made it a blog.




Here he is admiring the cake he helped to make and frost!



As one friend said, "it's never to early to instill a sense of mortality."


All in all, it was a good day. I'm so grateful for this guy. He is so creative. Here's just a few more pics of a little scene he created all on his own with sheets of craft foam earlier today. The black thing is the sky with the moon hanging in it. The blue thing is a house with windows. It has a backyard with a white fence. I know it doesn't look so amazing, but I enjoy his mind so much, that I had to share.

Our Trip to St. Louis

Well, Avery had a few days off of school and so we decided to take a trip back to the old stomping grounds of "the Lou'". Yes, it was the only time we had in the next six months to get to St. Louis. This is such an exciting trip for our family because it feels like half our hearts are there. Our friends, our Nana and Pop Pop, free Zoo, free Science Center, Lion's Choice Roast beef sandwiches, 10 cent ice cream cones, Donut Palace and more! So, it's not that hard for the boys to endure a 10 hour road trip when they know what's at the other end of the ride. Unfortunately, our camera did not make the haul. Fortunately, Joy Bidner (of the St. Louis Bidners), took some great pics I'd like to share.

The Pumpkin Wasteland at Rombachs! It looks cool and smells like it's the end of pumpkin picking season!


Our Donut Palace Tradition!



Kids at Bidner's Farm




The FAB Four!!!



Ava finally gets to hold Baby Girl Scheetz!!!



Well, if I write anymore, I'll be officially neglecting my children. Oh the irony. FYI, you don't have to be a registered blogger to comment anymore. No more passwords to remember. Blessings to you all!