Thanks, Grandpa!

Sometimes my family looks like we walked straight out of a  50's sitcom where everyone is way too happy and everyone and everything is perfect (minus the big skirt and old-fashioned hairdos, of course).  This morning was one of those times.  We were able to spend a fun morning at Pullen Park riding the boats, the train, the carousel, and the curly slide, eating a picnic lunch, and wandering around enjoying the catfish, turtles, and waterfowl.  The day was absolutely gorgeous, breezy and warm, but not the slightest bit hot, and the children were perfect.  The kids are so sweet and thankful for all they got to do.  Over and over they told me, "Thank you so much Mommy for this special day!"  and, "This is my favorite! I loooooooooove the carousel!" and, "You're the bestest Mommy in the whole world!"  They also could be seen hugging each other and holding hands without prompting every now and then.  They were just so happy.  People often ask me if my kids are as good at home as they are in public, or comment on how much Chloe and Eli love each other.  And while I normally scoff and make a big to-do about how not perfect my kids are, I want to take a moment to say how truly thankful I am for my sweet kids.  No, they're not perfect, but, their parents are even farther from the mark.  And no, they're not always good at home, and no, they don't always treat each other so sweetly, but they often do. They truly love each other.  They truly have grateful hearts.   And while I can say with all certainty that  there is nothing I have done that makes them this way, they are this way.  All thanks be to God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ who has begun such a beautiful work in my little household, and in the tiny hearts of my precious little kids.  And I know He will complete it!  I can't wait to see what He does next!  And, I can't wait until we go on vacation because my children make  me feel like every little thing I plan is the very best day of their lives.

Thanks for Grandpa for funding such a fun outing! :)

Who taught that girl to drive??? Ouch!!

They wanted to be the caboose today.

Happy on her horse. 

In motion.  She is not cheesing.  She is absolutely this giddy.

The Silver Lining, er, Belltower

On our fun outing to Pullen Park this morning, I turned a little too soon, and ended up right in the middle of Wolfpack Country.  "Where are we, Mommy? Is this still Raleigh?" came Chloe's cry from the backseat.  "Yup.  This is NCState, where Daddy went to school."  "Ooooh! I don't like NCState. I like Tarheels."  Grinning, we entered the traffic circle, much to the kids' delight, and as we careened out, I pointed out the belltower.  "Oh!  That's neat.  NC State has some cool stuff, too, I guess.  Just like Chapel Hill has cool stuff, right Mommy?"  "Yeah, I guess so."  "I have three favorite cities, Mommy. Raleigh, Sher-lotte, and Chapel Hill!  They're my faaaaav-rits!"

Dandelion Wishes

Our front yard is littered with what are, according to Chloe, "the most beautiful flowers in the WORLD!"  Little yellow petals are scattered about among the clusters of clovers we call our lawn.  While I actually think the little things are kinda darling (I do love yellow!), I'm sure Chloe would be shocked to find that the world refers to her beloved beauties as (gasp)weeds.  Weeds or not, they are certainly a great source of entertainment for kids.  What other flower can be used as paint in its prime, and into a great alternative to bubbles when it has morphed from yellow to little white tickles?   And as an added bonus, no one yells at you when you pick them. 

Well, the kids were playing in the front yard while I was enjoying reading Huckleberry Finn from the front steps.  Chloe picked a dandelion ripe for blowing when I called out, "Make a wish!"  "A wish? What kind of wish?"  I told her any kind of wish, and filled her in on the deep-rooted tradition of dandelion wishes.  Excited about this new aspect of her blowing game, she began twirling around and around wishing for a wish to wish!  Finally, she yelled, "I know! I got it! My wish!"  "What is it??"  "I wish that we could move back to Raleigh, and that Raleigh could move by Sher-lotte!  Is that a good wish, Mommy?"  "That's a perfect wish, sweets."  I don't think either will happen in the near future, but I do love how her little mind works!

One More..

It's amazing how much these two love each other. I hope it continues into adolescence!

Christ has Risen!

Our front yard is still shady at 9am, so good Easter pics were hard to come by! We had a wonderful Resurrection Day. Chloe loved quoting verses throughout the day about the Lord's resurrection. She is such a sweet, faithful child.

More Theology

Chloe said to me, "Mommy, actually, the soldiers did the right thing because Jesus had to die in order to save us from our sins, right?"

Best in the World

Easter Egg Hunt

Theology of the Worm, a continuing series

C: Mommy, where is Jesus right now?

M: He's sitting beside his Father in Heaven, waiting for God to tell Him it is time to come get us.

C: But, Mommy, how can Jesus sit beside God when he is God?

M: (thinking)

C: Mommy, Daddy likes my questions!

M: (Feeling a little frazzled since I, myself, don't truly understand the Trinity, I resort to the apple illustration.  The same illustration that I have always found insufficient, confusing, and well, lame.) Well, Chloe, it's kind of like an apple........(insert whole spill here)

E: Wait.  What did you say, Mommy? Did you just say Jesus is an apple?  Because Jesus is NOT an apple!

 

This morning...

C: Mommy, when God made all those first people, who took care of them? Babies need someone to take care of them!

M: Oh, Chlo!  God made Adam and Eve all grown-up, remember?

C: Oh yeah. But what did he make Adam out of?

M: He made Him out of the dirt, the dust, remember?

C: Oh, and Eve? What did He make her out of?

M: He took a bone out of Adam and made Eve, remember that story?

C: Yeah, but, so, what kind of stuff did he make me out of? (pokes her tummy and looks confused)

M: Well, the Bible tells us God makes us each special, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that He knows all of our days even before we were born.  It also says He makes us in secret, so we don't really know how He makes us, just that He makes us.

C: OH! A secret! That's good!!

 

And 2 days ago, talking to Daddy

C: Daddy, did Jesus make everything?

D: Yep.  The Bible tells us that Jesus is God, and He made everything.

C: Well, then, if He made everything how could he get borned in this world? I mean, how could a baby be God? How could a baby make himself?  How can God make Himself??

D: Good question, Chloe.  I guess it's just a mystery.

Daddy Blog: Mommy in the Mountains

Mommy has been at the mountains today (ladies conference at the Wilds) so it's just been Daddy and the kids. Everyone has survived the day with nothing more than a few scrapes and bruises. Here are a couple of quotes:
Chlo (after a few bites of her PB sandwich): Daddy, is there crunchy peanut butter on here?
Me: Oh sorry, Chlo. I forgot you like crunchy.
Chlo: Mommy doesn't forget. She doesn't forget because she's a mommy.

(After giving me a tight hug at bedtime)
Chlo: I gave you a big, big hug, Daddy. It was a special present for you because we had such a fun day!

Wormy's Words

Here are a few of my favorite quotes of late:

Chloe: Mommy, I am going to be very good at the park today. I am not going to cry or complain even one time! It will be a special treat just for you!
(At the park both kids were wonderful. Forgetting about the pre-park promise of politeness, I praised the kids thoroughly when we got back in the car.)
Me: You guys were awesome at the park! That makes Mommy so proud! Thank you very much!
Chloe: I told you you would get a special treat today!

In order to encourage Chloe to not cry when I drop her off at the gym or school, I bought an after Christmas clearance My Little Pony advent calender with surprises behind 24 doors. As we were drawing to the end of the calender:
Me: Chloe, it looks like we are almost done with the calendar. I think that means you have learned that you don't need to cry when Mommy drops you off. What do you think this means you should do when we run out of doors?
Chloe: Um, Mommy, I think it means you better buy another calendar or I might just have to cry again.
Me: (sigh.)

Chloe: I love everybody in the whole family! I love Mommy. I love Daddy. I love Eli. But I love Dolly best of all.
Daddy: (feigns sadness and disbelief)
Chloe: Oh, don't worry, Daddy! I love you! I love everybody in the whole family very much! I just love Dolly more!
Me: (the next day) Oh, goody gumdrops!
Chloe: Goody gumdrops! That's what Grandpa says! I looooove Grandpa. He's SO silly!
Me: (I couldn't resist) You love Grandpa? Well, who do you love more? Grandpa or Dolly?
Chloe: (pauses and thinks, then holds up two fingers)
Me: Two?
Chloe: (nods head) Both. I love Dolly and Grandpa both the most of all.

Chloe looked out the backdoor to see the workers working in our yard.
Chloe: Mommy, I think we should put some water and snack on the porch for them. That looks like very thirsty work!
(she just warms my heart.)

More SNOW

Though initially thrilled, even the kids are ready for the snowy days to be behind us.  After only thirty minutes outside they begged to come in, retiring to the living room where a morning of Sleeping Beauty, Toy Story 2, and bowls of popcorn were waiting.

The Birthday Season

The birthday season has come and gone leaving us all a year older and wiser and a little plumper.  It seems to arrive every year only a day after the holiday pounds have been lost!

This year on top of the various parties we had a great time at Dunes Village where Chloe braved the waters and even went a couple of times on the water slide.  The first night we booked, Patrick and I stayed alone, and the kids headed back to Mimi's (and Grandpa's, I should mention) house after water play, pizza, and cake.  The second night they got to stay in the room, too!  They loved it.  They actually slept together on the couch bed after a latenight viewing of Cars. The next morning they got to pick out a muffin and juice at the onsite coffee shop, watch several shows that only come on cable, and then we headed to my old place of employment Build-a-Bear where Chloe made a blue (of course!) bear decked out in Hello Kitty jammies and Hello Kitty slippers.  She appropriately named it Hello Bear.   Afterwards we went to River City for burgers and fries, and headed back home.  Chloe had an absolutely wonderful time!

Check out the family cake Mom had made for the party.  I love how Chloe's name is on a fallen leaf since she is the only outlier with a fall birthday!

The Winter Highlight Reel

Winter is making it's final plea to stick around today, while all of us in the C household are longing for the warm breezes of spring.  Opportunities to take an evening walk around the lake and to visit a different park every day for a picnic lunch are just around the corner.  We simply cannot wait. 

Here are some of our favorite memories from winter:



Disney on Ice!  Grandma came up and treated us all to a very exciting night of family fun.  Despite Chloe's high fever and oncoming case of croup, she thoroughly enjoyed herself.  She still talks about all of our fun adventures that night!  We started the evening at Michaelangelo's, our local Friday night pizza place (serving a large 2 topping pizza for only $7.99 after 4pm and fountain drinks for $1!) and had our usual pizza and drinks.  The kids received special cups to kick off the night.  Then we headed to the pre-show where we got to meet Cinderella, admire all of the princess's gowns, and gaze into Mirror Mirror on the Wall.  The show was simply amazing.  The talent that it takes to skate and dance around while wearing large, ridiculous costumes astounds me.  The scenery was wonderful, too.  We saw Mickey and all of his friends, the cast from Cars, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and a grand finale with Tinkerbell.  After the show ended we finished off the night with a run to Krispy Kreme for some fresh hots, since we happened to be "in the neighborhood."

The girls and I with Cinderella.  Melissa screamed "I love you!" to her and received a very sweet "I love you, too!" and a blown kiss.

Tinkerbell. So cool.

This is the doll I made for Chloe for Christmas.  She named it Chloe and loved it to literal pieces.  I am now trying to learn to mend.  I didn't think the girls I made them for would love them so much! I envisioned shelf-sitting dolls!

 We tried to start new traditions of homemade gifts, baking parties, gingerbread houses, and advent.  For the first time, I think we can truly say we savored the season and worshipped Christ while looking forward to the celebration of His birth throughout the entire month. The kids also received fleece blankets made by Patrick and I during the evenings when they were asleep, and bikes from Craigslist.  They were absolutely thrilled with all of it.

Chloe and Dolly on Christmas morning

During our holiday travels, the kids got pretty much everything they wanted from all of the various grandparents.  Chloe began her My Little Pony collection thanks to generous gifts from Nana, and believe me, it has flourished!  The girl is nuts for Ponies!  She also received a laptop and a tiny vacuum cleaner that are played with daily.

This season we received three ocassions of snow much to Chloe's delight.  Every morning that she woke to find it outside of our front windows Chloe would exclaim, "He was right!  Mommy! The weather man was right!!"  She had much fun catching snowflakes on her tongue, eating snow cream, throwing snowballs at the boys, and making numerous snow angels.

All I Want For Christmas

a Laptop like this one

a Crest spinbrush with Hello Kitty

a crib/cradle/bed for Dolly

a vacuum cleaner like Mommy

an iron and ironing board like Mommy (like I ever use it as anything more than a storage shelf!)

a washer and dryer

anything Rose Petal Cottage (where, apparently, all your dreams come true)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday, Chloe!

I can't believe Chloe is already four years old.  Time has flown by, on the one hand.  On the other, I can't really remember life without her.  She has been such a blessing to me, and a constant source of conviction.  She is one of the sweetest children I have ever known, full of concern for everyone around her, and with a lovely attitude that remains unblemished by bitterness and cynicism. 

Chloe loves to learn, and spends many hours at her desk doing her "schoolwork", a preschool workbook with sheets on phonics, counting, handwriting, rhyming, patterns, early math, etc.  She is going to be very ready when Kindergarten finally rolls around!

She is really into opposites, and loves to play the wonderful game of calling everyone and everything the opposite name (ie calling me "Daddy" and Patrick "Mommy").  A single game can last for hours or even days.  It's terribly fun.  Emphasis on TERRIBLE.

Chloe has decided that she will NOT be athletic.  She constantly tells Eli "When you grow up, Buddy, you are going to play (insert every sport), and I am going to watch and yell, YAY ELI!!" She did recently tell Patrick that she might play badmitton when she grows up.  I guess we shall see.

She has quite the eye for Strawberry Shortcake, Dora, and Princesses, finding them any and everywhere no matter how miniscule they are.  She announces over and over again in a loud voice when she finds them. ("Dora, Mommy! Dora!  Look! It's Dora! Do-Ra!")

Chloe adores her family.  Every extended member.  She cries for days every time we have to part ways with a grandparent or aunt or cousin or even an honorary uncle.

She rides her bike with training wheels rather well as long as you appear to be holding on.  The second she even suspects that you may have possibly even loosened your grip, she throws her arms toward you and bails off, leaving the bike to careen down the cul-de-sac and crash into the neighbor's curb.

She asks lots of doctrinally interesting (read: difficult) questions, and talks a lot about going to Heaven and living with Jesus.  She can't wait to get there.

She still has some anxiety when I leave her, but I think she is testing me more than anything.  I've caught many stray smirks and smiles as the tears have rolled down when she thought I was not looking.

She makes up songs about everything.  Constantly.  Some are really amusing.  Occasionally they are even kinda good.  Mostly they're just weird. Today's song was: Tree! Tree! Tree! Tree! Tree fall down.  It falls down on the sign and on the road. Trees fall down all the time. Trees fall down on the strawberry. Trees. Fall. Down. 

Followed by, "OK Eli, now you sing it!"

E: "Don't know how."

C: "I'll teach you again.  Listen this time, OK?"

E: "K" 

Chloe repeats song with surprisingly little variation. 

C: "Now it's your turn, E"

E: "Don't know how!"

C: "Yes you do, E! Try!"

E: "K, Trees. Tree. Tree. Tree fall down on Strawberry Shortcake."

C: "NO! NO! Trees not supposed to fall on Strawberry Shortcake! That's not how the song goes!"

She loves to teach Eli.  She teaches him puzzles, letters, colors, and about Jesus.

Strawberry Shortcake is her hero.

Fall Means Fair!

The kids loved the NC State Fair this year. The freebies, the animals, the stomach sickening rides, the fried things on sticks. The whole thing was a hit.  We got to go twice this year.  Once on free day with our friend Hope and her kids, and once on Saturday with Mimi and Grandpa.  I'm actually already looking forward to going again!  It always leaves me with the yearning to go back to my roots and become a farmer. On the other hand, I didn't even keep the cactus my dad gave me alive.  I don't think that bodes well for my new way of life.  The goats would make me happy, though.

The Silver Lining

The past two months have been full of sorrow and grief, pain and fear.  With the death of Daddypa, Granny's fall, Tootie's new shoulder, Tony's two heart surgeries, and MeMaw's torn ACL (not to mention Mimi's therapy, Mama's MRIs and XRays, and a couple of hearty colds for the wee ones) I couldn't help but become afraid and discouraged from time to time.   It's been a blessing to know the peace of Christ through it all.  I don't know how one makes it through such tough times without it.  Besides resting on the Lord, we were also able to really wrap ourselves in one of the greatest blessings God has given us on this earth. The love of family.  Though this time has been hard, very hard, we have had countless opportunities to spend with one another.  The kids were able to spend days and days at Mimi and Grandpa's while Patrick and I did what we could do to help Grandma and to grieve.  Then there was a week long stay at Grandma's for the kids  and I, with many more to follow.  Tootie came and hung her hat for a week here and another week there, and MeMaw and Poppa came to enjoy the kids and work in our yard, so Patrick and I could get away for a time of spiritual refreshment at the Wilds.  It has been so wonderful to constantly be around the people we love the most.  I just hate that it only happened as a result of tragedy.  I look forward to the day when we can all be closer together, or when we all get cars like the Jetsons to drastically cut down on the commute.  I just hope it happens before the kids are too cool to hang out with us anymore.

A Day Out With Thomas

We decided earlier this year that when Chloe's birthday rolled around, we definitely wanted to attend A Day Out With Thomas.   This year it just so happened that Thomas was at the NC Transportation Museum during the first weekend of October, and Chloe's birthday, as you know, is not until the last weekend of October.  Thus began the month of the birthday. 

The day was incredibly fun. I had no idea there would be so much to do when we signed up.  We had been to ride the Santa train before, and figured Thomas Day would be on the same scale.  Boy were we wrong.  There were Thomas tattoos, Thomas mini golf, Thomas train tables, a Thomas bouncing house, Thomas stamping, Thomas coloring, A live show with Bob the Builder, a room where you could watch Thomas videos and listen to Thomas storytelling, a giant Thomas made out of Legos, train displays like you wouldn't believe, and of course, the cherry on top, an actual steam engine Thomas that peeped and pulled and took children on rides.  The kids had an unbelievable time!  They are already talking about when we go back next year (which we won't be doing, by the way.  It was fun and all, but, once is enough!).  We took a break halfway through the day and had a picnic lunch with cake and everything under a beautiful tree in a nearby churchyard.  The weather was perfect. On the drive home we stopped at the beloved Sir Pizza in Asheboro for supper.  Chloe couldn't have asked for a better birthday party... except of course to ask for two more of them!