Quotes to Bring a Smile to Your Day

Children really do say (and think) the most interesting things. Here are some recent ones, from ours:

PETER: Mom, can I count up the dollars in my piggy bank? I really want to buy _____ a Christmas present. Note: On holy days, the priest gives him a couple bucks for being an altar boy. So, he has a bit of money in his piggy bank. I know he had been wanting to buy a Lego set, for himself.



GEORGE: (Looking intently at Margie, and speaking with great passion to her) Margie, I always wanted a sister with green eyes!! And, did you always want a brother with blue eyes? Note: Margie's eyes have a bit of green in them, now, like mine.



MARGIE: St. Nicholas can be at the North Pole, and in heaven. Whenever he wants, probably on Christmas Day, he brings toys to the children in heaven. When I am in heaven, I won't be allergic to cats. I will have a pet cat, in heaven.

Christmas Play

Hi! On Sunday, we had the catechism Christmas Play and pizza party. I must first say that I always knew my aunt and uncle (the previous coordinators for many years) did a ton of work. But, boy, it sure is a lot more than I even imagined! So, hats off to them.

Margie, George, and Peter were the only children in the play, and I was so impressed with them. We did a simple play, where each person comes out as someone from the Nativity Scene, and says two rhyming lines. The children really took charge with this whole thing. They chose who did what part. Each designed their own props and costume accessories. And, they even had their own ideas about how to set up the stage, do the curtains, and lights. (And we let them do it the way they wanted.) Show Time was not a disappointment. No one froze up. All of them had their lines memorized, and said them, perfectly. Fred and Thomas were "extras", because we needed a third wise man, and a baby Jesus. Fred stole the show, when he decided he was tired, and laid down, on the stage, while Peter and George were saying the Wise Men's lines. He wouldn't get up, either, so he got pulled off from behind the curtain. I don't have a snap shot of that, but, Jim got it on video! Baba and Grandpa, Uncle Mike, and a lot of cousins were there to see it all.

The children also learned 4 Christmas carols, that they sang in front of everyone. Their singing teacher (my brother, George) really has them singing. I never heard them sing so well, before this year. Whatever he is doing, he is doing it right. He must have a real knack with kids. They're even singing around the house.

Here is a picture of the older three with Uncle George and St. Nicholas.
And here are some of us with the Giving Tree (donations for children):
And here are Fred and Clay (they are both three, can you tell?) playing where they weren't supposed to be, while everyone else was boxing up the donations.

Cousins are Great

Cousin Megan was in town for her work, and wanted to visit us. Nicholas picked her up from her hotel, downtown, and brought her over. The kids were so funny. They bombarded her with important questions, like, "What is your favorite railroad?" She was all stumped. They were guessing it was P&LE, but, she flubbed around and came up with "Percy". She and Margie bonded because they both only have brothers. And, they both have "Babas". She played with the kids, and they had a grand time. George (my brother) swung by, too, after his meeting. It was great seeing her, and we all enjoyed the visit.

Fred Story

Last week, one morning, I was in the family room with George and Thomas. I heard Fred in Thomas's room, then I noticed him go in the living room. I didn't think much about it, other than I hoped he wasn't doing anything bad. Suddenly, he appeared at my side, and was adamantly trying to tell me something. It sounded like, "Some bad guys came and took our green one!" He was so serious, and it seemed urgent. I asked him to show me, and he led me to the living room window, and repeated the same thing, in his three year old manner, "Some bad guys took our green one!" I was trying to figure out what he meant. Our recycling bin? Our garbage can? Finally, I realized he meant our green van. Jim had arranged for the transmission guys to come tow it. I explained to Fred that Daddy said it was O.K., and those guys were going to fix it. (I am not sure he believed me.) The funny part of all this, to me, is that Fred must have watched the whole thing, first from Thomas's window, then at the living room window. And he didn't alert me that someone was taking the van, until they were gone! (He must have been so scared, when he saw them drive away with our van. At that point, he did come, right away... )

Here is a photo of him in his Thomas pajamas and papuchi. And that is his Peep, on the step.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We went to Laura's for Thanksgiving. It was her and Mark's first time, ever, cooking a turkey. And, it came out absolutely perfect. They did a bang-up job, as usual, being hosts. We didn't leave until late. The only bad thing that happened was somehow our van's interior light got left on. We didn't go anywhere on Friday. Then on Saturday, we were leaving for Dorothy's party, and the battery was dead. We charged it up, but the computer wouldn't reset itself, no matter what we did. (It would just stall, after starting up.) ~~~I am not so sure about Dodge Engineering...~~~ We didn't get it going until Sunday at lunchtime. So, that was a horrible disappointment to Dorothy and all our kids, that we missed her birthday party.

Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving.

Laura and Mark and the bird:


The kids. If you notice Margie doesn't have her glasses on, that is because George broke them. They were horsing around, and Margie somehow ended up under all the couch pillows.
And, since Marisa was not visible in the first one, here she is. Believe it or not, I am not responsible for teaching her how to make that face!

What We All Need is Brotherly Love

Freddie loves Thomas, as you can see. Thomas loves Freddie, too. But, at this time, he just wanted to play.... The last picture is from Nicholas's birthday. The children really wanted to see him (they all made him cards). So, he graciously stopped by, after work, so they could wish him a happy birthday.

Buddy Bake Off

Peter's Cub Scout pack had a Buddy Bake Off. Each scout (and an adult) bake something, and the baked goods are auctioned off, for the pack. Peter really wanted to make Scottish Imperial Biscuits (also known as Empire Cakes). I give him a lot of credit. He did most of the work, himself, and they were delicious. Here he is, with some he had saved for us to eat at home. For the Bake Off, he packaged six of them, and they sold for $21.75.

Peter's Birthday

Peter turned 9, last week! He really wanted a Chessie logo cake. (For those of you who don't know, his favorite railroad is the Chessie.) He also wanted Italian sausage in sauce and rotini noodles, for his birthday dinner. Everyone gave him such nice gifts: Star Wars figures, Indiana Jones figure, Star Wars Lego, a new blanket, Playmobil White Tigers, Pirates of the Caribbean Life game, alittle tank car, Lions at Lunchtime book, a Nascar Flatcar, a Steelers shirt, a rocket launcher, money, and a paper airplane kit. I hope I didn't forget anything! Anyways, here are a couple pictures from the day:

Family Visit

Last Sunday, we had a wonderful visit, with Jim's mother, sisters, and almost all their kids. Hunter couldn't come, but, he sent his Wii to represent him. :) Everyone loved that. Laura and Nana brought over loads of good food, too. Here are some photos. In the large group photo, George is sad, because Laura and I started to click our cameras, before he had a chance to smile. By the time we did "the boys", he was thoroughly dejected. (Though, we didn't know what was wrong, at the time.) The day ended all too soon. If you can't keep the kids straight: Peter (grey), Margie (blue), George (red), Fred (car sweater), Thomas (blue stripes), Haden (navy), Marisa (maroon), Kaeli (pink).

Michael and Kim's Wedding

Hi! So much has been going on. I have lots of photos, and am behind posting them. Since I like to be chronological, I will start with my cousin Michael's wedding. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots of him and Kim! But, here are some of the kids, all dressed up. George (in the middle) was so funny. This was the first time he wore a suit. He got such a kick out of it. He fancied himself looking like Indiana Jones (when he is a professor). We had a nice time, and got to see a lot of relatives and people (not that "relatives" aren't "people") that we haven't seen in a long time.

Halloween Part 2

Here they are, waiting to go out. Uncle Mike and Dad took them around the neighborhood. Then we went to Uncle George's. They LOVE going to Uncle George's!




The Red Bud Tree just dumped all these leaves, overnight. I thought it was unusual, so I am posting it.

Halloween Part 1

Last Sunday was the Halloween party at church. It had to be the lowest turn out, ever. But, the kids had fun. Here is a group shot:
(Clay is a bee, Margie is a princess, PJ has the white mask, Peter is Darth Vader, Thomas is a doggie, George is Raphael, and Freddie is Thomas)




When we got home, we were surprised to see it hailed at our house.


The kids' pumpkins:

The S.S. White Tiger

It was Rain Gutter Regatta time! Peter, with his boat, the S.S. White Tiger, won second place in his Bear Den. It was his best year, yet. I was happy to go, since last year, I was laid up, and couldn't attend. We thought Jim would miss, this year, because he was on a business trip. He came home a day early, and was able to join us. (He had about a half hour to spare, before we had to leave.) The kids were thrilled! Here is Peter during his first heat, Thomas and Jim, George and Uncle George, and Grandpa and Peter.

The Day After

She couldn't wait to play with her new Star Wars Lego, the next morning. (She goes to afternoon Kindergarten.) Note, she is wearing one of her new necklaces, she got from Aunt Anne and Dorothy.



Of course, Fred had to get out his Star Wars Lego.





Oh no! Margie wanted her Stormtrooper, back.



Everyone wanted a turn to play with Margie's new Lego.

Birthday Pictures

Margie had a great day. Aunt Anne and Dorothy stopped by, before she went to school.
Baba and Grandpa came over at dinnertime, bearing pizza, pop, and presents.

Margie requested a Scotland Flag (St. Andrew's Cross) cake.





Something really cracked Peter up. Was it Grandpa or George?




Margie requested Peter share the chair with her, and he read
all her birthday cards to her. I don't know if you can see it, but the
pink splotches on Peter's socks are from Fred. He forgot he wasn't
using a sippy cup at dinner. He picked up his cup of pop, quickly, and in
one swift move dumped it all over himself and Peter.
(Peter hates sitting by Fred, hee hee)

Her Special Day

Here she is! She turned six, today. We'll get more pictures up, probably tomorrow.

New Blog Site

We are moving our blog to this blogsite. A few of you will get an email when we post something new. But, most of you will have to bookmark this page, and check it, every so often. I couldn't think of a better photo to start with, than one of our very happy Thomas.