Falling…

The snow fell all day. 

Falling.

F   a   l   l   i   n   g.

F

     a

          l

             l

          i

     n

g.

It caused us to stop.  To linger among the flurries of lacey ice.

To enjoy.

To just be.   

And so, we were.

And we are.

And we will be. 

And then we’ll drink cocoa. 

Snow.  Is.  Good.

Smitten.

Smitten.  I am smitten with this girl. 

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Let Christmas Begin.

On a crisp, sunny morning, we set out. 

When we arrived, I tried to take a picture of the kids.  My efforts were fruitless.  The children, in all their eagerness, could not be bothered with my attempts at creating memories.   

So, bundled warmly, we began our search.  It lasted nearly 30 seconds.

Seriously. 

It seemed as if a light shone down from above and the angels sang and we had found the perfect tree.  Our Christmas tree. 

I tried to take a picture.  My efforts were fruitless.  The Man, in all his eagerness, began sawing, and could not be bothered with my attempts at creating memories. 

I tried to capture him in action underneath the tree, sawing away.  My efforts were fruitless.  Too many branches down there.

And then we hauled our beautiful tree up to the barn to be wrapped.  Hot apple cider warmed our bellies and our souls were filled with the joy and anticipation that only comes this time of year, as we await the birth of our savior. 

I am ready for Christmas to begin.

Fall Ball

You should see him out there.  He is something else, let me tell you.  And check out the face he makes when he runs…but only when he runs fast.  I never noticed it until I looked at the pictures. 

Boy do I love this kid. 

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Tickled

Kate, after her first day of school.  Just tickled to be back. 

And yes, I realize I’m 15 days late here.  Whatever.

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Cute as a Button

I love you baby girl.  Even though you give me the dark circles.  And you pierce my eardrums with your screeching.  Still, I really, really love you.

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The Outfield

The outfield doesn’t see a whole lotta action in kickball…

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All Boy

William.

I love this boy.  I love that he is all boy.   I love that he drinks from a hose.  Even though that is gross. 

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Sunshine, Sandcastles, Ice Cream, Laughter

It was a ten hour drive to the beach.   A Ten.Hour.Drive. 

That was sucky. 

And as we entered the Outer Banks, mother nature blessed us with a downpour.  Wind.  Torrential rains.  

So to recap:  trapped in car for ten hours;  rain. 

Then we arrived at the house.  We let the kids run around for an hour and then tucked them snuggly in their beds.  Luckily, we brought the pack-n-play for Ella, because the crib that was supplied was not assembled.  Isn’t that useful?  So I layed Ella in the pack-n-play, and closed the door.  Fifteen seconds later I could hear her screaming at the door.  Because she just climbed right on out of that pack-n-play.  The pack-n-play was also, clearly, very useful.   

So she slept in the bed with me that night.  And to be honest, I’m rather thankful for that crib being disassembled that night.  Sleeping with that little redheaded cherub by my side was not really restful.  But lying there watching her sleep and feeling her curled up next to me was nothing short of wonderful.   

I awoke to the sound of that little girl, two inches from my face, saying “Mommy.  Hi.”  She makes my heart come all undone…      

Then The Man put the crib together. 

And it rained some more.  And was cloudy.

But on the third day, the clouds parted and the sun fell on our faces and warmed the sand.  We did very little but play all day.  And eat ice cream.  All week. 

(Look at his round belly…he’s just all sorts of cute…)

This week was sun-bleached hair, freckles, pink shoulders and pink cheeks. 

And sandy little feet.     

And building sandcastles. (Which William takes very.very.seriously.  Don’t mess with his castles). 

We collected shells.  We chased sandpipers.

 

We played in the surf.

 

We laughed. 

(There may have been a couple tiny little tantrums.  Or something.  But whatever.)

Four little children, drawn to the swirls of foamy surf.  Squealing with delight and fear and anticipation of the sea, crashing on their little feet.    

This past week at the shore reminded me what childhood should consist of…sunshine, sandcastles, ice cream, laughter.  

It was lovely.

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A Catchy Title is Eluding Me.

I’m back!  Did you miss me?! 

Don’t all shout at once now. 

Anyone?  Anyone out there miss me?

Alrighty then.

So I’m knee deep in laundry today.  And I’m feeling very ambitious so I’m making braised chicken with summer tomatoes served on a bed of mashed potatoes for supper.  Yes, it IS good. 

Also, I’m freaking out because there is less than one month until school starts.  I feel unprepared.  Disorganized.  Still need a few school supplies for my baby boy going to kindergarten (cry).  And clothes.  I think all of the kids need a good lot of clothes. 

And we’re leaving for another week’s vacation in 12 days.  TWELVE!!!  Yikes. 

Oh, before I forget I must mention Mr. Pink.  Mr. Pink mowed our lawn for us while we were gone.  We drove up to a freshly cut lawn.  It still had the mowing lines and everything.  That was a really nice thing to do Mr. Pink.  Now you see?  He isn’t all bad. 

Also, I must mention my thanks to Mrs. Pink’s father, who was also very kind while we were gone.  We had asked them to water our potted plants while we were gone.  Then we proceeded (like idiots) to turn our water off so that the pipes didn’t burst while we were gone and flood the house.  So Mrs. Pink’s dad came on over to water those plants, but strangely, couldn’t get any water to come out of the hose.  Mm-hmm.  So do you know what he did?  He hauled watering cans over to water them.  Wow.  Mrs. Pink, you must thank him for us.  And also aplogize for our idiocy.

So basically, I have not pulled my thoughts together about the beach.  Because I know the rest of the world has been waiting, breathlessly, to see how my vacation was.  I can tell you it was lovely.  And I’ll leave you with this, which just may be my favorite picture from the week…

Is that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen or what?