One fine Sunday in February, our family tuned in to watch Chevrolets, Dodges, Fords, and Toyotas speed around a paved track in Florida. And we've been hooked ever since.
At five minutes to race time, we turn on the TV. Together we stand while we listen to the Invocation by a local pastor, salute the flag as a country star sings our National Anthem (correctly!) and get goose bumps while military jets roar overhead.
and then those famous words, "Gentlemen, Start. Your. Engines." followed soon after by DW's "Boogity, Boogity, Boogity. Let's Go Racin' Boys!"
Sometime in the middle of the race, I make popcorn. And toward the end of the race, I make dinner.
Even though they drive Chevy's, we root for Jeff Gordon, number 24, and Junior in the 88 car and number 48, Jimmie Johnson. (James loves the M&M Car - Kyle Busch #18).) We gasp at crashes and feel for the drivers they take out.
And we yell at the screen on the final five laps as every driver in the top ten has a chance to finish on top.
Yesterday, we witnessed true sportsmanship. Junior has not won in more than a hundred races. But he decided that pulling one for the team was more important that winning for himself. So he put his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, in front, and pushed him across that finish line just .002 seconds ahead of the #2 spot, taking 4th place finish instead.
I never would have expected it, but we've had a lot of fun these past few weeks, watching stock cars zip around an oval!
Apr 18, 2011
According to James
On Saturday, we celebrated Grammy P's birthday at a special restaurant about an hour from home.
According to James, on our way, we "went across the McToemick River on a HUGE bridge and saw TONS of planes."
According to James, on our way, we "went across the McToemick River on a HUGE bridge and saw TONS of planes."
Mar 16, 2011
From James
While I took Madelene Kate upstairs to change her diaper this morning, James typed an e-mail to his Daddy all by himself:
Daddy i Love you THANK you for the picshrs you
sent for me Grammy is comeing doun Love James
Daddy i Love you THANK you for the picshrs you
sent for me Grammy is comeing doun Love James
Mar 12, 2011
Old Fashioned
In the middle of his bath, while belting out all the words to "Great is Thy Faithfulness" (with 98% accuracy), James stopped and announced, "This is an old-fashioned kind of song."
Feb 23, 2011
12 & 15 month growth info
I don't kid myself into believing that people actually look at my blog. But I don't have anywhere else to keep the stats on my growing children. So I'm posting Madelene Kate's one year and 15-month stats just so I have a record of them somewhere!
12-months (Nov 19, 1010)
Height - 29 1/2 inches
Weight - 20 lbs 13 oz
Head - 46 cm
15-months (Feb 18, 2011)
Height - 30 inches (45th percentile)
Weight - 21 lbs, 5 oz (25th percentile)
Head - 46 1/2 cm (75th percentile)
There is so much to say about everything, including what a precious little girl we have. But alas... there just isn't time right now to post more. Some day, maybe I'll get to put up details & pictures of what each of our children are up to. But this post is the product of trying to rid myself of another piece of paper. Done!
12-months (Nov 19, 1010)
Height - 29 1/2 inches
Weight - 20 lbs 13 oz
Head - 46 cm
15-months (Feb 18, 2011)
Height - 30 inches (45th percentile)
Weight - 21 lbs, 5 oz (25th percentile)
Head - 46 1/2 cm (75th percentile)
There is so much to say about everything, including what a precious little girl we have. But alas... there just isn't time right now to post more. Some day, maybe I'll get to put up details & pictures of what each of our children are up to. But this post is the product of trying to rid myself of another piece of paper. Done!
Dec 30, 2010
Stinker & Sweetie
The other day, Ben plugged in a carbon monoxide and natural gas detector in the hallway upstairs. The next evening while James & Ben were upstairs, I heard it going off. I thought maybe James had pushed a button.
Nope.
He tooted by it.
*****************************
Yesterday I signed "I Love You" with my right hand while saying it to Madelene Kate at the same time. A moment later, she lifted her right hand to her lips and blew me kisses.
*****************************
I just love being a mommy to these precious little people!
Nope.
He tooted by it.
*****************************
Yesterday I signed "I Love You" with my right hand while saying it to Madelene Kate at the same time. A moment later, she lifted her right hand to her lips and blew me kisses.
*****************************
I just love being a mommy to these precious little people!
Dec 18, 2010
A little window
I wrote my aunt an e-mail today, giving her a peek into our world... and it seemed like the ideal blog post. So without further ado, here is a brief update on us.
We are well. Still not in our own home yet. Ben's mom has been incredibly kind to host us for so long. Ben has been working tirelessly at our new home. But he has continued to have problems breathing there. We have done everything we can think of to eliminate potential issues, but the ultimate cause has proved elusive. One friend suggested that we fill our home with living plants which have the ability to clean the air. Ben also just purchased an air purifier/ozonater - I think it will clean and add oxygen to the air (if I understand correctly).
With everything still rather upside down, Ben feels like Christmas cards are too much for this year. Hopefully we'll be able to send out something after we get into our house and settled. I had also wanted to do a picture gift again, but with our pictures spread between two computers and one of the computers at the new house, that is proving difficult, too!
I know the pictures paint a thousand words, but here is a little update on our "diddles"...
Madelene Kate took off walking the week after we returned from Massanutten (Dec 2). She loves to toddle around, carrying things - toys, papers, spoons. And interestingly, she only goes to the stairs when she is ready for a nap. She will walk around the main level for the longest time, not interested in the stairs, and then all at once she'll start climbing them. Every time when I follow her up and change her diaper, she lies back in my arms. So I put her in bed with her pacifier and stuffed dog and off she goes to dreamland! She still loves to put things in her mouth, although that seems to be diminishing a bit. I am very glad, for from between her clenched jaw, I have swept a spider and a stinkbug along with a variety of paper scraps and other small objects - mmmmhhh tasty! She is a fabulous eater, enjoying everything savory and not turning down sweets either. She doesn't care for anything bland. Last night she devoured dill salmon cakes with a side of mixed vegetables (smothered in farm-fresh butter and sea salt). And her favorite thing from Thanksgiving dinner was a tart cranberry sauce I'd made from scratch. She began feeding herself with a spoon last week, quite competent right from the start. Ben's mom & sister think it's early for her to be so skilled at that. She isn't talking yet, but she does say something ("es?") that sounds quite like, "This" - and she says it as if she's asking, "what's this?" or "may I have this?" And she has something that sounds like it might be a bark when she sees our neighbor, Jean, who has two dogs (Bonnie & Chloe) or if someone mentions the dogs' names.
James is a precious boy abounding with affection and not limited in energy. He is a very quick learner and doesn't prefer to learn the hard way. If someone tells him something is dangerous or could hurt him, he believes them and either alters course or avoids things altogether. What a wonderful gift in a 4 yr old! He loves to play outside, especially when it snows, which it has done twice in the past week. He is very thoughtful and kind to his baby sister (but doesn't hesitate to let me know quite loudly when she's about to "rip" something he's built). He will spend hours quietly coloring/drawing/cutting & pasting all on his own. He also enjoys playing with Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys, creating any number of structures. He is reading now on a first-grade level, recognizing words like "mountain" and reading words aloud when I type. He can look at a list of three words and pick out the right one to complete a sentence without sounding out each one. He has very nice handwriting. And he's loving the concept of adding (who wouldn't like the thought of having two cookies and getting one more to make three?!). Yesterday I used a line of cars to introduce the concept of subtracting when one would turn off the road we were traveling. He thought that was pretty great, too!
That's the fun in our little world! What a treat to live each day with eyes newly awakened with the wonders of discovery.
We are well. Still not in our own home yet. Ben's mom has been incredibly kind to host us for so long. Ben has been working tirelessly at our new home. But he has continued to have problems breathing there. We have done everything we can think of to eliminate potential issues, but the ultimate cause has proved elusive. One friend suggested that we fill our home with living plants which have the ability to clean the air. Ben also just purchased an air purifier/ozonater - I think it will clean and add oxygen to the air (if I understand correctly).
With everything still rather upside down, Ben feels like Christmas cards are too much for this year. Hopefully we'll be able to send out something after we get into our house and settled. I had also wanted to do a picture gift again, but with our pictures spread between two computers and one of the computers at the new house, that is proving difficult, too!
I know the pictures paint a thousand words, but here is a little update on our "diddles"...
Madelene Kate took off walking the week after we returned from Massanutten (Dec 2). She loves to toddle around, carrying things - toys, papers, spoons. And interestingly, she only goes to the stairs when she is ready for a nap. She will walk around the main level for the longest time, not interested in the stairs, and then all at once she'll start climbing them. Every time when I follow her up and change her diaper, she lies back in my arms. So I put her in bed with her pacifier and stuffed dog and off she goes to dreamland! She still loves to put things in her mouth, although that seems to be diminishing a bit. I am very glad, for from between her clenched jaw, I have swept a spider and a stinkbug along with a variety of paper scraps and other small objects - mmmmhhh tasty! She is a fabulous eater, enjoying everything savory and not turning down sweets either. She doesn't care for anything bland. Last night she devoured dill salmon cakes with a side of mixed vegetables (smothered in farm-fresh butter and sea salt). And her favorite thing from Thanksgiving dinner was a tart cranberry sauce I'd made from scratch. She began feeding herself with a spoon last week, quite competent right from the start. Ben's mom & sister think it's early for her to be so skilled at that. She isn't talking yet, but she does say something ("es?") that sounds quite like, "This" - and she says it as if she's asking, "what's this?" or "may I have this?" And she has something that sounds like it might be a bark when she sees our neighbor, Jean, who has two dogs (Bonnie & Chloe) or if someone mentions the dogs' names.
James is a precious boy abounding with affection and not limited in energy. He is a very quick learner and doesn't prefer to learn the hard way. If someone tells him something is dangerous or could hurt him, he believes them and either alters course or avoids things altogether. What a wonderful gift in a 4 yr old! He loves to play outside, especially when it snows, which it has done twice in the past week. He is very thoughtful and kind to his baby sister (but doesn't hesitate to let me know quite loudly when she's about to "rip" something he's built). He will spend hours quietly coloring/drawing/cutting & pasting all on his own. He also enjoys playing with Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys, creating any number of structures. He is reading now on a first-grade level, recognizing words like "mountain" and reading words aloud when I type. He can look at a list of three words and pick out the right one to complete a sentence without sounding out each one. He has very nice handwriting. And he's loving the concept of adding (who wouldn't like the thought of having two cookies and getting one more to make three?!). Yesterday I used a line of cars to introduce the concept of subtracting when one would turn off the road we were traveling. He thought that was pretty great, too!
That's the fun in our little world! What a treat to live each day with eyes newly awakened with the wonders of discovery.
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