Happy Veteran's Day-the story with 2 punchlines

Dinner conversation tonight:

Ainsley: So tomorrow is Veteran's Day. That is why there is no school.

Hudson: What is Veteran's Day?

(conversation explaining Veteran's Day)

Ainsley: Do we know any Veterans?

Daddy: Yes, Grandad was in the Navy and Grandpa was in the Army.

Mommy: And you remember Uncle Larry right? He spent his whole career in the Navy. (now he is onto career #2 as a WA State Rep.) For part of the time he was the Captain on a battleship called the USS Iowa. It is a big deal.

Hudson: Is that ship a big one?

Mommy: Yes, I got to go on it while he was captain. It was so cool.

Hudson: Too bad he's not a girl so I could marry him.

Mommy: (laughing) Because it is so cool that he was on a big ship?

Hudson: Yeah, 'cause then I could be a pirate.

Edited to add: My Aunt Lois told me that my Uncle Byron is also a vet- somehow I missed that in the family history. He was in Vietnam for a tour. That means all three of the boys in my dad's family were in the service. I've thought today about what it would be like when my boys are older and if they will consider the military. When I told Hudson about Uncle Byron he wanted to know if he still had a gun. If Hudson could enlist today he would.

A fun party- catching up

So I have been behind it getting pictures off my camera. So behind, in fact, that these pictures are from September. They were too fun to not post just because they weren't current.

You would think the best part of this party was the pool- it was so fun, the edge looks like it drops off and it has an amazing view.

The rock wall slide was also a fun addition.

But the best thing (especially for Hudson) was that they have one of the two original bat mobiles from the TV show. Hudson was so amazed.

They also have this touring bus that is from Yellowstone Park- evidently it was from before it was a National Park because it only says Yellowstone Park on the side. Cool stuff.

When we left Hudson said, "I want to come back to this place and have my birthday party here." I'm afraid they don't rent out their house sweetheart.

Soccer 2008

Today is Ainsley's last soccer game. This ends our first season of more than one child in an activity at a time. It was fun, but did make for busy Saturdays. We are pretty happy to get our weekends back.
TThis was Hudson's first year playing soccer and Ainsley's third. It was amazing to see the difference in how Ainsley has progressed and so fun to watch four -year-olds try to play soccer. After Hudson's first game he was on cloud nine because he had scored three goals. On the way home he wanted to call everyone he could think of to tell them about it. When we ran out of people he said, "Remember that Great-Grandma who is in Heaven now?" Yes. "Do we have her number?"
As much fun as they had playing, I still think their favorite part is the snacks at the end!

We've had better weeks...

One of my favorite worship songs right now is Blessed Be Your Name. I've thought about it quite a bit this week. It is sometimes much easier to sing Blessed be Your name when "the streams of abundance flow" and were in the "land that is plentiful." This week I got to focus on still singing it even when it seems more like "the road marked with suffering" and "the darkness closes in." All the little things we dealt with this week are hardly suffering when compared with what many people are dealing with. Still, they are not fun. What is good is having the opportunity to trust God regardless of what is going on, and bless His name whatever comes our way.

And now I'll go ahead and use the Internet to complain to about our week. 1. The renter that is in our Gresham house (we didn't sell it when we moved, we thought it was the bottom of the market at that time *HAHA* and so we would keep it a year or so and sell when the market recovered a bit) lost his job so they are having trouble paying rent. (he is a sheet rocker/mud worker- not the best time for construction work)
2. My refrigerator quit working- still under warranty fortunately- but the company can't find one of their service people to come and fix it so we are now on day 6 without it.
3. Two days after finding out our house renters deal, the renter we have in the condo (before Ainsley was born we decided a great college plan would be to buy a rental for each child...good plan... but we've never made it past the one... how far will one condo rental go with three kids tuition?) called and told us he was in financial trouble and couldn't pay rent and would move out in the next week or two. Great. The good thing is he has lived there for 6 years. The bad thing is he is a single guy that is not what you would call a great housekeeper. So it's going to take a bit to have it ready to rent again. Hopefully we can find someone soon.
4. Last night for some reason I lost my voice. (I'm not sick really) Good times parenting without a voice. Just a little thing that makes for a long day.
Anyway- thanks for letting me vent Internet.
I'll just keep singing (in my head, without a voice) Every blessing you pour out I'll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say, Blessed be the Name of the Lord, Blessed be your glorious name.

A mother's dream

Hudson from the backseat of the car:

(why do my kids think about what they are going to be when they grow up when we are driving somewhere?)

"When I grow up I'm going to be a football player, and be in a band, and play the drums with the band, and play basketball, (pause) and be a pirate."

In junior high when he says "why do I have to learn algebra, I'm never going to use it?" what am I going to say when his career plans are to be a pirate athlete that plays the drums?

And some you lose.

My guy lost, way back in the primaries. McCain...never my guy. Palin... my girl lost. Four years ago it was way more fun when my guy won, and Lydia was born!

But the thing is, I am glad that in the country I live a black man can be elected president. My vote would have probably gone for him if it wasn't for the fact he promised Planned Parenthood the first thing he will do in office is sign FOCA. And if it wasn't for Supreme Court nominations. Oh, and I don't really agree with his health care plan, or his economic plan, or his foreign policy... But if the most liberal democratic senator had to win, I'm glad it was him.

He is the president of the country that I live in and love. So I will now spend the next four years praying for him and his advisers. And I will focus on the fact that although this is a great country and I am blessed to live here, It is not my true home.

P.S. (do you do "p.s." in blogs?) As Eric said last night (we watched election returns, and the Saturday Night Live special taped from the night before with them while eating fondue. The fondue was by far the best part.) maybe the Republicans will spend the next 2 to 4 years finding their soul. Let's hope so.

So Lame

So evidently we've been too busy (or lazy) doing things to actually post anything about what we've been doing. But this afternoon I have to dump all the pictures off my camera so I have room for Halloween pictures. Consequently I might actually post some of the fun things we have done... soccer, apple orchard, pumpkin patch (2 times as a family) plus another pumpkin patch field trip, and I don't even know what else is lurking on there.

Two things to hold you over until (or if) I post the above (plus tonight's Halloween stuff):

1. A story- I'm always talking about my silly kids. Today it is a story about me. Ainsley came in our room last night at 3:20 unhappily almost yelling, "It is 3 stinkin' 20 and the baby is screaming, can't you do something about that?" (who taught her to put the word "stinkin' " in the middle of sentences anyway??? Thank goodness we send her to public school so we can blame them for that sort of thing :) ) As I was stumbling into his room this is the thought process that was going on in my head, "three twenty. What time does that mean it is? If it is 3:20 what time is it? (as if I was in some other time zone and trying to calculate the "real" time.) 3:20. (Now holding the baby) walk back out to the family room and stare at the clock. Three twenty, so it that too early to get up and just be up, or do I need to try and get him to go back to bed? Oh my gosh.(the fog is starting to clear).. it is only 3:20! Camden, it is only three stinking twenty, you have to go back to sleep!"

2. And a Halloween/political cartoon. Sorry to my democratic friends/relatives. I get to post this today, but don't worry, sadly you are going to get to gloat big time on Tuesday. :)

The Object of Worship

I couldn't help but giggle tonight as I was putting Camden to bed. He goes EVERYWHERE with a ball.He goes to bed EVERY night with a ball. ALL he plays with are balls. If he doesn't have a ball, he will throw something else. Whenever he sees anything that is a circle he says it is a ball. He is even fascinated by the little tiny ball that is on the side of his carseat, you know the one that has to be in the green part not the red part to show the seat is in properly? It drives him crazy that he can't get that ball.
So as he is laying down and I am rubbing his back and singing to him (a new routine...Heather I'm not just dropping and running out the door anymore!) I was singing Jesus Loves Me and Camden started to join in. But he didn't know any words, he just sang ball, ball, ball, ball, over and over for the whole song with me. Right now he is definitely breaking "Thou shall have no other gods before you." Balls are holy to Camden.

Turns out he's a Locavore

Hudson: Mom, I know how they get milk in the grocery store!

Me: You do?

Hudson: Yeah, they have cows in the back and so they just milk them and then put it right in the jugs for us to buy.

Me: Uhhhh... no, the cows are on the farm, remember when we saw (smelled) them near the cheese factory in Tillamook?

Hudson: Yeah.

Me: So they have the cows there, they milk them and then send it in trucks to the stores.

Hudson: Oh, that is too bad. It would be easier if they were just in the back of the store.

My children keep finding ways to make me hyperventelate

Ainsley walked in the door from school about an hour ago and announced, "I learned the way to make babies!"

Me- speechless.

She continued, "Mr. Coburn didn't teach us though, Marissa did."

Me- Wh..What?

"See mom," (holding up her sweatshirt folded tightly into a little ball) "If you tuck the hood in and fold the arms over then roll it up you can turn it into a little baby." (which she then cuddles)

Thanks so much for that, I had SIX little boys at my house for a few hours today(my own 2 plus four more-no other parents though) so I just didn't have anything to really get my heart pumping yet.