I shared a few days ago about our bee sting and bushel picking orchard experience this weekend. Here are some of the pics of our time. This is Emma crying from her bee sting...before we got green goop. Poor thing!! In retrospect, I wonder if red shirts were such a good idea. Here we are talking and taking a break...while the men pick apples! HA! It was a hazy and warm day. Lots and lots of bees too! Evidently, he didn't like this kind! Notice all the apples on the ground? These trees were "heavy laden" in a big kind of way! I've heard that such harvests indicate a snowy winter. I hope so...cuz brown Indiana winters are horrid! Here's my guys...picking apples! Lubby walked around under his DadE's feet all day...munching the same apple! Very cute!!
Do you see my sweet Princey? Tilt your head...there! His sweet sister has deemed to share some new treasures with him...awww! She informed me that she was a very "sewious" princess. I think she was getting sleepy! AND...she was irritated that she couldn't find her long princess dress. Dear, dear... Here's the face I got when I asked for a BIG smile! Lovely! I just love the little dramatic hand, clasped to the chest! *Sigh!* We are blessed to have great friends...who ask if we want all their awesome play stuffs and games when they "graduate" to bigger kid things. I'm probably a total nerd in this area...but I LOVE "inheriting" things. It's sooooo fun! It's like Christmas early!
We were hemming and hawing about whether to cover the gutters or go to the apple orchards. We decided to do the gutters...but did some errands first. We ran into friends of ours...that we are always trying to schedule get togethers with (not very successfully) and they were going to the apple orchards. Hmmm? Okay, so being the very NOT spontaneous couple we are...we decided to GO! HA!
We raced home and threw things together...and followed them way out to the orchards. Turned out it was their Fall festival...so it was CROWDED!
We hadn't even walked up out of the muddy field/parking lot when Emmy started SCREAMING. She had been stung by one of the innumerable bees...already! The personnel were great...had some awesome green gorp they put on it...and she calmed down! Phew!
We picked a bushel of apples! Lubby boy carried a huge apple around licking and biting it. It was perfect for the little teething man!
We headed home...thinking the day was pretty much shot. But the sun came out and it was gorgeous...and we were blessed and Loverbrains got the lower level gutter covers on too! WOW!
Now, that bushel of apples is staring at me. I have a whole dehydrator full right now...wondering if I can freeze them...and I made an apple cobbler! Yikes! Maybe, I'll make fruit leather!
Peeling, peeling...sticky sticky! And, yeah...I forgot my camera. Our friends took some pictures...so if I get them soon...I'll add them on for ya!
I am happy to be able to say that I was raised in a family where the saying at the dinner table was, "Where He leads me I will follow, What He feeds me I will swallow." This is why, I think, I soooo enjoy foods of all ethnic backgrounds...and yes, the strange and bizarre.
I'm drawn to the Andrew Zimmern's show Bizarre Foods. ( FYI: He just started a new season of Bizarre World...and I'm incredibly disappointed. He doesn't try out so many freaky foods...and instead wastes time talking about mystic religions...barf! I guess I'll watch reruns of Bizarre Foods.)
I am starting to think though...that maybe it's rubbing off on the kids. I want them to try all sorts of food...and to not be picky eaters...something I'm very adverse to...I consider it rude to not at least try something...but.... ...today...my sweet daughter brought me her blue hippo on a plate. I didn't think much of it, at first.
I said, "Oh did you make this for me?"
She said, "Yes, make sure you twy de ears. They's the best part...crunchy and dewishus!"
I was thrilled and excited to see my kiddos pretending to play violins a few weeks back...and now they seem to have moved on to drums...belly drums, that is! Oh no, say it ain't so! One thing I will never willingly purchase is a drum set. And for anyone out there who thinks it might be a funny gift...it wouldn't!!
Hey Dad...do you think they inherited this drum talent from you?? Hehehe! They were watching their morning Olivia...another really cute book based cartoon about a precocious piggy!
A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.
~Author Unknown
I love my father as the stars - he's a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart. ~Adabella Radici
The words that a father speaks to his children in the privacy of home are not heard by the world, but, as in whispering-galleries, they are clearly heard at the end and by posterity. ~Jean Paul Richter
When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years. ~Mark Twain, "Old Times on the Mississippi" Atlantic Monthly, 1874 Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance. ~Ruth E. Renkel
Fatherhood is pretending the present you love most is soap-on-a-rope. ~Bill Cosby
My children love Max & Ruby a show based on the books by Rosemary Wells. They are wonderful stories...and the show is adorable. Lately, they have taken to acting out the shows they remember or love best. There was a "story time" special on the other day...with Little Red Ruby Hood and Max and the Beanstalk. So, we've been acting out Max and the Beanstalk with Ruby Hood. Here is Max with a magic bean...and his big sister Ruby carrying the basket of beans. Okay, so maybe the stories got a little confused...it's Red Riding Hood's basket. Any guesses as to what they chose out of the yard to make into "magic beans?" Give up... ...they're ripped up pieces of the green mini grape hyacinth leaves. They actually look a lot like the "green bean/magic beans" on the show! Amazing!! Max got tired and needed a break in the closet with his juice. He's not liking the steroids/meds...or the fact that MomE has cut his rice milk allowance and forced him to juice/water (25/75)...because the Dr. wants to increase his appetite and help his bowels out. Life is hard...what can I say! Do you like their little house in the woods? She wanted me to be sure to take a picture of it. She's soooo cute! I love hearing them play together. Thankfully, for the most part...they do play well together.
Wanna know what it's like around here? Think scary Halloween...no not like the cute little buggers above. Nope...think da bugs...'de iz rotten!
The sweet man is on breathing steroids again...and it makes him a WILD MAN. Since my little lady is always a WILD woman...the chaos has been...loud lately. MomE is losing hair...or graying...time to chemically alter that again! HAHAHA!
While I was getting dressed this morning they dumped ALL of the legos, blocks, and builder linkos into the bottom of the toy trunk and were pretending to take a bath. Don't laugh...it's not funny! After calmly disciplining yelling and yanking everyone out of the trunk...it occurred to me that they couldn't reach the bottom to help pick them up and were not the greatest sorters. Ugh!
After finishing fixing that mess up...I went upstairs...and found the dynamic duo pulling all the books off the shelf...looking for a specific one. This time I held it together better...and after having them help me reshelve the books and giving a lecture on proper book care we had quite a nice reading time before lunch and NAPTIME....ahhhhhh...n a p t i m e...do you hear the angels singing??? Well, what's wrong with you?...I do!
We used our sticker chart and waited...waited...waited... AND our DadE is home! Yeah *insert loud cheering*!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lubby played with his new monkey while modeling one of MomE's new silk scarves. MomE was thrilled to see yet another airport toy that makes unending screaming loud noises. He was very excited...and was running in circles he was soooo happy! I'm sure you can't tell how DadE's little Chinese princess felt about his return. No jumping for joy in this house! Whooopie!!! Everyone snuggled together until 7:30 this morning.....And MomE went grocery shopping all alone this morning...and it was pure heaven!
For a language lover like myself this is so totally cool. We use different accents to help the kids at Patch Club memorize scripture...not that we are anywhere near this good! Try it...it's fun to say scripture with an English or Southern accent!
Anyone remember our last Chinese trip reunion? Yes, we're on pins and needles today waiting for sweet DadE to land...and come home to us! I'm sure there will be Lubby pushing his sweet sister off DadE's lap, giggling, presents, huggings, stories and loving! I'll keep yas posted. Thanks for praying us through!
I was changing my decor to Fall...and the kids decided to play with my summer daisies. They looked so cute I tried to take some pictures! Awww! For some reason Curious Georgette wanted to hide in the flowers. Maybe the stems were too long...but she kept hiding her face! She's so cute! I wish I could cut the grumpy boy from the background. He's a grouchy teethin' man! He has little teeth pricking through the surface. He didn't have any teeth until he was 13 months old...so he's a little behind, poor tyke! Do you see three flowers? I do!!
Head over to my other blog...BLOGGING ALONG...to hear the beginner violinist!!
There is a great music video for this song...but they'd disabled it...bummer! Here are the words!
I met God's Will on a Halloween night He was dressed as a bag of leaves It hid the braces on his legs at first
His smile was as bright as the August sun When he looked at me As he struggled down the driveway, it almost Made me hurt
Will don't walk too good Will don't talk too good He won't do the things that the other kids do, In our neighborhood
[Chorus:] I've been searchin', wonderin', thinkin' Lost and lookin' all my life I've been wounded, jaded, loved and hated I've wrestled wrong and right He was a boy without a father And his mother's miracle I've been readin', writin', prayin', fightin' I guess I would be still Yeah, that was until I knew God's Will
Will's mom had to work two jobs We'd watch him when she had to work late And we'd all laugh like I hadn't laughed Since I don't know when
Hey Jude was his favorite song At dinner he'd ask to pray And then he'd pray for everybody in the world but him
[Chorus]
Before they moved to California His mother said, they didn't think he'd live And she said each day that I have him, well it's just another gift And I never got to tell her, that the boy Showed me the truth In crayon red, on notebook paper, he'd written Me and God love you
I've been searchin', prayin', wounded, jaded I guess I would be still Yeah that was until... I met God's Will on a Halloween night He was dressed as a bag of leaves
"Oh look, the mooses gots a muffin!" She used to call them poppins...like Mary Poppins. Maybe that's why she used to like that movie so much! Remember my intense analysis of that movie. Oui, it played in my sleep. Lately, it's been Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...and let me tell you that blog is about to be written...just chocked full of inane goodies!
Anyhew, for those interested, Loverbrains did land safely in China around 2 AM Sunday morning our time. We talked to him around 8 AM and he sounded like he sounds when you talk to him in his sleep...sort of zombie like. I'm hoping the Melatonin helps him out and he converts to Nantong time quickly. As usual, he didn't sleep much on the plane...but that might be for the best going that direction. He's promised to eat scorpion for me...but it's not on any of the menus. I saw Andrew Zimmern (star of Bizzare Foods) eat them...and it intrigued me. I figure if I don't get to travel...I do get to live vicariously through my hubby. Poor guy!
The kids are doing okay...most of the time. We have our moments of tears...
It was pouring rain after church so a sweet deacon pulled my van up for me. Caleb thought it was DadE and got all excited...and then cried the whole way home cuz he was disappointed. He also cried when he raced out the nursery last night to find that DadE wasn't in the foyer waiting, per usual. Emma is very consoling...she's waiting for her presents. She only wears her Chinese t-shirts to bed...and this morning she said to her brother, "Deez are pandas...theys in China wiff DadE....he's bringing you presents and mes presents." Ha ha!
Only 7 more days to go...I think...this time change stuff has me sort of confused.
Today was a looooonnngg Saturday! We had a nice day...but we missed DadE...he's flying to China. MomE made a sticker chart to help us count the days until he's home again. Curious Georgette keeps talking about what he's going to bring her...but it hasn't really sunk in yet...that this is a long trip! He's still in the air...so I'm still in prayer...every time I think of him...which is often...now that the kids are in bed...and it's super quiet! I promised to keep the blogs updated with pics and clips...so he can still see us! So, yes...this is not normal for me to blog on weekends.
I'm one of the queens of invented, zany words and songs. So, I was thrilled when I saw Missy's Friday Fave for today. I sang all sorts of songs...even one about nursing to a Beatles' tune...er, for another day. Hey, don't give me that look...I was on strong drugs after my C-section, okay!! I sang a lot of funny worded MomE songs. My Mom and I joke that we know a song for just about everything...which is sort of freaky...and not necessarily always appropriate...snort, hehehe! I decided to really embarrass myself with, what I think is my first vlog! Ooooo! Yes, this is my crazy MomE self...singing to my little butterball Wells'...ahhhh! It has a rather military march sound to it...don'tcha think?
Oh, sweet amigos...I was looking through old pre-blog videos...and found these two funnies. I just love how round and babyish both my challupas were in these clips! Hope you enjoy this Taco blast...no, I don't remember why we were making "water tacos" or why I was talking about it with the baby too!
This cracked me up...I'm so there! Curious Georgette has said similar things lately...especially when she's told to wait. My answer is usually, "Hmmm? Well, you don't have to like me...but you do have to OBEY me!" Funtimes ya'll...funtimes!
I shared a few days ago about our bee sting and bushel picking orchard experience this weekend. Here are some of the pics of our time. This is Emma crying from her bee sting...before we got green goop. Poor thing!! In retrospect, I wonder if red shirts were such a good idea.
Here we are talking and taking a break...while the men pick apples! HA! It was a hazy and warm day. Lots and lots of bees too!
Evidently, he didn't like this kind! Notice all the apples on the ground? These trees were "heavy laden" in a big kind of way! I've heard that such harvests indicate a snowy winter. I hope so...cuz brown Indiana winters are horrid!
Here's my guys...picking apples! Lubby walked around under his DadE's feet all day...munching the same apple! Very cute!!
