Happy Birthday Auntie!

My sister Lisa's birthday was yesterday, but it wasn't a good bloggy day, so I'm a day late. We had dinner at our house to celebrate. Lisa's favorite--spaghetti with corn, salad and bread (homemade by Brent). And a chocolate cake, of course. The kids were so excited about Auntie's birthday and spent the day preparing and drawing her pictures. Auntie (which is the name she chose for herself before Hunter was even born) is such a special part of our lives. As Hunter would say--she is beautiful on the outside AND on the inside.

Let's see. Do I remember when Lisa was born? I remember some things. I was 8 years old when Lisa was born, and Laura was 4. I remember that I got to go to a friend's house when my parents went to the hospital and Laura went to my grandma's. I remember that Laura was NONE TOO PLEASED about the recent development in our lives and that there were various and sundry incidents as a result of this. I remember that Lisa was such a BEAUTIFUL baby. She was always smiling. She could hear someone getting a camera out a mile away and she would start posing. Because of course, all pictures were of her :). I remember that she was a girly girl. From the very earliest days, all she wanted in life was some yips (lipstick) and to have her fingernails painted. Awe. Is it any wonder she is hairstylist now? (A really amazing one too!). It's really interesting to me to have known someone since they were a baby and see how they've changed and how they stay the same. Lisa has always been so sweet natured and easy-going (for the most part :)) And she still is. She is a kind and generous person. She LOVES her niece and her 4 nephews and is really good to/with them. Also, she still wakes up GRUMPY and DISORIENTED--just like when she was a baby! Awe. "Isn't she cute?" "Good Morning Sweet Thang!" We used to say stuff like that to her when she first woke up to tick her off.

Lisa is a wonderful blessing to our family and we are so THANKFUL for her! We love you Lisa. Happy Birthday.



Auntie and the kids at her birthday dinner.

You would have laughed if you could have been a fly on the wall as we tried to agree on a picture to commemorate Lisa's birthday dinner. Laura was not smiling/looking away in these pictures, Lisa was giving the "crazy eye" in that picture, and I had a spare tire in all the pictures but that's ok--I just cropped it out! Thank goodness for digital cameras and photo shop. I think this one turned out pretty nice. I love you girls!

It's A Pre-K Thanksgiving

Both Caleb and Carter's Pre-K classes had Thanksgiving Feasts today. The kids dressed up as Indians (complete with Indian names) and sang Thanksgiving songs. There was lots of food. The boys were so happy and proud that Parker and I were there to watch and eat with them. Yes, I ate two feasts--one for each kid. Funny quote from Caleb when I complimented him on his Indian duds: "This is NOT an Indian outfit, it's a PERSON outfit". Um, Sweetie--Indians are people too.

"Black Raven":




"Caleb Caleb-Monster":

Fall Has Flung

Outrageous Oranges

Radiant Reds

Yowza Yellows (I'm stretching, I know)

Our Street

Fall is undoubtedly, absolutely, by far, my favorite time of the year. I've been meaning to post these pictures for a week now. The colors didn't seem as brilliant this year as they have in years past a couple of weeks ago. But now. WOW. I am filled with awe during the fall for some reason, even more so than at Christmas. Recently, I heard someone wondering at the vividness of God's color palate, and wondering if there could be even more colors (or more vivid colors) than we experience now, that we will experience in Heaven. That would be amazing.

Certainly, none of this has to do with the fact that I never really experienced the beauty of Fall until I was in college. Florida is lush and green year round (which has its own benefits) and Lookout Mountain (where I went to college) is AMAZING during the fall. Maybe this is the reason I appreciate fall so much. Now, 'round about January, I'll be singing a different tune (or posting a different blog, as the case may be)--once all the leaves have been gone for a couple of months and I'm fighting the urge to throw myself off a building (nothing a nice trip to Florida won't cure). So for now, I relish the amazing orange, red and yellow hues of Fall. I've decided that the next time we buy a tree to plant, we must buy it for its fall foliage. I want one that is BRIGHT RED. Like the ones by my Chrevron Station. I would have posted a picture of them, but it just wouldn't have done them justice (with the gas station in the background and whatnot). Plus, the Chevron people would have thought I was STINKIN' CRAZY! I'm pretty sure my neighbors already think of me as "That crazy girl from Florida who takes pictures of her trees EVERY YEAR". Actually, I take pictures of their trees too, because mine are only yellow--until next year.

Jack-O-Lanterns & Trick-or-Treats

We carved our pumpkins the night before Halloween. Carter and Hunter didn't want to carve the little ones they picked out at the punky patch.

Spiderman, Sir Carter of the Round Table and Princess Cinderella pause for a snapshot before a glorious night of trick-or-treating with friends. There were funny things to see, scary things to see, more than one or two other Spidermen and Cinderellas (didn't see any other knights, and actually, Carter's costume lasted all of 5 minutes and then I carried it around for the rest of the night. When people said "What are you supposed to be", he shrugged his shoulders and I had to explain) and oh yeah, um...lots of candy. Three giant bags full. Enough to get us through New Years. Staying true to the tradition set by my father years ago on Halloween night--we promptly dumped all three bags in the middles of the table, took all the chocolate out and put the rest in one big bowl to be kept on top of the refrigerator. The only difference is that as I recall it, my father gobbled up all the chocolate as he went through it, right before our devastated eyes, as opposed to putting it in a ziploc bag and hiding it (which is what we did). Which is worse? I'm not sure. I think he at least made up a story about how he was checking it for poison and razor blades. My story is: you can't have chocolate but once a week at my house. (This is a kids only rule of course). I was actually impressed that they received a lot of special treats such as pencils, stickers, bags of popcorn, crackers, fruit snacks and other types of snacks instead of candy. I think that's a good idea. Who in the world needs 20 lbs worth of candy??? The kids are allowed to pick out one piece each night after dinner. If they ask me any other time, I've told them I'll throw it in the garbage by the handfull. I know, I'm mean.