Dirt Pies and Fun

I never know what the boys are going to get into when I let them out of the cage-oops-I mean, let them outside. haha.

Yesterday it was very windy and some old flower pots got blown over leaving potting soil all over the back porch. Of course, what else is there to do with dirt besides....

Check out Anteneh...Have you ever seen such boney legs on a kid!? I love it!

I have been such a slacker blogger...here are some pictures from Grace's 7th Birthday Party, too...

A few things I love about my kids

...how Anteneh says, "I'm boring" instead of "I'm bored", "glubs" instead of "gloves", "famot" instead of "favorite", and "beetabutta" instead of "peanut butter". He doesn't care if it's right-as long as it's close

...how my boys are so close that Luke has picked up Anteneh's accent

...how everywhere Anteneh goes he makes at least one new friend-everywhere-even if he's there for 10 minutes

...how when he's known someone for 10 minutes, he already has begun calling them, "my friend"

...how Grace can't fall asleep without her kitty licking her face

...how all of my kids love Ethiopian food

...the way they are all REALLY nice to eachother when they are excited about something we are doing as a family-like on the way to a camping trip or the movie theatre

...the way Grace sits and reads books to the boys-whichever books they want-even Spiderman

...that they make the most of their craft room and produce more creations than I know what to do with

...how Luke sometimes cleans the bathroom sink and counter to surprise me

...how Grace wakes up and gets the boys cereal on weekends, letting us sleep an extra 20 minutes

...that they can entertain themselves with dirt and some stones and sticks

...how when I picked up Anteneh from class, his teacher said, "he's all boy-the rest of the kids played on the swingset this afternoon-he went straight for the dirt pile"

... how I find things like an old parmesan cheese container filled with decomposing leaves and earthworms in Grace's dresser drawer-because she loves nature

...how I can see my hard work paying off when my kids are really well behaved when they are in public (most of the time)

...that all my kids can wipe themselves now!

...and get their own drinks at dinnertime and carry their own plates to the sink afterwards

...how Grace likes to have someone sit in the bathroom during her shower-just to talk...like mother like daughter

...how all my kids think George Washington is awesome

...ok...Luke is crying cause Anteneh pushed him down...gotta be done with this post and deal with the fight...you know, life isn't "blog perfect" all the time (you know, how blogs make people sound like they've always got their junk together and their families are perfect?)...Haha

25 Random Things I found

Okay, Brooke and Grace are out of town and I have LOTS of much more important things to be doing right now, but the boys are in the tub (don't worry, I can see them) and I felt I had to write. Since Brooke and Grace left Monday night, I've been trying to work from the home...yeah, right...and finish up important tax stuff that's due by Friday! A major winter storm hit and we basically had to camp out near our fireplace before surrendering and finally heading to my parents to stay last night with my brother, his wife, and their four kids, my sister, her husband and their three kids, my mom and dad, her sister and her son. Needless to say, we didn't get a lot of sleep last night or the night before when the power went out. So, I was trying to get the house at least kind of cleaned up and do some laundry when I found this cup of random stuff that I can only suppose is filled with things that Brooke has pulled from pockets before throwing the dirty items in the washing machine. Here are some random things I found:
1. a paintbrush
2. a bouncy ball
3. an unused pencil
4. a pen
5. a caribiner
6. two felt things that are either for shoulder pads or something else round
7. a "six simple steps to transforming your home" card
8. a superman cape
9. a stormtrooper
10. a half-used tube of body lotion
11. a spider-man watch
12. several hair bands
13. a hotwheels car
14. some chapstick
15. a pair of earplugs
16. a suction cup
17. a ring
18. a piece of a puzzle
19. a rock
20. a chucky cheese token
21. a malted milk ball
22. some beads
23. a light saber
24. 64 cents

Okay, stand by for a video

Another blog game

OK. my sister, Megan, tagged me in another blog game...but that's OK b/c I don't have anything else to blog about today:)

So, in keeping with rules of the game, I'm supposed to post the 6th picture from my 6th picture folder:

That is Luke, my 4 year old, with his kitty, Cookie, in his blankie...that cat puts up with a lot but the kids are generally pretty good with him. They love animals!

I'm going to be honest here...that was not accurate b/c that was my 5th folder...I don't have a 6th folder b/c i just moved the old pictures off my computer...so, here is the 6th picture out of the 6th folder in my "fall 08" section..the only section with 6 folders...are you confused yet? This picture is of the 5 of us at the wedding of one of my old "young life girls", Claire. Taken by our GOOD friend, Emily Bacon. We almost used it for our Christmas card this year (even though it's not my fav of me-I look half naked cause Luke's covering my dress and I'm glowing white-especially next to Anteneh and my husband who had just arrived back in the US from a Caribbean island-do I sound incredibly vain or what?) A few things about this picture: the dress I had on was $6 on clearance in 1998. I bought it for a sorority dance-haha...am I frugal to still have it and actually WEAR it to a wedding 10 years later or what? Either that or crazy b/c it was full spandex-HAHA! Actually, I don't think it looked that bad. I crack myself up. Anyway, this was a really special wedding. Claire was one of my closest girls when we were doing ministry with high school girls...Daryn baptized her when he baptized me in 2002. It was a beautiful wedding and so special to see her getting married! She had the coolest thing at her reception...it was a candy bar...at your spot was a little bag to go up and get candy from a table that had HUGE class jars filled with her fav candies while everyone waited for the bride and groom to arrive...it was so cool. the kids ate way too much. And to further mess up this game, I'm not tagging people b/c I don't even know if I know 6 more bloggers who haven't done it-haha. Sorry, Megan!

Holiday Project

So, is it bad that I didn't make a new year's resolution? Honestly-who keeps them?
But I did make a commitment to completing a project over Christmas break...and here it is: Our family room makeover...
BEFORE:Notice the gold brass fireplace doors, the old 80's wood trim and built in bookcases, the books jammed into the shelves and the overall drab feel of the room... brightened up only slightly by the Christmas decorations
And here is AFTER:
We ripped all the old wallpaper off the walls (you can't really see that anyway), primed and painted all the walls, the trim and bookcases, painted the fireplace doors (who knew a $5 can of high heat spray paint could make such a dramatic difference!), placed baskets on the shelves instead of all the books, and put a flat screen TV on the left bookcase (Daryn only asked for gift cards for Christmas to save up for a TV!)...and one of my favorite parts of the room now is my "W" mirror...aren't I creative? :) We also did an accent color behind the bookcases called "brown horse"...the walls are a lighter beige shade. Daryn cleaned out the ancient fireplace ashes, spray painted the old log holder black, and I got some $35 fireplace tools for $11 at Lowe's b/c they were mismarked! We love this room...it's been so fun using it. Most nights Daryn builds a fire and we sit with our feet up and watch TV after the kids are in bed. One night after Grace took a shower I found her in her robe curled up with a book in front of the hearth...I LOVE having a wood burning fireplace...so homey! And can I tell you...it feels so good to have it done!

Oh, and another thing that feels REALLY good....we threw out our old Christmas tree!!!!!!! It was leaning 30 degrees all season and actually fell over TWICE...I can't wait to get a REAL tree next year. Are you proud of me, Tracey?! It felt SO GOOD.

What a wonderful life

Today at lunch while taking a break from taking down Christmas decorations and cleaning the house...

Daryn: "Man, I will be happy when all of our projects are done."
Brooke: "Honey, they will never be done...that's our life"
Anteneh: "Daddy, but it's a great life, isn't it?"

Christmas Eve

How many families do you know still do this? Thanks, Uncle Scott. I love how all the little cousins are in their new jammies and if you listen you can hear the girls' sweet voices.