Hydrangea Hair

We just got home from a pleasant couple days at Joseph's parents' house in Pennsylvania. The following conversation was hilarious to us as we enjoyed lunch after church. Gigi is Joseph's grandma, Daniel's Great-grandma. You'll also need to know that there was a vase on the counter filled with a bouquet of hydrangea blossoms.

Daniel, sincerely: Gigi, when I came in the door I thought those flowers were you because they look like your hair.

Gigi, matter-of-factly: Well, thank you, I think those flowers are lovely.

Daniel reiterated: The flowers make me think of you because they look like your hair. They are the same shape, but they aren't the same color.

Gigi, with good humor: I could probably do something about that! :-)

"Dig"

I generally pick out our boys clothes, but today I went in David's room (he'll be three-years-old in April) and found that he had sorted through his shirt drawer to find just the right one - messing up all the piles in the process.

I called him into his room and said firmly, "David, you cannot dig through this drawer."

His quick response, "But Mom, I'm an excavator!" :-)

Are you okay?

Daniel is learning to sound out some simple words. Tonight in the car, he confidently declared, "I know how to spell 'Are you okay?'"

"Oh, really?" we said, curiously.

He answered, "R-U-O-K!" :-)

He's ready to text message! :-)

Power Outages and Grandma Anderson

Well, from recent ice storms, a power line to our house was down and we were without power for a week. Our swing set was crushed and our fence was damaged on all three sides! These pictures were taken from our back door. But we were thankful our neighbor's house, our house, our car and our shed didn't get hit!

Joseph and I and the boys stayed a night at Joseph brother Doug's house by the fire place ;-), and then a night with good friends from church. On Friday the boys and I drove to my parents' in MO and Joseph stayed at the Bitners' (his sister who lives 6 miles from us).


The Lord's timing was very kind. My-86-year old grandma lives in the same town as my parents in the alzheimer's wing of a nursing home. On Saturday (while I was in MO because of the power outages) the nurses called and said she had been struggling to eat. We visited her that evening, and she was indeed have great difficulty swallowing - one of the last stages of alzheimer's. On Sunday, she was nearly unresponsive. On Monday the nurses called and said the end was near. So, because I was in town, I was able to sit with her for a couple hours. She died later that night very peacefully while Dad sat with her. The Lord was very merciful to her (and to my dad!) because she wasn't in pain.

The unusual thing about her passing was that my mom couldn't be there. Her dad had knee replacement surgery two hours away the same day Grandma died, and Mom needed to be there to care for her dad. So, the Lord's timing was kind that I could be there with my dad and help make arrangements, etc. This helped puts mom's mind as ease since she couldn't be there to help Dad. What a crazy situation!

Our power returned Tuesday, so the boys and I came home on Wed. Joseph, Daniel and I left on Fri morning to go to IL for Grandma's visitation and funeral. We were so thankful that Grandma and the Lord were honored in the funeral. My brother got to share during the service from Grandma's favorite passages of Scripture - those she could still quote even when she couldn't remember anything else, and those passages that were very well marked in her Bible and catechism book. Very special. The pastor also did a lovely job of honoring God for the evidence of His work in Grandma. Very meaningful. We will certainly miss her, and we are thankful for life on earth and her eternal life!

It has been a whirlwind couple weeks, but we are warm, fed, together and have much to be thankful for.

... in a size 4T??

We have a good friend, Harry Miles, who played college football for the Citadel in South Carolina. He is now a very good high school head football coach in Savannah, GA. We recently enjoyed a lovely visit with Harry and his wife Sarah. (Sarah is my dear friend from high school - we've been friends for over half our lives! Wow!)

Harry is still a big, strong man! 6'4" and thick with muscle! The boys REALLY liked seeing Harry's Citadel football helmet and he even let them try it on. Then he got out his BIG jersey from when he played at the Citadel. It seemed almost as tall as Daniel!

When Daniel saw this real football jersey, his eyes were wide with amazement. He asked Harry with all sincerity, "Do you have one in a size 4T?" :-)

Daniel and David felt pretty cool swimming in the jersey and helmet!

Texas Cousins!

We just enjoyed a very fun visit with my brother Jonathan and Christy and their girls - Anna (6), Abby (5), Aubrey(3) and Ashlyn (1). Our boys Daniel (4) and David (2) fit right in the age line up! Their family slept in our newly finished basement, and we squeezed 10 around our kitchen table - 4 kids shared 2 chairs and it worked just fine! They left this afternoon after almost a week.

Jonathan went to class at Southern Seminary each day, Joseph worked some and wished he was working some more (we are getting the hang of securing substitute teaching jobs!), and Christy and I grew the babies in our "tummies!"

The kids played and played and played! They played much more wildly than the girls are used to - our boys encouraged them to spy, and our boys talked them into "manly" wrestling (and then we explained that you can't "manly" wrestle with girls!!)! The kids also played more calmly than the boys are used to - lots of playing "house," and David is pretty attached to Aubrey's doll that she accidentally left behind! Good times together!

One funny moment (among many!) was when David really surprised two of the girls! They were pretty shocked when they were taking a bath, and David not only let himself in the bathroom, but took off his clothes and got in the tub with them ... and then proceeded to pee in the tub!!

We played Wii, ate sushi, went swimming, got a flat tire fixed, watched videos for rest time, played with Bonura/Bitner cousins, watched football, ate more junk than usual, had good conversations and thanked God for our time together!

By the way, as you can see, it is a near miracle to get six kids to hold still and look at a camera at the same time - and we didn't have a miracle this time! :-)

The Hardware Store Worker

Last year we frequently shopped at hardware stores like Home Depot and Lowes as we worked on many home-improvement projects in our newly purchased house. Daniel thought the workers at these stores were really cool. And at one point he even said, "When I'm 16 maybe God will let me work at Home Depot or Lowes!"

At Christmas time last year we were talking about Mary and Joseph. Daniel said with confidence, "Joseph worked at a hardware store." He paused as we cocked our heads and look at him with confused expressions. Daniel explained what was obvious to him, "Joseph worked with wood!" :-)

"What this one about?"

Here's a guessing game. What is David (2 1/2 years old) talking about when he says, "What this one about?" A book? A movie? Nope!

Here's a hint - the answer is something like sour apple, root beer, watermelon, etc.

He's asking about ... a sucker! When he gets a sucker from the bank, he asks, "What this one about?" Translation = "What flavor is this?" ;-)

Ready, set, go!

Tonight at dinner, David asked if he could pray. Joseph said sure, and David folded his hands, bowed his head, and said in one breath, "Ready, Set, go! Dear God ...." :-)

That Friendly Old Man

Last year in November, Daniel and I were in Lowes and he saw a big inflatable Santa on a top shelf. His excited response was to point and say, "Look Mom! It's Noah! ... or is it Moses?!" ;-)


This year, we were driving in the car and we passed Rally's drive-through restaurant. Daniel laughed and laughed in the back seat. "Mom! There's an old man sitting on top of the Rally's drive through! ha! ha! ha!" (I'm thinking, "What is he talking about?!) "Mom," he continued, "it was that friendly old man who sometimes gives candy to kids in the winter! ... sitting on TOP of the drive-through!"

Now I get it! :-)