Finally!

We finally got a little snow that stuck around. It's hard to believe that it took until the second half of January for it to happen, but we're glad it did. It allowed the kids to go out and do a little of this:

The boys got out there first and made use of the perfect little slope we have out back. Well, perfect except for the bushes....

...and the branches. Oops.

No wonder they were wincing every time they went down the hill. 

It didn't seem to faze them, though. 

It's funny, I didn't even notice the sticks until I looked at the pictures later. The boys weren't reacting much as they went through them. Pen, on the other hand....

Ginger just went right over it all.

We even got Edith out there to give it a go. Doesn't she look excited?

Yeah, she could hardly contain herself the whole way down.

Oh, yeah. Her enthusiasm is palpable. 

Maybe if we give her another turn...

Nope. Still nothing. Maybe if you scream with enthusiasm when you get to the bottom, Pen. Surely Edith will do the same...

Hmmm. Guess not. 


We trundled Edith back inside and the other kids continued to have a great time. For ages. It seemed a lot more fun once the girls located a few less bush and stick ridden paths for their sleds to take. 


This is the kind of winter fun I was hoping for when we moved into this house and I saw the little hill in the back. This is the reason we made sure we had a few sleds on hand. I'm glad we finally got some snow so my dreams could be realized! 


I'm hoping for more snow storms this winter so I can enjoy a couple more hours of the kids amusing themselves so I can read a book watching the kids have fun!

Friday Favorites

1. I already posted about Ginger's basketball game. I was so happy to see her having a great time and it was awesome that she scored the first 2 points of the game. 

2. We went to my folks' house for dinner on Sunday. It was nice to see my sister and her family again, and my sis-in-law and two kids were in town, too. Big got to have some great cousin playtime with George.

3. Rophone got our first recording tips video recorded and up online. We're hoping it will help drive traffic to our online recording school. I'm optimistic and hope it works.

4. Edith is learning to apply the words she knows to other situations. She's been saying "done" and "I'm done" for awhile now while she's eating, but it made me smile last night to hear her calling from her crib, "Done! I'm done! Done, done!" I love it when my kids start to talk. I really can't wait to hear what comes out of her mouth.

5. I will, on occasion, play a game of Angry Birds on my phone. There is this one level that I have been unable to get 3 stars on and I've been trying for ages. I mean, I've tried like 100 gazillion times. Anyway, I had time to play one game the other day. Just one, no more. And I did it. I passed the level! Yesssss.

6. I'm still working on my ornament project-- I've been too tired a few nights to get any sewing done. But, I'm making progress so I'm excited. I can't wait to move on to the next craft I have planned. Just call me Crafty Crafterson (my husband does).

7. Let's see, Big and Edith kicked their colds (mostly) this week and I think I've won the battle against an ear infection and mastitis. Things are looking up, it seems.

8. Life is hard right now, but Rophone and I have a peaceful and optimistic feeling about it all. Things will probably be hard for quite awhile, but we just have this overwhelming feeling that everything will be alright. I'm grateful for that. 

Explaining the Crazy

It's really not too difficult to explain why I'm crazy. In fact, there's really no explanation necessary. Just hanging out with Big for awhile helps it all become clear to me. Or more muddy. I guess that's part of the problem. Take, for instance, the conversation Big and I had tonight after I hung a framed piece of his artwork on the wall in his room--


Me: "Thanks for letting me frame your swordfish, Sinbad. It looks great on your wall."


Big (as he shoots a basketball on to his bed): "You mean 'Big Al Jefferson'. I'm Big Al."


Me: "Oh, sorry. But I really love your artwork, Big Al. It's fantastic and I think we found the perfect spot."


Big (as he crawls on the floor to retrieve the ball): "You mean 'Sinbad'."


Of course that's what I meant. Sure.


Just for the record, the 'Sinbad' Big is portraying is this one:

Sinbad, the liger. Not this one (thank heavens):

And this is Big Al Jefferson:

I guess that explains the quick turnaround in characters. Of course he was Big Al as he shot the basketball. I mean, ligers can't do that. And it makes perfect sense that as he crawled on the ground he was a liger. If I would have really been thinking about it, I would have come to that conclusion and gotten the names right. 


Sure I would have. 

Tis the Season

Basketball season, that is. Ginger is happy to be playing again, and I'm happy that she has found a sport she loves so much. I love seeing her gain confidence and learn new skills as she plays. The fact that she has a great time is an added bonus. 


It's pretty easy to pick Ginger out on the court. I can't imagine why...

Oh, did you think I was referring to her hair? I guess that makes her pretty easy to spot, too. 

The best part about Saturday's game is that right at the beginning, during the opposing team's first possession, Ginger stole the ball, dribbled it down the court and scored the first two points of the game!

Totally fantastic! Ginger isn't naturally competitive and aggressive, but she's really been working hard on being more so. Way to go, Ginger!

I just love watching kids this age play the game. They are finally starting to figure out how the game really works and are gaining the skill to put that knowledge into practice. Things are starting to get exciting!

Ginger has really grown a lot lately. You can tell from the photos that she has a sort of gangly look going on. The same can't be said about one of her friends from school who was on the opposing team at Saturday's game. 

There were several number 0 jerseys on the court between the two teams, but it's pretty easy to see why the ref dubbed Ginger's friend 'Little Zero'. She's such a little scrapper out there. I told Little Zero to steal the ball from Ginger if her dribble got too high so she would learn a lesson. She was reluctant and seemed so nervous about playing her friends, but I urged her strongly gave her permission to do it. Just once. 

So, she did.

That'll teach you, Ginger! (Thanks, Little Zero) I know, I'm such a good mom.

Can't wait until the next game!

Friday Favorites: Friday the 13th!

I am happy to announce that nothing happened to make this day any worse than any other. I guess there are still a few hours to go, but I'm trying to focus on the positive here.


1. Ginger had her first basketball game of the season last Saturday. She is so happy to be playing-- the whole family is happy. Going to her games is fun and we love encouraging each other in activities.


2. I have a goal of making (at least) one Christmas ornament a year with the kids so that when they have their own trees one day they'll have a bunch of ornaments to decorate with. Even better than just having any old ornaments, all of these we make should have some sentimental value. We finally started our ornament project for this year on Sunday (It took me a while to get all the necessary supplies). Next year I hope to be more organized so we can make our ornaments during break. Anyway, I'm super excited and will be sure to post pictures of the finished products.


3. Bud started an art class on Monday. I am so excited for him. Art is just so him and I know he is really enjoying it. Having something he's doing on his own (and that he really loves) makes him feel good and confident. I can see it. 


4. Edith's babbling is getting ever more complex and awesome. I love having conversations with her.


5. Rophone brought his drums home this week. His band has broken up (a good thing since it often caused more stress than stress-relief) so it's good he was finally able to bring his drums home so he can play again. Rophone arrived home late Wednesday with the drums, so there was a whole day for Big to drool over them, just waiting for his dad to set them up. Big had a harder time waiting for that than he did for Christmas! I would find Big caressing them and tapping the heads with his hands. He even counted the cymbals and drumsticks. It was the longest day ever for Big, I think. 


It's all good now, though-- both boys have their kits set up side by side so they can play together if they want and Big spent most of the day playing Rophone's kit. I can handle the noise because it keeps him occupied and happy. I'm just glad because it means one less night a week that Rophone's gone, and now we can work on music together. That's what I'm really excited about.


6. Pen is at her 3rd party in the past week right now. I know this should probably be on her favorites list, but I'm really glad she's getting a chance to have some fun social activities. (And it makes her happier, which is a bonus. Keeping the teenager happy makes everyone happier!)


7. We are feeling optimistic about the future. We are determined to make our lives what we want them to be, no matter how impossible it may seem at the moment. It feels good to be motivated and have hope. 


I'm excited for the 3-day weekend coming up. Hope it's a good one!

Friday Favorites

1. My folks had the kids over to watch a movie on Saturday so Rophone and I went bra shopping (for me, not him). Definitely a favorite. It's amazing what the illusion of perkiness can do for a girl.


2. We had my folks over for dinner and games that night for New Year's Eve (they had plans that fell through). The new cauliflower soup recipe I tried was nummy and playing games was fun. 


3. On Sunday Rophone picked Pen up at the airport as she arrived home from her adventure in the NW. She had a blast and it was good to see her lovely face again.


4. Sunday afternoon, we had a New Year's Day party as a family. We played more games and pulled out some snacks. It was a blast. 


5. My folks stopped by for a bit again on Monday and played even more games with the kids. There are some advantages to living so close to them-- the kids loved it. 


6. Tuesday we were back to the grind-- I don't know if it's necessarily a favorite (especially on early choir mornings for Ginger), but I will admit that there is something comforting about getting back to a routine. A schedule is my friend. 


7. Edith's blabbering sentences are getting more and more complex. It's so dang cute to listen to her. I also love when I ask her a question and she answers in the affirmative with a breathy, "Yeah, yeah!" Her 'NO!' isn't nearly as breathy, but is still awesome.


8. I sat Edith with Big at the digital piano today. It was fantastic and super sweet to watch them play and sing together, pausing occasionally to hug. The only thing that would have made it even better is if I hadn't been ironing as I watched. I guess a girl can't have everything.


I'm excited for next week-- we're really starting to get into the swing of things as far as activities go. Should be crazy and fun!

Fair

"It's not fair!" 


Wow. As the parent of what feels like a gazillion several kids, how many times have I heard that over the last few years? To be fair (ha, fair), how many times have I said that in my life?


I give my kids (and myself) the same hated response my parents always gave me-- "Life isn't fair." I really do despise that statement. It just seems so final. Like there's no room for quibbling or improvement. So, I've been thinking about it a lot lately. Is there anything we can do to make life fair? 


It was after much thinking that I realized something-- life may not be fair, but people can be fair. 


There's no avoiding the fact that bad things happen to good people. There is nothing we can do to change the fact that some kids will be invited to more birthday parties than others or that some people are prettier or smarter than others. (I'll always feel bad about that, but I can't help it that I'm beautiful and brilliant. Life isn't fair, you know.)


But what we can do, to make things better, is to try to make sure that we are always fair to each other. We can make sure that we don't scoop up the last of the mashed potatoes without checking that everyone has had some. I can make sure that all of my kids have a cookie in their lunch, not just the kids I like best at the moment (Obey your mama and I'll give you a cookie....).


We can make sure that we give people the benefit of the doubt. That we don't judge people without getting to know them first and learning their story. Don't sneak in and grab a parking spot from the car that has been waiting patiently with their signal flashing. I can encourage my children to not cut in line on the playground and to include those who have been excluded. 


We need to live more selfless, less selfish, lives. Difficult to do, but I'm going to give it a try. I want to try to make life more fair for the people around me. I'm going to do it, because I know I'd love it if they'd do it for me. 


I'm such a middle child.