Almost Everything

More dialogue with the 5 year old...Kate and I were going through the Jesse Tree advent, making up for a few missed days. We were talking about angels, and how God sent the angels to the shepherds to tell them about Jesus' birth. 

Kate: "How come God just didn't come down and do it? Why did He send the angels?"

Me: ("They couldn't handle God's glory", "We aren't entitled to know why", or "just because" were the only answers I could think of!) so instead I say: "Kate, I don't know."

Kate: "Well, you almost know everything."

Thanks for giving me a little bit of credit, kid. 

Our Daughter the Scientist

We are learning about water in school this week, and discussing what is a solid, liquid, and gas. 

Me: "Kate, what besides, steam is a gas?"

Kate: "mmmm...Oxygen!"

My job here is done. 

5 Dollars in 5 Days

I'm not sure if many people read the blog, but just in case more random people out there are reading than I'm aware, I wanted to post something really important that's going on in the Upstate today. (This is me just assuming that our friends will read and watch and give!)

Safe Harbor is a 24-hour emergency shelter and crisis line for victims of domestic violence. They provide a safe place to rebuild shattered lives. 

The company Ryan works for, Hill Mullikin, has partnered with Safe Harbor, and at 12:01am this morning, they launched a five day campaign called 5 Dollars in 5 Days. They are asking people to give up 5 dollars from something else this week and give to Safe Harbor. For some it could be a coffee, a quick lunch at Mellow Mushroom, or a few downloads on iTunes. For me, I think it will be taking $5 from a silly stocking stuffer that usually ends up getting eaten in 5 seconds or tossed in the "Happy-Meal-to-Goodwill" box. The video below is a great one that asks the question, "What is $5 to you?" 

Watch the video, click on the link, and choose to make a very small sacrifice for something that is a very big deal.

What is Holiday Fair?

My mom and dad are deep in the throes of finishing their ornaments for Holiday Fair. The Fair is at the old Palmetto Expo center, and is always the first weekend in December. This year it's the 4th through the 6th. This is their 31st year with a booth. My mom's friend Joy found a way to make the ornaments, so they started making them and selling them together at the booth. Joy moved to Murfreesboro, TN years ago, and still would try and come to the fair for several years after that, but with kids growing up and her daughter Abby's birthday always during the Fair, it became harder and harder for her to come, so now mom does it solo.

Mom and Dad used to make all sorts of things with the ornaments, too, specifically the Sucker Trees! Dad would cut the trees in the garage and Mom would make the ornaments and bake them into lollipop sticks. You could then have a "topper", like a turkey for Thanksgiving, and have pumpkins and pilgrims to spread around between all the suckers on the tree. They also did tables, plaques and frames, and tons of other stuff. Now Mom just sticks to the ornaments, which are all personalized upon order. Some years, on the first day of the Fair, there are people around the table 3 or 4 deep holding their orders for personalization and payment. And there have even been years mom has sold out by Friday and doesn't even bother returning for the 3rd day of the Fair!

In college I started making dog bone ornaments to make some extra holiday money, and this year I have taken on making the 2008s. Mom starts sometime in July making and baking the ornaments, and makes anywhere from 300-500! It is amazing what she thinks to do, and yes, our tree growing up was covered in them. We still help decorate the tree and hang the ones mom made in 1978! I am so proud of how industrious my mom is, and am thankful that she seemed to pass it down to me. I grew up with her getting good ideas from all kinds of places and showing me and saying "we can do that! we can make that!"

With it being such a family tradition for us, I wanted to share what our house looked like from July to December growing up, and how hard mom works and how talented she is. 

The dining room. Mom has an extra room this year to spread out the ornaments, so this is just a fraction of them. And the week before the Fair, Dad is counting and tagging everything, so this table is covered!

Shelves in the "studio", a room which was a huge selling point on the house when mom and dad bought it 20 years ago.

New this year, hunting Santas, complete with blaze orange!

Kate is in there somewhere. These are mom's miniatures that she glues into and onto most of the ornaments. She has hundreds of thousands, and they know her at least by face if not by name at the 3 main craft stores in town!

The Polar Express

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Ryan's parents took Kate and us to ride the Polar Express! We ate a yummy dinner in the bustling metropolis of Bryson City, visited the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad gift shop, and at 8pm hopped on the train. Despite the fact that narry a "Ho-Ho-Ho" came out of Santa's mouth, it was a magical ride. And, we just chalked it up to Santa being overwhelmed with all the bells and hugs he had to give out. We drank hot cocoa, traveled all the way to the North Pole to pick Santa up, and sang Christmas carols on the way back down the "mountain". It was so fun!

Kate and her ticket

Grandad, Kate and Mimi

Kate sees Santa outside the train window!

She is so besotted with Santa!

She fell asleep in the car less than 10 minutes down the road! We were all tired, but made such a good memory!

"Weeves!"

Again, like trick or treating, no one had to show Nancy how to dive in the leaves and throw them around. She just did it. She gets very excited to go outside. When we say it's time, she runs to the sliding glass door and plasters herself against the glass screaming "OUTSIIIIIIIIDE! OUTSIIIIIIIDE!" I think I used to do something similar, according to my parents. 

I love fall pictures. These are just a few "toot" (cute) ones.

Now Gimme Some Candy!

This Halloween we had 2 Candy Extravaganzas. The first was Trunk or Treat with our small group at church. We did Trunk-or-Treatopoly, and each person dressed up like the game pieces of Monopoly, and the parking spaces was the game board. Kids rolled a giant dice to get candy. I think it was really fun and creative. Ryan was the top hat, I was the ship. 

We bought Kate's costume in July. We found the unicorn suit at a consignment store, and she said she would LOVE to be a fairy riding on a unicorn for Halloween, and that's just what she was. Oh, of course you're curious about what she named the unicorn! Hokahornis, thank you very much. A quirky and kinky cross between Pocahontas and unicorn and horn, don't you think? Nancy was the proverbial ladybug. (No, not watermelon, thank you very much Matt Kelly)

We also went trick or treating in our neighborhood and made the rounds to Aunt Gerrie's house, Mo and Poppa's, and Mimi and Grandad's. Nancy wanted to eat every piece of candy in her tiny little bag (tiny on purpose, my friends) and totally caught on. Kate was a full 3 1/2 before she figured out the process. I think Nancy had about a half dozen chocolate bars while we made our rounds, and wanted more! It was a fun night. And really, the kids are still young enough that they haven't caught on  to the "He with the most candy wins" concept. Yet.

Hokahornis and "Weedlabug".

Dividing the plunder. See Nancy's tiny pumpkin bag?

Digging in at Trunk or Treat. Nancy would go out to a spot, get the candy, and want to sit down at the car and eat her piece before going out to get more.

So "toot". (Nan's word for cute)

4th Annual Sky Top Trip

This year we went to Sky Top with our friends Sean and Stacey Weiland. Our trip was over a month ago, but I have to go in sequence of events! They are in our community group and we love spending time with them! Stacey is in Physical Therapy Assistant classes and will graduate in a week!! And Sean works at Guardian, where he does stuff I still don't quite understand. The girls also adore them, so it was fun to share a family tradition with them. It was a windy day, but there were lots of apples to be picked. It was really busy, and even though we had to picnic on our coats because I forgot a blanket, we had a good time and got some yummy apples, cider and apple butter. 

Kate took this one! Not too bad!

Sean and Kate trying to reach some good apples.

Nancy enjoying her first apple not peeled or diced. She cried when we took it away.

Kate, making a Ryan face.

Beach Trip

While our house dried from "The Flood", we decided to keep our plans and go on the vacation we had scheduled for a few months. We joined the Keever Family down in Edisto at Kelly's dad's place for a few nights in October. It was so fun and relaxing! We biked and even got to go to the beach on a warm day, and again on a cold day. The kids did not care, so I tried my best not to complain about the cold. There was "putt putt putt", as Kate called it, and Ryan, Jeremy and Calahan went shrimping one night and caught just enough for us to eat for shrimp boil. 

Most of all we really loved hanging out with the Keevers and their kids and made some fun memories and had great conversations. The kids got along great, and Kate got to have a sleepover every night in Harper and Calahan's room. Kate learned the word "beehonkus" and by the end of the weekend I was getting Harper to say "fwamwich" as much as possible ("sandwich", in English). 

After our time in Edisto, we headed up to Litchfield to join Ryan's parents at their condo for a few nights. We were able to have another warm beach day with the girls, and even visited the Atalaya Castle at Huntington Beach. But Ryan was spending  a lot of time on the phone with my brother, who was going to our house to empty the dehumidifier under the house and check how the floor was drying.  We stopped at the Columbia zoo on the way home and had a quick but enjoyable trip. It was a fun way to take a pit stop and sure beat the Columbiana mall (which in my Sonshine Festival days considered it to be a huge mall!)

On Huntington Beach State Park. I thought Ryan's face was funny.

At Litchfield. A sweet daddy moment.

Kelly reading to Kate, Harper and Nancy.

Yes! Bathing suits! It was great!

So cute in her suit.

We returned home to stay with my folks for 2 more nights. The first night we were home, my brother and sister-in-law stopped by to give some exciting news - they are having a baby in June! The next night Ryan and my bro, Ray, were at our house until 1am fixing the carpet. Ryan crawled into bed that night around 2am, and woke at 5:15 to go to Bible study! We were away from our house for 10 nights, and I was never so thankful for our 1300sq. feet. And I still am! It has been a month since I tried to wash my loofah in the sink, but sometimes when I am rinsing something out in the sink in the bathroom I get a pit in my stomach, as if somehow the water will just start rising and overflow again and I won't be able to control it. I am just so thankful for Ryan and his patience with me, and for Ray and his hard work. We would have never been able to fix it without him! For my parents who let us eat their food and use their laundry detergent, it was nice to be someplace familiar. And for Kim DeLoach and her dehumidifier and Lee Anne for playing with the girls while we cleaned up the mess, and the lifetime supply of loofahs! Thanks! 

The Gym

Kelly invited me to join her at her gym for a 7 day trial. We actually received a 14 day free trial offer in the mail, so I decided to meet her for the 

class she goes to on MWF, Tread and Shed. Let's just say I honest to goodness had to get off the treadmill and go to the bathroom because I thought

I was going to be sick. It was a great workout. I am totally hooked after just one day, Raquel (yes, that was her name) charmed me with their showers, 

makeup counters, free childcare, and spinning room. When I find myself convincing myself that we can totally join the gym, this is the scene that 

flashes through my head.

Survival of the....

I can't say "Survival of the Fittest", because the Sav-Mor bi-monthly sidewalk sale is a race for food. Maybe "Survival of the Thriftiest" is more accurate. This past Saturday, Emily, Kelly, Sara and I met at 7:45am, piled in Kelly's car and rode to the Sav-Mor sale. A brief explanation of what The Sale is: Every other week, Sav-Mor has a "sidewalk sale" (which I lovingly call a Food Yard Sale) where the store puts all the expired or almost expired food in banana boxes out in aisles in the parking lot. People line up around the perimeter with empty banana boxes to fill to the brim for $7 a box. The whistle blows at 9am, and the food is gone in about 10 minutes. People get really, REALLY comptetitive - Moms barking orders to their kids, 12 year olds elbowing me out of the way for a shot at some Starbucks, and even a 95 pound older woman who was apparently not too old to haul an entire box of canned tomatoes from under my nose. Lots of the food is organic, so we rack up on organic kids' snacks, cereals, flours and things. Then there are treasures like Pop Tarts and Xantham Gum that save us bunches of money!

Okay, on with the story. We have learned there are safety in numbers (and you have to have someone man your food or others will take it!) and we planned our strategy in the car: Choose the box you want, grab the entire thing and take it back to base (our buggy on the wall). If there is time, grab an empty box and go out for more. Kelly is usually the one who mans the buggy so no one sticks their hands in our boxes. We spread out around the perimeter, choose our spots and wait. For an hour. Sara and I learned to make friends. The girl to my left was going to share some King Arthur Unbleached Flour from the box she was eyeing. And the large man beside me, a karate instructor, said he'd grab a box of Splenda packets for me, since I had my eye on a box full of Pop Tarts. 

I ended up filling 3 boxes, the most I've ever filled, and I even have a battle wound to prove my success. I reached into a box to grab....don't remember. But I had cut my thumb on a broken glass jar of peanut butter. So half of my stuff is covered in blood. After the race as we were sorting our loot, I found.....a box of Band Aids!! I was so excited, as were my teammates. What was so much fun was making a memory with friends. But the bargains were pretty great, too. 75 items, 19 cents per item. It was worth every drop of blood.

Fair vs. Fair

Lots of parents we know read the Bible with their children before kissing them goodnight and tucking them into bed. We prefer to play a good game of cards with our kids, so that's just what we did. Ryan, Kate and I sat on our bed and played a game of Go Fish (we'll wait for poker til she's around 8). Kate only got one set before the game ended. As she was going to the potty before we tucked her in, we heard her whining. After much convincing that she just needed to tell us what she was whining about even if she was afraid she might get in trouble, Ryan was able to employ a Bill White-ism he's been waiting to use ever since he heard it. Thus goes the conversation:

Ryan: Kate, you need to tell us why you were whining because we asked you to even if you are afraid you might be in trouble.

Kate: Well, okay, um, I just, it's that, I just don't think it's very fair that I only got one match before you won.

Ryan (with glee in his eyes and an excited glance toward me): Kate, a fair is a place you go to ride rides and eat cotton candy.

Kate: Nooooo, not THAT kind of fair! I mean.....

Me: Bury face in pillow and laugh.

I think the Keevers had a similar scenario happen to them. At least they read the Bible to their kids - we teach Kate a poker face!

A Little Tiger in the Making

We really don't care where Kate goes to college. Really. But we were so excited because she was so excited to go to her first Clemson football game. We tailgated by the Clemson House (at 10:30am), went to the amphitheatre for the Tiger Band Rally, watched the band come down the hill to the stadium, and even bought Kate's first bag (yes, in a bag) of Dippin' Dots, for a mere $5. (And yes, that is what is all over her mouth in the pictures).

It was over a month ago and we went to the SC State game on September 20. BJ and Katie let us use some of their family's tickets, and we are so thankful we got to share some time with them. Katie and I planned Ryan and BJ's high school reunion while Kate watched the game through binoculars and BJ told Ryan "Remember the time..." stories. I love hanging out with the Bolings.

Our Kids are Funny.

I had to add this one! I wonder how long Cort will be willing to play dress up with us girls. Maybe I should ask how long Chris is willing to let Cort play dress up with us girls!

Watching a "widleeo".

Kate slept on her face and woke up with crazy hair.

The Forest for the Trees

Lately Ryan and I both have had a hard time seeing the forest for the trees. We have exhausted ourselves focusing on small things that we think are in our control instead of seeing the big picture - God does, will, and wants to provide for us in so many ways. It has been exposed in everything from buying an iron to replace the one we've had since college, to paying for the costs of repairing the flooding damage caused by my insatiable desire to win the Best MultiTasker Award. (Did I ever tell anyone about the time I buckled the kids in their car seats while talking to Emily on our house phone, put the phone on the top of the car, and a few errands later watched the phone in my rearview fly from the top of the car into traffic? I couldn't figure out what had flown off the car until several days later when I still hadn't found the missing handset and put it all together.)  Am I so proud that I honestly believe every scrutinized decision determines what God is going to do in us and through us as a family and individuals? How can I begin to operate like my choices define how He is going to choose to use me? As if I'm the one in control and He's on standby for the really "big stuff" I can't handle.

I have been learning this week, as we are adjusting from 10 days away from home, that just as I ask Kate to simply obey because I've asked her to and to trust mommy's word, God is calling me to do the very same thing. Ryan pointed out to me that I ask "why" often. I'm not sure why I do (ha!) and it was the first question I asked God after my feet squished across our bedroom carpet to turn off the faucet. I see my daughter in the same battle I'm in: to obey because I trust and nothing more. 

And speaking of trees, Lee Anne showed up this morning with this basketful of new loofahs for me, as if she has a loofah tree in her backyard. I call it a blessing; she called it "insurance". It will take everything in me to be willing to trash each one after it has served its purpose instead of attempting to prolong it's life by washing. But every loofah I'll use for the rest of my life will serve as an Ebeneezer that God provides exactly what we need, exactly when we need it - even if I don't ever get the "why?"

I'm off to shower.

All to Save a Buck

We had some flooding at the house yesterday. I needed to wash my loofah. You know, they get stinky, so I soaked it in the bathroom sink with a bit of bleach. Before we left for the library, I went to our room to change and rinse out the loofah. I decided to let it soak in clean water, so I plugged up the sink again to fill it, and walked away. And didn't walk back for another 2 hours. We went to the library, came home, fixed a picnic lunch and played outside before I realized the water was still running. I knew it was really bad when water began to gush over my feet as I walked on the carpet just 2 steps from our bedroom door. I knew it was really, really bad when I saw 1/2 an inch of water covering the floor of the bathroom. I knew it was awful when the bottom of our closet and everything in it was wet from the water in the carpet (including really nice pairs of shoes). But it wasn't until I dared to look under the house that I knew this far surpassed any home damage I had ever seen my brother, myself, or my father inflict in the past, combined. (I talk about my family because up until now Ryan and I have had minimal incidents in our home)
There was 3 inches of water in the wheelbarrow we store under our house. The insulation was wet. The water ran towards the front of the house and spread as close to 3 feet from the foundation. The water had poured through the plywood under the flooring onto the floor of the crawlspace. I was an absolute basket case.
I called Ryan, he was home by 1:00 with his parents shopvac. I went to my folks and got their shop vac, and for 2 1/2 hours we sucked over 17 gallons of water out of our carpet. On the way to my parents house, I just kept praying the damage would be minimal, and that God would send someone into our life to guide us and let us know what to do to best prevent mold and mildew. My biggest fear was it not drying quick enough and mold taking over and making us sick and our house un-sellable.
When I returned with the second shop vac, Ryan called my brother, who used to work for Steamatic. They carpet clean, but also do lots of flood damage control and restoration and check out mold and mildew damage. I mean, he has a serious oxygen resporator thingy for when he'd have to crawl under houses and stuff. He came right away, and said that we needed to check the padding. He was able to point us in the right direction, and led Ryan on what to do. In short, they pulled out the insulation to let the wood dry under the house, they ripped the carpet up and the padding, and "floated" the carpet over 3 box fans that we will run constantly for 9 days until the carpet and the wood is dry. Then we will install new insulation and padding after everything is dry. When I prayed for someone to guide us, I had no idea it would be Ray!! Thank you so much, bro! We would have worked in vain if you had not come and selflessly given your time and energy. He and Ray worked for 4 hours on the house. And Heather came and helped me keep my mind off the fact that all of this was my fault, and even read to Kate and tucked her in. Thanks for giving up a date night to help us!
Where were the girls all this time? Another blessing: Lee Anne came and got them, took them to the park, fed them ice cream, fed them supper (in that order) and even brought them back to us at mom and dad's house after supper. She even brought a dehumidifier from Kim DeLoach, which we put under the house. Ray said it will be a lifesaver, because they are $150 a day to rent, and it sucks all the bad moisture out of the air. I am so thankful for you, Aunt Lee Ann! Kate says that she likes spending time with Lee Anne because "I get lots of fun sursees".
There is so much more I want to say about what's happened, but I've got to go by the house and let the dog out. Nancy has been in her booster seat with breakfast unsupervised for far too long. We will stay at mom and dad's again tonight (they are out of town for the week), go to the beach with the Keevers Thursday night through Monday morning, then head to Litchfield to Ryan's parent's condo and come home next Wednesday evening. The floor should be dry by then, right?

View from the sink into the bedroom. This is after the padding is ripped up.

Our closet.

The doorway is to the hallway. It started to make it's way down the hall.

This is Why....

This is why I am not posting, why my Facebook posts are so mysterious, why I don't return your phone calls and why I don't shower, have dark circles under my eyes, and forget to feed my children. That said, I have no idea how my mother has done this for 30 years. Thanks, Mom!

But by all means, place orders now while I am still baking!

Home So Soon?

These are the photos from our trip to Charlotte:

4 in 25. Not the number of people who think I resemble Six from Blossom. Hopefully not as many people who think that Sarah Palin can actually pull off the debate on Thursday. It is quite possibly the number of failed attempts to hang out with the Kulps in Charlotte (pink eye, fever, and budget cuts now being a few of the reasons we haven't been able to visit our friends). 

But in this case, 4 is how many miles I drove in 25 minutes yesterday on I85 leaving the Kulps house. What was supposed to be an overnight visit full of fun for me and the girls turned into a wardrobe exchange for Mary and me and a naptime playdate for Kate and Celia. After laying Nancy down for a nap, she woke up with a fever of 101.5. So as not to infect our sweet friends, not to mention Camilla who is just 6 months old, we decided to head back home. Plus, who wants to sleep in a pack and play in a room with your sister when you don't feel good? I'm sure Dave thinks we are crazy. He was home just long enough to say hello to me after I came out of the bathroom from spanking Kate, and comes home for supper to find we are 45 minutes gone. Kate was so disappointed, but Celia was such an encourager. She gave Kate a hug and said "Kate, I know you are sad to go home, but maybe you can come back again another day because you are my best friend in the whole world." Since 5 year olds don't quite know how to show all emotion yet, giggles and racing around the house followed in a celebration of friendship. These little girls couldn't get along 18 months ago; now they are BFF! 

4 miles in 25 minutes isn't as slow as some have experienced, but it is as slow as I want to experience with a sick baby, Dora, and antsy kindergartener in the car on a trip we just completed only 4 hours earlier. And I have plenty of time to wonder "why?" Why, if God's plan/will/choice is sovereign and perfect, is sitting in traffic exactly what He wants me to do? How does it benefit me? i ask myself. And He reminds me that it's really not about me. Obviously I need to think more about how I can be a part of God's kingdom instead of focusing on how He can help me in my kingdom. 

After wallowing in self pity and telling Ryan he either needed to feel sorry for me or get on google earth to tell me what lie ahead on the road (accident? bottleneck? people giving out cash?) I talk to Brandy in Bluffton. She and Gray are making some hard decisions for their family, and all I am worried about is that Nancy might start having a meltdown in the backseat. Even in the middle of their trials, Brandy is the one that says to me "but I know that God's will is perfect." And He wants to take care of us, and He will. 

Who knew that 10 years after Clemson, Bran, Mary and I would still be able to be real in each others' lives, dealing with exhaustion, quarter-life crises, a faltering economy, sick babies, and getting dinner on the table? Now that I think about it, the road-trip-that-almost-was may not have been about me, but it did give me a time to reflect on how gracious He's been to provide these and other wonderful, sweet friendships. I am so thankful for you, girls! I love you!

Kulps, we'll try again in November!

Did I Ever Mention?

Did I ever mention the afternoon we spent in the bathroom hunkered down for a tornado? That's right. Sometime mid-August, my mom calls during some bad weather and says that tornadoes are headed our way. Kate and I were coloring and Nancy was napping, so I turned the tv on and she was right. John Cessarich said there was a tornado due for Taylors at 4:45pm. Kate begins to get very nervous, but I just keep coloring. I figured if it started looking green outside we'd head for the bathroom.

She would not let go of her worry, and even asked if we could pray about it (a rare thing in our house - don't get any ideas) so we do, she says she feels better, but that's a lie, because she continues to get more and more afraid. I told her that she wasn't trusting God even though we had prayed about it, because her heart was still fearful. Finally it's about 4:15, and Nancy is awake, so I tell her if it will help we can take shelter "just in case". She starts pulling cushions off the sofa and dragging them to the bathroom, gathering toys for her and Nan to pass the time, all the while saying "I will trust God. I will trust God."

We were in that bathroom for 45 minutes!!! Ridiculous! They had a great time! Once or twice I escaped to check the path of the storm (which fizzled out before it reached us), and when I came back Nancy was standing on top of the potty ready to jump into the cushions! 

Since then we have listened to the Wizard of Oz on audio CD, and I don't think it will do us any good the next time a storm heads our way. 

Nancy is obliviously happy with "cackers".

We even did school in the bathroom. It was our first week, looks like we were studying sun. I am such a diligent mother.

Happy Birthday, Gray!

I figured better late than never, and since it's GRAY'S BIRTHDAY today, I thought it was somewhat appropriate to post about our visit with our friends that happened a month ago!

On August 24 the Gainors came for a visit! It had been over a year since we had gotten together with kids - Bran and Gray didn't even know Sam was going to be Sam the last time we saw each other! They even got to spend the night with us, which was so fun. They were great sports, considering we don't have a guest room or a fold out sofa. Oh, and they came with their friend from Slovakia, Barbora, who was spending time in the States. The kids had so much fun playing! Sarala and Kate really never left Kate's room, Jackson went between the big girls and the Little People, Nancy just squealed and followed the big kids, and Sam log rolled across the living room. I'm not sure when we'll all get together again, and don't really want to think about how sad that makes me, so I'll just say thank you to the Gainors for being willing to include a stop in Greenville in your vacation and we love you and are so thankful for your friendship!

Jackson, Kate, Nancy, and Sarala. Sam was already packed up....

Kate and Sarala had a sleepover in Kate's room - they did SO well!  Here they are enjoying breakfast together.

Sam.

Age of Greed

Did anyone catch the Today show this morning? Matt Lauer did a segment on the greed of Wall Street. It was so fascinating. Unfortunately, I don't think this "humbling time", as one analyst called it, will be what gives people in our nation heart change.  The other analyst kind of points a finger at the Clinton administration as if  to say "Thanks a lot for the mess we're in!", and I think it is so interesting that we try and place blame on individuals and groups of people. I do agree that the greed of a few has affected many, and those who were educated took advantage of the general public's insatiable desire for more. Even though crisis after crisis seems to have our country's head spinning, am have peace in knowing that God is not surprised by 2008.

Gross

This is why we don't play in the backyard. If left to their own vices, the girls get absolutely filthy. It's really cute and funny when I have put them in their grubby clothes and we are all outside doing yardwork on a Saturday. It is not cute and funny when it is 4:45 in the afternoon on a weekday and I have to wash their clothes immediately so the dirt won't set and bathe them both and redress them (can kids eat in their pjs? mine get theirs so crusty with food at suppertime) and then corral them so I can start dinner 30 minutes late because of said dirt and baths. Instead of the swingset they usually end up playing in the dirt, raking it and making bigger holes in our already eroding yard. We can't grow grass b/c of the trees and the huge hickory nuts that fall from them - Belle has often been knocked in the head while napping on the porch by falling hickory nuts, and it's gotten to the point where she doesn't even bother moving after a pummeling.

At any rate, we were ready for them to get dirty today. Stuck them in the sandbox and even gave them each a bucketful of water. Once they ran out of that, Kate kept coming back to the hose for more - she one day got tired of waiting for me and can turn it on by herself. Nancy literally stuck her head in the sand. They decided they were done with the sandbox and eventually just played with the hose. Actually, Kate sprayed Nancy with the hose and they both loved every minute of it.

Oh, and one more thing. This morning I left for the farmers market around 7:45, and in addition to the rotting squirrel carcass in the street is a possum, who, I kid you not, lifts his head up at me as I drive by as if asking for rescue. I am starting to think one of our neighbors has waged war with local varmints and sits in their car at daybreak for a chance to play chicken with them. Later, as I am stripping down the girls in the backyard to hose the sand out of their hair, watching the water pool into mud around them in our family-friendly backyard full of mushrooms, dog poop and hickory nuts, I hear the clang of Ryan's shovel as he tries to decapitate the large rodent suffering in the street from a hit and run. Could we be more white trash?

"Why, that's grass!" you may say. I put them in the small green spot we do have to avoid eroding the yard more.