Is it Time for a Haircut?

Nancy's hair is starting to look like Jim from the Office.

Christmas, Round 1

We spent Christmas Eve Eve with my parents and brother and sister-in-law. Next year there will be 3 babies at Christmas! Not us...Heather and Ray! So excited about having a niece or nepher in town. My Aunt Nancy and grandmother (We call her Monie. That's another post for another day.) also joined us for the festivities.

This was actually my brother's and my joint birthday celebration on the 7th. But I think it's the only photo of the 4 of us from the season!

Kate opening her digital camera from Mo and Poppa.

Nancy showing Mo and Aunt Nancy her "beer".

The Other Lady in our Life

We have a dog. For almost 7 years we've had her. She is a fantastic, spastic dog that used to live in the house and sleep on a bed bigger than our dining table until we added Nancy to the family. After that she was put in the backyard and her bed moved to the garage for evenings. Don't pity her, she loves it. At first I was so glad to get rid of the dog hair in the house and her tail knocking over frames and drinks and children. But I now confess I hope we can one day let her back into the house so she can sit on our feet while we watch tv and pretend she doesn't notice we're eating dessert and she's not.

I love to hear her "deflate" when she's settling in for a good nap. I love the way her ears are small and her head is small and her paws are small. She likes a good butt rub. She is the reason my $100 sisal rug has lasted almost 8 years - she eats all the scraps and applesauce and yogurt and paint and playdough that gets smushed into the crevices. She doesn't dig, doesn't bark, doesn't chew, doesn't jump, doesn't run away, and has never ever pooped in the house. I'm still talking about the dog, not the kids. Seems Belle has better manners than they do! And Belle is awesome with the girls, just awesome. Nancy sits on her, pokes her paws, grabs her tail, gives her sticks and grass and cheerios, and Belle has such self control and is so gentle with her. 

Belle was there when we moved to St. Louis and I was sad and homesick, but she gave us a reason to get out and go to the park or for a run. And she was there when I was pregnant with Kate and scared and lonely, and she was still there when Kate arrived and I totally ignored her and considered her a burden. She was there when I was depressed and anxious about the world around me and couldn't figure out how to be a mom and wife. And she is still part of our home, chasing Kate and taking snacks from Nancy and vacuuming my sisal rug. I love our dog. 

And yes, I've recently read Marley and Me.

Santa Claus has Come to Town

Every year I look forward to taking the girls to see Santa. I wish our scanner worked, so I could subject the general public to 5 years of photos with the Jolly Man, but it isn't compatible with our Mac, so you'll have to trust me: every year is priceless.

It can take me 5 minutes to decide what kind of peanut butter to get at the store (the cheapest, the giant tub that will last for 4 weeks, or the no high fructose corn syrup non-comodegenic kind?) but I do not hesitate a second to lay down $25 for only 4 pictures of my kids with this stranger-man we tell them is Santa. Kate only had one year that was horrible, and that was the year she was the same age that Nancy is now. I knew going into it that Nan would probably wail, and she did, but we got the absolute funniest picture ever. Kate is prim and proper and waiting patiently with a smile on her face (why can't she do that when I take pictures?) and you can see Ryan's arms holding Nancy close to Santa on the other side, making what we call her "square face". She goes red and square, and it's so funny. But remember, my scanner doesn't work. So just do your best to picture it in your head. 

We did get some action shots of Kate with Santa. I think besides Nancy and Clara and Carson and Celia, she thinks Santa is her BFF.

"...and peace on earth, and no more hunger, and a Barbie Diamond Castle."

They really are BFF, for like, 3 minutes each year.

"Hey Nan. What did Santa give you?"

"TANDY!!"

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.