A little late, but by far the prettiest

Whoever said the leaves didn't change in Texas? It could have been me. Probably a day when I was complaining about the 90 degree heat in October. If it was, I've got some neighborhood trees begging to differ. I've yet to experience the colors of the Northeast, or the cherry blossoms of D.C, but until I'm proven otherwise, south Texas trees in the last days of November are the prettiest I've seen.

The Message Continues

This is a continuation of yesterday's post -- after a Thanksgiving sign in the sky, we were blessed with another one on Friday.  While we were listening to gospel Christmas singers belt out tunes about baby Jesus and the mother mild, the plane above us smoked out this one:

I don't know how often these Christian messages are displayed above Walt's massive world, but it was perfect timing for me.  All thanks for this creation, be it natural or Disney-fabricated, went up to the heavens.

A Message to the Masses

After our very American and filling Thanksgiving meal in a quaint restaurant in Magic Kingdom, we walked out to a blue sky and a message to the mass of people who decided to forgo a traditional turkey day.   I don't know who was up in the plane, but it made proud to be in a country where Loving God was the agenda of the day. 

Disney Reflections

I can hardly believe it's been 10 days since we left for our BIG TRIP.  Now we're back and busy and I'm grasping to remember all the great moments.  And while there were tired and cold kids, and hurt feet, and someone sick to their stomach at least once a day, the 12 person vacation in what I think may have been the busiest place on earth also lived up to its name that it was certainly the "happiest place on earth" offering so much to feast our eyes on. 

I considered writing a post about how we tackled Disney - from managing 12 people ranging from 4-years-old to 67-years-old, to working the Fast Pass system, to saving on the Dining Plan, to arranging character signatures, to riding every roller coaster in each park.  But there are a gob of Disney books that can provide those helpful tips far better than I.  Instead, as the week slipped by me, I kept a mental list of all the things I saw either in my kids, my family, or in my surroundings that surprised me, that I questioned, or that brought me joy.  I'm taking that mental list now and typing it out because that's the take-away I want; those are the memories I want to keep.

 1.  If your kids fly on airplanes a lot, they may be over their "We are in the Sky!" reaction, but my kids were total newbies on the first leg of our flight.  While I am a nervous flyer, grabbing onto the seat rests until I hear the ding after take-off, they simply treated it like their first amusement park ride. 







2.   Lydia, my dear Lydia who is afraid of fire, and afraid to be alone at night, and so terribly shy, LOVED roller coasters.  She was connected to her dad's hip the whole trip and whatever scary things he went on, she did too.  He was so proud of her willingness to be the little sister with courage. 

 3.  And speaking of bravery, Elijah is more my child; we tend to be a bit more cautious.  Like me, he wanted to go on the scary rides, but needed someone to go first and tell him what to expect.  I think watching his little sister come back unafraid, pushed him either out of obligation or embarrassment to tackle each ride as well.  When he finally did get the nerve to go on the roller coasters, Elijah's usual post-ride response:  "The was AWESOME!"  One of his prayers of thanks one night was conquering his fears.

4.  I don't ever want to forget how good Lanie was during the trip.  She would usually have a rough wake-up but as soon as Kenny got her laughing (he's good at things like that), she was a good sport the whole day, and into the late, late night falling asleep only once on the bus home, but to her credit, it was almost midnight. She also took us by surprise how like her sister she was when she dared to go on not just 1 but 3 scary rides, laughing all the while with hands held up high. 

5.  I always like to be in control of the map.  I like to know the plan.  Not this trip.  I gave it all away.  My sister Deanna and Kenny got us around to everything.  She plotted places for her family, Kenny plotted places for his and they worked together on the things we all wanted to do.  It truly was amazing to watch.  Deanna with her hand-written list of things-to-do and Kenny with his App that gave updated wait times, both ran the race with ease.  Totally impressive.  My mom, dad, brother-in-law and I were completely along for the ride. 

Spinning in the Mad Hatter's Tea Cup

6.  If you need to know what any of the bathrooms look like at any of the Disney parks, I can vouch for the custodians that they do their job keeping them clean.  I'm pretty sure I saw every bathroom in the park at least once. With a party of 12, you were either searching for a bathroom, running out of a ride to a bathroom, or waiting outside a bathroom for someone else. 





 7.  Four is the perfect age for princess love.  Three-years-old may have been better, but then Lanie wouldn't have been tall enough to ride the rides that required 40".  So, I stand by it - four-years-old is the perfect age for a first Disney trip.  If Lanie's infatuation with magic slippers and talking mirrors was decreasing before, it has gained some steam after
e v e r y   s i n g l e cast member in Magic Kingdom called her and every other little girl, princess and every boy, prince and sprinkled magic fairy dust on her and her sister's head, not just once but three times.   The only bone Lanie has to pick with DisneyWorld is that Dorothy (of Kansas and Oz fame) isn't a princess.

  8.  Do they really set off fireworks every night?  Twice a night? Really? 


9.  My mom and dad are troopers.  I knew my mom would be.  She loves crowds and people-watching like I do.  But my dad, not so much.  But such a wonderful surprise, he kept up, kept a smile, and rode the roller coasters.  And he enjoyed his Biergarten beer like the good German he is. Sehr Gut.  




10.  Who is Duffy the bear?  Everywhere we went we saw stuffed Duffy's?  In Epcot Duffy was dressed up as Santa and signing autographs.  Who is he?  We bypassed it - couldn't figure it out.


Putting three families together for a week-long trip could have been a disaster, but it couldn't have worked out any better than it did.  The kids always had a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle or their favorite cousins to talk to, play with, or sit next to on a ride.  My oldest nephew and niece were so helpful carrying kids and pushing strollers.  We may have moved a little slower (though I don't know how when we walked 8-10 miles a day) but there was always someone available to stay here, watch this, keep these kids, meet me here.  We give thanks for a text-savvy family.  


It truly was an experience worth having and not one we'll be able to repeat for a long time.  So often, a planned trip rarely meets the hype of expectation.  This time, it far exceeded.  Hugs and kisses and so many thanks go to mom and dad for making this post-retirement/67th birthday/ Thanksgiving week so special.

The Day Has Come

        I can hardly believe that after a year of talking about and planning a Disney Trip with my mom and dad, sister, brother-in-law, and their 3 kids, it is here today.  And it's so funny to me - you mention to anyone that you're heading to the Happiest Place on Earth and everyone has advice.  Go here.  Do this.  Watch out for this.  Wear this.  You put together a group of people who wouldn't ordinarily have anything in common and mention you're making your FIRST trip ever to Orlando and everyone has something to contribute, not unlike diverse opinions about child-rearing or politics, but much more fun. 
    It's been a great ride getting ready for this.  Elijah has been the greatest cheerleader, creating wish lists of best spots after reading a travel book we got last year.  And a funny story I have to share, though it loses its significance in translation -- my mom, who is the true planner in this vacation, got a friend's friend or a travel agent, not sure, to put together our trip for us.  We told her what we wanted and she basically made it happen and mailed us this amazing, organized slicky folder with calendars, schedules, and information we may need.  One thing she did was to include a Most Popular, Must Do, and You Can Skip list of things in each park.  Here's the part that made me giggle:  the one thing Elijah has at the top of his Magic Kingdom list is to see the "Hall of Presidents."  I'm not kidding you when I say the kid loves to read about the founding fathers.  He has an amazing memory when it comes to names and birth dates and death dates. I look to him for any presidential trivia. 
      After I got this amazing folder of info, I sat up with Elijah and we went through it, and there in the Magic Kingdom section it says:  Hall of Presidents, "you can skip this one, it is very, very Boring to kids."  You can imagine how melodramatic Elijah was:  "What?! What?! How can they say that?! That's crazy!!" As he runs into where his dad and sisters are and throws himself down.  Too much. And while our travel gal doesn't believe kids will get anything out of it, and there's a good chance Lydia and Lanie will be bored, we will make the greatest effort to see this hallowed hall of past and present Presidents. 
      To prepare for this week-long adventure, I've been to the store every single day.   I keep thinking of something else.  It's to the point that I've been to three stores looking for moist cat food because our vet said it was a better choice, and God forbid I leave my felines with hard, crunchy food.  I'm actually having a hard time with leaving them and have gone to great measures to buy silly cat toys, cat nip, and have asked several neighbors to stop in and give them attention. Guilt, guilt.  See this post, Car Trip Cat from our summer trip and you'll see that we are not ones to leave our animals. 
      In this picture, Lanie and I are making another last minute shopping trip, only this time for Belle's dress since Lydia has opted not to wear her Ariel halloween costume from two years ago.  Since we'll be headed to Cinderella's castle for dinner, I figured splurging for an itchy Target princess dress would be better than charging our Disney dollars for a real one. 
      The girls are excited.  Elijah is excited. To be honest, I can hardly clean house today (because you never want to leave a dirty house) because I want 3pm to come so we can start this vacation.  The prayers last night were all about Disney.  Lydia prayed one of thanksgiving that we get to go on this trip, one we wouldn't have been able to do without my parents generosity. Elijah prayed for safe travel, and Lanie prayed that she could go to the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique like her friend Ella did. I don't think we'll be making that dream come true this time around. 
      Please pray for us on this trip.  Pray that we relax, as oxymoronic as it may sound, that we have peace and time well spent between family.  Pray for our endurance and patience, and that we are ever thankful for God's blessings this memorable week.

Still good

            In the midst of the birthday celebration, Kenny and I stole away and paid a gargantuan amount of money for dinner & a babysitter on Saturday night (and have decided to beg for parents the next time we go out), and saw Les Mis, again.  A friend of ours made a crack about the play list never changing, and it doesn't, but it's always good and always powerful.  In fact, I heard "Bring Him Home" differently than I ever have before.  If you don't know the music, just skip all this, but if you're musical savvy, I envision a parent of today of a military son or daughter praying this song on a daily basis.  Even though the book takes place hundreds of years ago, the moment was very contemporary and still leaves me in tears.


I had to get a picture of the sign, the free picture because I didn't want to wait in line and pay to get a picture of the Thenardiers.  I tried unsuccessfully to capture them. Notice the turned head and the demon eyes.  But maybe you can still glimpse their gaudiness.  And since I'm making connections about contemporary life, Madame and Monsieur Thenardier and their excessive yet cheap, greedy ways bring home something else parallel in my life.  (Not a perfect parallel, but maybe the point can still be made.) We are in the middle of a Bible study called the Advent Conspiracy, just in time for the the Christmas season.  The whole point is to get people to see what consumerism has done to the Christian focus at Christmas time.  It's not a radical point to make, but one worth going back to as we buy, buy, buy and want, want, want and need, need, need this time of year.  So in an effort to be Un-Thenardier-like and more Christ-like, help hold us accountable to giving more, getting less, sharing our time, teaching the birth of Christ, and loving God's people - all of them.  

Wow - completely surprised by what came out of a short entry on seeing a Broadway play.  I love where writing can take me.

Nine for 9

       Elijah is an excited kid.  All   The   Time.  He can hardly sleep most nights thinking about what is to come the next day.  I don't know if I did this to him or if it's just natural.  I often do blame myself (good or bad) for his drive for activity.  When I quit teaching and started staying home, Elijah was almost three.  He was used to the wake up at dawn, drive to the babysitters and play with friends all day kind of day.  I didn't know how to handle this new stay-at-home gig but I knew I wasn't cut out for it.  What would I do with two kids home all day?  So, I took my almost 3-year-old and my brand new infant, and we went everywhere.  Elijah was signed up for every Parks and Rec class I could find - gymnastics, woodworking, lego math, cooking.  If it worked for our schedule, we were there.  Because of this love of doing, we rested little.  

      Now, as a 9-year-old, I often wonder how all that going affected him.  Unless he's playing a video game, he wants to be up, out, and moving.  Talk about a kid who took watching The Wiggles to heart.

      It's Elijah's birthday today and I'm trying to process all this going we've been doing for the past 9-years. At times, I wish I could go back to when he was little and we could sit and rock and read his favorite Sesame Street books (circa 1978) and he could make the "Ah, Ah, Ah" sound of the Count or when he knew every train in Tidmouth station.  I would go back to that little boy and that new mom and tell them to take it easy.  I would tell them to just rest a while. I would tell them that they didn't need to know how a hammer worked today or what a somersault was.

     At other times, I remember with great admiration at how well Elijah could bounce from activity to activity without melt-downs (mostly).  He enjoyed the new things we did and relished in all the fun we had doing them.  And since that's the path we took, I am going to watch with wonder how this 9-year-old moves forward with his collection of experiences. Whatever may be, it won't be without some excitement, and some sleepless nights.

     I originally started writing this post to share my Nine for 9 list of reasons we love Elijah.  (It seems my hand and heart had some other things to write about first.)  But I asked everyone in the family, reasons they love their big brother, their son, their grandson, their nephew, their godson and here is our Nine for 9 (in the order I got responses.)

1.  His caring heart
2.  He's smart and inquisitive and a good athlete
3.  He loves his sisters and he loves Jesus
4.  He helps me with spelling
5.  He puts so much effort into everything he does
6.  He gives me good hugs
7.  He lives life with pure joy, enthusiasm, and love
8.  His fantastic presidential knowledge & Hidden Picture Skills :-)
9.  Because God made him just perfect

A bonus:  We love Elijah because of his great parents, which must reflect some pretty great grandparents :-) (hmm, who sent that one in?)

We love you, E.  Nine times over.

Happy Birthday!

A Weekend of E

A blurry group shot, but it's tough to get 11 boys to stand still

       Remember when Lanie turned 4 - her birthday and birthday party fell on the same day and with one fell swoop we celebrated my baby turning one year older.  No extra gift days, no special dinners later in the week.  One day, celebration complete.

      With a birthday that falls on Monday, you have a very different experience.  Elijah turns 9 tomorrow - actually in a few hours - at 1:37 am this morning, and his party began three days ago and is still going strong.  Talk about the luckiest kid in the world.  And the tiredest parents in the world.  But you only turn 9 once, right?   I'm not sure which event he's liked best but I wanted to chronicle it all. 

Elijah playing the Wheel of Fortune (big thanks to dad for making this circle of fun)

    
      After our school Fall Festival, which I love for having a chance to catch up with friends, but is fast becoming one of those events that fall into the category of "sounds fun, but would like to be at home in my pjs" along with parades and rodeo carnivals, Elijah had two boys spend the night.  They had a 9 o'clock pizza, a 9:30 trip to the park to throw the football, and a 10 o'clock TV show on the back porch.  Not surprisingly, they were exhausted and asleep by 11pm.  Kenny joined them at midnight and all was well until the sprinklers went off at 3am freaking out our cat that had somehow snuck into the tent with them.  Even then, the boys slept on.

   
     Somehow children sleep harder than adults. I don't know when that changes. Maybe having an infant does it to you. Being responsible for a new little life can keep a person on their toes, more alert, and ready to drag themselves up at the sound of a hungry wail.   I don't think nine years changes much of this.  Even though we sleep most nights now and I've almost forgotten the sound of a cry from a monitor, being responsible for that cough you hear or that scream from a bad dream will keep us forever light sleepers.

The cookie cake is a game controller - get it?  Wreck it Ralph is a video game - many did not see the connection.

    On Saturday, we met several of Elijah's friends from church & school for a Cinemark birthday party. How simple this one was compared to years past when Kenny and I spent hours creating clever terms for cheetos that represented a character from CARS, or making up baseball stations or a Nebraska football cake.  Elijah is so easy.  He wanted to see Wreck-It-Ralph with his friends and eat a store-bought cookie cake.  Done. And Done.  Afterward, we headed to our second Fall Festival where the kids came home with another bag of candy, some colored hair, and ready to call it a day.

     Today, the weekend that never ends continued for Elijah and he got to watch the Dynamo win a conference final.  To put a cherry on top, when he got home he opened some of his presents, got a Face Time call with his grammie and grandpa, and even got to watch the first quarter of the Texans.   He's a pretty lucky kid.  A truly blessed kid.  And I think a grateful kid.

Oh, and an "afro circus, afro circus, polka dot, polka dot, polka dot afro" silly kid. Don't know the reference?  You Tube it.  It's pretty catchy. 

A Hair-Raising Tale

      
  A naive, yet not young, girl walks into a beauty salon with 12 inches of hair to spare.  Her hairdresser, sweet and energetic, is on cloud nine.  How often does someone come in with absolutely no idea what to do with their hair, post donation, and free reign to do whatever the stylist deems fit, including cutting more hair than originally agreed upon?  Naive girl hoping for a younger haircut that still fits the lifestyle of a mom of 3, cringes throughout hour of cutting, with the exception of an awesome shampoo and scalp massage.  When all is said and done, and the scissors that seem to mow the hair down like a lawn, are done wielding their power, I give my best "I love it" to this kind woman who worked so hard to make my hair shape my face.  I pay my more than $20, but not too much thanks to a birthday gift card from mom (thanks mom), and scramble out the door.  I don't look in the my mirror, not yet, for fear that the receptionist is watching to catch my reaction, instead I drive around the building. I stop and stare at myself, and my strange locks in the dashboard mirror.   Then, I get home, run upstairs and stare at myself some more,  fluffing here and patting down there.  And then, you guessed it, I tried that ponytail.  And though it's itty bitty, it's still possible. And I give praise that it's still possible.  Because a girl at the end of 30, with 3 kids and little patience and time in the morning for personal grooming needs the security of a pony-tail much more than a contemporary do. 

I don't love it, but it's still early. There's time to come around.  Besides, it's just hair, right?

BEFORE

AFTER

Cut-Off Day

See this self photo of the awkward Hair-i-gami bun I have?  It took forever to get it to work but it is a pretty amazing little tool.  It's a slap bracelet for your hair.  But I just had to have one last picture of it because tomorrow (or later today now that I've looked at the time) - all that awkward, fly-away hair is coming off - at least 10 inches of it. 
I'm a little thoughtful about it tonight.  A little leery.  I'm not the "It's just hair" kind of person.  I'm not creative with hair cuts.  I don't walk into a salon with a In-Style magazine and say, "I want this!"  And I don't spend money on them either - if it's more than $20 I feel ripped off.  Cheap, I know.  But long, straight, and slightly frizzy has always been my go-to hair-do.  It's easy, it's fast, and I always have a pony-tail holder on my wrist to share. 

You have to understand then, how big of a day tomorrow is for me. And while I've done a dramatic cut twice before, the end result is never easy.  So if you don't see me (and you live in the general area), or I'm wearing a hat, you'll know I'm hiding some strange layers the salon gal thought would be perfect for my face.  So, I'm hoping for the best, prepared for a change, and striving for the "it'll grow back" kind of attitude.

If I'm brave, I'll post the before and after pics.


Have a great Friday!!

It's About That Time of Year

It's about that point of the semester where no one really wants to get up.  No one really wants to get dressed or brush their teeth or brush their hair.  No one wants to rush to the car.  And no one really wants to go to school.  Including me. 

This morning, we sat in the van - in the parking lot - in front of the school - and no one got out.  For quite a while. Long enough to find my phone and snap this picture.  Instead, everyone listened to Lydia read this puppy board book we had in the car.  Everyone has heard the story, it isn't a new book, it's not even an interesting book, but no one wanted to budge.

It took a lot of  "come on guys" to get everyone out.  And then halfway to the building, Elijah realized his backpack was still in the car.  Even his books don't want to go to school.

I'm not sure what this is called, but we're ready for a break. So we're starting a Thanksgiving Break Count Down because what we need is more forced excitement. (Kidding.) 

                                                9 more full days
                                     7 more early school mornings,
                                       6 more school lunches (we'll take advantage of hot lunch at least once),
                                         5 more days of uniforms (yea for Friday spirit shirt days)
                                            2 more spelling tests
                                                 & 1 Spanish Test  (in a Pear Tree) Why not? I'm feeling silly

Then we'll take an Alleluia moment and rush to the airport for our first ever Disney World trip.

But I'll save that post for another day.

"As You Wish"

It's obvious, right?  You get the quote.  You know the characters.  You know the movie.  You were alive in the 80s, right?  

Surprisingly, there are many 30 somethings who haven't a clue as to who Princess Buttercup and the Man in Black, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, aka Westley is.  Did their parents not approve of hilarious comedy, of satire, of sweetness? 

I don't know, but if you missed out on The Princess Bride, I urge you now to rent it, or netflick it or video stream it and set your mind on 1987 when Fred Savage was every pre-teen's crush, when Billy Crystal was at his prime, and when Andre the Giant was still alive.  

 I don't mean to come across too strongly but after a wonderful attempt for me and Kenny to look the main characters' part for a Halloween party this year, we were sadly mistaken for Zorro and Juliet.  Granted, the costumes we bought were actually called Zorro and Juliet, but we took some strides to make them appear more like Buttercup and Westley.  For a while I blamed it on my brown stringy hair vs. the beautiful blond wavy hair that Robin Wright has in the movie and Kenny blamed it on his lack of a  'stache and ponytail that Cary Elwes has as the leading man.  By the end of the night though, after one person after another told me they'd never seen this top 100 best romantic comedy, I quit blaming the costumes and instead got passionate about persuading my unknowing friends: "Are you Kidding?  You've never seen it? Really?"  Maybe a little too dramatic, but who can deny a movie with a 96% rate on Rotten Tomatoes?
  
To honor this beloved movie, I've gathered some favorite quotes. If you're already a fan, enjoy them.  If you're not, it's because it hasn't crossed your path.  See the movie  -  then you'll understand some major 80's pop culture references and you'll never have to ask, just who is Inigo Montoya and why did someone kill his father? 

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"When I was your age, television was called books."

"Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that rated the most passionate, the most pure... this one left them all behind."

 “"Inconceivable." You keep saying that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”

"Bye bye boys, have fun storming the castle"

 "I do not envy you the headache you will have when you awake, but in the meantime, rest well and dream of large women."

Westley: "Why won't my arms move?"
Fezzik: "You've been mostly dead all day."

"Who ever said life is fair? Where is that written? Life isn't always fair."

“No more rhymes now - I mean it ! Anybody want a peanut.”

"Look what I found -- four white horses, and I figured there are four of us. . . if we ever found the Lady.  Hello, Lady!" 


Buttercup: "You mocked me once, never do it again. I died that day. And you can die too for all I care."
Man in Black: "...As....You.....Wish..."

      

Scary

Flower Witch

Good Knight

Fancy Kitty

  











Happy ALL SAINTS DAY!  

What a relief that November 1st is finally here.  Not that I don't love everything about October - Fall decorations, pumpkin patches, birthdays, trick-or-treating, candy and Reformation hymns. I've been singing some good Martin Luther hymns all week. 

But I'm ready to pack in the orange and black, ghosts and spiders and all things scary so we can start fresh today.

We did have a wonderful and traditional All Hallow's Eve.  Our friends, the Guiterrez came over and we ate our chili and cinnamon rolls, per usual.  Then we set out for the neighborhood crawl joining packs of kids and families.  I know the kids love it, getting to freely run from door to door, criss-crossing through the streets, but we parents may enjoy it just a bit more.  We indulge in the long walk, wear light-up bling, and drink adult beverages. 

By the time the night was over, we only had a few casualties.  Lydia fell down and skinned her knee.  Lanie fell down and did the same.  Lydia's hat came off in the beginning of the night.  Elijah's sword went home and Lanie's kitty whiskers rubbed off.  Other than that, a perfect night.  

Elijah searching his loot.

And even more perfect, we have 3 big pumpkins full of candy to pick and choose our favorites, and then take the rest to our dentist.  She is going to pay the kids $1 per pound to take the M&M's and suckers off our hands and send it to the military. Genius. I don't know if the men and women in armed forces will appreciate the gift of a sugar rush as much I appreciate the temptation of chocolately goodness and sticky gummies out of arm's reach.  

And if you know me, writing that sentence was very hard.  But this girl is doing her best to regulate the candy intake - as scary and that may be.