Operation Christmas Child

I just downloaded my camera card and realized I had a whole bunch of pictures that I hadn’t posted so I guess this will be a “catch-up” week.  First up: OCC.  A couple of weeks ago it was time for our annual packing of the shoeboxes.  This is one of my favorite traditions and a great way to start of the holiday season thinking of others.  We each (except for Peanut) picked a child and went shopping for everything we needed.  Boo insisted that her box was going to twin girls so she made sure to pick two of everything.  Who knows?  Maybe her box actually will get to twins.  With God all things are possible right??

We went to our church’s party and helped pack boxes there and then a few nights later we did our own at home.  We piled all the stuff in the middle of the floor and started packing.

Peanut was unpacking our boxes nearly as fast as we could pack them…

The girls did a really good job this year hardly needing any help at all!

Peanut had to give me big cheeses for every picture. :)

She eventually went off to her room and was being quiet.  When I went to get her and bring her back I discovered that she had confiscated one of the suckers meant for the boxes and gotten the wrapper off.  She was quite pleased with herself that she came across such a delicious treat.  Haha :)

I set the timer on the camera but didn’t realize the picture was blurry.  Darn.  Oh well, we had a great time packing the boxes and praying for the children who will receive them in just a few short weeks!

"Dat Funny?" - Part 10

September 4th

Apparently, a few months ago, Noni and Papa had a rabbit that was causing some mischief around their place, and the girls were with her one day when she arrived home to find another problem.  Under her breath she said something about "that stinkin' rabbit".  So now whenever Boo sees an exasperating situation she says, "It's yike that stinkin' rabbit." It comes out at the funniest times. :)

September 13th

This was back when T had been gone on a trip for a few days and the carpet had just come.  When he got home he laid down in the middle of the floor and of course S jumped right on the middle of his back.  She started jumping up and down (I don't know how he lets them do that!) and yelled, "C'mon Buggy!  Hop aboard!"

September 19th

Buggy got a dancing Barbie named Odette last Christmas.  One day S had it and told me, "This is Doette!  She dancing."  I told her, "Her name is Odette." "No Mommy!" She insisted, "It's Doette!  I wee-member!"

September 27th

We were picking out Halloween costumes and Boo got excited, "I want to be a bee so I can BUZZ around and around (while twirling) and STING people with my booty!  Not my weal booty.  My bee booty!"

October 9th

I had a jar I couldn't get open.  "It's okay Mommy. Yeave it for Daddy. He is stwong!  He is STWONG like Gowiath!"

October 16th

She was trying on her Halloween costume and turned to me, "Mommy?  Can you be a flower for Halloween?  Because I am going to be a bee and I need somewhere to gather nectar!"

October 18th

Squirming and kind of jumping around, "I have to pull my undies down like this because I don't like veggies.  I have to pull veggies out of my booty!"

:)

"Laugh With Me!" - Part 24

September 6th

The girls got letters in the mail from Auntie Karen.  There was $2 in each of their envelopes.  K was SO excited!  She loves to receive mail so I thought she was just happy to get something and then she said, "MONEY! Now we don't have to do any chores today!"

September 14th

Driving past an...adult...store she got excited, "HEY MOM!  You know the first people?" Me: "What do you mean? Like Adam and Eve?" K: "Yeah! I just saw a store named after them!" Me: "Ohh. Wow. Interesting."

September 25th

I finally upgraded from the iPhone 3G to the 5C and since the 3G is so old we kept it for the girls to play games on.  K was SO excited and even though I told her about 30 times, "This is for you to share with your sisters. It is not your phone." She carried it around in her purse and kept calling it her phone.  I finally told her that she was going to lose the privilege of carrying it, and just then she dropped it, "Oh no! My phone! My beautiful pink phone!" Then, looking at me, she quickly corrected, "I mean THE phone. Not MY!"

October 1st

One of my favorite things Buggy says is "I love you more than ice cream!"  She doesn't say it that often and it makes me laugh every time. :)

October 5th

A friend of ours was getting married in Cabot, Arkansas.  We were able to watch the wedding online through a live feed.  T Googled the town during lunch and said, "They have a confederate graveyard!" K, unimpressed replied, "Yeah but we have the Mariners."

October 16th

Doing schoolwork one day, K was distracted and kept losing focus.  I finally said, "Can you please sit down and finish that page?"  She looked at me and said, "No, I'm sorry.  I can't.  It's complicated."

October 31st

After hearing one of those "a drunk-driver killed my daughter" stories on the radio we have had several discussions on alcohol and how it is not a bad thing in and of itself, it's just that people sometimes make poor choices when they drink it and those choices lead to consequences which are sometimes small and sometimes big (like getting in trouble and even death).  At the grocery store we were walking along when she got excited and said, "Angry Orchard!  It's apple cider!  Can I have some?  Please!?" I was in a hurry so I pulled her along but said, offhandedly, "No, that's alcohol."  She stopped dead in her tracks and looked aghast, "You mean they WANT people to get in trouble with the LAW?!?"

:)

Leftover Thursday–Bikes

All summer K was “too scared” to ride her birthday bike.  It was just a few inches too high for her which made her wobbly and apt to fall over.  We couldn’t find any training wheels to fit the bike so it pretty much sat in the garage, unused, for four months.  She had been riding Boo’s tiny bike (her old one) all summer and she was way too big for it.  Then in late September she got on it for some reason and wanted to give it another try. 

So Boo got on the little bike and rode like the wind.  She looks so small on it, and she says, “Keep going, keep going, I can do it! I can do it!” to herself as she rides. :)

T had to help her get going….

But she must have grown several inches this summer because she was able to do it!

Next summer she’ll be a pro!

She’ll go riding off in to the sunset…or away from it.

Wordless Wednesday

Friday Night

On Friday night we had an impromtu mini-party with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle B, Auntie M and the cousins.  I remembered to get a picture of Peanut snuggling with Grandma, but she wasn't very happy that I interrupted. :)

 The kids played hard for several hours!  They were so excited to see one another that they were squealing and running and bouncing off the walls! :)

It worked out perfectly because Friday was Bug's "re-birth" day.  It's hard to believe that it's already been two years!  I made brownies and got some ice cream and we sang Happy Re-Birthday to her. :) 

 Friday night is usually when we have our weekly "dance party" so instead of skipping it we made it a family affair!  The girls had so much fun dancing with everyone and it went on for a good hour!

The only thing we were missing was Auntie Nae, Uncle Wade, and Waylon!  Good thing we'll all be together next week for Thanksgiving!  We can't wait!

Field Trip

Last week we got to go on our first official field trip!  All I really knew is that we were going to hear a presentation on owls, but I figured it would be good to get out of the house and have some fun with our friends.  It was much more impressive than I was expecting!

That is a live owl just a few feet behind the girls!

 

Right next to one of the Elementary schools in town is this wildlife outdoor center.  They are given any wild animals that the local animal rescue service has received and nursed back to health, but who are unable to survive on their own due to their injuries.

They do a lot of animal education and presentations, and also have a lot of stuffed (as in taxidermy not toy) animals on display for the kids to look at.  They were even allowed to touch the animals as long as they used just one finger.  They had all sorts of things like a cougar…

Coyote…

Turkey…

Brown Bear…which all three of the girls touched, although Boo was too quick for me to photograph and refused to touch it a second time. :)

They also had a beaver, deer (head), moose (head), otter, skunk, various birds, ducks, and probably some others I’m forgetting.

They also had quite a few live animals and fish in cages.  The kids from the school next door come and take care of them every afternoon.

There were lizards, snakes, fish, guinea pigs, turtles, and more.

Here is a bearded dragon.

This is Tilt, a little owl with only one eye.

Boo wanted a picture with the turtles. :)

After we looked at all the live and stuffed animals it was time for a presentation.  I learned that a “raptor” is a bird that eats other birds.  I also learned a few fascinating owl and eagle facts, but Peanut only lasted about fifteen minutes before I had to take her out into the other room. Boo came with us, but thankfully Bug was able to stay with one of the older girls from church and hear the whole presentation.  Of course she “couldn’t remember” what she learned when I asked her.  Haha :)

Boo, Peanut, and I walked around looking at the animals in the first room.

After the presentation we got to go outside and meet some other animals.  This is an eagle that was hit by a car and had a full wing amputation.  Since she can’t fly she has a special mew that allows her to hop from branch to branch and get where she wants to go.

Below is about half our homeschool group; a lot of people couldn’t come because it was a bit of a drive to get there. We have a pretty good sized group, especially considering that there are only about 1800 people in our town.  They have a Science class that meets every Friday that I’ve decided to start taking K to even though we have her own Science class online.  A lot of the kids are from our church so I know she will have fun spending time with her friends.

It was so interesting to learn about all the animals and see them up close while learning some new things.  Hopefully we’ll get to go on some more field trips in the future!