Nativity

Today at church, Sadie and Josie and I sang the Thank You For Your Blessings song. On stage, in front of everyone, WITH my guitar. It was a big step for me... performing and playing at the same time (and I use the word "playing" in the loosest sense possible). I guess it sounded okay. A few times I just stopped strumming because I knew I had the wrong chord... Jesse said no one noticed because no one there plays the guitar. Including me. :) Anyway, I was so proud of the girls... they sang their little hearts out, and they stood very still on the stage next to me with their arms by their sides and smiles on their faces, just like we practiced! I had told them I was nervous (about playing in front of people for the first time) beforehand, but I think it's important they know that Mommies get scared sometimes too, and you just have to face your fears and move ahead. Hopefully that was a little life lesson for them... that even though you might mess up, at least you try!

This afternoon Beth and Roy came over for soup and turkey sandwiches, and the women (or females, I should say, since Sadie and Josie helped too) put up the Christmas decorations while Grandpa and Daddy watched football. Seriously, how much football can a person watch, anyway!? I can watch it for about 10 minutes before I completely conk out. Anyway, we got the stuff put out, and later there was a "shift change" when Grandpa and Grandma left and Grammie and Grampie arrived. After that, we finished decorating the tree and Jesse put up my new nativity that he cut out for me with his handy dandy scrollsaw and that the kids and I painted. Adelaide said, "Oooh!" when she saw it, so I think she likes it too. Then while I crashed on the couch (decorating is hard work) Sadie and Josie and Adelaide and Grammie played dress up. First, Sadie came in as Cinderella, with the scary full-face mask on that I wore for Halloween when I was little. It's not supposed to be scary, but there's just something about it covering up her entire face with just her little eyes peeking out that gives me the willies! Her blue Cinderella dress comes up to the middle of her thighs now! That is because she is what we from the South call a "long-legged fraycus." Next, Josie came in with a long pink ballgown on and a pot full of daffodills which she informed me was her wedding bouquet. They sang "here comes the bride, big fat and wide" and she threw the bouquet (pot and all) to me. Last but not least, Adelaide made her dress up debut by toddling as fast as she could through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into the living room sporting a flaming red, super long, wild and crazy Ariel wig. She thought it was the best and kept saying "Hat! Hat!"

All in all, it was a good, productive day. Let's see what the rest of the week has in store. :)

Thank you, Lord

There's a roof up above me
I've a good place to sleep
There's food on my table
And shoes on my feet
You gave me Your love, Lord
and a fine family
Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings on me.

This was always a kind of "theme song" at White Oak Baptist, the church where I grew up. Sometimes we sang it so much that I got sick of it! Looking back as an adult, I now understand why those words never got old to the "older" crowd at church. These words are so true! Those people knew something that I, as a child, didn't. I taught the chorus to Sadie and Josie, and I hope I can teach them the truth of these words as well.

Migration

Josie likes to say, "Sometimes you ALWAYS..." as in, "Sometimes you always wear that shirt," or "Sometimes you always put jelly on my toast." Jesse thinks it's a hoot.

In the car on the way to lunch today (we met Grandpa, Aunt Lydia, and Lynn at the Mexican place) Sadie pointed out a big flock of crows. She said that they would probably be migrating soon. Josie said, "I know what that is! That's when they go south to look for food! Hey... I will be migrating soon. To look for macaroni and cheese and dumplins and pinto beans." She didn't really mean it as a joke, but I thought it was a great one!

Right now, I hear Sadie and Josie singing "I love you cheeseburger" in the bathtub, amid splashing and laughing... I hear Jesse and Adelaide stomping through the bedroom, playing hide-and-seek (aka "Peet-boo!")and squealing with glee (Adelaide, not Jesse)... life is good.

Tricky tricky

Last night before I put the kids to bed I told Josie a secret - that we were going to go to Grammie's house for breakfast this morning. Shortly thereafter, Josie tracks me down in the utility room (gathering up laundry, as usual), with tears streaming down her face. Clearly distraught, she finally got the words out: "I told I told I told Sadie my secret, and she told me her secret if I telled her my secret, and her secret was... it was... (big sniff) that she is going to the waterpark with Daddy all by herself and (sobbing) NOT ME!" Poor Josie. I explained that Sadie had just played a mean trick on her to try to get her to tell her "secret." Sadie obviously wanted to know Josie's secret, and pulled the old "I'll tell you if you'll tell me" trick, although Sadie completely fabricated her secret. Josie narrowed her eyes, squared her shoulders, and stomped back to bed. A hard lesson learned.

Fun and... Not.

Yesterday I heard snorting, chortling, and chuckling coming from the direction of Adelaide's bedroom. I snuck in, and found Sadie IN the crib with Adelaide, with blankets pulled over their heads. Apparently, this was just too much fun for Adelaide, who ended up with the hiccups.

We have been using chore charts for about 4 months now. When the girls do something right, they get a check. If they do something wrong, like disobeying, fighting, etc., they get a "big fat X." Josie did not want to take a nap the other day. Just the simple fact that she was whining and crying about it proved the fact that she NEEDED to take a nap. I told her that if she didn't stop by the time I counted to three, she was getting an X. Josie, whispering under her breath while she stomped down the hall to her room said, "If you do give me an "X", then I will just ERASE it." What the heck!? Who does she think she is?!

Today while we were shopping, Josie had to go potty. While we were in the bathroom, she informed me that she could not go poop if I were talking, or if I were in the stall with her. I politely went to stand over by the sink, then burst out laughing when I heard her say, "Yes!"

Sadie Says

The other night for the first time in literally YEARS, I mixed up some Manwich sauce with some ground beef. The kids were grossed out when I told them it was called "Manwich." Of course, at first they thought it was made out of a man. Then after they tried it, they liked it. I laughed when Sadie asked for seconds: "More Sasquatch stuff please!"

We've been listening to VeggieTales Silly Songs with Larry. One of our favorites is "Where, oh where is my Hairbrush?" It's a catchy tune, believe me! When Sadie went to the grocery store with me the other night, she (of course) had to go potty. I asked if she could wait till we got home, but then she launched into this rendition: "Where, oh where is the bathroom?"

I introduced the girls to this little hand game that Angela and I used to play when we were little: "Bubblegum bubblegum in a dish, how many pieces do you wish?" Cute, huh? Then Daddy got in on it and changed the words: "Snakes, lizards, monkeys, and frogs... how many beatings do you want with a log?" Sadie yelled, "ZERO!"

Dr.Goose

"Hi... I'm Doctor Goose!"

Precisely

Mommy: "Josie, don't forget to help with the dishwasher. That's on your chore chart, you know."

Sadie: "She doesn't do that one anymore. She retired."

Later that same day...

Sadie: "I am making a special stew. Hold on just a minute... I have to get a very precise measurement here and I don't want to mess up."

Good grief.

Mistaken Identity

Last night I read a book called "Just Like Daddy" to the girls. I always tell them who the author and the illustrator are before we start reading. The illustrator of this particular book was some guy named Frank Asch. As soon as I got the words out of my mouth, Josie, all excited, yelled, "Hey! I KNOW him!"

She doesn't.