Little Nine Month Old
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Mom
Guilty
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Mom: Joseph, did you open these marshmallows?
Joseph: No. Maria did it.
Mom: How did you do it?
Joseph: With a pencil.
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Long Winter Days
J+M+J
These days, I’ve been browsing through every plant seed catalog that comes in the mail, dreaming of the warm days. Last week was especially hard to bear, since the temperature was below -15.This week has been better, in the upper 20’s and low 30’s, but it is still cold. Tomorrow, however, it may even get up to (gasp) 39 F! I am trying to remind myself that these mild temperatures are only temporary, but it still is very nice to have a little melting going on. We are in dire need of some melting, with the snow drifts coming even to the bottom branches of our trees:
One good way to make the days looking at this pile of snow a cozier is sipping tea with a little cream and sugar. We picked these limited edition teas from one of my favorite tea companies mid December, and we’re just getting to the end of our supply.
This is my new favorite kind of tea. I never tasted a tea that had such a distinct and unmistakeable flavor.
Mom enjoys some vanilla almond tea in her mug, which was a birthday present from Landon, Maria and I.
(I love the bible verse on this.)
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Pictures from Christmas-Part One
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Daniel got a hat from Landon, and he was rather surprised when it was put on his head.
Here he plays with a letter from his Great Grandmother. He never was able to figure out how to open it.
I got Mom some specialty whole leaf teas to try.
I got an Amaryllis kit. It grows visibly each day.
Mom and Dad gave me this nice coat and fashion boots.
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Conversations During School
Alexander: “Mom I need to go to the doctor.”
Mom: “Why?”
Alexander: “Because I just coughed.”
Mom: “I don’t think a cough isn’t enough to go to the doctor.”
Alexander: “Oh, well, I have a sore throat, too.”
Mom: “Really? I haven’t heard you complain about it.”
Alexander (grimacing and putting his hand to his throat): “OW!”
Methinks this could be solved by only offering the foul tasting cod liver oil.
Second Thoughts
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After handing the boys a Java Chocolate Chip Frappachino from Starbucks after six o’ clock (translated as a double dose of caffeine and sugar) Mom asks, “Java, does that mean coffee? Did I just give them a coffee drink?”
I nodded, and Mom cried, “What have I done!?!”
(In Mom’s defense, we had to sit in the car for fourty-five minutes while waiting for Landon’s swim practice to get out. Starbucks was nearby, and it was an easy way to keep the kids occupied.)
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From Joseph’s Bed at Nap-Time
The boys are having a hard time adjusting to the colder weather. Mom: “Do you want me to get you a shirt? You are going to be cold.”
Joseph: “No, I want to sleep in my belly.”
Pictures From the Apple Orchard
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Heated Discussion
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John: “Landon, in the sixth episode of Star Wars, did Boba Fett die by rolling sideways down into the pit?” (Here he laid down onto the ground and rolled sideways to demonstrate)
Alexander: “Or did he fall down like this?” (bending his head down almost to his feet to indicate somersaulting head over heels)
Landon: “I don’t remember.”
John: “I am really sure he went sideways.”
Alexander: “No, I think he went like this.” (Again bending up and down.)
John: “He went like this,” (rolling on the ground) “and that’s final.”
Alexander (not satisfied): “Mom, did Boba Fett go down into the pit like this?” (bending) “Because in the sixth I thought I saw him go like that.”
Mom (While making supper): “Why does it even matter?”
John: “Because we’re playing Star Wars, and Alex really needs to know, because he’s pretending to be Boba Fett!”
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Teacher Say. . .
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Joseph, Alexander, Johnathan, Maria, and I have been taking swimming lessons since last week. On the second day of the lessons, Alexander was getting ‘the talk’ about listening to the teacher on the way to the lessons in the car.” Alexander, you have to do everything the teacher says. If she tells you to stay in one spot, you listen, understand?” Alexander nodded. Then, Joseph’s voice came quietly from his car-seat in the back. “Chee-cher say: kick-kick-kick-kick.” “What else does the teacher say, Joseph?” asked Mom. “Chee-cher say, bwow bub-bows, bwow bub-bows,” he responded. It was adorable.
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Photos from a Tulip Festival
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On the second Saturday of May Mom took us kids down to the tulip festival in Orange City, Iowa. Our Grandma, (who lives about five minutes from Orange City), met us there, and we had a great time together. We watched a parade, ate a Dutch almond bar dessert, and watched a show with high school girls and boys singing and dancing dutch songs and dances. These are some of the best pictures from our visit:
The queen of the tulip festival is on the right and one of the ladies of the court is on the left. I love their costumes.
Street Cleaners in Dutch Costume
A beautiful baby girl in Dutch costume.
A cute little girl scrubbing the street.
Pretty Tulips
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Mother’s Day Treat
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This Mother’s day, I was in an experimenting mood. I wanted to try to make an iced coffee drink that Mom likes to get from Starbucks. I wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but if it went the way I hoped it would it would be a nice Mother’s day present. So I got out the blender and put in three cups of ice cubes (I wasn’t sure how much it would be after it was crushed) a cup and a half of milk, espresso, a little chocolate syrup, and some sugar. Then I let the blender crush it up and hoped for the best. It turned out better than I was expecting, so I poured my creation into a glass, whipped up some cream for the top, and drizzled it with chocolate syrup. Mom thought it was delicious!
7 Years Ago
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I received my First Holy Communion
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31 Weeks
We can't wait for you to arrive, little baby.