Enough about the Shepherds!

So, maybe we overdid it on Luke 2 readings this year. As we were reading a picture book before bed that included the Luke 2 text, Caleb said, "I've heard about the shepherds telling people so many times! Why do they have to put that in every Bible?"

Caleb Quote O' the Day

Two of our favorite Christmas movies are "A Christmas Story" and "Elf." Matt commented that Peter Billingsley plays both Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" and the head elf in "Elf." Caleb (who still has trouble with acting vs. real life) asked, "So when he grew up, he turned into an elf?"

Caleb Quote O' the Day

I never thought to ask this when I was younger. But as we were getting ready for church last night, Caleb asked, "Will Santa be at church?" I'm glad that he expects every knee to bow.

Matt Quote O' the Day

Matt, commenting on Madi's clothing style: "Madi, you make Pipi Longstocking look like a prep."

Goodness Creche-ous

As we set out our Christmas decorations, we discovered that storage has not been kind to the little Creche. The key player, Baby Jesus, is missing! The kids suggested that we substitute a lamb, but that seems kind of theologically backwards.

In other Creche news, Joseph has been decapitated.

Madi couldn't resist playing with the figures in the nativity scene...after all they look like small dolls, I suppose. I warned her several times that she was not to touch them because they were breakable. When I caught her playing with them again, she said, "You put them up high."

Naughty or Nice?

Caleb is using the "all have sinned" thing to his advantage. "Everyone does naughty things," he said, "So why does Santa have a naughty and a nice list?" This revelation happened to come on the heels of a day of atrocious behavior.

Faith Like a Child

Oh, to have the confidence and enthusiasm for telling others about Jesus that little children seem to naturally possess.

Today Caleb and Madi had some friends over. They were listening to the cd from VBS. "We don't go to church anymore," one little friend said. "You don't go to church?!?" Caleb asked, incredulously. "Our Sundays are busy," the little girl responded. "You should go to church," Caleb said, "It's great! You learn about Jesus!"

Farewell to Football!!!!!!

Do you sense my excitement as I announce that Matt's regular season football games are over? Woohoo! And Matt's team is the district champ. Playoffs start this weekend, and if the team does well, we could be dealing with playoff games for a while longer. Here are Caleb and Madi at their preferred viewing spot (just outside the endzone) of the last regular season game.

Happy Birthday dear Madi!

Our baby girl is 3! On her action packed birthday, she chose to have a picnic in the sculpture garden and visit the Children's Museum and the Art Museum. After that, we attempted to have cupcakes at a posh little cupcake boutique. But someone announced that an armed robber had just hit some stores down the street and was still on the loose. We said that we'd take our cupcakes to go. At home, Madi requested hamburgers for her birthday dinner, followed by the cupcakes and presents. Fun day!

Many Cakes for Madicake

Sometimes there are perks to having your family spread out across the state...in this case, it meant that Madi got to celebrate her birthday many times (and she still has one more birthday celebration to look forward to at Thanksgiving). The top cupcake is at Steph and Bobby's with Bobby also celebrating his birthday, the middle one is at GaGa Brenda and Papa Jerry's, and the bottom cupcake is at home.

All Saints' Day

Caleb and Madi's Sunday School teacher asked them to wear white for All Saints' Day so Madi got another opportunity to wear her flower girl dress. She was definitely the most elegantly dressed person in church that day! And thankfully they didn't do finger painting in Sunday School!

Happy Halloween!

Sir Caleb and Princess Madi made their way around our neighborhood and collected quite the bags of loot. Props to the candy givers in our neighborhood...we got quite a bit of delicious chocolate. I say "we" because Matt and I are assisting with the consumption of the loot.

Caleb Quote O' the Day

Early Sunday morning, I walked out into the living room to find Caleb sitting on the couch, watching an unusual television program.

"I'm watching a church service," he said, "Lowly Worm comes on next."

LOL...he was patiently sitting through the church service (though he would attend another one in a few hours) while he waited for his favorite cartoon.

Spooky Children's Museum

Our love for the Children's Museum has not waned. This time when visited during their Halloween festivities...the entire museum was decorated for the occasion. The kids had fun with all the spooky creatures and spiderwebs hanging about.

A Noisy Weekend

Living only a couple of miles from a civil/military airport, we have plenty of military aircraft fly over every day. But this weekend was special...it was the airshow. It made for a VERY noisy (as in deafening, can't even have a conversation) weekend, but it was spectacular. Even more fun was the fact that we didn't have to buy a ticket to the show...we could just watch it from our front porch. The first picture shows Caleb putting on his own air show.

Little Gymnasts

Here are Caleb and Madi at their first day of gymnastics. The top picture shows Madi after gymnastics...you can't really tell from the picture, but she took a pretty good whack to the eye. We're not exactly sure how it happened...it seems that she was having too much fun to notice.

Tinkertoy Rock Stars

GaGa Brenda and Papa Jerry gave Madi Tinkertoys for her birthday. Both Caleb and Madi love the toy! Here, they built a double microphone (with a little help) and are putting on a concert.

A Visit to the Forest

We visited Steph and Bobby's new house for the first time. When we were driving into their neighborhood, which includes plenty of trees, Caleb announced, "They live in a forest!" (it is actually a far cry from a forest). Obviously the boy needs more time in nature. The kids had a fabulous time. Madi loved helping Aunt Steph cook, and Caleb loved playing the Wii with Bobby. Steph and Bobby gave Madi a glamorous dress-up ensemble for her birthday, which she wore to go garage sale shopping the next day :)

Bat Cave

At our homeschool co-op, we had a lesson on bats. I made Madi's group gingerbat cookies and fruit cups, and the little ones crawled into their bat cave (blankets over a table) to eat their snack. This was a very popular activity! Also popular was the game "Bat, Bat, Bird" (aka duck, duck, goose).

Pumpkin Patch

We took a field trip to a little pumpkin patch with our homeschool group. Caleb was fascinated with the gourds...he found one that looked like an umbrella, one that looked like a swan, and of course (as pictured) one that resembled a gun.

Madi - the Fashion Diva

Madi insists on dressing herself, and she definitely has her own unique sense of style. We compromise on clothing that is worn in public, but I let her put together her own outfits to wear at home. Here is a recent example...

Caleb's musings on our new 3-year-old

Caleb congratulated Madi on turning 3 today, but he quickly discovered some problems with the situation:

"Her voice doesn't sound any different," he said.
"She doesn't look any taller," he added.
Finally, he concluded, "Madi, I think you're still 2 1/2."

Later this evening, as the events of the full day wore on Madi and she melted into a tantrum, Caleb said, "I thought 3 year olds were supposed to be less cranky."

We can only hope, Caleb, we can only hope.

Caleb Antic O' the Day

Today, as the children and I were enjoying the latest chapter of Little House on the Prairie (which I am thrilled that the kids love), I felt a painful tugging of my hair. At the same time, Madi shrieked. Turns out, Caleb had tied our hair together.

"I was just chaining us," was his logical defense of the action.

Madi Quote O' the Day

Madi is very opinionated, to say the least. It can be difficult to sing songs to her, because of course, she is the only one who knows the proper lyrics. Here is a recent example.

I was reading a nursery-rhyme book, and one of the poems was "Michael Row Your Boat Ashore." I began to sing that to her.

"Row Row Row!" she said, so I began to sing "Row Row Row Your Boat."

"NO! NO! No! NO!" she interrupted, "Row row row Row! Down the river." I tried to sing the traditional lyrics again, but this time she interrupted with another version:

"Row, row, row down the street. Merrily, merrily Tom & Jerry"

Caleb Quote O' the Day

"Was Moses one of the goodest guys in Bible world?"

Interpreter Needed

Madi's vocabulary is rapidly developing, and most of the time she readily communicates whatever she's thinking. Sometimes, however, there's a little confusion in the mix. Caleb is our go-to guy for interpreting...he understands her better than anyone. Here's a recent puzzle that he deciphered:

Madi: "I want to go on Charlie Brown"
Caleb: "She wants to go on the trolley again."

After thinking about it for a few moments, I actually figured this next one out. Madi loves listening to Sunday School type songs, and here are the lyrics that she was singing:

Madi: "I'm going to the bakery table!"
which is actually "He brought me to his banqueting table!"

and Madi: "We are the bushes!"
actually "He is the vine, we are the branches."

A Day in the Garden

Our homeschool co-op took a field trip to a rose & herb garden. The kids had a terrific time running around with their friends. Lunch in the pagoda was definitely their favorite part.

Toddler Christian

A few days ago, Caleb and Madi had the rare opportunity to play with their cousin Christian. Caleb says we can't call him Baby Christian anymore because he's walking. Caleb says that now we must call him "Toddler Christian." The hotel where they were staying was right on the water with an absolutely fabulous view.

A Verde Bright Day

So, we chose what was apparently the brightest day of the year to attempt a photo session. I thought it was fall now...cloudy, cooler temps right? I wanted to get some photos before it was too cool out for Madi to wear her sundress. We were sweating and the kids were squinting. At least we got a picnic in the park out of the deal.