The family funnies of 2007

Nov 2007
I was in the office, using our super-duper powerful stapler. The sound of it firing the staple through paper sounds a little like a gun shot. Jackson was in the room with me, on the floor playing with something. "That scared me!" he said the first time I used it. The next time I warned him, "Ok, Jackson, here comes the loud noise again." Bang! it went. "Oh," he said with a proud smile, "that time it only scared my eyes."

Davis: I think I want two jobs when I grow up. Actually, I think I want to quit a job.

Jackson (3 1/2yo): Let's pretend you're a good mommy and I am a Star Light.
Mommy (32yo): Ok, Jackson. (to myself) I wonder what a Star Light is? ...And hey, what did you just say?

Davis (6yo): Daddy, Mommy got into a car crash today.
Daddy: She did, huh?
Davis: ummm... (pause, think, think, think) November Fools!!

Aunt Ming, hearing a commotion from the other room said, "Jackson, are you hitting Baby Weston?" To which Jackson answered, "Not anymore!"

Christmas 2007

What fun Christmas is. Such a flurry of activity and blur of wrapping paper. In the space of 36 hours, we celebrated in three different homes: with Grandpa/ma Glover, Grandpa/ma Snodgrass, and at our own home. Here are our snaps, all jumbled together.

At Grandma & Grandpa Glover's house

At our home

Our little ham (he literally poses whenever the camera comes out! It makes taking pictures of him a joy!)


At the last minute, I threw a little red bell (bigger than a choking hazard) into his stocking. It was by far his favorite thing of the day. It you are wondering, the bell is in his mouth in this picture. He is doing his best to smile around it.

Cousin Jenna and a bit of her purple splendor. We had to convince her to take the gloves off a number of times so that she could function (i.e. open gifts, eat her dinner, put her shoes on). It's tough to do much of anything with slipppery gloves on. But one thing is for sure, SHE LOVED THEM!

A favorite gift of Jackson's was a football helmet and uniform (Seahawks, of course). I had to convince him to remove it to go to bed that night. He is our little football fanatic. Today he woke up asking when he could play tackle with Daddy. It is going to be a long 9 hours until daddy gets home!

Davis, with a winning smile, loved everything inside his stocking...especially the oraanges!

An event worth noting, we took a staged picture of Grandma and Grandpa Snodgrass with the grandkids (we never do that!).

It was a good Christmas.

Mercy Peaches

This is my grandmother (isn't she gorgeous?). My grandfather married her when I was about 4 years old. He passed away about three years ago, but Grandma Jeanette helps us keep him alive in our hearts through thoughtful cards, notes and stories.

I have always loved Grandma, but recently I have gotten to know her better - adult to adult. She is warm, thoughtful, energetic, and terrifically creative. She also has a deep faith in the Lord. I love to listen to her talk about the Lord's faithfulness and goodness. And He really is faithful and good. Can I tell you a short story?

On September 9th, after canning peaches Grandma was driving down the street when she somehow missed seeing a stop sign. She blew through it and was hit by an oncoming car. The accident was powerful, breaking her wrist very badly and totalling both cars. When her car came to a stop after the impact, there were peaches in her lap. She looked up at the car's ceiling and all around her were shards of mason-jar glass that had sunk into the interior. Miraculously, not one piece of glass hit her. When we heard of the accident and learned of how the Lord really protected her from so much more harm we were so thankful for the Great Mercy of the Lord.

Yesterday, Grandma brought us a little Christmas gift - including one jar of peaches, salvaged from the horrible crash. She was so apologetic that there was only one jar- just enough for one meal, really. I smiled at her, held up the jar and replied, "These are mercy peaches, and I'll take them however I can get them."

Merry Christmas, Grandma Jeanette. And thank you, Grandpa Bob, for marrying her into our family.

We're BACK!!

Ryan treated me to 7 nights of Hawaiian sun and surf last week in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary. The kids were well taken care of, so I enjoyed every minute of our time away. A friend asked me what my favorite part of the trip was. How do you boil eight wonderful days down to one moment? You can't. So my answer was, "the three-hour nap I took on day four." "YOU WENT TO HAWAII FOR A NAP??" she replied. Yes, I did. It is great to wake up from a nap in Hawaii.

A few other highlights... When we arrived, Hawaii was experiencing the largest storm it had seen in 22 years. Winds were 10 miles-an-hour short of hurricane force. The vacationers who had been there a week had not seen the sun once. The most ritzy part of the island was flooded out and without electricity. Our first morning (we arrived late, late and in the dark) we awoke to waters that had been churned into a brown mess (and notice the wind-blown palm trees):

But by the next day, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset, with winds that had begun to return to normal:

We snorkeled, swam with turtles, boogie boarded (and rinsed much sand from our bathing suits), watched the sun rise from highest point in Hawaii: you drive up from sea level to literally 10,032 feet in just 20 miles of switch-back, no-guard-rail pavement...oh and you do that before sunrise so it is pitch dark. Yes, you awake sometime before 4AM to make the 90 minute drive - but you don't do it alone. It is also freezing cold up there, so the wait is frigid, but you are treated to a lovely, lovely sunrise.

The days were fun and passed by not-too-fast, but not-too-slow. When it was time to return home, we were both ready. We missed the kids on that last day. Incidentally, I called home two times that week to talk with the big boys. The second time I called was the night before we would be home. We were taking a red-eye, so I thought I could call to say good-night to them and a happy, "see you in the morning!" You know your kids are having a good time without you when "The Ladybug Boardgame" wins out over the sweet sound of their wonderful mother's voice. Yup, neither of them was willing to come to the phone for even 30 seconds. I was glad to know that they barely noticed we were gone.

Way to Go Weston!

I called home today (Ryan and I are on a romantic get-away) to discover that Weston waited until the day after we left to become a walker. You stinker!! And, I have been told, you are mastering the stairs. Our own SuperNanny said that you get half way down the stairs and can't figure out if you are going up or down...so you squawk about your stuck-ed-ness until you are rescued.

Way to go, little man. Can't believe you are working your way out of babyhood and into toddlerland. What a ride!

Oh, and Miss Nanny, give us a call when he is potty trained. We'll be home that very next day.

Happy Birthday Megan!!

It's my sister's birthday today. She is 28 years old. Most all of you that read my blog know Megan better than you know me, so you know very well what an amazing woman she is.

But let me tell you, that you don't know the half of it.

Megan, I love you more deeply every year. I was blessed far beyond what I deserved when you were born into this world, and the Lord continues to bless me more every year because of you. I count each day we live so close as a precious one, and I consider it a privilege to get to parent next to you. You have modeled for me what it looks like to sit at the feet of the Lord and wait patiently and devote fully. Your mark on my life has made me a better daughter, sister, wife, and mother. I love you, love you, love you.

Happy Birthday.
Much Love, Jenne

Floodwaters!

Our back yard is looking a bit different today. This is a picture as of 10:00 AM, Monday. You can see the difference between this shot, and our blog header.

Now, where is that flood insurance paperwork...

Second Installment

Wild Hair, snotty nose and all, I love this kid.

I guess my children have a real knack for snotty noses. The snot bubble hanging from Weston's one-year-old mouth is enough to make you gag. But at least he is happy. And yes, the camera came out before the Kleenex, but not by much. My carpet has been recently cleaned.