'nugglin'

Where I found the kids when I got out of the shower this morning:

Lost in Translation.

Yes, on occasion, when no one else is around and I risk no passing of judgement, I will throw out the random French phrase at my children. Who knows, something might stick.

Today Ben was looking for his hat, and Sara says to me, "Where is Ben's hat?"

"Je ne sais pas." says I.

"What does that mean?" says she.

"I don't know." I explain.

She looks at me, blinks twice, "then why did you say it?"

I really cannot say.

Snow Day.

Will had a fever this morning, which was just the excuse we needed to cancel our day, and stay snowed in at home. While he was recovering over a morning nap, the rest of the boys went out to shovel the drive. We listened to Christmas music, made no-bake cookies (which Joe still holds as the ultimate Christmas cookie - it isn't even red, says I!), and sipped hot cocoa with marshmallows.
What a great way to wrap up our Thanksgiving week off.
(And Will is already up and about! Whew!)

Getting sentimental. . .

Sara, 18 months.

Done.

I'm so proud of myself. Today I've tucked Thanksgiving back in it's storage boxes and hauled out Christmas. The stockings are hung from the chimney with care and there is Christmas music playing quietly in the background. I've baked a 20 lb. turkey, carved it, and thrown out the carcass. And I have finally caught up with a very busy blog-week.

The snow is falling, Arkansas is battling it out with LSU, and the kids and Joe are asleep. My feet are up and I'm eating leftover coconut cream pie. Life is good.

Time to light things up!

There's nothing prettier than a house covered in white lights and then buried in snow. . .I'm in heaven!

Black Friday!

Ok, this was my first year ever! Last year I ventured out about noon to grab a chai at Starbucks, but usually I try to avoid the whole affair altogether. Two things: I'm not a bargain hunter. Where there are bargains there are usually lots of people and often low-quality items. Secondly, I don't get up at 4:30 am to shop, or for any other reason. Back in the day, I might have, just cause I was desperate to ski, and that's what time the bus was leaving for the slopes. But that's pretty much it. As a mom of four (yes 4!), I've seen the middle of the night far too often already, I would never do it by choice.

But Kelly was casting out about 8:30, Joe was home to keep the kids alive, so I figured, why not? It shouldn't be so crowded by 9ish, right? And you know what? I had fun! I found some good deals! And best of all, I came home loaded down with Christmas packages to a cozy home completely covered with snow, and neat as a pin. The kids were eating their lunch and it was nearly naptime. Did I mention how great my husband is :)

Kick-off to Christmas! Hoorah!

Kelly's Thanksgiving :)

Oh man. I totally dropped the ball with the photos this year. I must've been too busy just taking it all in :)
This year we had Thanksgiving dinner at Kelly's house. . .it turned out just right, even though it was all very last-minute! And God blessed the day with snow, lots of it. . .it just snowed all afternoon!

The boys kept busy with the iTouchs :)

The other boys were busy with football.

The table - we all fit!

And little baby Henry's first Thanksgiving. I think Henry prefers it nice and quiet at his house. He wasn't so much of a fan of all the racket, poor little bud. (Oh yeah, that's my mom. She doesn't look old enough to have raised me, yet, there it is.)
This year I'm thankful for my parents, an example of true resilience, they have survived the storms (literally) with no complaint, country dwellers for sure. And my sister who managed to throw quite the holiday with little preparation, and yet with her usual grace and fine touch.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Joe is so smart.

Ok, every year I'm rolling out my roll dough at the exact time of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I just love the Rockettes and all the Broadway stuff. And Joe loves a good challenge. He hauled up the little TV, set up his wireless whatchamacallits, and managed to get me cable TV in my dining room!
Isn't he the greatest?

Thanksgiving Dinner at the Casebolts'

Again this year we were blessed to have two Thanksgiving get-togethers. That is the advantage of living in the same town with all the grandparents!
The beautifully laid table:


Almost all of the family made it down, despite the iffy weather, and we were all healthy - Hooray!
The cousins always have a great time together, and even though there are 8 grandkids now, the volume never seemed to break a dull roar. . .
Here they all are, waiting for their treats. Grandpa likes to make them beg :)

I am so thankful to my husband's family. Ann's home is always warm and welcoming, and her food is absolutely amazing. And my favorite thing about Dave is his sense of humor, just the flavor I can truly appreciate. Thanks you guys, for another fantastic Thanksgiving!

Baking Day, Interrupted.

It has been the month of calamities. Last week my parents lost power for 36 hours, at the exact same time that my mom got flattened by the flu bug. Stephen and Susan were kept home from Boise, not only by a massive snow storm but the plague managed to blow them down one by one as well. I find it hard to believe that three short weeks ago, we were basking in an unseasonably warm 60 degrees, and now we are smashing record lows, forget about wind chill factor! Well. . .baking day did not escape without it's own tragedy. . .
I spent the early part of the morning tidying up and loading my laundry basket with all my baking supplies (including some already baked pie crusts!) meanwhile. . .


. . . my parents were sopping up buckets of water as a result of a burst pipe. My dad came downstairs about 6 am to find water gushing out of this whole in the ceiling:

They had to unload everything out of one room into the next, so that they could get to the carpet to suck up all the excess water that was soaking into the subfloor. . . .

The contents of the emptied hutch.
Thankfully, my brother, their resident plummer was just a phone call away. He came by, and within 1/2 an hour had that pipe tied off, and the water back on. . .The rest of the recovery, including the carpet and ceiling, will take several more days, maybe weeks. . .Fortunately, Kelly was willing to host our Thanksgiving dinner the next day and the whole affair continued without too much trouble.
And after the week before, I think my parents were just happy to have power, heat, water, and most of all, a son who knows what he's doing :) Yes, there was much to be thankful for, even so.

It's been a tad chilly 'round here. . .

Why bother taking your snow gear off. . .better off to always be prepared I say.

What I love about the holidays. . .

Taking some time out. . .


And now Kayte is old enough to take a turn:

Brrrr. . . .

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Ice Fishing Tutorial

Because 'tis the season and because Grandpa Dave has been asking for it...

A daddy's dream:

A hardworking son who is old enough to shovel. . .and actually loves doing it!

A note from Kayte:

"Dear Peter Pan,
Sara and me want to go to Neverland. Please take us tonite."

Happy First Snow!

This week we had our first whiff of snow on the ground. And in celebration, I bring you a special memory from a past snow day.
Enjoy.

Kayte & Will, January 2006.

Harper AnneMarie Wright

Ahh. . .our new little niece arrived Wednesday! (I'm convinced the storm hustled her arrival - Yay for thunderstorms :)
It was a long day for both the mom and the baby, but such a big huge relief when she arrived, safe and sound.

Isn't she precious?

November 17, 2010

Waiting for Harper:


There she is:

There is nothing I like better than hanging out in a hospital waiting room, anticipating the arrival of a new life. It is so exciting! Out there it is quiet and serene, and we watch the minutes tick by and entertain ourselves with stories of our own labor experiences, now long ago and laughable. Knowing full well that we are safely out of the drama of the delivery room, we just get to swoop in for the celebrating! Little Harper's big birth day had plenty of excitement, but at the end, there she was, perfect and pink and girly. Sweet!

Congrats you guys :)

The Great Windstorm of 2010.

Our neighbor's tree:


Our neighbor's house:

We managed to escape without so much as a stray branch. But I tell you, I can't remember a storm like that before, ever. Hail, 85 mile an hour winds, and thunder and lightning. It was pretty magnificent.
I cannot believe our kids slept through it. Only Sara woke up, and that was because her nightlight went out when the power died. This Thanksgiving it will be a fresh reminder to be thankful for power and shelter!

Found, behind the couch.

Ahh. . .that's where all his socks went. . .