Ordinary Life

Riley is fond of picnics.  (which really do encourage her to eat vs. survive on sippy cups of milk)

Because she said "Take pitchure!" while  swinging  (Perhaps she has seen several other photos of herself mid-swing on our screen saver?) I don't have to be asked twice to snap a pic :) (but I will snap a picture twice!) 

Riley greets the morning.  (these were snapped a bit after 9 AM on a recent morning- practically afternoon!) Must  be nice to be s o  very asleep, so very late into the day...  (says the one Rye calls on to fetch her 4 AM sippy cups...or be her personal heating pad)  And....notice whose bed she claimed...realize that she has kicked the rightful owners out and decided to sleep in...not that I mind.  :)  L o ve our little sleepyhead.

Logan closed out her first (and likely last) season as a cheerleader the week before Thanksgiving. They were given a team photo at the ending ceremony. Here it is, courtesy of  Pam Bell Photography :  (go peek at her photos, she's got some nice shots over there)

From time to time, Riley will sit on the edge of her bed, place her shoes side by side and begin to sing "Beautiful neighbor.... won't you be mine, won't you be mine... " shuffling her shoes Mr. Rogers style all the while.  Unfortunately, most of the time she does this routine  fresh from the shower and sans clothing. I have attempted to dress her then coax another round of singing, but often times, when Rye has moved on from something, she has moved on for a long while... so my few attempts to video her singing with shoes has fallen short as her attention has wandered on to new things mid-song. I was delighted then, when a fully dressed Riley (and perched on the hallway bench for easy filming), started singing her little version of Mr. Rogers' famous intro song... my phone was on the counter, within reach...so, I captured a little bit of her routine before she spotted me filming and decided that she wanted to "take a smile" (picture) Enjoy the show, Nei...

My Thoughts On Work The words work and gift hardly seem to belong together, but I can remember not having work, searching for work...having work to do is most definitely a valuable gift. Sometimes I feel like my work matters little. Then I hear my children remembering their manners or my husband pay my work a compliment and my investment is repaid instantly. When I undertake a project, from baking a cake, planting a garden or building a web page, a connection is formed between myself and my work. I care about the results. I am encouraged to do my best in order to yield the best results. I believe this is an important element that having work to do develops in me. Having a project flop completely, be unappreciated or lost to damage in some way is as important an experience to me. I have learned that any job worth doing is indeed worth doing well. I have also learned that any job worth doing should be done simply for the satisfaction I get from doing the job and doing it well. People a...

Happy Birthday Benjamin! (a.k.a. MeMe) ~Check Out This Day In History: November 15 ~ My first memory of Benjamin is the phone call we got from the hospital to announce that we were the proud new owners of a baby brother.  I had been praying for a sister for a long time but God always knows what's best. I think there was some expectation that I would be disappointed, but I really wasn't. When you are a 7 year old girl and a real live baby comes to live at your house... how can you be disappointed? Besides, my baby doll Moses was the happy recipient of all Baby Benjamin's hand-me-down clothes and... ironically, his Moses Basket.  All it meant to be told we had been given a brother was that I must continue praying. Which I did. Until it worked. Which it did.  ...my Prayed For Sister would be delivered by the next stork two years later. But, how lucky am I?  I got more than I asked for in a good way...doubly blessed, you could say. :)  I also remember helping d...

In the not so distant future, the two biggest of The Big Kids will be taking a handful of online classes via Florida Virtual School .  Because they can. And, it's free. (for Florida residents, purchasable outside the state)  We are still in the midst of the enrollment process but were afforded a bit of a preview this evening during the systemwide WorldFest . Using a virtual white board, teachers were able to share a presentation while maintaining a conversation via microphone and chat window. Whenever we answered a question, the moderator responded on a personal basis, calling on us by name.   In some ways, it isn't unlike the Bob Jones Satellite system I used in high school.  The presentations we watched varied in theme based on which country link we chose. We saw Latin American cuisine, amongst others. The instructors were also able to patch through video to enhance the lesson- we watched a video on preparing empanadas. After the video, more dishes were highlighted...

While celebrating Fisher's 10th Birthday @ Adventure Landing , Riley gave the dance game a go:

In case the first one wasn't your flavor ~ some options:  ;o)

Some perspective:

When Riley woke up on her 2nd Birthday, there was a "pincess" outfit waiting for her...a present...and underneath the bucket- a bunch of balloons. "Purple my favorite" ~Rye What I didn't take a picture of was re-inflating all of the balloons--they had apparently lost their verve overnight, under the bucket (I guess I would too, if I had to sleep under a bucket all night...) A heart necklace like sissy's... and also, importantly, not like sissy's either :)  "I love balloons, I love, I love, BALLOONS..." She sings it a hundred times a day.  Fatal Attraction :)  Cheshire Cat is a new favorite friend We ran a few errands- including a stop by the Dollar Tree for balloons, and Zaxby's for  "my chicken" as Rye calls it every time we drive past the sign.  Outside is one of Rye's favorite places to be... Stepping out for balloons... sisters The Whole Crew Fisher, the double digit dude sports his new duds Singing "I Love Balloons...