our twitter-er

Josiah definitely loves living life! His verbal skills have exploded; and he tells you about everything he is doing and/or thinking. It's hilarious. Pops nailed it the other day when he described Josiah as being a child of the current technology generation . . . calling Josiah a "twitter toddler" . . . only Josiah's tweets are verbal. So funny ~

Here are a few pics from our morning's "adventure" to Marbles, a very nifty, creative play museum in downtown Raleigh. Josiah was full-speed ahead; Bella just enjoyed people watching.

Pajama Day

Tomorrow, Pops and I are participating in what may become a new family tradition for us . . . the First Annual Christmas Season Pajama Day. A few weeks ago, a friend passed along her magazines for me to peruse . . . I happened upon an article about the stress of the holiday season with suggestions of returning to a more simple way of life. Pops and I decided to treat ourselves to one of the ideas . . . an entire day of lounging around the house in our pajamas; no work, no "to-do" list. (Do you think Pops will be able to endure?!)

The sun will set in a little while, officially making this evening PJ Day Eve . . . I'm so excited! I've readied myself by going to Rex for a great workout in the pool; then time sitting in the whirlpool and the steamroom. Aaaahhhh. Books and movies are waiting for tomorrow; a whole day of spontaneity . . . of sorts. (hehe) Does it count as being spontaneous, if I've planned for the day for several weeks, even saving the day on the calendar (opened to the reality that God may have something different ordained for the day, of course)? Getting all of my "to-do's" out of the way so that I won't be tempted to hop out of bed early or off the couch because of something pressing to do? Planning for our late breakfast and lunch cookout? I've found that it takes a bit of planning for me to have a spontaneous day . . .

. . . there was a little talk that our AK chickadees might be joining us in this event . . . If so, enjoy!

PJDay Eve: Pops is soon headed out to an IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) match. He, and two little friends from church, will be shooting through 4 different self-defense scenarios, involving shooting hostile targets, and hopefully sparing the innocent bystander targets. (I personally don't think that such an event would help my PJDay frame of mind . . . I'll take the whirlpool and steamroom any day!)

PJDay:

Aaaahhhh

Aaaahhhh . . . the first Friday night of the school's Christmas vacation ~ if I walked down memory lane (back 13 1/2 years to Soldotna), I'd be sitting with our church family by the fireplace out at Solid Rock. We'd be enjoying supper, playing games, and tubing down the hill. Remember?

Instead, I just returned home from a dinner at Las Mag's, walking up the sidewalks of WF hand-in-hand with Pops, enjoying the snow falling and the pretty street decorations! What a great start to a relaxing evening . . . movies and a fire, still yet to be enjoyed!

Pimento cheese and crackers

So . . . unlike me, Pops isn't really a Pimento Cheese lover. A friend served this recipe at our small group Bible study the other night, and I was quite surprised when Pops went back for seconds. It's quick and easy to prepare; and best when you let it sit in the fridge for a while. I tried the recipe, and we've been nibbling away . . . mmm. One whole batch + a box of crackers have disappeared in less than a week's time!

2 bags of thinly shredded cheese (the Mexican 4 cheeses mix)
1 large + 1 small jar of diced pimentos
"About" 1/2 of a large jar of Hellman's mayonnaise (according to the cook, it MUST be Hellman's)
I actually use a little less than 1/2 of the jar.
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt (according to taste)
3 tsp of diced Jalapeno peppers (Pops wants more the next time!)
2-3 tsp sugar, according to taste (I used Splenda Blend)
Stir to mix.

new friends

Making new friends is always fun! Gopi, Gomz, and Anand joined us for the first time in our home yesterday afternoon for lunch and games. Bocce and Farkle were hits! (Whew and yes, Adam, they did eat ALL of the veggie AND cheese pizzas! I was a little worried after you posed your question about cow's milk and cheese . . . I hadn't thought that one all the way through when planning the menu.) We also had big salads, with lots of fruit and some boiled eggs on the side. I tried a new apple pie recipe, that turned out being a real keeper . . . and the guys brought a dish of carrot halwa for dessert, as well.

Gopi, Gomz, and Anand are all from the same city in southern India and are doing graduate work in engineering and computer science at State. Pops and I are excited for the opportunity of getting to know these young men over the next two years . . . learning about their lives and sharing ours.

(Having G, G, and A around reminded me of our time with Masood. I missed all of you and Grandmom Brown yesterday as I was remembering our family dinners with him. That seems like eons ago!)

PS . . . precision seemed to be very important when playing Bocce with engineering and computer science minded people! I don't think we've ever brought out the measuring tape before . . . :)

cheraw

Thanksgiving in Cheraw . . . . . . thank you, Family, for sharing your time . . . my heart was blessed by all the laughter and catching up on life's happenings; and for the delicious food! I enoyed it all! Unfortunately, I didn't get too many pictures . . . and not a single "whole family" shot . . . what was I thinking?

Birthday Boy!

Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Liam, birthday boy, Happy birthday to you!

Love you oodles . . . hope you have a terrific time today as you celebrate your birthday today and tomorrow. Can't wait to hear about your bowling trip. Hope that your birthday cake is really yummy, too!

Heart Tickles ~ a new blog

Hey family,
I set up a blog for the young chickadees in the family. Privacy blocks have been placed on the blog so that the environment will be more secure and safe for their use. I sent you invitations to be readers and/or authors for this blog. So, if you've received a "Heart Tickles" blog email, please click on the links to activate your status.

This will be a great way for Charlotte, and to some extent Liam and Josiah, and eventually Bella and Alistair, and then . . . . :) to be technologically savvy and share the activities of their days with us. My thought is that we can read their posts and respond to the information as well as ask questions. The last time we skyped, Liam and Charlotte were tickled at sharing a muffin joke with us. (hehehe) So, we can share jokes along the way.

Several posts with comments have already been made. It was a delight to read what Charlotte wrote. It truly was/is a "heart tickle" for me! There's also a Thanksgiving dinner poll for you to take. So hurry to the blog and enjoy.

Hoping that you'll find some time to participate with us ~
Love to all of you~

Snaggle

"Charlotte had a loose tooth,
A wiggly, jiggly loose tooth.
Charlotte had a loose tooth a hangin' by a thread . . .

If you get the chance, Skype the girl to see her snaggle-smile!
:)

Gorgeous Fall day and so much accomplished . . . chores & fun. Groceries, Bible study prep, mulching flower beds, a stroll through Plow & Hearth and REI, a sidewalk table at North Hills for lunch with Pops @ Five Guys, sharing REAL f-fries! Inside and out. Spent some time up at our high school in the late afternoon . . . enjoying a huge band competition . . . I LOVE DRUM CADENCES!

My memories floated to a galaxy far, far away . . . to another time when drum candences were a thrill . . . as well as to fun September/October nights watching the Tribe! Go, Rachel, go!

Putt-putting

We tried out a new putt-putt course this year . . . complete with a practice putting green at the beginning . . . . . . and pirate cannons on which to play! Pops and I get to keep the dust off of the "championship of the world" trophy for the coming year . . . the boys said that it was their birthday present to Pops. But . . . our game-winning strategy? Take 'em to Sugar Creek (known as RV's to the family) and fill up their tummies with supper . . . and then go play the game!!

Good Day

Fun day from morning til afternoon . . . beautiful sunrise, playing on the beach, watching surfers, naps in the hammock, hearing of the successes of the AK pirates, and Pops' birthday!

Good Morning

For Nana Jane

Hi Mom,
All is quiet here at the house. The girls have scooted off to Manteo for a treat; Bill is running over to the grocery store; A2 & A3 are off on an errand; and I volunteered to stay here at the house as the kiddos are taking naps. The morning started off with a walk down to the playground and then onto the boardwalks to feed the ducks. Shallowbag Bay Bill showed up around 10:00ish to see if the parrots had been rescued . . . and the treasure hunt began. Part of the hunt took us to an island in the middle of the sound to shoot the pirate ship "cannon" (water balloons). The matey on shore had to make sure that at least 5 volleys didn't touch the ground. Andrew was great . . . and Adam, Connie, and Amanda were fantastic shots! Of course, as always, bridge jumping had to be included . . . Josiah was chompin' at the bit to be a part of the gang going over the railings!! He absolutely loves the water!

We checked the blog to see if our AK pirates had noted that there was a treasure hunt a-brewin' in Wasilla; and by the comment posting, figured that they know something is up.

The weather is great . . . just warm enough . . . but a little windy. It's fine though . . . the water is ALWAYS beautiful. The hot tub is perfect!

Thought you'd enjoy seeing some pics from the morning. Much love to you~








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