Bit of shameless self-promotion, but who cares.
My wife has been working for the past few days on different clothing ideas, but so far, I haven’t heard any ideas on how she plans to advertise her products. So check them out and let us know what you think.
…from your arm, mom, will your whole body turn into one big lump? Like if it just keeps getting bigger and bigger?”
Serious question from a four year old about my surgery tomorrow morning to remove a lipoma from my arm.
“No, my whole body won’t turn into a lump. But, it does need to be removed before it gets any bigger.” I’ve had this aberration on my arm since I was sixteen. It’s not pretty. It’s on the inside of my right arm, at the bend.
“Are you scared to have the doctor cut off your arm?”
“Heh.. he’s just going to take off the lump, not my whole arm. Yes, I’m a little scared.”
“Don’t be scared, mom, God is with you all the time.” (Why can’t he remember this at bedtime?)
“Thanks for reminding me. Even mommies need to be reminded. You can pray for me tomorrow while I’m at the doctors.”
“Can Mrs. Collins help me pray?”
“Yes, Thomas.”
“Can I kiss the lump?”
I extend my arm. He looks at it, wrinkles his nose and kisses the lump.
“Thanks Thomas… nothing like a preemptive kiss. Feels better already.”
I scrub my knuckles over his freshly buzzed head.
“HEY, MOM!!!”
“I love you, Thomas.”
“I love you, too, Mom…” (Sounds like “Awe, shucks!”)
“Mom, if you need help getting a drink of water when your lump is cut off I can help you.”
“Thats very thoughtful of you, thanks. Go to sleep, Thomas.”
“GRRRrrr.”
Click on the photo to see more in that set.
The Garden Bunny (can you find the cricket?)
“EEeeww! Dinner smells like spider!” – Thomas, peering to a pot of boiling chicken broth made from our delicious “Chicken Stuffed with Garlic Butter” grilling experiment, the recipe taken from pages 208-10 of How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques and Recipes by Steven Raichlen.
It should be noted that I was teasing Thomas earlier for turning his nose up at Tom’s Penne Garden Alfredo last week, when he decided he didn’t like it without even tasting some. When he asked what was in it, I told him “spiders”. Lately, they have been observing the spiders on our front porch, some of which are rather large. He ate the whole bowl full and asked for seconds.
Penne Garden Alfredo
Cooked penne pasta, sauteed
Saute separately and add:
Garlic cloves to taste
Broccoli
Shiitake mushrooms
Tomatoes (optional)
Mix in Bertolli Creamy Alfredo Sauce
Top with freshly grated Parmesan
Would also be delicious with prosciutto.
We had a great day yesterday! After going to Uncle Andrew and Uncle Peter’s soccer game, we took a borrowed GPS receiver and Sarah, Thomas, Tabitha, Andrew, Peter and myself all drove off to the Struble Trail to go hunt for treasure.
Geocaching is a sport/hobby where people go and hide items around the world, and take a geocoordinate “snapshot” of it’s location. For example, one of the cache’s we found yesterday had the geocoordinates “N 40° 02.604 W 075° 42.556″. So, we entered those values into the GPS receiver, and it pointed out the direction we needed to go.
In order to get an idea of where to start, I used Google Earth to figure out where the location was, and where we should park. Since we had the kids, it was a good first cache, since we only had to walk about a half-mile to and from the location. Once we got close enough, the kids looked around for the hidden box, and they found it!
It was cool because there was another cache within easy walking distance, so the kids were able to find two caches in one day. They were very excited!
For those of you who do have Google Earth, here are the coordinates for the two caches we found yesterday. I plan on keeping this file up to date with the caches we find.
New photos online from last week’s Mud Party. Click the photo to see more. This happened about 15 minutes before dinner was to begin.
Baths took a priority to dinner that night!
Tonight at bedtime, both Thomas and Tabitha expressed fear about dying as I was tucking them in. Although we often talk about Jesus, this evening was different because both children said specifically that they believed in Him.
My mind is not quick, nor do I boast having great theological knowledge, and I pray that God can even use such simple talk about Him to work in the hearts of my children:
Who knew a tipped-over love seat could be so much fun? Click on the photo for more pics.
There are certain items which, when combined, create a noxious result. Combine a video camera and a young baby, and you get inane movies like this one. But, of course, as parents, we think it’s the cutest thing in the world.
And so should you.
Yes, we did film Micah blinking and put it on the Internet. Sue us.
Labor Day this year was probably one of the most relaxing we’ve had in a while. The Carlson family, who are dear friends, came over and we had a leisurely afternoon together, feasting together, spitting watermelon seeds, and thanking God for our blessings – including the perfect weather.
While the men burned a tree that Tom and had I cut down the previous Saturday, I introduced Susan to Boggle, one of my all time favorite games. I think there will me more Boggle competitions in the future between she and I! She is the first person in about five years to beat me! Rematch!
The children played until the fireflies came out, and no one sustained any injuries requiring a Band-aid.
Micah required a bath tonight. He was giggly afterwards and smelling like a clean, Johnson and Johnson baby. Couldn’t resist snapping a few photos with him. Check out his fat rolls on the picture where he’s beeping my nose!!
Today is our 6th Wedding Anniversary. To celebrate, Tom and I went to a concert in Phily last night. Tonight, we took the kiddies out to dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse – all of the manners-practice at cheap food joints paid off. They were very well behaved, making mommy and daddy quite proud.
XXII
When our two souls stand up erect and strong,
Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher,
Until the lengthening wings break into fire
At either curvèd point,–what bitter wrong
Can the earth do to us, that we should not long
Be here contented? Think. In mounting higher,
The angels would press on us and aspire
To drop some golden orb of perfect song
Into our deep, dear silence. Let us stay
Rather on earth, Belovèd,–where the unfit
Contrarious moods of men recoil away
And isolate pure spirits, and permit
A place to stand and love in for a day,
With darkness and the death-hour rounding it.
- Elizabeth Barret Browning from Sonnets from the Portuguese
Whose idea was it to read A Chick Hatches?!?!
Um, that would be mine. While Tom was gone, we would read it aloud every day to the nest on our porch. Eventually, the chick did hatch! A little Robin. He fell from his nest a little too soon, but learned to fly within a few days. We kept our eyes on him while he hobbled around the yard.
Since then, the kids are fascinated with eggs. Tabitha and Aiden had to confirm the contents of an egg – by cracking it on the living room carpet. (Hmm… Peanut Butter, Eggs, and Chili powder have been spilled on this carpet.. sounds like the beginnings of a Thai dish 
)
Tabitha just brought me one. “Is there a chick in this one?”
“No, Tab. That one has not been fertilized.”
She is so hopeful that surely one out of 18 eggs in the carton will have a chick, that she keeps carrying eggs around the house to ask me about each one.
Thomas found one under the couch this morning!
Yes, there is a rule, now, about taking things out of the fridge without permission.
And, yes, egg whites DO take the finish off of hardwood floors. Just a good factoid for all of you to file away.
This past weekend, we took the children to Boulder Falls Miniature Golf at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown. They had never been miniature golfing (though Tom has taken Thomas golfing with him – Thomas even has his own kid-size club). There is only one course at Boulder Falls, and it’s not decked out with cutesie animal figurines. It’s simple, well landscaped, with great water obstacles. Men could play here and still feel manly. The prices are reasonable, and they even have specials and frequent golfer punch card. Like with some coffee places, you get a free round after so many.
The weather threatened downpour, but we only fared a few sprinkles. Tom did get some digital video footage – I hope it turns out. Aiden got a hole-in-one! Thomas and Tabitha were very excited about every shot. Lots of champion stances and jumping up and down.
The biggest hit was a hole about half-way through, where the ball went through an opening on the top of the hill, and then lined it up for a nice shot. Another particularly fun hole was a shot on a small bridge over a little stream… and if the ball landed in the water, the current carried it over a metal grate that directed the ball to the hole.
We stopped keeping score. This is a good thing.