Hieroglyphics

(the girls' room)
interpretation: "if you jump on the bed mom will whack you!"

(by the basement door)
interpretation: "there's lots of trees outside"

(Gracie's dresser)
interpretation: "too many clothes"

(the kitchen table)
interpretation: "dinner tonight was about 2 stars"

(the bathroom door)
interpretation: "I love the way mom decorated the bathroom"

(the arm of the couch)
interpretation: "this way to the toys"

(hallway)
interpretation: "i was starting to draw a star but then mom walked up"

Missing Baby

ATTENTION!!

Someone has taken my sweet, mellow, cuddly baby girl and replaced her with a bigger, sassy, independent version...No Fair!!

Mother

Dear Mom,

Happy Birthday to you! Do they have birthday parties in heaven? I like to think they do...after all, it's a place of happiness and parties are SO happy!

If you were here we'd probably be gorging ourselves on hot & spicy chicken from Chinese Chef, followed by some Grasshoppers and milk...yummy! I'll have some for you!

If you were here we'd laugh at the kids being silly on the floor, then we'd take a quiet walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the beautiful fall colors. Remember the gorgeous trees at the church across the street? They're still gorgeous...

If you were here we'd come back inside for some Postum and funny talk around the table and laugh until we wet our pants. Wonder how our old friend "Hose B" is doing?! Then you'd play the piano with your beautiful fingers and we'd all sing along...but mostly we'd listen to your angelic voice.

If you were here you'd snuggle up with the girls on the couch and read "Little House on the Prairie" and put their hair in pink rollers--and you'd be careful to never brush too hard.

If you were here you'd sit on the porch steps with the boys and tell them stories about "when you were a little boy"...and let them bring snakes and lizards and bugs inside. :)

If you were here you would cuddle the babies and sing them "Wee Baby Moon" while you kissed them in that super-soft spot just in front of their ears. You would tell them they were the sweetest babies ever, and you'd mean it.

Did you ever know that Dad gave me your jacket? I wear it every fall, just a time or two...and in the left pocket are treasures...a cough drop, a toothpick, and a kleenex. :) Thanks for leaving them for me!!

Sometimes I feel cheated that I only got to call you "Mom" for 23 years...but then I remind myself to feel blessed that I get to call you "Mother" for eternity!

I love you, Mama. Happy Birthday!
Love, Amy

Overrated

If you have enough conversations with me, you'll hear this phrase more than once..."It's overrated!". What might I be referring to, you ask? Things like this:

1. A clean house
2. A college education
3. Home-cooked meals
4. Being popular
5. Being thin
6. Kids in matching clothes
7. Folded laundry
8. Dusting
9. Vacations
10. Bedtimes
11. Drinking water
12. Knowing how to play the piano
13. The beach
14. Working out
15. Whole grains
16. Cleaning behind your ears
17. Being on time to church
18. Savings accounts
19. Making the bed
20. Dancing in the rain

...Just to name a few!

My Kind of Pet

Joe's class did a "class store" last week...Joe and his partner decided to make and sell Pet Rocks! Awesome! Joe worked hard and had a lot of fun making his rocks, he would have made 100 more if he had time. I told him he could make them for Christmas presents this year and that seemed to satisfy him. :) I like that rat rock better than the real thing...think he'd be happy with a dog rock?

Happiness

Isn't she just a doll?! Don't you just wanna eat her? I do...all the time!! Here are a few of my favorite Ellie sayings as of the last week or two:

1. Yep
2. Nope
3. Taylor Swift
4. Potty
5. I'm Pretty

Of course her vocabulary extends beyond this, but these are her latest (and cutest)...she's quite a jabbery girl and sometimes she will have very lengthy and animated conversations with me. I love it!!

Wouldn't you just love your life if you could wake up to her adorableness every day? :) Ah, my Ellie!!

Today

I am totally ADD...

I sit down to pay some bills, I get up to get some stamps, and suddenly I'm sorting through the grocery ads next to the stamps. Next thing you know, I'm making a shopping list, when I check to see if I'm out of vegetable oil. Oo-la-la! I see brownie mix--now I'm making brownies! I get tired of watching the oven so I go watch PBS cartoons while I fold some laundry. The glare from the bathroom light is bugging me so I get up to turn it off. Towels and dirty clothes on the bathroom floor get on my nerves so I clean them up. Under the pile I find Joe's football cleats, so I take them to his room, where I find the phone I left there earlier while I was putting clothes away. I see I missed some calls so I return them.

Sometimes I can go a whole day and not complete a single task. Beat that!!