Why I love my Mom

My mom is one of the coolest people I know.   She is funny and cheerful and smart and kind. I can call her up anytime to ask advice, vent, or just share a laugh. And she dispenses wonderfully wise, helpful advice without making me feel like I'm crazy, even if my problems are sometimes a little weird or dramatic.

 She once dropped everything (including leaving her job in the middle of a workday) to drive two hours to Lubbock to be with me when I was distraught and needed my mommy. Why was I so upset you ask?  Was one of my kids deathly sick?  Did my husband lose his job?  Nope. I was inconsolable because that morning I had accidentally run over our cat with my van. I couldn't handle telling my kids, and Reed was out of town.  My mom swooped in like Wonder Woman and took charge. She played with the kids, distracting them when their mom had to run to the bedroom and cry some more during random moments in the day.  She took us out to lunch. She stayed with me until Reed got home that night. Then she took the cat's body home with her so she could bury it on her land.  I couldn't stand the idea of throwing our kitty in the dumpster.

I am so grateful that I have my mom.  I am grateful that I have her to talk to. To hear about her life and her ups and downs, and to tell her about mine.  I am grateful for her wisdom and her love. I will miss her terribly when we move, but there are phones, and email, and cars and airplanes. At least I have her in my life. I know that there are women all around who don't have their mothers.  I will try not to take mine for granted.

Lately

A whole lot has been going on in our lives since the last post.  Since I have done a terrible job of updating, and I'm going to do better, here's a brief re-cap post on the past few months.  Next post, I'll finally get around to what's going on now. 

 In October, we did Halloween

 

 In November, Maggie and Ellen were baptized.

 Aren't they beautiful in their white dresses?  Thank you Auntie Vicki!

 I love pictures of Ellen laughing.

 Maggie is too cool. 

And, then Christmas.  They're all saying "Ho, Ho, Ho". 

Just Because

Bored.  Waiting for dinner.

Paul's best attempt at a silly face.  I don't think he was really in the mood.

Not the same restaurant.  We were out by ourselves.  But it fits the theme.

Kindergarten program

Maggie and Ellen had their Kindergarten program last week at school.  We were too far away to get good pictures and video of the actual program, so we had them recreate some parts at home.  The program was a garden theme.  I especially loved the "Photosynthesis Dance."  I guess it's not really a dance, but I don't know what else to call it.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of all the kindergarteners together.  Picture one hundred-some-odd five and six year olds all in red shirts and lady bug hats.  Cute. 

Some Christmas pictures

 Reed made the kids wooden wands for Christmas

Paul lived in his Harry Potter robes for almost a week

We love living in Texas

Reed has found a new hobby. Firearms. I approve. There's something extremely therapeutic about the smell of gunpowder and the thrill of blasting a cardboard target to smithereens. Paul also enjoys shooting the guns. Maggie would if we would let her, she's not quite old enough yet. I think Ellen would enjoy watching, she's more of a peace-keeper, and she has more sense than the rest of us.
Kendall brought home his girl to meet the fam for Thanksgiving. So we decided to see if she really was a keeper. We took her shooting. She did pretty well, so I guess he can keep her. :) We love you, Victoria!

Halloween

Happy Halloween! We went to a party at Pegi's house on Friday night. I love this picture, because it is so us. Paul is whacking Reed in the face with his sword and Maggie's hat is falling over her eyes. Grace personified, that's us. Reed and I were zombies, Paul was a warrior and Maggie and Ellen were witches. Too fun!
This picture is on Nana's (Pegi's) front porch. The mummy's name is Pete. He only gets to come out on Halloween. The rest of the time, Mom stands him in front of the attic window so people can just catch a glimpse of a strange, person-shaped shadow looking down.