New Arrivals!

Remember our caterpillar eggs? They hatched! We watched one of the eggs under this microscope (thank you Grampa & Gram for such a great gift) every day, waiting for something to happen. Nothing, nothing and then, what a joyous moment, the egg was gone! When caterpillars hatch, they eat their egg as a good appetizing start to their feeding frenzy. So we went back to the bucket they were all in and, sure enough, there were the tiniest little guys - just like 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle. If you click on the leaf picture for the full-screen version, you can see Jerry, Josh's name for him. We kept them a few days and then put them in a good vegetative spot, hoping to see them flying someday soon.

Then we noticed this egg shell underneath the barnswallow nest over our front door (remember them too?). How exciting! Greg got the big ladder and took a picture of the chicks for us. Jonathan & Sara Swallow (Josh's names again) had a big fit over this so Greg worked fast and we made due with one shot. Good thing it was such a good one! In the full-screen display you can even see their wormy dinner waiting for them. I can tell you this has all been VERY thrilling for my son. I can only put on 4 pictures per post with my program so I will leave the best one of all for tomorrow...

Goodbye, Kirsten

We went to Tulsa one more time before Dan & Kirsten Donohue move to Seattle in a few days. It was sad. It was fun but it was sad. My first memory of Kirsten was in a horrible A&P class where we struggled to keep our nose above water. She was so Ivy League-looking! She was beautiful, smart and kind. Of course I made it a point to be her friend. The next year we were roommates and before we knew it we were in each others weddings, having fun being pregnant together, etc., etc....It's hard not to feel blessed when I look back on a 17-year stretch of wonderful memories. Of course they're not over just because she's moving, but this sure is a great opportunity to share how much I love her, how much I'll miss her in theory (we hope to continue our annual girls' weekend) and how much I pray that God will bless their family as He leads them on to this next chapter. Kirsten, I'm coming up for some of that coffee soon! We'll need it for wee hour tradition...

Yet More Memories

I wouldn't have thought to put this one on had not Charissa reminded me of it. Thanks! This is me and Charissa (right) with Angel, another one of our 'Jenks House' roommates on a spontaneous trip to Steal Your Dollar City. I'm so glad we were silly enough to get this tin picture done! I'm laughing even now. And we were so mad at Angel for smiling! Everyone knows that NOone smiled back then! Maybe that's why my gun is aimed the way it is. Just kidding, Angel! There's far more in the memory pot where these girls come from. I'm mischieviously laughing all the while I'm typing here...oh, the things I could post about the Jenks House!

SDC Memories

This is my Mom. She came to visit us this last Chrismastime and we took her to Silver Dollar City because the lights are super-amazing. She knows this. She was really looking forward to the spectacle. What she didn't know about was the new roller-coaster built since she had been there last. She got off the "old" one (mild by today's standards) and said "That was great! I'm done now." Greg and I said "Oh no you're not!" I drug her down to the new one and convinced her it wasn't too bad -- really fun, actually! Just one or two loops, I'm pretty sure. She asked several times in line, "Just a couple loops, right?" I was certain. Well...after 5 loops and many terrified screams, she announced to me, "That was exciting. DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN." The truth is, if I ever get the chance again, I'm afraid I will. I laughed so hard! She was more fun than the ride itself!

I love you Mom! You're a good sport!

Silver Dollar City

Like I mentioned before, my family explored outside of Disney when I was growing up and Silver Dollar City was one of those great places we discovered. If you've never been, consider it. It's clean, beautiful, SO fun, and a little less cheesy than the rest of Branson. We finally did a summer trip there on Saturday and learned something I've been getting real curious about lately. Yes, Joshua HAS grown sharply in the last few months. How do I know? Because he's officially tall enough for the scary rides now! He's so funny to watch. While grown men (i.e., Daddy) are at least a little terrorized by the insane dips and swings of that stuff, Joshua's affect remains flat, unimpressed, ho hum. You only know how he really feels about it after he's gotten off and is jumping up and down wanting to go again. I have a different SDC memory that I plan to blog about soon...Mom, hang on, you're about to be front and center!

There's Something Wrong With Me

I was talking to my friend Tempelle this morning and we (well, she) started discussing purses. She commented on how she was really liking this giraffe-patterened purse until she noticed that everyone else was suddenly carrying it. Really? She went on to mention the popular disc-shaped purse and the over-sized ones, etc. -- and that's when it occurred to me that something is genetically wrong with me. I don't notice purses. When I mentioned this to Tempelle she confirmed my problem by noting that I've been carrying the same bag for years, every day and for every season. Admitting this is humiliating, knowing the deep sense of style so many of my friends have. This will certainly test the sincerity of your fondness for me. But wait, I'm on a roll, I have more to get out of the closet. I have never, will never and have no desire to get a mani/pedicure done. There, I said it! My crowd here loves to do that, and when its mentioned as a possibility for something to do, I realize I have some paperwork for taxes to get done. This, too, I confessed to Tempelle and as a true friend she assured me that she has problems too. For example, when she notices that everyone's hair is looking like Katie Holmes or that 20 people at church are carrying the same purse, she likes to laugh at them. Point her finger, even. I realize she is only trying to keep me from despairing and going to see what else is in my closet but boy, I sure do appreciate her. Thanks, Tempelle! I'll keep your secret if you keep mine.

Father's Day

Josh and I discovered this place last week and decided to bring Daddy out here because this is just the kind of thing he loves. Greg is a nature guy. When he was just a little older than Josh's age he was spending hours alone adventuring through woods and ponds, just he and his gun. Though I can't fathom letting Josh do something like that, I'm thankful Greg keeps a good bit of 'Huck Fin' in him. These two were climbing to the top of the falls and sliding down to the swimmin' hole we were playing in. It was so fun! Of course anyone who knows Greg knows he DID have to find a couple of snakes. No, not just find them, but get down into the rock crevices they were hiding in. That's when I had to grab little Huck's hand and say, "If we see Daddy again its by the grace of God. Come with Mommy." Josh began to cry. Not because he feared the snakes but because he wanted to sniff them out with Daddy. Why don't I understand? Ahh, such shortcomings. As we drove away in air-conditioning I thought nostalgically, we used to have to drive a good 5 hours for a place like this. Now its just 30 minutes away...

Summer Science

This was great, I just couldn't believe this. First of all, Joshua actually caught a butterfly and two moths yesterday. But the fascinating part is that we actually watched one of the moths lay eggs! Josh insisted that was what was happening but I, thinking the poor moth was contorting himself out of captive agony, tried to soften sad news by telling Josh he was just sick. No, she wasn't. If you click on the picture you can see a tiny white dot on the little piece of grass in the front. That's one of the many deposits. Josh was so excited about this, he actually drew a picture of the event (another thing I couldn't believe - very unusual response). Note the big brown eyes and sticking-up hair at the bottom. That's him peeking up at his container of treasures! We said goodbye to our flying friends but we've kept the eggs!

Why It's Fun Being A Kid

Summer rain, splashy puddles, a big red umbrella....don't you want to be 7 and out of school again?

I just looked it up....it was Robert Frost, actually, who wrote the "fences" quote. There goes all my credibility.

Josh, The Boy Next Door

We've never formally met the backyard neighbors except for an incident a few weeks ago when Josh and I were hiding in the closet with helmets, listening to tornado sirens, while Greg was atop Joshua's swingset fort with a video camera. The backyard Dad did come out to see if Greg was catching the ACTUAL twister that had been spotted near us (yes he did catch it - if you think I'm kidding, come watch the video). So they probably chalked us up as irrational and didn't bother telling us their names. Good call. Anyway, yesterday there were bubbles and little girl squeals coming out from that yard and I watched Joshua run and find his new mega-bubble wand, climb up the fence and offer the girls more action. He stood up there quite a while waving out giant bubbles for them, keeping the squeals afresh. I believe it was Mark Twain who said "Fences make good neighbors". Maybe so, but climbing the fence with big bubbles might make it even better.

Feathered Friends

We are expecting! We have been getting into bird-watching around here because, well, you just can't help it. They're all up near the house all the time doing the funniest things - especially now in nesting season. My friend Lorri has been helping me learn different birds and how to attract them. She even gave me a handmade birdhouse. We've had alot of tire-kickers for the birdhouse (no lease agreement yet) but it turns out all you need is a covered porch. That, and a tolerance for bird mess at your front door. This could be the deterrent we've been needing for those door-to-door solicitors (neighbors come through the garage way, you know). I'll keep you updated on our little situation. I wonder if they need bird birthing classes...

Good Reads

Every night after kisses and prayer Joshua turns on his bed lamp and wants to read a few books. He likes for me to pick them out for him and inevitably one of these is in the selection. They're excellent. If you're looking for some new material, both of these have great pictures and stories. Another younger child favorite (not pictured) is 'Song of Night' by Katherine Riley Nakamura. We still quote the sweet lines from that book. I think they're all online finds only now. Anyway, we still keep a child monitor on in Josh's room and its precious to overhear him reading these and others so expressively now. For those of you who were wondering, yes, every age has something you love more than ever!

Special thanks to Grammy, Aunt Bea and the Bullards for these book gifts!