Bathrooms and Birthdays Dos

Well, here we are--8 months since Ollie's Birth Day. He is getting more fun than ever--talking non-stop, playing, doing the army crawl, laughing at himself in the mirror, waving, eating EVERYTHING, and playing with us. So much fun.

And, no blog would be complete without progress on our bathroom--tonight we (meaning Joel) installed the sink, last night we finished the tile. Here are some new pictures...

Thanksgiving Festivities

We spent our Thanksgiving Day in El Dorado at my parent's house. Tyler and Erin and Addilyn were at Erin's parents' house, so it was just Courtney, mom and dad, and us. Small but fun. We ate lots of food, drank lots of coffee and enjoyed being entertained by Ollie. My how things change...



















Mom and dad worked to make our delicious meal: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing (Stove Top of course), rolls, corn, cranberries, pumpkin pie, banana cream pie...mmmmmmm....

Ollie enjoyed his first Thanksgiving, too. He ate: mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries, rolls, applesauce, and corn. Seriously--that kid can eat!




















Ollie also spent the day playing in a diaper and boots. And of course, he rarely left the arms of Aunt Courtney...except when she slept and took (again) random pictures on my camera...

No holiday trip to El Dorado would be complete without Dad's racetrack...here is his picture.
And finally, this morning, we bought and put up our tree. It sure feels like a wintry day today! Snow in the forecast, 30 degrees...mmmm...I love the holidays!

Birthdays and Bathrooms

Yes, today I am...ahem...24...and for my birthday (my 24th, remember?) Joel and Oliver surprised me with some end tables that I've been wanting! Here they are!

And.....we finished the trim and crown molding today. What do you think?

My Incredibly Talented Husband

Yes, he can beatbox, play "Chopsticks" and "Heart and Soul", and make a mean cheesecake. But today, I'm writing because he is finishing our bathroom with lightning speed! Check out our newest pics! (Tonight he's cutting the white trim to go between the two colors--we'll post a new picture when that's done!) Still to do this week: nail the trim and crown molding up, tile the floor, paint the doors and other old trim, nail the new baseboard, hang the mirror and light, put the toilet, tub and sink back in, and cover the light switches and outlets. Ahhh....a week off.

Christmas Time!!!!!

It's his newest trick. He'll wave "bye-bye" to anyone or anything at anytime--not necessarily just when you're leaving. We have a video but we'll post it later.


Twinkies: Daddy and Ollie dressed like twins for church today!
And as for gifts for Christmas for Ollie? Well, he's still deciding between the miter saw and a new drill...

Well, He Found the...

Video cabinet! He's been fascinated with the knobs for a couple weeks now, and he recently learned how to open the door. Now he knows that inside are videos! Apparently, he has a similar taste in entertainment as his dad...
His newest trick is waving...but he won't do it for a camera. I'll try to capture that one on video soon!

Our Weekend

We had such a fun weekend. Joel, Oliver and I drove out to El Dorado to spend the day with my wonderful family. We took pictures that actually turned out well! We ate, were entertained by the babies, and celebrated my birthday. (24th, of course!) Here are a few pictures to capture it all. We're keeping the good shots hidden for the big Christmas unveil! :-)

A close-up of Ollie with Aunt Courtney...

A far-away shot of Ollie and Aunt Courtney...

My weird sister...

My odd brother and sister...by the way--I didn't take these...they were playing with my camera.

My niece Addilyn in her cute monkey costume...

Addilyn and Ollie with Uncle Tyler. His shirt (in case you would like to know) says "Country + Rap = Crap". Isn't that funny?

The End of an Era

For all you kid-less people out there--listen carefully: You know how every year around the end of October or beginning of November, there is this magical weekend? You know, we gain an hour...you can stay up 'til all hours of the night and wake up late the next morning, only to find out that it's NOT late? Yeah. Well--enjoy those weekends. Because once a cute little one comes--it's all over. (Well, Daylight-Savings-Time wise...) Joel and I naively thought that if we start pushing Ollie's bedtime back last week, by the time Saturday came he'd peacefully sleep until 7. Nope. What happened is that he woke up (and so did we) at 5:00a.m. for the next 3 nights! After letting him cry for 30-40 minutes, we'd have to get up. Man, he sure doesn't go back to sleep easily!

He is now waking at 6:20--which is much closer to normal. Ahhhh......

But all of you kid-less people out there--enjoy these while they last...

A Joke

I know, I know. This is a bit lighter than the last post. But this is from my mom several years ago, and I love sharing it:

"A Ukrainian goes to his eye doctor's office. He sits down, and the doctor gives him an eye chart to read. You know the kind:

E

R S C

M N L O R

(or something like that)
The doctor asks him if he can read it. The Ukrainian responds, "Read it? I know the guy!"

Coming Off the Sugar High

This will be a more somber post. It's been a tough week for many reasons...

Our family was sick this week, which makes everything yucky.

My week at school was really tough--one of my toughest ever. If I could easily quit--this would have been the week. We say the kids are "probably on a sugar high", then today, "coming off the sugar high". But that doesn't explain near-psychotic behavior for the past three weeks in one child, nor severe drug-related family problems in another's life. It doesn't explain aggression and violent out bursts, either. Or the fact that two of my boys move constantly while their parents try to find a steady job. Three others take home food on the weekend because they're not sure where their next meal will come from.

The ultimate? My friend that I teach with lost her unborn baby boy...with only 7 weeks left to go. That's tragic. The kind that makes my stomach hurt. There are just no good answers when things like this happen.

I know God is good. But there sure is a lot of hurt in this world...