Some recent pics...

Alli's preschool had Santa and Mrs. Claus come to their Christmas party. They were so sweet and had a list of things to say about each child. The kids sang them two songs they had rehearsed, and they baked cookies and decorated a gingerbread house for them, too!

The first snow of the season. About a 1/2 inch! We got all bundled up and played out in it for about an hour. It was great for snowballs and the girls (and daddy!) had lots of fun. Charlie liked it, too.

Tonight Carrie and I were playing with a plastic nativity scene. I made the angel say, "Peace on Earth," and Carrie said, "No! Not pizza on Earth!"

Alli and Hannah were pretending they were fancy ladies who were going on a date with daddy tonight. Hannah was mostly the narrator and waitress for Alli and Daddy's "romantic" date. Daddy asked Alli if she wanted to go to a pretend movie and out to dinner, and she answered, "Well...I can't really...because I'm allergic to...sticks! So I can't go anywhere that there will be sticks." So they went to the theatre where Hannah narrated while she, Carrie, and I acted out several of their favorite movie scenes. Fun night!

Hannah has been complaining of not feeling well for several days. But she doesn't have any real symptoms. Maybe she's just beginning to get a cold. She whines about it in the mornings before school and wants to be able to stay home. When I told her that she was still going to school she asked Alli how she felt. Alli replied, "Yes, I feel awful! My head hurts, my knees hurt, my two ankles hurt, and when I talk it feels like fuzz in my mouth."

Hannah is impressed with Alli's flexibility, and she was telling me about it yesterday. She said, "Alli is so flexible! She can do the splits, and her skin is even flexible, and her mouth is flexible, and her hair is flexible, and even her brain is flexible!" (It is true that Alli can do the splits, and she stretches her skin to show us how stretchy it is, and when she makes silly faces she pulls her lips way far out to the sides. I suppose you could even say her brain is flexible--she definitely sees things in a different way.)

funnies

Alli, Hannah, and I were talking about the gifts the wise men brought to baby Jesus. Hannah asked what myrrh was, and I answered, "I think it was a spice or something, I'm not sure." Alli corrected me by saying, "No. It was like playdoh, only the kind you play with at church."

I overheard Hannah telling Alli that she had God's word in her heart. Then Hannah explained by saying, "I have God's word in my heart: in the middle, in the outside parts, and the inside parts. I even have it in my blood and in my bones and the parts that are outside my bones--I don't remember what that part is called. And even in my stinky feet!" Alli sweetly replied, "Oh, is it in your cute little toes???"

November pics...

Here are November's pictures...

It finally dried out enough at the beginning of the month for us to play in giant piles of leaves. Here Daddy taught Hannah how to run the leaf blower. She loved it! I think I might remember raking leaves at her age, but a leaf blower?! :)

Carrie!

Alli!

Hannah!

All three girls!

Carrie and Daddy

The girls climbed up the walls of the "human fooseball" court at camp. Alli was fearless, while Hannah was pretty cautious. Carrie didn't climb up the walls, but she hung on one of the long poles and crawed up onto it. Then, you know that awful feeling that you should have known better, well I felt that when she fell off the pole. It was like slow motion and I couldn't catch her, but she wasn't hurt much. :)

We had the privelege of having Eldon and Gayneita Shaw over for dinner November 9th. They are missionaries suported by our church. They serve in lots of countries, mainly in the West Indies, doing leadership training and putting on illusionist/clown shows for the children. We loved listening to their stories about places they'd been and they made some fun balloon animals for the girls.

Showing off their balloon art.

November 12th, Hannah had a play date with a girl from her Kindergarten class. They had fun dressing up and playing outside. They were so fun to listen to, and they included the younger girls, too! Hannah was so excited for this day, and at the end of the day her friend invited her to a play date a couple days later. So we went, but I got lost on the way there! I was so embarrassed that we were 45 minutes later than we planned. I couldn't believe it! But they had fun!

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[Here we are at Thanksgiving! Just kidding...I forgot my camera, so no pics of our fun day. Maybe I can get some from Julie, but the details are in the previous post.]

We decorated for Christmas on the day after Thanksgiving, and that included making Christmas treats like chocolate covered pretzels. The girls thought this was super fun. It never occured to me until now that it's just a homier version of fondue. :)

And here they are decorating the Christmas tree.

Hannah at Franklin Skate Club. She was invited to a birthday party at the skating rink (again, details in previous post).

Hannah, Emma, and Makayla.

LIMBO!

Mike-the-wonderful made an extension for the bottom bunk so it's now a full size bed! Right now Hannah and Alli sleep there, but soon it will be Alli and Carrie. Alli doesn't want to move to the top bunk yet so this is the best way to get Carrie out of her crib. I think it's beautiful and it's sweet when the girls love having "sleepovers" together.

We had the windows, gutters, and siding replaced--yay!!! That was a long overdue project. We are so glad to be able to open our windows now (they were so rotted that we painted them shut just to keep the trim on when we moved here 4 years ago) and to be rid of that hideous yellow siding. But I'm so glad that the old windows were not drafty (maybe that's because we painted them shut) and the roof doesn't leak, and so many other things that God provides for us. The next project is the front door and the shutters. Mike rebuilt the shutters that were there and we're painting them the same almond color as the door/windows/gutters.

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I think that's it for now! :)

Here are some funny moments I've been trying to remember...I hate it when I forget some really good ones. And I know this list is missing some I've forgotten. Oh well...

Since about Halloween when Carrie prays she carefully closes her eyes, folds her hands, bows her head and says only this, "Dear God, yank you my can go to JU-EEE'S HOUSE!!!" Meaning, of course, "thank you I can go to Julie's house!" Then she quickly opens her eyes and asks when we can go to Julie's house. So we went there on Thanksgiving and most of the way there she was talking about how excited she was to go to Julie's house! How sweet!

Alli can be so completely absorbed in things at times that she almost doesn't notice anything else at all. One night after putting the girls to bed, Hannah and Alli called for Daddy to bring them a drink of water. So he brought each of them a cup of water. They both sat up and took their cups. Hannah drank hers while Alli just sat there holding hers. Then they both gave their cups back to him and he walked out of the room. No sooner had he sat down in the living room than we heard a wail from Alli for Daddy to come back. He asked her what was wrong, and she sobbed, "I forgot to drink my water!"

Another time we finished eating supper and had brownies and ice cream for dessert. The kids were excited about it since we don't do dessert often. They each told me how much brownie and ice cream they wanted and I gave them their bowls. Everyone ate up except Alli. I assumed she changed her mind, but left it there on the table until it all melted into mush...just in case. Sure enough, a couple hours later while we were getting ready for bed, she realized what she had done and wailed, "Oh no! I forgot to eat my brownie!"

Hannah and I got to go to one of her friends' birthday parties at the skating rink today! We loved it, and I was impressed with her ability! She didn't hold my hand much at all after the first couple rounds, but she still wanted me to be next to her. She was so excited when they turned the lights off and turned on the disco balls and fog machines. Ahhh the memories of my childhood all came back, they even played Michael Jackson's "Thriller." Alli was a tad bit jealous but handled it verrrry well! She said that when she gets to go roller skating she's planning on wearing a fluffy polka dotted tutu we have in the dress up box and then she demonstrated how she would roller skate--lots of twirling and gliding!

Hannah can read at a middle of the year first grade level, so we're trying to keep her interest in learning piqued with books from the library. She's most recently interested in history and how things are made. Her ability and also her boredom with kindergarten make me wonder about homeschooling sometimes. But then I think about all the kids from her Sunday school class that are in the same school district. I so hope that in a few years they will be a positive influence in their classes and a strong and active youth group at the church. Aaagh! I see so much good that can come from both homeshooling and public schooling. I just have to trust that each year we'll be shown what we need to do, and that Michael and I will be in agreement on it. And right now we think it's public school.

We put our Christmas tree up on the day after Thanksgiving--the earliest I've EVER gotten the decorations out. The girls loved pulling all the decorations out. "All" my decorations amount to one rubbermaid tub. I have a friend who just told me she has TEN tubs of Christmas decorations! I'm sure her house if festive, but I'm pretty happy wit my 20 minute setup/teardown. :)

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we went to Mark and Julie's again this year. They are so kind to invite us to celebrate with them. Julie's parents and sister from Joplin come, and her brother's family from near here come, too. And this year her sister brought along two friends from China who are going to college at MO state (I think). It was so much fun! Their family is precious, I just want to soak them all up while we're there. I could just sit in the same room with them all day, not say a word (shocker, huh!!!) and hope they rubbed off on me while I sat there. The girls had a blast playing with their cousins alllll day! Today at church someone asked Hannah if she had a nice Thanksgiving. She answered, "Yes! It was a very, very, very, VERY nice Thanksgiving!" They asked if she at lots of turkey, and she replied, "Ummm...I don't know." See what her memories were? She absolutely loved being with her cousins!

Ok, that's enough rambling for now. I'lll get some pics on here soon. :)

Fall 09

It's been a hectic fall for us! Between car lines at school, vacations, visitors, and fall projects at camp, we've had fun. Here are the pictures to prove it.



Gene and Kathy were here to celebrate Hannah's birthday after Mike and I got back from Gatlinburg. Kathy got Pin the Tail on the Donkey as a fun party game, we all played, it was fun!

Carrie's honestly not peeking! :)

Ice Cream cake for the birthday girl!

We were pretty busy on Hannah's real birthday (I don't remember why, maybe Mike had a meeting), so she had birthday pancakes with sprinkles and candles. It was a hit!

Mike wanted to take the girls to my *favorite* place to eat--Chuck E. Cheese! (did you catch the sarcasm?) He knows how to make their day, and of course they loved it. Hannah felt so special that day!

Hannah sharing her gifts with her sisters. She loves to paint, draw, etc., so she got a giant drawing pad, lots of waterpaints, colored pencils, etc. Everyone must know that's her favorite thing to do because that's what she got from several friends and cousins, too!

This is a really cool building block house with rooms, couches, chairs, fireplaces, tables, etc. They played so nicely together for a long time.

A rainy September day! We've had lots of rainy, dreary days this fall.

Cutie with a star sucker.

We went to visit my sister, Sarah, over fall break. We LOVED getting to see her and John and their 10 week old baby, Clara. They're planning on moving to Colorado in January, so we were glad to see them while they're still within driving distance. Sarah took us to the playground at the school where she worked...the kids loved it!

Alli climbing.

Carrie swinging.

Then my mom and dad came for Hannah's grandparent's day at her school. We LOVED having them here. Grandparents are so much fun, we're so blessed to have both sets be such a big part of the kids' lives.

Grandma and Grandpa Humphrey relaxing with the kids before bedtime...so cozy!

Halloween! Alli wanted to be Minnie Mouse (a costume borrowed from our friend, Angie), but she would only call herself "Missy Mouse!"

Carrie as a colt's cheerleader.

Hannah was Mary Poppins. Here she is roping a calf at our church's trunk or treat!

And here's "Missy" Mouse about to rope a calf.

And the three girls together. Mary Poppins' costume was mostly made by my mom. She brought a black skirt, hat, and umbrella with her when they came. Then she altered the skirt to fit Hannah. I sewed a bow on the shirt and a flower on the hat. She had fun and got lots of compliments. She's been watching Mary Poppins a lot this fall.

10th Anniversary

Our 10th anniversary was August 14th, so we planned a vacation to the Great Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, TN for a few days. We had a great time! Here are the pics...

CADE'S COVE:

Cade's Cove is an 11 mile one-way road that loops around a flat valley where there used to be a log cabin settlement. The cabins were cute, the traffic was terrible. There were several deer that came close to the road that people would stop to look at.

At one end of Cade's Cove there is a real working grist mill. The day we went they were grinding corn into cornmeal. It was fascinating to watch that huge wheel turn the gears as big as our living room inside the mill.

OBER GATLINBURG:

This is a huge bus-like tram, packed with up to 120 adults, hanging by three tiny cables, swaying and bouncing up a two mile trek at a whopping 14 miles/hour! There are two trams and they pass each other on their way up/down the mtn, this is a pic of the other tram we are passing.

Once we made it safely to the top of the mtn by tram, we further tested our faith by climbing in a chair lift swaying and bumping over jagged and rocky terrain up to another summit. Notice the two white tracks going downhill across the bottom of this pic--those are bobsled tracks!

The jagged and rocky terrain... :)

Some folks bobsledding down the mtn. We did this and it WAS fun!


WATERFALL BEHIND SUGARLANDS VISITORS CENTER:

It amazed me how many waterfalls and vistas we took pictures of...most of them look alike. It was an easy hike to get to this one, but just perfect.

NEWFOUND GAP:

I think this is Newfound Gap. Can you tell why we love the Smokies? Just beautiful!

We saw this sign at the trailhead at Newfound Gap. We thought if we got started right away, we might make it to Katahdin, Maine in a few months. But it's actually the Appalachian Trail here, so that's cool.

The Appalachian Trail at Newfound Gap.

CLINGMAN'S DOME:

We drove most of the way to the top of Clingman's Dome--the highest point in the Smokies. At the parking lot is a paved trail leading another 1/2 mile up to this spiral ramp to the lookout tower. We had terrible visibility that day, but it was still so pretty. The fogginess made it so quiet and peaceful. You're supposed to be able to see 5 (or is it 7) states from the lookout tower.

This is the best view we got from the top. Not what we expected, but pretty isn't it?

The fog rolled away for just about 5 seconde before it rolled back in. We were already back on the trail down. But this is just amazing how opened up just a tad then rolled back in. I'm not even sure it's actually fog. There was a sign that said something about it being air pollution in solid form...but I like to think of it as fog.

GROTTO FALLS:

This was a moderate 2-1/2 mile hike. It was a beautiful trail. We climbed around these rocks to the right and then behind the waterfall. Then there were some boulders our in front of the waterfall making somewhat of a "pool" area that the water landed in. Just beautiful.

Mike behind the falls.

OH NO! Did you see that BEAR! We were on the boulders in front of the waterfall and along came a HUGE black bear! (Well, huge to us...the locals told us he was probably a yearling.) He came poking along around these rocks, looked straight at us several times and followed us back across the rocks! We were a little scared, but had our wits enough to video most of it. Eventually he went the other way and we quickly got outta there.

When we got back down to the parking lot at the trailhead, along came another bear! This one came close, too! He stood up on his hind legs to look at a trash can and came sniffing close to the cars/people. He was another one about the size of the one at the falls. They're so cute when they walk! But still scary. While we were walking the trail, we also saw a mama bear and her cubs, but they were far enough away and walking fast enough that we didn't get a picture. All together, we saw 7 bears in a little over an hour! Most of them UP CLOSE!

Pretty, isn't it!

That night we took the advice of a friend of ours who used to live in Gatlinburg and ate at Best Italian. Our friend recommended their calzone, and boy was he right! Just look at that huge calzone! We barely made a dent in it as we had just eaten wonderful salads and amazing fresh homemade garlic rolls. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmmm...can't wait to go back!

One day we rented a Harley Davidson motorcycle and drove around the scenic roads in the Smokies! It was a blast! We thought we enjoyed the scenery of the mountains before, but never had we realized how limited our view was when we were in the truck. Wow! a 360 degree view is amazing! It really was a lot of fun! But at the end of the day, we were glad to be on four wheels again.

again...

Well, for the once-in-a-lifetime event of riding a Harley, we sure did get enough pictures to make it look like we rode it for a week or two!

CHIMNEY TOPS:

This was a 4 mile stenuous hike to the rocky top of a mountain. It was a fun hike--very difficult at times, but very fun. Here is a view along the way.

Here is the rocky top of the mountain. You have to scramble up these rocks to get to the top. They're kinda slippery and steep and a little scary considering what would happen if you slip.

With that in mind, I took my shoes off part way up the rocks. They were slippery, and I could climb better barefooted. Everything's better barefooted.

The view from the top! Ahhhhh...so worth the climb!

This shows the steep rocks. We climbed up a little farther to a place where we could recline against the rocks. I ate a granola bar and we watched the birds flying overhead.

While we were reclining we heard something behind us, but I thought it was just a bird landing on the rock. Then again we heard something, but this time it sounded more like a grunt. AAAAGH!!! No kidding, there was a BEAR at the TOP of this MOUNTAIN!!! And it looked right at us and came straight toward us! I was so scared because there was nowhere to go but down the steep rocks or OFF the steep rocks. We scrambled down a ways, then Mike insisted that I give him the camera, I was insisting that we get DOWN--NOW! But I'm glad he got this pic. That bear is right where we were sitting! I crawled down to my shoes and just grabbed them my hands and continued to crawl down the rocks and ran part of the way down the trail before I stopped to put my shoes on. The bear had since gone the other way.

TOURIST TRAP:

here are some pics of really creative buildings in Pigeon Forge. This upside down building is just an arcade inside. But the lobby looks upside down, too.

some crazy castle building.

We had a great vacation! It was soooo nice to finish our own conversations, eat our own food, and follow our own schedule for a few days. But we really started to miss the girls after a couple days. They weren't missing us much, though. They spent a night with their cousins in Plainfield, then Mike's folks came to our house to watch them until we got back. We are so grateful for everyone who helped make this such a wonderful trip. God truly blessed our time together.