Keeping up with the Joneses...not literally, of course

Once again, I am ashamed by my half-hearted commitment to this blogging thing. We've been so busy and done so much in the past weeks that it makes sense, but still...lame excuses! I'm inspired by friends who have an exponentially greater number of children and are able to keep up with their blogs - for the sake of family and friends far away. And we, too, have plenty of those :-) So here's to "keeping up with the Joneses."

We've celebrated everything from the first day of Pre K, to a trip to St. Louie, apple picking, nose picking, playing with friends, and saying goodbye to the long hot days of summer (early bedtimes, welcome back!) Pictures trigger the memories, and that's all I need so I guess this post is for my lonesome self and anyone who might dislike the reading part of a blog, because its going to be nothing more than pictures this time round.

First day of Pre K. I was planning to homeschool Teya for pre-K, as if she really needs to be "schooled" at age 4. But, as I hope to homeschool in the future, I thought this would be a good trial run. A week before the first day of school at Lookout Mtn. Presbyterian Church, the director of the pre-school program called and said they had both an opening in Teya's age group and a scholarship for her. Guess that answers that question! She loves it and is thrilled to be in class with her "cousins" the Clark triplets, and I am thankful for God's provision for her and us.

APPLE SEASON is here. We were invited to pick apples in a friend's yard, and Noah enjoyed sneaking single bites from multiple apples while meandering the grounds and harassing the horses. Our house is flowing with applesauce. Now to deal with the two grocery bags of hard pears we picked last week....

Good buddies Teya and Noah taking a moment of respite after the hard work of harvesting apples.

LOVE the St. Louis zoo. Matt and Beth Kimbrell spent their entire Saturday afternoon wandering with us from giraffes to flamingos.
St. Louis with the Lindley Great-grandparents. Their neighbors loaned us a couple wheels for the weekend. It was such a fun, rich visit!
Picnic with John and Lindsey Perkins. John was Phil's best buddy from high school and college roommate. Eva and Shepherd making silly faces with D & T. Baby Clementine is not pictured, but she was very much present in all her newborn glory.

OK, I did write something, but I spent entirely too much time on this and need to go to bed!

The Kite Runners, or why you should buy a plastic kite from the dollar store.

Building and flying one's own kite is not all that its cracked up to be. Teya was inspired to build her own kite after reading a book about a boy who took some scraps of wood, a map and some old string and created a masterpiece of a kite that won a kite-flying competition. I would not recommend planting the "build your own kite" in your kids' bursting-with-creative-juices minds. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed painstakingly building a frame held in tension by string, covering it with paper, decorating, attaching balancing strings and tails and the lead string. Philip does not begrudge the sacrifice of his thumb, which he massacred with a knife while working on the frame. I was not completely disappointed when the end result looked more like a flattened tick than a perfectly balanced geometric shape. My heart did not sink when Teya only wanted to cover 1/16th of the kite in decoration (I had envisioned ice cream cones covering the entire surface of the gliding glory).

But when we tried to fly the albatross, that's when my heart sank. I ran frantically around the soccer field, trying to get a gust under the kite, only to slam it into the ground. Over. And over. And over. So much for that.

At least Teya was still smiling at the end of the life of the kite. Rest in peace, kite. Rest in peace.

Why David's birthday celebration came 70+days late...and other tall tales.

As you may know, David has some food issues. The cupcakes pictured below are one of the reasons I procrastinated 70+ days beyond his birthday of June 8 to throw a formal celebration for our second child's 2nd birthday. And in the end, I am ashamed to admit that I only went to the effort of throwing a shin-dig because of....well, shame. I walked in the living room one Saturday afternoon and my mom and Teya were wrapping a large box. As a cruised in, Mom stated somewhat defiantly that she was going to give D. his birthday present - party or no party - that evening. So I got on it. Whipped up some Mexicano "pile-on" (a Stanton family favorite) for dinner and these gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free cupcakes. Anyone wondering how it is possible to make such a allergen-free delight can find the recipe at http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/12/mexican-chocolate-cake-vegan-fabulous.html. Now I am even more ashamed that it took me so long to show D. how much he and his arrival into our life means to us. It was so much fun to see this kid, who has never eaten real cake or blown out candles EAT IT UP.

Cupcake heaven.

Mesmerized by candle light and dulcet tones of "Happy Birthday, " David focused, blew and poof, out went the candles.....

And in went the sweet little face!

Here's to MANY MORE gluten, dairy, egg-free birthday celebrations for this amazing child, who blesses our every day with his sense of humor, intensity and sugary sweetness. May I never again put off the recognition of such an important moment in this boy's life and in our life together as a family!

A moment for Davie

The past couple days have been ALL ABOUT David. After a few hours with Noah and his portable little potty seat, which travelled with us on our wildcrafting expedition (lay person's description: picking weeds in the woods to use medicinally while diffusing sibling rivalry and insect attacks and attending to potty needs), David began the adventure of potty training. Oh my. I have been eager for and avoiding this moment in a discordant harmony for the past few months. And here we are: trapped in the 15-minute cycle of potty stops, wet undies, dirty undies, multiple baths. In the midst of it all, we've had some high pitched cheering, high fives and potty treats to accompany a few victories. All in all, he's been a trooper (if not a potty pooper) and I trust that he'll be in the realm of the diaperless big boy within the next few weeks (intentionally ambiguous, but hopeful). So here's to Davie, and to the firsts of his past few weeks.
A first cupcake (blueberry-banana muffin with vegan carob icing -yuck) experience. Enjoyed thoroughly, even if the expression conveys a different story.
A first courageous "ride" on Dita's scooter, of which he's been terrified for the past year. Hold on, boy, hold on.
A first sweet nap in the stroller in Ashville, NC. Snoozies for nearly an hour while kids splashed in the nearby stream.
A first vacuum of the entire living room. This guy is my helper, especially when it comes to operating equipment. Unfortunately his interest has also expanded to operating the toilet bowl brush.

Our D-man rocks, and we love him very much, even if we failed to celebrate his 2nd birthday.

A Slice of Paradise - Pender Harbour 2010

Our annual family time at the Rawlston's in Pender Harbour, BC was phenomenal, to say the least. I never imagined that I'd feel so rested and at ease on vacation with a 2 and 4-year old. But it was wonderful - Phil and I were even able to have a picture taken of the two of us - thanks Emma!

David and Hazel saw eachother after months apart and said, "Hi, baby." Hazel is officially David's baby. He talks about her all the time, particularly about how his baby is bye-bye. Makes a mama want to cry.

Lily is a little fish (and a bird, apparently). She put my floatation device dependent little ones to shame. That's right, shame. Granted, she's older, but nontheless...shame.
A moment of respite. Looks like a good conversation (?)

Sisters. Emma (8 1/2) and Alli (12 1/2) are great hiking partners.

One of the amazing highlights of Pender is on-site access to the inlet and a whole slew of boats to choose from. This particular outing lasted all of 4 minutes and 22 seconds when Teya decided she likes the boat with the motor better. Taylor took Teya and Emma out on that boat to see some seals on a nearby island, which they loved. The following day, Popsey took a group out to see the seals, the engine died and they had to row back.
Evie Rawlston has created an amazing prayer garden above the complex, complete with little resting places, ponds and waterfalls, paths, and a prayer walk, based on the book My Heart, Christ's Home, by Robert Boyd Munger. I didn't get much farther than taking this picture, but one day when the little guys aren't so eager for my return, I hope to follow the story she's incorporated into the prayer garden.

The two Hazels

Uno Mas

On the road again....

Stop #1 Greenville, South Carolina and our cousins Will and Kennerly Jordan, and sweet baby Sam!

Stop #2 Greenville, South Carolina and our college friends Charlie and Elizabeth Hall with their three, Charlie, Ella and Matthew (protesting group activities, I believe, and therefore not pictured). Aside from a brief stint at the emergency room for Teya (Daddy really knows how to bounce kids on the trampoline!), our stay with these sweet friends was just that....sweet. I never imagined that Elizabeth and I would have kids the same age and same gender. Teya is fine - a long wait, lots of gummy bears and x-rays later, they confirmed our suspiscion, nursemaid's elbow. No big deal, but pretty traumatic for a little girl away from home.

Stop #3 Charlotte, North Carolina and a comfy hotel and swimming pool for me and the kids, while Daddy spent some less comfortable time but important and productive time with some folks across the street at the Coca-Cola headquarters. Much to David's delight, Daddy was able to join us in the pool the next morning.

Welcome to the family...

....to the new John Deere tractor. My dad has needed one of these puppies for the past 20 years to deal with his ever-expanding territory of grass. Of course, the term "need" is relative, and a guy who basically built his estate out of scrap wood and re-purposed nails, all with a circular saw, finds ways around immenent "needs." That is, until he is desperate. And Teya is quite pleased with desperation as she has become direct beneficiary of tractor rides.

Here we are at the end of things....

I really enjoyed reading the Lord of the Rings triology for the first time as an adult. Thankfully I got to it before the movies came out. Anyway, for some strange reason, this funny little line from the movie has lingered in my memory, which is unusual because nothing lingers in my memory anymore! Sam and Frodo are on top of Mt. Doom and from all they can see, they've reached the end of their long, painful journey, their own lives dangling in the balance. They hang on tight to each other and one says to the other something like, "well, here we are at the end of all things..." Somehow, I remember this as poignient. And anytime something ends in my life or we face another transition, this little line pops back into my head - sort of a sweet bookend, a little reminder to stop and look around.

Ultimately, I guess what was great about the little hobbits' (I can't believe I'm writing about this) situation is that they knew they'd accomplished their task and for all they could see, that was the end. But what they couldn't see was the amazing future that lay ahead. They had no idea that they'd enjoy the fruit of their labor. So as were are here at the end of one of "our things," Student Venture at Baylor, feeling like this chapter is closing, I'm eager to see what's ahead. I'm eager to see how the seeds God's planted in lives will be watered and grow. I'm eager to experience what God has ahead for us and for the students we've come to know and love.

Jocelyn sketched this fairy for Teya in 3 minutes, flat, with instructions that Teya must add color. The poor fairy now has a red face.
Kristal, Zach, Jocelyn shooting the breeze. Jocelyn can often be seen around campus wearing hot pink massive headphones. Don't know what she's listening to, but she does it with style!

Parker, the ninja master....oh no, he just reminded me of that Beverly Hills Ninja. Never a dull moment with Forrest...really NEVER a dull moment.


They're playing a game, thankfully, and would probably be horrified to know that I posted this picture.

Remembering the lost. A few weeks ago, the seniors lost a classmate in a fatal car accident. Yellow SRB (her initials) are painted on cars all over Chattanooga. We've prayed that this tragedy would be a catalyst for spiritual growth in students in Chattanooga.

Kaitlin and Kristal. How could you not love these girls!

Evidence of the Teya and David distraction/fun factor.

Farewell, good friends. Would you like some "dum?"

Richmond Weekend

This past weekend, we hopped in the car for a road trip to Richmond, Virginia. Dual purposes took us there - a support-raising event and a sweet visit with family. Davison and Ann were so wonderful to host us, and we loved getting to know their sweet little girl, Emily.
Lunch and playground with cousins Margaret, Brad and their three boys, Carter, Jackson and Brooks.

Not the greatest group shot, but at least you catch a glimpse of Davison's pride and joy: no, not Emily...the handlebar mustache. Poor Ann simply sighs and says she misses his lips. She has not seen them for 2 years. That's a long, long time to miss someone's lips (I hope you're reading this Davison).

Davison and Philip were roommates in college, and we have missed living nearby, so it was a fantastic time to reconnect and enjoy some amazing family, who are also great friends. They sacrificed sleep and sanity to have us, so thanks, D. Longs!

THE REAL THING! Teya spent the past month inviting our neighborhood friends to her birthday, so we decided to follow through and ask the neighborhood to a little cupcake party on her actual birthday, May 19. Seventeen cupcakes and many little cups of lemonade later, we were pleased to have had a great time with friends and to have thoroughly celebrated the arrival of Teya into our life 4 years ago!

Like Daddy, like daughter.....What a pleased little girl with her first bike! Surprise, surprise, she dragged it all the way to Phil's bike jumps in the woods, insisting that it was time to ride "the hills."

We love you, Teya, and are so thankful for the flood of sunshine you bring into our life every day!

Feliz Cumplianos, Teya! We had a "girls only" party for Teya's fourth on the Saturday before her actual birthday. Let's just say we learned our lesson. Party before birthday leads to a season of birthday. Teya, Tessa, Jade and Haley (not in the picture :-( )
Pin-the-tail on Snoopy resurrected from our childhood birthday parties

Somewhat reminiscent of the old commercials for asthma meds...just...can't...blow...out...the...can...dles....

Teya and cousin Haley. Good buddies.

Sugar yet to be consumed. Oh my.

What a celebration Teya's birthday was. And what an incredible blessing Teya has been to us for the past four years! We love you, Tey!