behind the barn

We buried Flower and Goldie #3 this weekend.

Throughout our fish journey I found myself repeatedly worrying that one fish would die without the other, hence, Goldies #2 and #3.

Then, what do you know, on Saturday morning we found two dead fish in the tank.  Emerson was really mellow about it, placing a request that our next pets don't die so fast.  I am very close to agreeing on a dog.  Just not yet.

Ida took it much worse. 

After we buried the fish in the kids' secret hide-out, we built a snowman.  We have been waiting since Christmas break to do it as part of Emerson's homework.  Seeing as the snow up until this point was nonexistent or very little we never had the chance.  Saturday's snow was perfect seeing as the weather was just warm enough to get it packing.  I think he will write about it during Writer's Workshop. 

Eulogy for Flower

Flower was a good pet.

I liked feeding her and how she swam around.

She had cute spots.

Eulogy for Goldies #1,2, and 3

Goldie played tag with Flower and that was my favorite part.

I liked picking you out at the store.

he's super

Emerson is so compassionate.

I was talking with him after school last week about his day, as we normally do, when he asked me if I could buy him more glue sticks.  "I'm out!"

That seemed strange to me.  I stood with my hands in the dish water trying to remember back to the school supply list, running down the list repeatedly in my mind until I realized he started the school year with nine jumbos.

"Wow, Emerson.  You must be doing a lot of projects!  I think you had nine glue sticks," I say.

He chuckles.  "No, Mom.  I didn't use them all.  I gave them to all my friends who didn't have any."

I rinsed a bubble glass making sure not to chip it.  Josh and I were down to just two of the glasses we were given as a wedding gift when I found the exact same pattern at Home Goods.  They were $9 for sixteen glasses, eight tall and eight short.  Remarkable.  I bought two boxes hoping they will last us.

"Oh, you gave them to your friends?.........I am very proud of you for doing that.  I will get two more when I go shopping."

"I'll keep them this time."    

Yesterday he told me the sweetest story on our way to pick Ida up from after school cheer leading.

"Today I chased Nick on first recess.  But, I also included other friends in my playing.  Mrs. Wolf told me that Kaden was upset because he didn't have anyone to play with and she wondered if I would play with him.  I was totally okay with that.  Kaden didn't want to play chase though.  He wanted to swing.  I was okay with that too.  I was on the swings with him until he felt comfortable and decided to chase.  Then we chased together.  It was great.  I asked him if he wanted to play during second recess and so we did the same thing.  But this time he didn't need to swing because he was already comfortable."

I am so proud of Emerson and the way he shows empathy toward other kids. 

something familiar about this

(Urban at 13 months)

(Ida at 10 months)

Urban has taken a very fine liking to his blanket and anything fuzzy.

Just like his sister.



three day weekend, post 3

1.  World, this is Goldie #3.

     Goldie #3, meet the world.

2.  Urban played Batman, which inspired a superhero make-over.

Our family turned superhero.  Emerson drew Urban as batman, himself as Superman, and Ida drew herself as Superwoman.

This is Daddy as Green Lantern is in the making.
I am yet to be hero-ed.

We had a great three day weekend.

three day weekend, post 2

We are taking baths!!!
This is huge news.  All the grout and caulk is dry, the water is hooked up and rumbling from the spout, the shower curtain is curtaining and the humans are WILLING!
This was Urban's first time in a bath tub and he happily flipped out.
And when the kids were a snooze all clean in their beds, their mama relaxed in the tub until her toes were pruned.
Awesome.

three day weekend, post 1

We woke up Saturday morning to snow and Josh, which made the kids and the mama happy.  It seems that weekends feel more like weekends when Daddy is home for breakfast rather than supper.  Breakfast on weekends and supper on school nights.  Yep, that sounds good.  Are you listening Control Tower manager?

After playing through breakfast right up until Urban's morning nap, the kids and I went outside for a taste of winter snow. 

I remember inventing games as a kid.  Ours do the same thing and it really is, well, a highlight of my life right now.  Their kidness amazes me.  They called it snow trail hide-and-seek.  It went something like this:  the kids hid behind a tree and counted to forty while I ran around the yard dragging a stick to make a trail.  In the end I was supposed to be hiding and the kids were supposed to follow the trail to find me.  We played it exactly like that the first few times until I decided to make it tricky with decoy paths and multiple hiding spots.  It was great. 

We also did a little sledding on our side hillito.  Also great and very tiring seeing as I was the pusher.

Once inside, we warmed up with hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies....made from the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever used.  I found it when we were living in Mason and have stuck to it.  The recipe is from Mr. Cookie Baker (also a super great book).  These cookies are so good.

MR COOKIE BAKER'S CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup and 2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar.
3. Mix in the egg and vanilla.
4. Then mix in the salt, baking soda, and gradually the flour.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and the nuts (if desired).
6. Drop rounded tablespoons of cookie dough onto the cookie sheet.
7. Bake about 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown.

***I bake mine for 10 minutes and 25 seconds in our oven.  Yes, that precise.  They come out looking underdone in the middle with only very slightly browned edges.  They will cook a little more while cooling on the rack and come out to be the chewiest, dense, yummiest, goodness ever.**** 

fredericksburg

(On our way to get the kids from the bus stop after nap time.)

I have said on more than one occasion that living in Fredericksburg, Texas was one of the best decisions Josh and I have made in our married years.  A decision that affects me to this day.  Just last week I was swept off to the lone star state in my mind, thinking about all my dear friends and missing them.  I replayed over and over again my treasured memories and felt joy and gratitude for the time we spent down there.   Leaving was one of the hardest things we had to do, much like when I left Belize.   In both instances I wanted to be close to my family SO badly I felt like it was pulling me home.  And as much as I tried not to, and as much as I prepared myself to be guarded from my emotions, leaving both places took a piece of my heart and those pieces are still there.  Really, it all sounds so cheesy and blown out of proportion, I know.  But it's not.  I miss Texas.  I know it's not for us anymore, but it once was and it was so great when it was.  That Fredericksburg....it's the place of givers.

I remember when our Glenn Durst friend, he (age 56ish?) and his wife were two of our very best friends, got in front of us in the grocery line at HEB.  As Josh and I loaded our groceries onto the belt he said he was in sort of a hurry and couldn't talk long.  We told him good-bye and that was that.  When the cashier was done ringing up our groceries, she told us we owed her $.13.  How could that be?  We giggled and stood there expecting her to realize her mistake, but after a minute she restated, "Your total is $.13."  We asked her if Glenn had prepaid our bill to which she replied, "I have no idea what you are talking about.  Your total, though, is thirteen cents.  Do you have that."  When we thanked Glenn he shrugged it off with a "I have no idea what you are talking about."  The same thing happened when we magically "won" a $100 part in a contest we never entered from the local automobile shop that we needed for our one vehicle that quit working.  Or the time a tub of ice cream appeared on our front porch.  Or the free car wash tickets, the lunches, the trips to find my ancestors who lived in the area, or the tub of frozen meat butchered from their own animals that he and Meleta just didn't need........

It was the same with all our friends.  Fredericksburg is a town of givers.  We learned to do the same with the little we had.  And we learned.......

1. 'Tis better to give than to receive.

2.  But 'tis also just as important to be a grateful and genuine recipient.

Fast forward to my life now, living here around family and with the lessons learned in Fredericksburg about being a giver and receiver.  We feel so lucky.  A few weeks ago my friend Elizabeth (age 65) called to ask if she could stop in.  When she arrived she was carrying this....for me.

I let her know how truly grateful I am for her gift, I held nothing back.

She left with a smile.

sneak peek

We are almost finished with the bathroom remodel!

It looks beautiful.

for the birds

One of our days during Christmas break was for the birds.

It followed fish day!:)

I found some adorable printable birds we used to decorate the house.

Then we made Toilet paper rolls covered in peanut butter and birdseed.

The birds loved them.

As I look out the windows now, the birdseed on every one is gone.  I have already collected another bag of rolls so we can do it again in the next few days.  You can even use old soup cans when the weather is rainy or snowy to allow the feeder to stay on the branch without ripping.

Cheers to the birds!

flower and goldie

We have fish.

Emerson and Ida used the Christmas money they each got from Uncle Mark and Aunt Kerry to buy their fish.  They were on sale for $.17 each.

Ida named hers Flower.  Emerson named his Goldie.  We are on Goldie #2, actually.  I made a midnight exchange when I saw that Goldie #1 was "sleeping" a lot.  Emerson doesn't know.  I think I will keep trading fish until after their excitement of having one wears off.  Then I will talk to them about pets dying.  Just not now.  Not after just 4 days of having one.

It is their responsibility to feed the fish everyday, a chore they can't stand the smell of.  Nor do they appreciate touching the fish food.  To solve the problem, they use tweezers from Ida's doctor kit.

Hilarious.

urban and big fern

Urban turned one in November.

Here he is at eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one months and birth.

One year olds do amazing things! 
1. Urban walks!:)
2. He can say dada, mama, Ida, hot, ouch, moo and hi.
3. He has 5 teeth: three on the top and two on the bottom.
4. He still takes two naps a day.
5. He LOVES his bottle, still.
6. Playing hide-and-seek in his hands, curtains, blankets, anything makes him squeal.
7. His favorite room is the bathroom.
8. He loves to tease.
9. He shakes his head no.

Urban at ONE!

\

I resolve

I started thinking about my New Year's resolutions early this year.  For weeks before the New Year arrived, like I am sure is the habit for most of you, I put my mind in check and was determined to make my list meaningful.  To make it one that would stretch and strengthen my soul while being within hardworking reach.  Thinking and pondering, pondering and thinking, all the while realizing valuable things that I wasn't trying to.

For years, mostly since I started this blog, I have been following other bloggers.  Mostly friend bloggers mixed with a handful of popular lifestyle, design and cooking blogs.  And for years I have loved it.  This year the blogosphere has felt different to me than in the past.  Some of my past favorite well-known blogs have started feeling contrived.  Popular blogs have started modeling other popular blogs leaving one pile of copycat, competitive, fame-seeking, self-indulgent mess.  It seems like blog-o-jobbers are run, almost controlled by their blogs!  And I ask myself, are these blogs bettering my life?  Do I really care what pair of shoes she bought or what her husband gave her for Christmas?  Does it matter to me where she went on vacation?  Have I read anything here about her helping or serving someone?  Do I care to look at a picture of what she ate for lunch?  Do I need to know every detail of her family's life?  Is anything left out of the technology world these days?  I found that the answer to all these questions is, "NO!"

Now, this is not to say that I will read absolutely no other blogs from here on out. That would be fibbing. There are a few blogs that are honest, heartfelt and driven by love and service that I will hold onto. But, as for the others (not family or friends), I am ridding my life of blogs that leave readers questioning their simple, beautiful lives.

Pish.

Months ago I ran across one of my favorite blog posts written by Disney from Ruffles and Stuff:

"I write a small, bi-weekly column for our local Tidbits newspaper, and this week I decided to write about the topic of "greatness" and how elusive the feeling of being successful is. It's something I've been thinking about for a long time.

When I first started my blog, I kept praying that it would turn into something big, something great. I wasn't sure what I wanted it to be, just successful. And then after a few months I had 200 followers! I couldn't believe it. In my mind, I had hit the big time. When I posted about how excited I was, Heather from Dollar Store Crafts said "It won't be long until you have 2,000!". Of course I knew she was just being polite...who could ever have 2,000 followers??

At that time I felt that if I had 2,000 followers that I would be on top of the world. I would feel so important. How could anyone not, after all? But 8,000 followers later, I feel appreciative, but not successful. When I started blogging I would have thought that being in a magazine would feel so incredible, like I was famous! It does feel wonderful, but I certainly don't feel famous. Or any more important or great.

No matter what I do, someone will have done it before. No matter how much traffic my blog gets, someone else will have more. So I started wondering if I would ever really get to that feeling of successfulness. Will I ever feel like I've done something "great"? Will I if I write a book? If I'm on TV? What's it going to take?

None of those things.

I've discovered that blogging can't make me feel important. Nor being "famous" or "successful". Those are all good things, but they don't fulfill a person. They don't make us important. I think what makes us important is being a truly loving person. A goal more lofty (and sometimes more difficult to achieve) than any other I can think of. Practicing humility and serving others, doing small, unimportant things for big and important reasons. That's what makes me feel successful. That's what makes me feel like I've done my best, like I'm really becoming something "great"."

Well said.

This new year I will be striving for greatness and beauty. 

I want to be the greatest wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter, youth leader etc. I can be.

I want our children to look back on the time they spent growing up and have so many awesome memories of their family life.

I want service and laughter and love boiling from our house seams.

Happiness, true happines.

I am excited for the new year!

Be Healthy

1. Get the work out room organized and get a stair stepper!!!  I am determined to find a great steal on Craigslist.

2. Remove any form of dysfunction from  my relationships.  Focus on my relationships with people.
3.  House goal: chose to laugh instead of cry

Be Wealthy
1. Learn and be comfortable with couponing. Extreme couponing would be awesome!
2. Slow down and take in my awesome life.  Do this each day.  Write down one thing during the day that you noticed from nature, family, and God.
3. Cultivate my relationship with Josh.

Be Wise
1. Be a good example for my children.
2. Read books, maybe 10 by the end of the year.
3. Prayers matter.

bringing it in

This is how the Frakers ring in the new year.

Urban rocked his afternoon nap HARD!  His hair was blindsided.

Graham cracker houses making passed the time until Daddy came home from work, when the party would start.



After lasagna, we put the baby to bed.

Party!!

This girl!  Monopoly has got nothin' on her.  Check out her train of cash.

The rest of us fared okay.

We categorized our resolutions into healthy, wealthy and wise.

Welcome 2012