And the stockings were hung.....

Luke's ornament = Ella's baby rattle

We really need new stockings. Luke felt bad because Ella did not have one yet. He hung this one for her. So generous that boy! 

Chatty Patty

To date Ella says the following words..... I only give her credit if she says them multiple times and in context. 

1. Mama - this was her first word...yes...even before DaDa
2. Dada
3. Bubba- her bear
4. Baby
5. Up- when I pick her up or after I say it
6. Book- sounds like ook sometimes...but always when holding a book or finding one randomly
7. bye bye - while waiving 
8. brother- sounds like broba - Luke loves to hear this one! 
9. Duck
10. Read
11. encyclopedia - so maybe not that one.

That is all I can give her credit for so far. She also can growl like a lion, sign "more" and "all done" consistently, nod yes or no when asked a question. I can already tell that Ella is more verbal than Luke was at age one. I guess girls generally talk faster than boys on average.  Most of the time I can tell she is trying to communicate verbally but does not have the words yet. When she does...look out! Since I use my blog as a journal to some degree...you can expect these fun facts from time to time. It is the only way I can keep track of the constant changes with these little guys! "bye bye"

Ella's Vintage First Birthday Party

We celebrated Ella's first birthday on her actual day of December 6th. It was a great time with mostly family. I could tell she felt very special. She got a ton of great presents that will hopefully last her until her next birthday! I was just thankful to be well enough to have the party. Thank God for a quick recovery and no more yucky virus! 

                                     Little vintage babies on the cupcakes look just like Ella

Ella...didn't know what to make of all the attention...so she clapped along 

The curtain was to block the view of the tree so she didn't have to share her special day with Christmas decor. 

Ella's first taste of "sweet"...it was a big hit!

Greg insisted that she wear the crown because she is his princess! 

I could tell that she felt "pretty"

Happy 1st Birthday my Dove!

Cousins enjoying the par-tay

The only 84 year old to get down with the kids...in more way than one.

Ethanpoo....aka Mr. Smileypants was loving all the toys and we were loving him.

Some of Ella's favorite snacks - well before she got a taste of cake!

Grandmommie in her element. It was good to have our Charlotte family all together here in Raleigh. I can't remember the last time we were all here together. 

Solo Tooth

We will miss you Ella's solo tooth! She is now the proud owner of two bottom teeth and one new top tooth is peaking out. My baby is growing up too fast!

Party in Ella's Chair

For Kristin.....

My sweet cousin Kristin sent Ella this little Hallmark Christmas dream come true. Ella simply adores it. She figured out how to turn it on and off during day one. Now she follows this new skill with her awesome sway as she grooves to her Christmas miracle toy. She gets into it more than I have captured here but her brother was distracting her. 

This is the one toy that Ella really feels is hers alone. I found her with it in the corner...quietly turning it off and on. She will look around to make sure Luke is not too close and tries to pick the snowman up...although he is attached. She is very gentle with it otherwise. We all know where she gets her rhythm. (thank you God) I can't wait until she can walk and I can show her some cool moves. My heart is filled with pride when I see her move on beat.  I am going to sneak a shot of her really dancing. It is precious. Thank you Kristin...we love you!

Luke on God and the Election - Big Topics

I had to share this because it is so sweet.....and true. Luke has had God on his mind lately. He randomly brought God up at the dinner table Tuesday night. He asked if he could see God. I told him he could hear him and feel him but he will have to wait until he is in heaven to really see him. 

Greg and I joke about it because whenever Luke is in his room with the light on...we will go in and catch him just starring at the light or the ceiling. We ask him..."what are you thinking about"...he always says..."God". At this point either he is thinking about God ALLOT or that has become his staple response. I honestly hope it is the later. I don't know if I was three but I do remember laying in bed trying to figure God out. It is good to search...even if you are three. 

The morning after the election I was helping Luke get dressed as he sat on his bed. I mentioned that we have a new president today. Of course, he asked "what does that mean". I explained that it is a really important position in our country. Then I asked him "do you know who makes the important decisions for our country?". He thought about it for a minute and said "God!". 

I just decided to leave it at that. 

The Hole

One beautiful day not long ago Luke started digging a hole in the backyard. Or course, I allowed him to because we don't have a playground and many outdoor toys at the moment. Because I grew up in the country, I have accepted the fact that boys "need" dirt. 

I occasionally would throw pennies in there for him to stumble upon and we would call it treasure. I break up the dirt to make his digging easier and it is quite fun. When Luke gets bored...I would just say..."go work on you hole to China".  He would eagerly run out the door to get to work.

This past weekend, Grandmommie and Granddaddy came to visit. Grandmommie spent a long time outside with Luke building the sand castle you see here. If there is a bucket and shovel in sight, you are always count on Grandmommie to get down in the trenches with you.  To Luke, Grandmommie is WAY more fun than any 3 year old he knows. 

Luke's friend Nolan was over for lunch last Monday. I watched Luke and Nolan have this conversation over lunch.....

N: Hey Luke, we can go outside and play after we eat

L: (so excited) yeah, yes we can

N: Well, what do you have? Do you have a playground?

L: Ummm...no.

N: Do you have a trampoline?

L: (quiet..thinking about how he must have gotten ripped off) ....no

(I chime in with "we use our imagination...we are getting a fence first...we have a soccer ball) 

Luke is quiet for a bit...thinking about what he does have.....

I am anxious spinning ideas through my head to help bail the kid out....

L: (with an innocent stutter) www...wee.e.. have a hole. 

I just laughed and laughed. I love my dirt covered boy!

I have been this girl...that is for sure.

Actually watch the whole thing...the great part is at the end.....

I John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Party Time

We had a great weekend. I early voted which was an honor. We missed a birthday party for Ella because she was not feeling well but did go to one with Luke on Sunday. His friend Justin turned 4. Luke had a blast as always. We had a blast watching him.

Luke got his face painted like Spiderman. Somehow he knows Spiderman but has never seen his movies or met him in person.????

Luke and his bud Nolan. Super nice kid.

Daddy's girl. Greg is so wrapped!

We love the boinga boinga!

Greg...loving birthday parties while games are on.

be very afraid

no words needed...

Notice all the girls with their hands on the table...patiently waiting. 

Watch out for the giant Luke's. They are scary this time of year. Here he is thinking about eating this blonde lady's head. I think he likes brunettes better though.

Luke ate a cupcake, some cake, chips, about 10 pumpkin marshmallows and then he turned into a butterfly....

Thinking Thursday.....

I was looking for a name for this movement I see....I think I found it. Many of you know what it is too. I know the intentions of those saturated in it are not always bad but the outcome always leads to the same place. One decision at a time.

Modern liberalism, then, is not merely a political platform. It is the zeitgeist. It is the spirit of our age. It is a moral and spiritual philosophy or worldview which consists essentially in resentment of the sovereignty of God over the world. This philosophy or worldview reaches into and attempts to change every area of American life. - Samuel Waldron

Judges 21:25: "In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes." 

Judges is scary when you compare it to the state of our nation. The whole notion that everything should be "fair". The acceptance of abortion without any governing or respect for life. Where will we be if "everyone does RIGHT in their own eyes". When should lines be drawn? Can a 50 year old marry a 4 year old? Who will stop him with no law? 

My heart is heavy as I see "modern liberalism" rising in the world. It grieves my heart even more to see it in the church. As I study and read about this movement...religion really...I see how it infiltrates so many areas of our lives. I see in my own heart....in sincerely not wanting to be religious.. that compromise and a greater interest in lawlessness can so easily creep into your heart.

Everyone being equal and free to do as they please only leads to one outcome. Lawlessness. God himself knew we needed law. 

Radical individualism is iniquity - I challenge you...I challenge me...is your identity in Christ? Or is it in your race, the acceptance of another man or woman, your job, your spouse, your mother or father, being different, being the same, whatever it may be... as Christians ...who's identity are we supposed to have? 

Isaiah 53:6, "All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; (God knows I have) But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." Doing what is right in our eyes is the same as turning to our own way and is the essence of human sin.

To quote the same author above...

"If we really believe that Jesus is King...then we have to believe that Jesus Christ is the King and has a right to limit our liberty by His laws."

Religious liberty and limited government. Government according to the principles of God's word. How could we as Christians not want that?

These are just some thoughts going through my head..... I hope that I can recognize the areas where I see radical individualism, modern liberalism, and rebellion to God's law. I want to care about what He cares about. If I am supposed to be like Christ I am supposed to be "about my Father's business" and I need to know what his business is. 

The Fair Alternative

The fam along with the Graham's took a trip to Vollmer Farm in Egypt instead of going to The NC State Fair this year. There was more for the kids to do at this age and apparently at Greg's age as well....

A plane .....that looks like a pumpkin...a sign of many other things that will look like pumpkins on this farm. They even had a "pumpkin princess" who had a orange wig and orange dress.

Ella...flashing her one tooth. 

They have an awesome wooden park. Everything is really unique like this pirate ship.

Greg's "cool moves"

So there is this HUGE pumpkin trampoline thing that Greg fell in love with. I was on it for a while until I was almost launched into outerspace by Will & Greg.  Greg was trying to win me over by showing off his "cool moves". Greg later got a whistle blown at him for being TOO cool. They could not handle how cool he was. I could.

***notice that no children are around Greg. One tweenage child tries to approach him during the said "cool move" and slowly exits the shot. We don't know what "impact" Greg had on this child****

More farm pics....

Greg's fort aka "the love shack". Greg and I decided that if we were ever homeless we would live in this. It was lined with hay and had a little slide. All you need really. I liked it because it was warm and stopped the wind from causing hypothermia. 

Burying Collin in the corn. I live for things like this. If I did not have one ounce of pride I would have let them bury me too .....plus I had to carry Ella.....there is always next year though :) 

Greg....taking this pumpkin launch WAY too seriously. He did this maybe 10 times.

Oh yeah...we are talking fun...

Zip line. Greg could not fit in this so instead he enjoyed himself by launching Luke as fast as he could. Luke loved it.

love twoo wuv.....

This was a rubber ducky water race. 

Greg made it work....this makes me laugh. He, and I mean Greg, spotted this as soon as we got there. 

The boys I love... tired after much family fun!

Rest In Peace Charlotte

Disclaimer : I had arachnophobia until I met Charlotte. I am not a wierdo who thinks all spiders go to heaven. I do have a life. I just loved one spider. 

Go ahead and yawn and stop reading this if you can't handle me getting this off of my chest. It all started over a month ago when a little spider made her home in the window sill outside of my kitchen window. I hated her and wished her dead until I saw she was working on a little egg sac. I observed her for several weeks and would notice her every morning over coffee and cleaning. I had that common bond with her. Charlotte, as I appropriately named her, filled my mornings with disgust and delight as I watched her weave her web and prepare to be a mama. 

One day Greg, the man of the house, was cooking some type of seafood which filled the house with a not so fresh smell. He opened the window and knocked Charlotte's' egg sac down. Greg, being a barbarian, preceded to taunt me about how he hurt Charlotte and her innocent spiderlings. I was pretty pissed if I can say that bluntly. I looked for Charlotte the next morning only to find that she was not there. I was sad but understood that she is a spider and who really cares, right?! They are one of the grossest creatures on the planet, right?! Well, I did care, enough to look again the next day. That girl, a fighter I tell you, had gone down and gotten her egg sac. Pulled it back into her web.....and made another sac surrounding her babies. You could see the old dried out sac and the new white sac. She looked exhausted for several days. Not moving much. (yes, I did see Charlotte's Web this year in the theater) I could really observe this though and felt really sorry for her. 

Now for the inconvenient truth....we had a bit of a spider infestation this summer. I call it infestation because for several weeks I would find spiders here, there and just about everywhere. And we are not talking spiders like Charlotte. We are talking real spiders, ugly ones that don't talk and love pigs....or people. These spiders were even too ugly for God to love!! I did not know if my Charlotte was one of those. Here she was making babies. Making our lives less peaceful. I knew I needed Greg to do the dirty work. I did not want to, could not, and would not kill Charlotte. Honestly, I don't really kill anything if it is outside. I always tell Luke when we are outside, this is their house, inside...that is our space. I knew there were hundreds? of babies in there. Just waiting to infest our house. I needed Greg to exterminate Charlotte before she had those kids though. Something painless. 

WWELLLL...I just didn't think it through. This morning I looked out of the window and saw the sac had tons of babies spilling out of it. Charlotte looked busy and I felt so guilty about wanting to "do her in". I mentioned to Greg that he had to do something because all the babies were everywhere. I mean, I have small children and Ella crawled right up to one the other day!!! (don't be afraid to come over...we don't have bugs...just spiders because they eat all the other ones :) I had to defend my own flesh and blood. Real blood. Spiders don't even have any! 

Before dinner Greg snuck around back and wiped Charlotte out. My heart was full of remorse. I had really grown to care for her. We bonded in some weird sick way. I honestly wanted to cry for the way she died. Sprayed with some chemical. I wish it could have been faster. Or she just would have moved her babies and web somewhere else. I am writing this light heartily to ease the sadness but I will miss Charlotte. The only spider I will ever like. And I mean EvEr. Sigh.

To Charlotte. You were my friend for a month. You taught me that you never give up on your kids. You made a pretty web. You had a real personality for a spider I guess. I am sincerely going to miss seeing you tomorrow. RIP.

Hairy juice and stuff...

Real quick..

Luke was drinking his juice this morning during breakfast. He looks at me with this disturbed look on his face....as if he is thinking...mom this is sick. He goes...Mommy, there is hair in this juice. Look at all the hair in this juice. I looked to see if there was hair in it and I realized I picked up the OJ with pulp. Too funny. 

Later on I was putting the screws in his new big boy booster seat and I had a hard time getting them in. Luke was there to "help" of course. After much grunting and gripping, I got the screw it to the sound of Luke screaming...you are strong mom...you are a mighty man of GOD! 

That boy! I love when he cheers me on.

Gotta to go play with Collin this morning....just thought that was funny :) 

First Football

 

Luke attended his first NCSU football game last Saturday 10/4. The game was NCSU vs BC and unfortunatly we lost but Luke did care because he is 3. :)

Luke loved tailgating....we are talking PBJ, natural cheetos, grapes, gummies, and a Sprite.

Waiting to walk out and see the field......

The boys

Ella was HOT but had a blast too. The little girl in front of her kept her very entertained.