New Games

For Christmas, the Jorgensens (our good friends in WA) gave the kids these two card games: Animal Rummy and Go Fish from L.L. Bean. I think we play them every day! It was a great idea. The kids also enjoy stashing them in their "Sunday backpacks" in order that they might take them over to people's homes on Sunday and play during the long afternoon.

The cards are very sturdy and are bright and colorful. The kids don't have the knack for holding the cards in their hands yet, so they spread them on the floor. It hasn't occurred to them yet that they can see what the other has. Shaylen often tries to peek at Taigen's or mine though.

She must take after her father...

Quiet Time

About a month ago, I began noticing that neither Marshall nor Shaylen were really napping up in their rooms. They were very quiet and stayed very still in their beds, but I would hear them sigh or whisper to their stuffed animals. I finally decided that the time had come...the time to drop the naps. Gasp! and Gulp!

I treasured that two hour time span where I got so much done. When we first moved to Maine, I remember our pastor's wife, Judy, telling me that her kids had a quiet time each day when they were small. It was a great idea and I wanted to see if I could incorporate it into our schedule here at home as well. I'm glad I did. The kids love it and ask for "Quiet Time" each day.

They go to their rooms and are able to pick and choose coloring books, toys or books from their "quiet time basket" (or whatever quiet toy is already in their room) and entertain themselves quietly & independently. Their favorite thing though, is to lay on the floor and listen to one of their Classical Kids' CD's. They started off with 45 minutes of quiet time and lately have been asking for two CD's which makes it just over an hour and a half. They are so good and play so quietly. It is just enough time for me to get some quiet time myself and gear up for the rest of the day.

Is There Such A Thing as a Perfect Family Pet?

Yes, and we've got it!
1. Doesn't bark.
2. Doesn't need to be walked.
3. Doesn't scratch up the furniture.
4. Doesn't shed.
5. Doesn't need to be taken outside at odd times of the day.
6. Doesn't cause your friends to stay away from your home due to allergies.
7. Doesn't have accidents on your carpet.
8. Doesn't cost an arm & a leg in veterinary bills and dog food.
9. Doesn't lick.
10. Doesn't require us to go and clean up "presents" in the backyard. Eeww.

Introducing: Tramp, the perfect family pet. We got him as a hand-me-down from the Geaumonts last year and he continues to be a favorite with our kids. He is a maintenance-free dog. Marshall gets to sleep with his dog every night and carry him around all day. (Tramp is a bit odd though. Occasionally he will break out into song. His repertoire includes songs like, "Once In Royal David's City", "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Angels We Have Heard On High". Next thing you know, Tramp will be wanting to fly Harrier Jump Jets too!)

The Infatuation Continues

Leap Frog makes these fantastic letters that go on your fridge. They come with a little machine that tells the kids the sound the letter makes. It is awesome. Marshall however used the letters to make a picture. Can you tell what shape he made them into? Surprised?

Great Expectations

When you're four, you look forward to special things. Of course, these things would hardly ever thrill an adult but for a four year old, it provides great delight.

Marshall and Shaylen look forward to crossing the border into New Hampshire every time we go down to church. They never fail to start counting the moment they see the Piscataqua bridge. When we reach the center of the bridge, there is a great cry from the back of our van, "We're in New Hampshire!" You would think this would get old for them the number of times we've made the trip, but they do it every time and with just as much joy.

An even greater expectation though, is for Friday. On Fridays we have what's called: "Fluffernutters". Shaylen asks me every day what day it is and when she asks on Friday morning and I tell her "It's Friday," she says, "We get fluffernutters today!!!" or "It's fluffernutter Friday!!!"

I never knew until we moved to Maine what a fluffernutter was. We don't even have "fluff" out west. We have "marshmallow creme". I remember when I was substituting in Old Orchard Beach, I asked a teacher what fluff was. She looked at me like I had ten heads. That spring before the end of the school year, she bought me my very first jar of the New England delicacy.

Shaylen would eat fluffernutters every day if she could and that is why I have limited them to Fridays. It limits the sweets and keeps them special. The sandwiches always disappear quickly at lunch and next Friday never comes soon enough. Fortunately, for my kids, it is tomorrow.

Four Year Old Pity

We were wrapping up dinner when Marshall complained of some ailment. I forget now what it was he complained of, like a tongue that was bit or a leg that was hurting. Most likely, he just didn't want to finish the last of his dinner. I don't know who taught them that telling Mommy and Daddy that something hurts is going to get you out of eating your dinner, but the advice was bad, because in our house, we don't buy it. They eat their dinner. I know, I know, we're sooooo mean!

Shaylen obviously had more pity on Marshall than we did because she piped up from the other side of the table and offered this bit of consolation.

"Dessert will make it better!"

If Only It Were This Easy

We are trying to sell our house. You all know that. You also know that we are praying fervently for this as a family. It is a rare occasion that Marshall & Shaylen forget to mention it in their prayers either before bed or before a meal. It is on their minds. We love our house and would rather not leave it. If only we could just pick it up and move it down to Dover!

Marshall got a book from his Sunday school teacher for Christmas. It was all about aircraft. He loves the book! (Surprise, surprise!!!) There is a section in the book on helicopters. I didn't realize there were so many different types. On one page there is a picture of a Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane. These are specially designed helicopters that can lift extremely heavy objects. As an example of the kind of things the Skycrane can lift, there is a picture of one lifting a house.

Marshall saw the picture the other day and said, "That one is a Sellhelicopter, because it is selling the house!"

Is Anybody Home?

Tonight when we got home from church (late), Marshall quickly went up onto our doorstep and started ringing the doorbell. He pushed it and pushed it and pushed it.

"It doesn't work! I'm pushing it but it's not working!" Obviously, he couldn't hear it from outside. I came and put the key in the doorknob. As I did, I heard Shaylen give her prognosis.

"It only works when someone is inside."

New Books to Delight In

If you've spent anytime on this blog, you know that one of Marshall and Shaylen's favorite things to do is read. When we come across a good book, it gets read over and over again until most of the lines are memorized. Heaven forbid I misread something. The mistake is quickly rectified!

Recently, I ordered new books for the kids to enjoy. Bob Jones University Press puts out some books are are wonderful for little ones to read. I have to be honest though and tell you that I found them cheaper from Tower.com. Tower.com didn't have all the ones I wanted, but the difference was several dollars.

The new favorite of the stack that we received is A King for Brass Cobweb. It is a beautifully illustrated chapter book that I read to them. They love all of the delightful (and not so delightful characters). It takes a while to read, but that means extra time to snuggle with my two favorite little people.

A Small Update

I thought I would give you a glimpse at our church in the winter. The photo on the right-hand side of the blog doesn't show the new wing of the church very well. I would love for you all to come and visit. It is such a beautiful church, full of sweet people and, of course, the BEST pastor! (I'm a bit biased, can you tell?)

Things have been busy, but nice over the holidays. Taigen was able to get a few days off and we have enjoyed the time spent together as a family. The kids got tons of new games and puzzles and toys for Christmas, so there is no lack of things to do with them when we are all home.

On New Year's eve, we had a family from our church come up and eat dinner with us. They are so sweet and such an encouragement to us. Marshall and Shaylen love their kids. After dinner the kids went out and played in the snow. They came in with rosy cheeks and icy noses. For those of you with kids, you know what I'm saying when I tell you that it seems like it takes so much more time to put on all the snow gear than it takes for them to play outside.

We have gotten pounded by two big storms this week. One started very early in the morning on Monday. Taigen thinks we got about 5 inches. The other storm started on Tuesday afternoon and lasted well into the night. Taigen was out bright and early snowblowing. I'm thinking we got another 5-6 inches. It all looks so beautiful. We are having a cold spell right now, but next Wednesday is supposed to get up into the 50's! It will seem like spring.

There is no new news on the house. We are still waiting on the Lord for His perfect timing. The kids are ever so faithful at praying that we would sell our house soon. Would you please pray with us? I know many of you already are. We are eager to move down nearer to our church family. (Until then, it is a gorgeous commute!)

We hope you have a blessed New Year!

Greetings and Merry Christmas!

Many of you have just received our link and found us on the web. Welcome! A lot has occurred this year and I have tried to faithfully record it here.

Probably the biggest change was that Taigen became the pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Dover, NH at the end of July. I'd send you to the website, but it has not been changed in almost a year! (That's on Taigen's "to-do" list.) We were able to start down in Dover at the end of August and have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all of our dear church people. Taigen is doing a fabulous job and I throughly enjoy being under his preaching. He loves what he is doing and is very good at it. He was able to get in some rounds of golf this year and even helped organize The Heritage Classic at our church. Mr. Bowman was gracious in coming down to play with him and probably was a key part in their foursome winning! (Surprise, Surprise!)

The kids are growing and talking and are busy little people. They turned four earlier this month and are eager for Christmas. We are definitely going to have fun this year. It has been so much fun preparing for it with two good helpers. You will find their happy faces plastered all over this blog and it won't take much reading for you to realize they say and do the most hilarious things! It keeps us entertained and on our toes.

I am still a "stay at home mommy". Of course that means cooking and cleaning (more so lately because our house is on the market) and taking care of my favorite kids. I took on a bigger piano role at Heritage and am now accompanying the choir & most of the special music, offertories and of course, congregational hymnplaying. I am thankful that this is stretching me and making me a better pianist, but I have to be honest and say I don't enjoy all the practice time. Probably sounds like some of your kids, eh? I was able to start a Sunday School song time for the kids and also a children's choir. This is one of my favorite ministries at the church. Most recently, I've become the church secretary, so my new boss is Taigen. How nice! Thankfully, I get to do the majority of my work from home. Flash drives and laptops are wonderful inventions.

God has been overwhelmingly good to us. We have so much to be thankful for this year, primarily for our salvation through Jesus Christ. His priceless gift is one that we should never take for granted.

Merry Christmas with much love from our family to yours.

Winter Wonderland- Take Two

It's going to be a white Christmas! We had our first major storm on Sunday and we got our second dose of winter (which it technically isn't even winter yet!) today! It started snowing last night and the big plows were out on the interstate. For you speed demons, this means the speed limit changes from 65 to 45. We got home from church much later last night.

Taigen brought stuff home to work on today knowing that we were to get a pretty good dumping. It snowed the majority of today so we got a beautiful coating of fresh fluffy snow.

While the kids ate breakfast, I whipped out the Kitchen Aid and started into my baking for the day. I had tons to do before company comes tomorrow. The kids helped me dump the flour into the banana bread after they finished their frosted flakes. I know that Shaylen was really hoping to get to lick the bowl, but I put her to work instead. They do a good job.

Thirty Years Ago

It was probably thirty years ago that Taigen wore this exact same sweater. Grandma Rutledge knitted it for him. Last year, my mother in law, Sherry, pulled it out of storage, washed it, fixed the zipper and mailed it to Marshall. It was a bit too big and so I put it away, hoping that this winter it would work for him. He wore it to church tonight and proudly told everyone that it was "my Daddy's sweater".

My Life As A Sitcom

I don't watch much TV these days. There are many good reasons why. I won't bother you with them today. I loved the good old ones like: Leave It To Beaver, The Dick Van Dyke Show, & The Cosby Show. The situations the families would get into were hilarious...or at least their reactions were hilarious.

My reaction to my life at around 12:55 was not hilarious. It was downright maddening. It reminded me of some of those sitcoms. But I must start at the beginning...

We had just finished up a good lunch and Marshall had politely asked if he could be excused. "What a good boy!" I thought. He pushed away from the table and put his milk in the fridge. I told him to go upstairs and go to the bathroom and then wash his hands. I proceeded to wipe down the counters, wash his plate, fold up his napkin and place it on his chair. Shaylen was finishing up the rest of her fruit snacks while I worked. When she was done, she also politely asked to be excused. I beamed at her. I thought, "What good kids I have!" (You must remember this...it is crucial to the plot of this story.) I excused her and told her to put her milk away and go in to the bathroom on the main floor to go to the bathroom and then wash her hands.

My life is peaceful...serene.

Marshall called to me from the stairs. "Mommy?" (I thought,"What is he doing on the stairs? I sent him up several minutes ago. Surely he's not done already.")

"Mommy? I want to go to the bathroom down there!" (Now, you need to know that Marshall is a fearful child. He is afraid of the towel holder in the upstairs bathroom when the lights reflect off of it. He says it looks like a "serious creature staring anxiously at him".)

"No," I say. "You need to obey, not argue and go upstairs. It is okay to use the bathroom upstairs," I say firmly.
He goes. ("Whew")

As I round the corner to go back into the kitchen, I see Shaylen come running out of the downstairs bathroom yelling, "Mommy, come help me! Something is very wrong with the potty when I flush it!"

As I went into the bathroom I heard it. Water rushing. I looked. Water was flowing out of the toilet bowl and all over the floor. I grabbed a few towels to get under the bowl to sop up the water. That wasn't going to cut it. There was water running toward the bath mat, the heat register, and all around the base of the toilet. It was continually running. I had to stop the water. So I did what any sensible woman would do, I turned the main water off. Only...it didn't work. Remind me to tell Taigen that it doesn't work. Remind me to tell him that it only slows the flow. Great! The toilet bowl was full. Why was the water still running? I lifted off the decorative items from the toilet lid and opened up the toilet tank. The plug had decided to rebel and stay in place so that the water would keep running. I shove the plug down. The tank starts filling.

Shaylen decided to help me by saying, "Mommy, I need to go potty and poo-poo!" (Maybe she had been playing in here instead of going to the bathroom when I had told her to.)

"Go upstairs."

I now grabbed my entire bag of rags, all the old towels in the laundry closet and the old hand towel on the counter that I use for the kids during the day. It isn't enough. The bath mat is now soaked and so are my knees.

I hear Shaylen crying and call to her, "Shaylen, come here, honey!"
More crying...um...let's call it wailing. (Shaylen is a GIRL. She tends to overreact and cry.)
I get up, leave the mess and go to find out what is wrong.

"Marshall won't let me into the bathroom." I look and Marshall is sitting on the potty still.
"Are you done?"
"No."

I grab a stack of old hand towels from the upstairs linen closet and Shaylen and rush down to the bathroom. She says, "I don't want to go poo-poo in my panties!"

I run faster.

I plop the towels on the floor around the toilet and pull Shaylen's pants down and set her on the toilet. She asks, "Is the toilet broken?" I laugh.

Marshall starts yelling from upstairs, "I WENT POO-POO! CAN YOU WIPE ME?"
If that wasn't enough he yells louder, "I WENT POO-POO! CAN YOU WIPE ME?"
Shaylen says, "Mommy, my socks are wet!"
"I WENT POO-POO! CAN YOU WIPE ME?"
"Mommy, my socks are wet!"

Dear Reader...You're laughing at me, aren't you?

Well, as I sit here typing, the house is peaceful...serene. My toilet is back to normal. My bathroom floor is sparkling clean. It has been dried off, then washed with antibacterial spray, then sprayed down with Clorox Anywhere disinfecting spray. I have changed my clothes. My rags and old towels are soaking in bleach/detergent mixture in the washing machine. I have read to the kids, kissed them both good-night and put them down for naps. I breathe a collective sigh of relief.

I laugh.

Once In Royal David's City

Remember a while ago, when I posted about Shaylen singing "When He Cometh"? She had learned that solely from sitting in on my children's choir rehearsal. She loves the song and frequently requests it during our song time before bed.

Well, it has happened again. My children's choir has been rehearsing "Once In Royal David's City" for our Christmas program that was supposed to occur this last week. Last night Shaylen was coloring at her table and I was able to grab this video of her without her knowing it! I don't know where the opera influence comes in. (You'll know what I'm talking about when you watch it!) That's not how my children's choir does it, but it makes for a funny video!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Sunday we had a big storm blow through New England. For those of you non-New Englanders, it was called a Nor' Easter, or as they say here, a "Noh'Eastah!"

Dad has been perplexed as to what makes a storm get what's it's named. They don't do that out west. It's either a snow storm or a blizzard, I guess! Why is it that in New England it's a "nor'easter" or an "Alberta clipper" and not just a plain old "snow storm"? Well, Dad, let's not be confused any longer! Here's what I found out: A nor'easter is called that because the winds from the storm come from the northeast and basically it can pack a punch. You can read more about it here. As for the Alberta Clipper, it's as we guessed, Dad. The storm comes from the Alberta region and quickly brings low temps and only a little bit of snow. You can read more about the clippers here.

There! Now don't you feel enlightened and smart?

Now, let's get past all the knowledgeable stuff! What really matters is that we got tons of snow and that means playtime outside with Marshall and Shaylen. That's the really important stuff! It was windy and cold, but we bundled them up. Taigen was busy trying to get the snowblower to work and I went out and dug a snow cave out of the small mound (or as they say up here, "Snow Combin's") of snow at the end of our driveway that Mr. Maskell (our friend and VERY kind neighbor) plowed for us. The cave eventually caved, but not before I got some cute pictures of the kids crawling in it.

Marshall and Shaylen had a blast in the snow. Eventually Shaylen wanted to come in because her feet were hurting her in her boots. When I brought her inside and attempted to take off her boots I realized that snow had gotten packed, and I mean packed, in around her ankles. I had to dig it out before I could even take her feet out. Poor baby! She was a trooper. Marshall played outside for a bit longer and dug around in the snow with a gardening trowel. It was so cute to watch!

Tomato Soup Smile

Dad always gives me a hard time about not knowing how to cook. He says it seems that every time he calls, I am making tomato soup and grilled cheese for my family. Now that is NOT the case, but there were a few times that it did occur and so, of course, he's taking full advantage of picking on me about it.

Now, of course I know how to cook, but tomato soup and grilled cheese are comfort foods (you know, the kind you love eating on a cold day OR a day that you're sick?) and happen to also be very inexpensive. Marshall especially loves it and this past week enjoyed THREE mugs full at lunch. I was able to capture his tomato soup goatee and unibrow so you could enjoy it as well.

Shaylen's Shiner

On Saturday, Marshall and Shaylen went over to Auntie Janelle's so that we could clean the house AGAIN and then head down to Dover for a choir rehearsal. Sending them over to Janelle's guaranteed that they could come home after the two showings and take a nap.

While they were at Janelle's she took them up a flight of stairs in her apartment to our good friends, Matt and Jessica Krupnek. Jessica was making sugar cookies and she said that they could come and participate. Janelle has pictures up on her blog.

When Janelle, Marshall and Shaylen came home, she sent them up to their rooms to get into their beds for naps. I don't know exactly what happened and neither does Janelle, but according to Shaylen, she had a run-in with her bed and, well, let's just say that the bed won. Shaylen has her first shiner. It's a doozy.

Your Knees Worn Out Yet?

Well, it's praying time again, folks. I got TWO, yes TWO emails from our realtor today saying that he got a request to show our house. This is amazing! We have a showing on Saturday at 10 and a showing at 12:20. Maybe tomorrow will be THE day. Thanks for your prayers. We'll keep you posted. I'm off to clean.

So Much To Say...So Little Time

Many of you know that we had a showing on Saturday afternoon. After spending Friday evening cleaning like a mad-woman (Taigen was speaking at Wolfeboro Bible Church Friday night), Janelle offered to watch the kids while I cleaned as much as I could on Saturday morning (Taigen was at a men's prayer breakfast) before I had to leave and speak at a ladies' Christmas tea at 12:30. The showing was at 12:45. So, you could say it was a busy weekend. Taigen came home at 10 and finished cleaning while I got ready and drove down to Rochester, NH.

All this to say, Janelle was a gem to take the kids because it was mass cleaning and chaos at our home. Do you know that she has done this EACH time we've had a showing? It's been a huge help.

When Janelle was feeding the kids lunch, they told her that they liked egg nog. She told them that she didn't. Marshall said, "But it is good." She told him that she didn't think it was. He responded, "Just try it!" (Boy doesn't he sound like his parents!)

Shaylen was pestering Janelle with question after question. Janelle told her that she needed to do more eating and less talking (sounds like us!). She looked at Janelle with her big eyes and said, "I just have lots of questions on my forehead!"