Apparently It Runs in the Family

Jackson and his friend Mason hit heads today while playing at Mason's house. Jackson didn't want to tell Mason's mom that he was hurt. Can you tell that he did NOT want his picture taken?

The Twilight Zone

Jerry took a woodworking class in high school - I'm not sure what year, but let's just say it was at the latest 1988. He made a clock in that class; a mantel clock with a pendulum. This clock runs on a single size D battery. It is now 2009, at LEAST 20 years later. I am sitting in my basement being a little freaked out that I can still hear that clock ticking away in the storage room. It is ticking very, very loudly. Why am I freaked out? Because we have never, not once, replaced the battery in that clock. It has survived at least four moves over the years. I'm kind of scared to touch it or I'd tell you what brand it is!

Birthday Cake

I'm a bit slow on getting this up; my birthday was almost two weeks ago now! I thought you might enjoy Jackson's video of us eating birthday cake though. He's a ham. Aubrey made her first Pat Miller cake - it turned out very, very yummy.

By the way, did you notice what total nerds we all are? Every single one of us is reading a book while eating cake. We tend to do that once in awhile ;)

Tax Season

Thank goodness for my boys! I was defended from attacking Imperial Storm Troopers while I was working this afternoon. Who knows what might have happened if they weren't home!

Mother of the Year

My boys both lost teeth over the weekend, and somehow they never got around to putting them under their pillows. Until last night. Three days late.

I found the following notes under their pillows:

Dear Toothfairy,

My mom lost my tooth. I'm sorry.

Jackson

Dear Toothfairy,

My sister put my tooth on the phone charger and it got broken and now we can only find half of it. I hope this does not cause a problem.

Luke Berning

Moral of the story: PUT YOUR TOOTH UNDER YOUR PILLOW THE INSTANT IT COMES OUT, for crying out loud!!!

Any time is a fine time for a game of war!

I thought I'd add a few pictures from Grandmother's funeral on Friday. Above are Aunt Jeanne, Cousin Charles, Uncle Bill, Mom, and Cousin Gwen.

Many of you know that my granddad Raymond enjoyed carving, and had a real talent for it. This buffalo was carved out of limestone (I think) and sets at the cemetery next to granddad and grandmother.

Jerry, Gwen and I along with our cousins and their spouses are in the picture below. We were only missing Jason and my cousin Peter's wife, Gretchen. Front row: Alex (Jason's fiancee from Poland), Jamie (Alan's wife), me, Annelise, Sarah (Michael's wife) Back row: Jason, Alan, Jerry, Gwen, Caitlin, Michael, and Peter.

It was a fine, beautiful day. The boys had an absolute ball roaming around the cemetery and playing war among the monuments. In fact, I think Luke mentioned something about it being the "funnest funeral ever!" I think Grandmother would have liked that.

Cooking Hints from a Master Chef

If you wear sunglasses while you chop onions, the "gas" from the onions won't make you cry. That's a direct quote, I kid you not.
He asked if he could chop up the onions, so of course I let him. Too funny! And I am happy to report that after EIGHT months of having one adult tooth and one gap on top, his second tooth is finally making an appearance. Whew. We were getting a little worried that maybe he didn't have an adult tooth there!

Marilyn's Christmas Surprise

The week before Christmas, Tim dropped off a very heavy box at the clinic containing the kids' Christmas present from Marilyn. She told me it was something they could open before Christmas to keep them busy... always an excellent idea! Lo and behold, when they opened it Tuesday the 23rd, it was chock full of baking supplies. Marshmallows, M&Ms, cookie cutters, cake mixes, icing, and on and on. Absolutely tons of stuff! The kids were beyond thrilled! We spent the day in the kitchen and managed to make all sorts of treats. Sugar cookies, chocolate dipped pretzels, cupcakes, etc.


And this is what remained when we were finished. A few broken pretzels, half a tub of icing, some sprinkles, and Rice Krispies. Only because they were tired before we made it to the Rice Krispie treat making.

Afterwards we all did this:Thanks, Marilyn! The kids had a ball and we certainly enjoyed eating it all!

Grandmother Helen

Grandmother Helen passed away this morning. She was 91 years old. The picture above was taken in 2006 on a visit to Winfield. Grandmother did not like to have her picture taken, but she gave in on this occasion! The funeral hasn't been scheduled yet, but it will be sometime this week. I know Mom appreciates all your prayers and kind words over the past few days.

The last couple of weeks...

have been fun, but kind of a blur. The kids have been home from school since the 19th of December. We are really enjoying our Christmas break, but I am not getting anything accomplished around here, including updating the blog. I'll do better once tax season starts and I am sitting at my computer all day :)

Most importantly, some of you know that Grandmother Helen's health is deteriorating rapidly. We'd appreciate your prayers for peace for her and for Mom, Aunt Jeanne, and Uncle Bill. They are all with her now, and Jerry and I are heading down as soon as this pea-soup fog lifts. I haven't talked to anyone this morning, but it sounds as if her time on this earth is very short.