Happy President's Day

Today started in a whirlwind. The boys slept past 7 am (a major accomplishment). So we had to wake them up to get them ready for school. We dressed and ate, and brushed teeth quickly, and then everyone (except Carol) jumped in the car to get Isaac to school before 8.

They pulled up. No cars. "Mrs. Cordray said we don't have school on Monday" says Isaac. OOPs! That's right it is a holiday.

Grandma Marilyn dropped Jason off at work, and then decided they needed to do something to make the day even more special. So they went for shakes at McDonalds. What a treat!

At home, Isaac expressed how difficult it was to get the drink out of the cup. He started to stir and plunge his straw up and down in the cup.

"You're making Buttah" says Grandma Marilyn.
When grandma explained that "buttah" was what you put on toast, Isaac said: "Oh! ButtER" and they laughed and laughed.

It has been so fun having her here to help. I thought I would share just a smidgen.

Christmas - Texas Style

Decorating for Christmas

Due to our last minute change of plans we were able to snag a great deal on a tree.$10 Who knew? slackers and procrastinators unite! An almost 6 foot tree for cheap! We were so excited we took it home and started dancing around it. A few days later we got down to business with the decorating. Isaac and Oliver did the bottom parts, and Jason and I strung the lights and the upper branches. After that we made popcorn strings and put those up too.

We had a great time decorating the tree.

Here is another thing we got out of storage. The "Jesus people" that we bought in Mexico. Ollie doesn't play with them as much as Isaac did, probably becasue he has other toys, but he loves to make them walk around and sing jingle bells. He is a joy to watch when he is playing.



On the first Saturday I had off from baking we went to the Ellen Trout Zoo, in Lufkin. The boys were thrilled as they hadn't been in awhile. We saw all of our favorite critters. Oliver spent lots of time at the flamingos, and Isaac loves the deer. Then we rode the train, which is a big treat as it isn't open every day during the school year.


Jason thinks this is creepy, but look what Santa left in my stocking!!! Don't you want one too?

Christmas Vids

I'll be putting up some pictures and videos over the next few days of the holidays.

RIP Claiborne Pell

News today tells us that Claiborne Pell has passed away in his Newport, RI home. For those of you poor enough (like me) to recognize the name Pell, you'll put "grant" on the end of that. Yep - the guy that gave us the Pell Grant. When it was begun a student could count on 75% of grants and about 25% of loans to cover an education. Today, it is just the opposite. Without Pell money, I never would have finished my first year of school. Pell may have been a complete rolling in the money patrician snob, but he was from an older, wiser set of public servants that felt that the nation as a whole could benefit from the wise distribution of wealth rather than the selfish hording of a few. "And there was no poor among them... . "

Bed Rest

Well, Carol was placed on bed rest at the start of this last week. Really good thing we did not attempt a massive three-day trek to New England as Carol started having some contractions. This has been a week of Carol mostly laying down on her left side, taking medicine that stops contractions, and me and the boys hanging out. So far so good - the contractions have eased off and the boys and I are getting on fine. However, since I am on break this is working pretty good, but when I go off school break this thing is going to break down. I'm going to have to ask to be released from seminary because there is no way I can watch the boys, work, and teach seminary at the same time.

Merry Christmas and a Happy Art Season

Isaac is now old enough that every activity he is involved in with school and church results in the creation of some sort of drawn or colored creation.

We have these to works from school:
And we have this Choose The Right work from church.