Parenting 101

We had a wonderful time in Williamsburg last weekend with the Ricucci family. What a FUN memory! I got a chance to watch Josh and Kelley up close as they cared for their children. They are such good parents and very intentional in the way they train their little kiddos.


Evan bought this little doll stroller for Keara while we were there. (I think that earned him "favorite uncle" status with her. She loved it!) At one point she started heading toward the street with it while Josh kept calling her to come back. Eventually she was intercepted by someone.





Josh firmly but lovingly made sure she knew how important it was to listen to Daddy. (Kel, remember to pull this picture out and show it to her when she's 15.)



OK, back to safety....



Neither Josh or Kelley got to sit through an entire meal uninterrupted.









Typical of Josh - not only caring for his own kids but mine, too!



These are the exhausting years when they're so young. I was freshly reminded how much work it is and I never had two under two. Josh and Kelley, keep up the good work! Remember Galatians 6:9, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

When friends fall in love

Once there was a little girl named Elise who went to Michael's bowling birthday party. Garrett was there, too.

Elise ignored Garrett. She played with Lydia.



As they grew older, Garrett and Elise stopped ignoring each other, even though they tried.

One day Garrett asked Elise to be his wife.

And she said she would.



And now Elise loves him. And he loves her.

The End.

He asked and she said yes...

Garrett popped the question to Elise.

You can see the amazing pictures Kristen took here on her blog.

The Feast, the Concert, and the Maka's

Evelyn was able to join Miss Rohr's 5th grade class for the Medieval Feast this year. Sara was short one girl student and asked if Ev would like to participate. She practiced dancing and singing with the class for the past 6 weeks. It was a wonderful experience for her. Thank you, Miss Rohr!



Lord Schickler as a "Little Teapot."

The Dreaded Barbarian Leach.

The Dreaded Lord Somerville trying to pass himself off as a gift to the King and Queen....





The Tall Lord Buchanan - with strong feet.....













On Saturday, the Covenant Life String Ensemble performed a Christmas concert at the Mall. They sounded great and gathered a large crowd.






Sunday we joined the Maka's at Seneca Creek Park to see the Christmas lights. The kids all piled in the back of the truck, covered themselves with blankets, and sang carols while we drove through the park. Back at their house we ate ceral for dinner and made gingerbread houses. Great fun with great friends!

what are the chances?

I've been tagged. I'm not a fan of these tag games. I'm too old for this, but since it was from Ange and she's so cute I can't bring myself to say no to her. She asked me to go to my sixth picture folder, pick the sixth picture, and post it. I have tens of thousands of photos so I decided to pick one from my new hard drive where I've recently begun storing them. Honest, this is the sixth picture in the sixth folder! What do I remember from that day? I remember a very funny car ride to Philly with the Riddlesbergers on a hot summer day. I remember getting to give Jer a hug and kiss before his wedding. I remember Jeremy's upper lip disappearing from smiling so hard when Ange walked down the aisle. I remember the view from my seat; that amazing scar on the back of Jer's head is such a picture of God's grace. I remember a handsome sweet young groomsman in the wedding party, of whom I am rather fond. I remember having a wonderful conversation with David and Andrea Sharp after not seeing them for years. I remember finally meeting Meg Hayes. And mostly I remember being so very happy that God brought these two kids together in marriage that day. To the folks in Philly, thanks for letting Ange go, hard as it was. We're taking care of her down here.

The handsome groomsman and his adorable date. (I'm including it because they're cute and I love them both and I'm the mom so I can. My seniority in this game allows me to ammend the rules.)

My friends, you have been tagged:

Kimmers, Kelley, Jess Aveni, Mrs. K., and Sarah Bearah

for the tree

Our newest Christmas ornament.

maggie

Miracles do happen. Evidence? There's a puppy in my house. In fact she's asleep on my lap as I type. For many years Janelle has asked for a dog being the animal lover that she is. She's owned numerous pets and has cared for them meticulously - and independently. She once kept a hermit crab alive for 3 years! Yet I knew that having a dog was very different than a rabbit or bird or hamster and to be honest, I just wasn't up for the task. Unbeknownst to Janelle, I had been praying for her to have a dog one day, but if I was going to say yes I knew it had to be God's doing, not mine. My heart began to soften this summer when Gary and Kathleen showed up at a soccer game with their new puppy, Gus. So we surprised Janelle for her birthday 3 weeks ago and told her she could have a dog. She sobbed - for an hour. Then she went up to her room and came down with money she'd saved for years in a small box under her bed. In another small box she'd written down prayers on little strips of paper folded up tight asking God to let her have a dog someday. Needless to say we were all in tears. The most tender part of it all for both Christoph and me was the way she had submitted to our decision and trusted us, but more importantly, God. What a joy it has been for us to see Him grant her the desires of her heart.

We drove up to the breeder's home in Pennsylvania yesterday to pick her up. She's a 7 week old Golden Doodle. Janelle has been in classes all day so Maggie settled in nicely on Evelyn's lap while she did school this morning.

Welcome home, Maggie

Meet Maggie, Janelle's birthday gift. More pictures to come....

Off Broadway!

My niece Janice (on left) got the lead role in an off Broadway musical production called Dear Edwina. If you're in New York city during the holidays, go see the show! Way to go, JJ! We hope to come up during Christmas break.

Bubba

I got to have my favorite 3 year old over for the day yesterday. Jen thinks I was doing her a favor by watching him for her. Truth is I had a blast being with Caleb! Bubba is a delightful boy. He was such a trooper as I dragged him all over Upper Montgomery County driving carpools, running errands, going to doctor's appointments, cross country practice, a quick visit with Elise at the office, and more. We were actually home a couple of times during the day and of course I made time to stop at the toy store.





I told him I would take him to buy a toy. He said, "Mzzs. Maze I don't need any toys. I have toys at my house." Except that he changed his mind once he saw this Robot Hand claw thing that he called "tweezers." Those are mighty big tweezers, Bub.

Lessee how these tweezers work in Elmo's mouth.



He was a bit unsure of Spiderman at first.....

but eventually decided he was an OK dude.

So when we were actually home for a bit he wanted to watch a movie. "Mzzs. Maze? Can you watch dis movie with me cuz it's kinda scawey." Sure Bubba! "I need this pillow on my lap for the scawey part when da tiger comes."

When the movie got scarier, the pillow got thicker. :)



I think one of his favorite things to do at my house is play with skateboards. (Remember I don't have a lot of little kid toys anymore.) He talked about riding skateboards the whole time we were driving all over the place. "When we get back to your house can we ride skateboards and THEN watch a movie? Maybe we can watch a movie and THEN ride skateboards."

Bubba, you can come ride skateboards at my house any time you want. Please?