Tea Time

This weekend my mom, Obi Wan-da and I observed my favorite tradition... our annual ladies' tea.  Every year since my daughter was six months old we've gone to a local hotel for tea time and bonding.  It's always a special time and it reminds me that my life is bookended by an amazing mother and an incredible daughter.

Obi Wan-da loves her time with "Hammy" and this year she really embraced the girlishness of it all, flouncing her dress and looking at all the pretty flowers.  The tea room caters to children with PB& J tea sandwiches and chocolate milk served out of a teapot... my girl was so cute all decked out with her hair up and a chocolate milk mustache.

Three women with 3 styles of tea: Obi Wan-da and her milk, my mom with her traditional hot tea and me with mine the way God intended... iced and with plenty of sugar.

Obi Wan-da saw a group of women toasting each other with champagne at a nearby table and thought that looked like fun.

Obi Wan-da preferred her PB&J to my gorgonzola and pear sandwich... that's okay because I wasn't interested in sharing.

The hotel grounds are beautiful so our outing is really part tea time and part photo shoot.

This is why I have to have her dress dry cleaned before Easter (totally worth it).

Weekend Update 3 - Fields of Gold

I always loved the intro to "Little House on the Prairie" when Mary and Laura came skipping down the mountain surrounded by flowers and little Carrie did a faceplant because she tripped on her dress.  We had our own little Ingalls moment last weekend and it fulfilled one of my Mommy fantasies.

After church on Sunday we went flower picking at a daffodil farm.  A really generous family has acres of these beautiful flowers and at the end of the season opens up their farm to the community and lets people come in and pick all the flowers they want for free.  

This is my boy skipping through a field of flowers beneath a beautiful, blue sky.  It was a little piece of heaven.

PB was in heaven watching his little girl picking flowers.  (Please excuse my VERY white legs in the corner.  Clearly I need to use more Jergens.)

This is my brother-in-law "Emeril-imbo".  There wasn't any way for me to NOT post this picture.

The only thing missing that day was Pa Ingalls crying in the background (but PB may have come close).

Weekend Update 2 - Our Adventures in Ecumenicalism

I love my sister's church.  Love it.  If I lived in Mayberry, SC I would joyfully join her church because it's a body of believers who love the Lord and is led by a priest who faithfully (and skillfully) teaches the Word.  

It's a great church.

However... we currently attend a baptist church.  Prior to that we attended a non-denominational church so our kids have no experience whatsoever in a liturgical setting.  And since they go to Sunday school and kids' worship they have very little "Big Church" experience period.

On our way to visit my sister's church PB and I talked to the kids about what they could expect during the service, including communion.  We explained that at the end of the service we would all walk to the front of the church for communion, but since they haven't been baptized yet they should cross their arms over their chest so the priest would know not to serve them the elements.

Not hard, right?

Doc crossed his arms over his chest the entire length of the aisle.  I'm guessing just in case a priest jumped out of one of the pews with a goblet.  Then when we got to the front of the church Obi Wan-da completely balked at kneeling on the bench.  The priest very kindly leaned forward and blessed her even though she gave him one of her vintage "Dude, I am NOT buying" looks.

All this after PB and I spent the first part of the service having my sister hold our hands as we juggled our bulletin, hymnal and Book of Common Prayer.  

Yes the Bumpkin family got themselves some churchin' on Sunday.  Apparently we don't get out much.

But oh the tears as I watched my children receive their blessing.  Seriously, the baptists need to get in on the blessing action because that was just beautiful.  And couldn't we all use more blessing in our lives?

Okay, so that's a breakdown of Sunday morning.  Tomorrow I'll show you pictures of how we spent Sunday afternoon and just so you know it was the high point of our trip.

Weekend Update 1

I hate putting up posts with generic titles, but I just got back from a mini-vacation and have mushy brain this morning.  

I also have a case of allergy induced conjunctivitis which is basically skanky old pink eye, but somehow it feels better to clarify that it is allergy induced.  Don't worry... I won't show you pictures of that.  I'll keep my nasty eye to myself.

How about a picture of some beautiful children instead?

We spent a wonderful weekend in South Carolina visiting my sister and her family.  We're fairly convinced they live in Mayberry.  Think lots of friendly people, front porches that actually get used and children that say m'am.  

This is the only picture of Ma Bell and I that made it through our screening process.  PB was forced to take a million of these so I felt the need to put at least one on the blog so his efforts wouldn't be in vain.  Poor guy had to listen to lighting debates and discussions of multiple chins as well as take specific direction on which parts of our anatomy were NOT to be included.  Aren't sisters the best?

I'll be posting more pictures over the next couple of days (lucky you!) and sharing some of my favorite stories, including my decidedly Baptist children's first experience with communion - Episcopalian style.

It's a great story, but you'll just have to wait because I really need to get some schooling done.  Have a great day!

Turns out it's more than just a fish story

Water is still alive and kicking, but Doc remains worried about his fish.  I don't think his unease is just about his pet anymore.

I think he's beginning to find out what PB and I have been trying to shield him from for the past six years.  I think he's discovering that we live in a fallen world. Clearly, at his young age he doesn't have even the slightest grasp of what that means.  I hardly do at my age.

But I think he's starting to figure out that there's some bad stuff out there and sometimes it happens to very nice people.  As a rule, we don't watch the news on TV and we only listen to Christian radio when we are in the car together.  I figure there's enough time for my kids to hear about the world's garbage when they get older; I don't need to burden them with it at their tender age.

But some of it still gets through.  Like the economy.  Everywhere we go it's on everybody's lips.  My kids don't understand the causes or ramifications and I certainly can't explain it to them, but they know it sounds bad.

In our family prayer time we're praying for some friends who are going through unspeakably hard times.  Seizure.  Cancer.  Tumor.  Transplant.  Hospital.  These are the words we're trying to explain using the least scary phrases possible.

No wonder my boy who has spent his life viewing the world as a giant adventure is starting to glance around nervously.  

I wish I could make it stop.  I wish I could snap my fingers and make the world the safe and happy place that has existed in his mind for the past six years, but I can't.  PB and I can only do our best to be zealous guardians of his innocence.  The gatekeepers shutting out the trash that has no business thrusting itself upon a child.

And then we have to show him.  We have to demonstrate that faith in Jesus in the midst of hardship and sadness isn't a plastic smile or an optimistic attitude, but daily living with knees bowed and eyes focused up.  We've got to show him that while faith doesn't equal ease it does give us the only peace we'll ever find when the world doesn't make sense.

And then I've got to let go and trust that the One who knows my boy best, loves my boy best and holds his future will actually give him the peace we've been telling him about.

And I'm praying that He'll let Water live a very long time.

Our First Burial At Sea

We gave Doc Brown a fish tank for Christmas.  We also gave him two goldfish to go with it.

Now we're down to one.  

Saturday night we discovered the goldfish Doc had lovingly named Blue Fish laying at the bottom of the tank.  Aren't they supposed to float?  The cause of death is yet to be determined.  PB thinks the water was a problem, but I'm leaning toward morbid obesity.  The thing had tripled in size in a month.

Doc coped by taking a hands-on approach with the funeral arrangements.  He carefully scooped Blue Fish out of the tank and was the one to give the final flush sending his pet to fishy heaven (although Doc explained to me that there is no such thing as fishy heaven so there's one theological minefield averted).  Obi Wan-da offered commentary in her own pragmatic way, "Why are his eyes open?  Shouldn't they be closed?"  She also delicately broke the news to the remaining fish, Water, "Sorry Water.  Blue Fish is dead.  I hope you don't die."

Death is one of those things I wish I could protect my kids from .  I've been dreading the day our aging dog leaves us and I don't even want to think about the loss of a loved one.  But I know it will happen so I'm thankful that Blue Fish is a relatively harmless way to stick our toe in the water... so to speak.

It's been interesting watching how Doc has handled the whole thing.  He hasn't shed any tears, but his sadness has come out in other ways such as the way he keeps checking on Water and how he had a hard time sleeping Saturday night.  I know it's just a fish, but I hope we'll use this opportunity to watch Doc's reaction so we can learn how to better help him when he's sad.  I also hope we're laying the groundwork so he feels secure talking to us about his feelings.

We've told Doc that once we're sure we've got the tank's water under control he can pick out a new fish.  Doc's already told us he wants to name it Blue Fish... not Blue Fish 2, the second or Junior... just Blue Fish.  That's not weird, right?

There might be a Star Wars Convention in our future

I love my family.  I love pictures of my family.  I love having nice albums of pictures of my family.

I hate scrapbooking.

Let me be clear.  I love looking at other people's scrapbooks, but I hate the idea of having to create one myself.  Let me rephrase that.  I hate the idea of the guilt trip that would come with stacks of photos waiting to be labeled, cropped and organized.  I have enough unfinished projects mocking me around the house.  I don't need another.

That's why PB and I use iPhoto every year to create our annual family album.  All we have to do is upload our photos, place them in the correct order and Apple does the rest.  So easy.

All of that leads me to this: there's a recurring theme in our album this year.  

I've got a bad feeling about this...

My kid sings!

You can't tell by looking at the picture but Obi Wan-da actually sang with her class in front of the church yesterday.  This is huge because Doc Brown has never so much as opened his mouth when he's up there with his class... he's a nonconformist like his father.

Obi Wan-da acted like it was no big deal, but PB and I were waving and grinning and giving her the thumbs up sign.  When it was over we applauded like it was opening night at Canegie Hall.

This must be how Jessye Norman's mom feels.

It's official...

...our church's children's ministry rocks.

Last January when PB and I started looking for a church closer to our house we knew we wanted to be somewhere where the teaching was sound and the people were warm.  We also knew that we could find a church with the best teacher in the world and the most loving people ever, but if that church didn't have a heart for our kids, then adios!

Thankfully, we didn't have to say adios to our new church.  Our kids are learning about Jesus, His Word and that church is a wonderful place to be.

In the 11 months that we've been there our kids have been actively involved in Sunday School and Wednesday night activities and participated in the Easter egg hunt, VBS and Trunk or Treat.  All have been outstanding because the woman in charge is the most organized and level headed person I have ever met. Translation: the events are a lot of fun without being sensory overload.  Further translation:  I don't have to take Tylenol after attending children's ministry events.

Last night was the cherry on our church sundae.  The church hosted a Happy Birthday Jesus party for the kids while the adults went to their own small group Christmas parties.  Let's take a moment to bask in what a fantastic idea that was.  A friend of mine asked if people could just skip the small group parties and go out on a date instead... very tempting.  

I'm glad we went to our party though because we have some crazy good cooks in our small group.  Homemade flan, oh my.

Anyway, the kids had the best time at their party.  They jabbered about it from the time we picked them up until we tucked them in.  Doc Brown told me last night how much he loves going church and Obi Wan-da kept getting up to tell us "one more thing" about the party.   

If that's not a sign that something rocks, then I don't know what is.

The Santa Solution

I have an unapologetic confession:  We do the Santa thing at our house.

We leave him cookies, we ask the kids what they want Santa to bring them and Santa signs the gift tags.  Santa even leaves a trail of candy canes from from the kids' room to the Christmas tree when he comes to our house.  Santa did the same thing at my house growing up... he's very good about remembering family traditions:)

I'm not worried about scarring my kids' understanding of the real meaning of Christmas because while PB and I talk about Santa we emphasize Jesus.  The Jesse Tree's been a big help with that this year (I'll post pictures tomorrow).  

Also, we have a secret weapon...

Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer.  Specifically the Rankin/Bass Santa in Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer.  

I used to watch that movie every year when I was a kid and I never liked it because Santa was a bit of a jerk in it and I'm not the only one who thinks so (warning a teensy weensy bit of language printed on the screen at the end, but still very funny):

(I'm glad I'm not the only one who overanalyzes children's movies.)

So if the kids start getting too attached Santa, we'll just bust out the Rudolph DVD.

Barefoot Christmas Shopping

Every Christmas season PB and I set aside a date night to go Christmas shopping for the kids' presents.  We always end up at Toys R Us on one of the busiest nights of the year and divide up our list so we won't be stuck in the store all night.

PB hates shopping in general and I have a long list of "I'd rathers" before I go to Toys R Us.  As in I'd rather have my eyebrows completely plucked out than go to Toys R Us at Christmastime.  It doesn't make for much of a date night.

This year we decided to join the world of online shoppers and it was awesome.  We curled up on the couch in our sweats and bare feet while we did our browsing.  We munched on cookies and had a football game playing in the background while we did our pricing comparisons.

No crowds.  No frantic atmosphere.  Free shipping.

The Tree Climbers have a new family tradition.

Turkey Day Recap

We had green bean casserole, apple pie, green bean casserole, butter cake, green bean casserole, chocolate trifle, green bean casserole, 12 layer chocolate cake, green bean casserole, pumpkin cake, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, and green bean casserole.

Oh, and there was turkey.

And wonderful fellowship.

And green bean casserole.

Poor Peppermint Patty... and Franklin and Marcie and Linus

One of the many reasons I love this time of year is that we get to watch holiday movies.  Last night we watched "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" because it's just not Thanksgiving until you watch a pilgrim costume clad Snoopy carrying a cork gun and Peppermint Patty coming unhinged over being served popcorn for dinner.

I was raised on the Charlie Brown (and Rankin/Bass) movies and I'm thrilled to share them with my kids, but parenthood has altered my perception of portions of the movies.  Here's what strikes me about "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"...

Is anyone else disturbed by the fact that the parents of Peppermint Patty, Franklin, Marcie and even Linus are so eager to ship their kids off to someone else's house on Thanksgiving??!!  And why does Linus show up without Lucy?  Do his parents prefer Lucy's company over Linus? ('cuz I would have gone the other way on that one)

I still love the movie, but now I want to give those pumpkin headed children a big hug every time we watch it.  After Thursday we'll start watching "A Charlie Brown Christmas". 

Because no one recites the Gospel of Luke as well as Linus.

Works for Me Wednesday - No Stress Chess

So I mentioned Monday that our family is learning how to play chess.  PB and I have wanted to learn how for a long time because he enjoys strategy games and I've always wanted an excuse to by a fancy chess board. (Totally valid reason I think.)

Because chess isn't something you pick up in an evening (and since Doc Brown is giving us every indication that he shares the same wiring as his father) we got off our fannies and bought No Stress Chess.  

I have terrible short term memory so I assumed there would be no way I would remember what all the pieces do and where they go.  But seriously, a monkey could learn how to play chess using this system.  I am learning how to play chess using this system.

The chess board is two sided so you start out playing on a marked side that tells you exactly where to put the pieces.  You also get cards with pictures of all the pieces that tell you what they can and cannot do.  We've officially moved to the unmarked side and no longer use the reference cards.  Actually, our kids were ready to graduate before we were.  They were very proud of us when we flipped the board.  Truthfully, we flipped the board and the kids set it up for us.  After that it was every man for himself.

I got cocky on the airplane Saturday and decided to play chess against the onboard computer.  I got creamed.  Many times.  I take solace in the fact that at least the computer had to "think" a couple of times before reaching checkmate.  I take my victories anywhere I can find them.

The point is I'm learning - we're all learning.  Even my four year old is getting into it.

There's all sorts of information out there about how good chess is for developing memory, organizational and reasoning skills.  That's all fine, but we're just enjoying family time on the floor with the TV turned off.  

If it helps me remember where I left my car keys, then that's great too.

Works For Me Wednesday is hosted every week over at Rocks in My Dryer. 

Amateur Conspiracy

The Tree Climbing Family is learning how to play chess.  PB and I figured the only way we would master the game would be to learn at a child's level.  Including the kids is really just a cover for our ineptness.  The fact that the kids are quickly catching on and loving it is merely a bonus.

Last night after dinner we all sat down for a girls vs boys competition.  PB and Doc Brown started whispering strategy in each other's ear which caught Obi Wan-da's attention.  When she asked them to speak up we explained the concept of the team huddle.  Not to be outdone here's what she whispered in my ear (loudly I should add):

"Why did the chicken cross the playground?  To get to the other slide."

By the way, the girls won.

The Good Tink and Her Law Enforcement Brother

After all the stink about Tink, I have to say my daughter was one cute Tinker Bell.  We went with my friend and her cutie-pie daughter to our church's Trunk or Treat for Halloween and had a wonderful time.

Everything took place outside in a wide open park so there was plenty of space to play without having sensory overload.  It worked out well for the kids too:)

The "trunk" portion of Trunk or Treat is that the kids walk down a line of parked cars with decorated trunks and get candy.  There must be a lot of love for the men in blue because people kept giving Doc Brown extra candy because he was dressed as a police officer.  I think he's now considering a career in law enforcement.

Enjoy this picture of the kids while I raid their candy stash:

Happy 4th Birthday Obi Wan-da

Please indulge my nostalgic mommy post:

Oh my girl, my girl.

If someone had told me four years ago that this:

would turn into this...

I would have said there's no way one little body could contain so much originality.

I feel like I should pop popcorn every morning so I can munch on it all day while I watch you grow into yourself.  You are a tiny package of contradictions: so feminine yet so tough.  You are intent and passionate and my little clown.  I love how you crack yourself up.  Thank you for giving me my daily dose of laughter.  Thank you for leaving little creations around the house that remind me of your blessed uniqueness.  Things like this:

Pink hair styling tools in a Lego race car box.  That's my girl.

When I first found out we were having a little girl I had visions of pretty dresses and tiny shoes. Later it hit me what a huge responsibility lay ahead of us.  How would we raise you into a godly woman when our little girls are under such attack in this world?  I began to earnestly pray a prayer just for you.  Daily I ask God to grow you into a woman of great wisdom.

I trust that His answer to that prayer will come daily as you grow in the knowledge of Him. As I watch you I see that He's added something else to your makeup that will serve you well if you devote it to Him: you are strong in your head and heart.  When channeled into service of the Lord, strongheaded people are passionate protectors of the needy and defenders of the truth. It's not hard for me to imagine that you will be in that category.  I've learned by now not to underestimate you.

My precious girl, you are a joy to our family.  You're the confetti in our little parade.  I am and will always be an Obi Wan-da fan.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!  I love you so much!

Obi Wan-da's discerning palate

What do these two things have in common?

Apparently they share a similar taste.

I bought the breadsticks for the kids' snacks because they fit a criteria I'm trying to stick to: 5 pronouncable ingredients or less.  (Don't look at my personal snack stash... baby steps, you know.)

I'm not completely heartless.  I really thought the kids would like them and because they're long and skinny they could shove them up in their top lip and do the walrus thing.

And Doc Brown does like them.

Obi Wan-da took one bite and handed it back to me.  She didn't like it because... "It tastes like my toys."

That's my girl.

Was there a Best Buy during bible times?

During our morning break Obi Wan-da and Doc Brown created this:

It's always nice when they work together on a project and you can imagine how pleased I was when they explained to me that it is Abraham and Sarah's tent.

How nice that they've been paying attention at their Wednesday night bible class.  So what are those big yellow boxes at the top of their tent?

TVs.

Four huge TVs.  Probably plasma.

I know Abraham lived on the prosperous side of the street, but I had no idea he was so ahead of his time.

THAT Family Tree Society

I'm pretty excited because today my blog is being featured in "THAT Family Tree Society" over at We are THAT Family.  Specifically, this post about our last camping trip.  

PB's not exactly thrilled that an "unapproved" photo of him is getting more air time and I should be having second thoughts about telling the whole world about my gastrointestinal issues, but I've already put it out there once - what's a little more embarrassment among friends?

Anyway, We are THAT Family is one of my all time favorite blogs because its author, Kristen, is the real deal.  Her blog is a great mix of laugh out loud humor, a lot of "me too!" moments and a whole bunch of inspiration.  A lot women stop by there daily  - it's quite a ministry Kristen has over there so go check it out.

I'm glad I can consider my family one of THOSE families.  Some of my favorite memories and greatest personal growth are a result of THOSE moments in my life.  For instance I was 8 months pregnant with Doc Brown when PB had back surgery and two years later I was 8 months pregnant with Obi Wan-da when Doc broke his arm (scary trend, right?).  Doc Brown's delivery alone made me one of THOSE women - one of those horror stories you hear at baby showers that make you gasp and stop eating the quiche.

As I type this I'm looking at my dining table sitting in the middle of the family room because my dishwasher is in the middle of the dining room because I'm waiting for the extra refrigerator to be hauled out of the kitchen.  This on top of the fact I've been doing my laundry at my parent's house for the past three weeks because my washing machine died and poured water all the way to the street (yes, we're waiting for the locusts any day now).  I've been dragging my feet buying a new washer because quite frankly the idea of tearing apart my utility room at the same time the kitchen is in chaos stresses me out.

But it's great to be one of THOSE families.  Because this is the stuff that bonds us together and gives us a collective laugh.  I also hope that PB and I can use these little bumps as mini training sessions for when the really big, bad stuff comes along.  And it will come.  So I want to be ready, I want my marriage ready and I want my kids to be ready.  I want our family to be equipped with a light touch on the trivial, a warped sense of humor and a faith that the King remains on the throne no matter what trial comes our way.  I think being one of THOSE families will do that.

So I'm thankful to be a member of THAT Family Tree Society.  Judging by the posts from the other "members" of the society we're a scrappy bunch.  And we're a whole lot of fun.