Holiday Update

We had a great Thanksgiving week. I love having my girls home from school. Here is a recap along with some photos:

• Went to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium and Enchanted at the movievater. (This is what Chloe calls the movie theater.) Mr. Magorium's was not so great, but we all loved Enchanted.
• Celebrated Rachel's 10th birthday on the 19th. She had her favorite breakfast foods (chocolate chip pancakes and breakfast burritos), opened her presents, played with her sisters, and chose to eat at Bob Evan's that night for dinner.
• Got the great news that a test my Mom had done last week at the hospital showed no major problems.
• Snuggled up in the bed together and watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Spent Thanksgiving Day with good friends, ate a lot and watched the Cowboys win again.
• Stayed up late playing Mexican Train (dominoes) with Hannah and Rachel.
• Went swimming at the Y a couple of times.
• Went shopping at Pet's Mart with our dog, Annie.
• Went to see the Westminster Christmas Parade on Main Street. It was cold, but fun.
• Took Chloe to the birthday parties of two of her favorite 4 year old boys. One she calls "my best boy, Tyler," and the other she calls "my prince, Elijah."

Turkey Day Test

Thanks for this one, Jen. I am mashed potatos. What are you?

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Ordinary, comforting, and more than a little predictable. You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

Rachel's 10th Birthday

Here are some photos from our day. I will write more later, just want to get these pictures up for grandparents to see tonight.

Quarter Quiz

This is a fun little test that my Mom sent me. I scored an 18 out of 20. My girls have been collecting each of these quarters as they come out, so maybe that helped.

Do you know what's on your change? Find out here.

Game Day

Another win for the Cowboys today! 8-1, what a season so far.

Lance spent the day at the game in New York with friends tailgating and watching the Cowboys win again. He's on his way home now, and has had a great day.

More 4 Year Old Wisdom

We had a dry summer here in Maryland and were having a dry fall. I mean, hardly any rain at all for weeks on end. In October, for the first time in a long time, it really rained. Chloe and I were looking out at the rain, talking about God giving us rain and how much the rain was needed. She looked at me with big round eyes and said, "We do need rain, because I heard there was almost a shrought."

Chloe got this little notebook in a bag of party favors. She brought it home, asked her sisters how to write Chloe's Diary, and spent about 10 minutes carefully titling her notebook with a marker. She likes to open her "diary" and practice writing letters and numbers on it's pages. The "diary" went missing somewhere in our house. Chloe sat on the couch the other day and found it behind a cushion. She was so excited, as she came running to me I heard her shout, "Mom, I found my diarrhea."

Chloe likes to help me find a parking spot when we go places. She didn't understand why we were passing up so many available open spots every time we went shopping. So, a while back I showed her the handicapped spaces, the signs, the stick figures in wheelchairs painted on the pavement, and explained what this meant, and why we didn't park there. This week as we walked into Wal-Mart, Chloe said, "Look, they're in the handicapped parking, they must use a wheelbarrow."

Happy Halloween

Halloween night was fun in our neighborhood again this year. Hannah and Rachel came home with unbelievable amounts of candy as usual. They have a tradition of trick or treating every house in the neighborhood, so we did. Chloe went out with us for a while, but really had more fun at the house with Lance giving out candy.

Happy Birthday to You

Lance's 40th birthday was Monday, October 29. He was home all day, so that made the surprise gathering I had planned for that night a little bit difficult. He was able to get some much needed rest all morning (after a couple of busy work weeks, including an ALG retreat and The Hunt). That afternoon the girls and I gave him our presents and later we went out to dinner.

By the time we got back to our house, he had an idea that something might be going on. But, he says he wasn't sure. Anyway, there was no way to tell that our house was filled with about 25 friends until the door was opened. We ended the day with some great people, Lance's favorite party foods (these include: poppy seed cake, Little Smokies, salsa, queso, Tostitos, and Fritos) and an incredible birthday cake.