The family . . .

This time each year I drag my family out kicking and screaming and tell them to stand still and smile. We have a Christmas picture to take and so help me this is going to be fun. We'll look like a happy family if it's the last thing I do.

It nearly was.




I've since seen this face in many of my dreams. Now you can see it too.


You're welcome.


Two seconds before this shot I heard, "Mom, I REALLY have to pee!"

Yep. Looks like it.

Really, Owen. Just one more picture.


We allowed all the kids to take their turn at shooting a picture of us.

Brice.


Carra. Wha-hoo. Both of my chins are in focus.


Owen.



I will not tell you what Buff was doing next to me in these shots to get them to "smile".

It wouldn't be proper.


But then things calmed some and I got some shots of my children as they really are.

Beautiful. Obedient. Smiling.

Stop laughing and start scrolling.





Mikayla - 13 years old
13 . . . Really??? Am I old enough to have a teenager???





Carra - 7 years


Yep, that's me.

Yep, that's Buff and me.




Owen - He'll be 5 years in 4 weeks.

We got his hair to stay down for 2 3/4 minutes.



Explain to me again how my "baby" is turning 5 . . . ?????


Brice - 10 years




This kid loves, loves, loves his dad. Good thing because he looks just like him.



And there you have it.

One big happy family.

13 . . . REALLY?????

Let's go back in time . . .

13 years ago . . .

It snowed the day before Thanksgiving.

Remember?

13 years ago . . .

My youngest brother played his last high school basketball game.

13 years ago . . .

We watched the movie Independence Day.

13 years ago today . . .

I became a mother.

Seriously. . . She looks ticked. They woke her up from a wonderful deep sleep. Redressed her. Denied her food. Then they took her picture.

I'd be ticked too.

And now 13 years later we have this . . .

Apparently she forgave us for the injustices she endured . . . because she is smiling.

Whew.

So far so good . . . We have officially survived one day with a teenager in the house.

So far, she has no extra body piercings and no pink hair.

Whew.

Happy Birthday, Mikayla.

You love life and feel deeply.

Thank you for being you.

Thank you for being ours.

I was tired . . .

sooooo tired . . . sleepy, worthless tired . . .

so I went for a walk.

I really wanted to wake up . . . so I took the two littlest honyocks with me.

I walked . . . .

They ran . . .

I walked . . .

They waited for me to walk faster . . .

. . . trust me . . . I only "walk faster" . . . you don't want to see me run.


I walked . . .

They talked . . .
"Mom, I don't want to live in an apartment because they don't have a downstairs - in case a tornado comes."
"Mom, (insert friend's name) basement is . . . AWESOME . . . "

"Mom, how does the mailman know which house to bring the mail to? Does the envelope say 'the white house with the garage and bushes'? "


"Mom, is Elaine 'kind of' our cousin? It just doesn't make sense because Aunt Ruth isn't your sister."


I walked . . .

They played . . .

I walked . . .

They read . . ."Mom, I think it's a bad word . . . B .. u .. tt .. head . . . or something . . ."

. . . . and then I told them what it REALLY said . . .

I walked . . .

We saw . . .



All heading Northwest. Did someone change the migration rules recently or is this just another effect of global warming?



I walked . . .

and I woke up . . .

I love fall.

Happy November . . .

I love fall . . .




. . . especially when it feels like summer . . .

Carra . . .

turned 7 years old . . .

. . . shall we pause for a moment to reflect on that day 7 years ago . . .

I have vivid birthing memories of a Chinese medical intern hopping on one foot at the end of my hospital bed (trying to get the sterile footies over her shoes . . . I think . . . sorry about the lack of details . . . I was a bit preoccupied . . .) and giving me futile, yet desperate, commands in her thick Chinese accent.

It was a wonderful day.

Seems like it was just yesterday . . . sniff, sniff, . . . where does the time go???

Okay. I'm done.

So, Carra is 7. She and her cousin Elaine single handedly planned a party for her. I took all of their suggestions, considered them, and then changed every last one of them. We painted rocks instead of faces. We stayed home instead of going to Chuck E. Cheese. We never did get cake . . . And yet . . . they had fun. Especially Kailyn . . .



Since Carra loves, Loves, LOVES caramel apples, we decorated them instead of having cupcakes or a big fancy cake. There was a bit of strategy there . . . less work. Less work = happier mom.

Looking at her purple eyes . . . guess what she got for her birthday?


And the cousins came . . .

and decorated too. (Kailyn is missing . . . sorry about that . . . I think she made up for it in the group picture.)



They also made their own pet rocks. Six out of seven of them went home with a mouse . . . because you know how it goes with 6 & 7 year old girls . . . when someone throws out a great idea . . . it's great for EVERYBODY. I was very impressed with the one party attender that stuck with her tiger idea to the end. Besides, an orange mouse would have just been odd. About as odd as the 2 purple, 1 blue and 2 multicolored mice that left the house that day . . .

Here is Carra's mouse, Bob E. - He's the one on the left.



He looks just like our current mouse resident, Jack, he's the one on the right . . . that we pay actual money to feed and keep alive . . .

except for the green ears . . .



and the really big eyes . . .


and the red nose . . .


And the orange tail . . .


and the size . . .


But otherwise . . . they are nearly identical.

Nearly.

Happy Birthday, Carra . . . thanks for being you . . . except when you are mad at Brice . . . then thanks for just letting him live.

We love you!!