We just got back from a Super Bowl party where the kids outnumbered the adults! It was a zoo, but tons of fun. The twins played so well with the other kids (ranging in age from 12 months to 10 years). Carli was a little shy at first, but Jackson Camper jumped right in, playing and running and throwing everything in sight! Carlisle quickly warmed up to the other kids, especially Jordan (10) who helped her onto all the big toys. The group split into boys/girls halfway through the night - the girls built block towers while the boys jumped in and out of a tent. Crazy, loud and fantastic! And, I'm totally stuffed from enchiladas, cheese dip, brownies and tons of other yummy goodies that I am now banned from eating!

2009 - Winter pics

This weekend was a good one, though I'm completely exhausted. Friday, Kendal and I got to go to a "fancy dress party" - a cocktail party for Group Living. Nana came up to love on the kids while we went to the party. I accidentally bid on a two-night stay at Diamond Jack's Casino in Shreveport - I thought I was just starting the bidding, but we won the stay so I guess we're planning a big casino trip in the near future! On Saturday, after I slept in a bit, my friend M.E. and I went for a 5 mile run - our marathon relay is in 6 weeks but I'm feeling good about being ready to run the 6-7 mile stretch. This morning, we had eight kids in our church nursery - that's pretty outstanding for our church! Unfortunately, we didn't have a nursery worker so the kids were stuck with me! We just played and I tried to make sure no one jumped off a chair (or stood on one) - they did great but I definitely know I'm not cut out to be a preschool teacher, ever!!

Explanation

So, the post below... Jackson Camper is becoming quite the IT savant. I was trying (clearly unsuccessfully) to upload some video I've taken of the kids with our new Handycam (thanks, Dad!) and stepped away from the computer. When I came back, the screen said "Blog Post Successful"... but I knew I did not post anything. Jackson Camper clearly had something to say - we are wondering with PPPPITTTTTARRRAXXX" really means - and he not only managed to type it in all caps but also published his manifesto. If anyone can translate his post, I'm all ears!

prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx .

To quote our favorite, non-creepy puppet Mary from Noggin's "Jack's Big Music Show," we can only say "What a day!" I was able to watch most of the inauguration ceremony from my computer at work - loved the running Facebook commentary on CNN.com where I could read my friends' thoughts and comments. Time and again, people said they had never been more proud to be an American than today (with an occasional "Woot!" thrown in). I have to agree. Even more, I have never been more proud to be a parent and introduce my children to this great country and train then to view the world through colorblind, God-seeking lenses. Kendal taped the ceremony so tonight, we were able to enjoy the prayers, take in the full measure of our new President's vision and celebrate a truly beautiful day in our history. No, the kids didn't understand what they were watching, but they did watch - amazing since it was not in cartoon-form :) One day, they'll go back and read President Obama's first words from the presidential podium, go ga-ga over Michelle Obama's fabulous dress (I can only hope) and - most importantly - not even know a world where it was ever impossible to let race dictate greatness and override justice. Their minds and dreams are wide open!

From Collages

And I must reiterate... I love our new president, but I adore his wife!!

Back to the Routine

You know, it's really nice being fully "back" to our daily routine - back to a regular work schedule, a regular sleep schedule, a (somewhat) regular workout schedule, back to health... It's nice!

Look who's talking! One thing we can always count on is for Jackson to exceed our expectations! He walked later than his sister, but his first steps were a full-out run. The same is proving true with his mastery of vocabulary. Just a few days ago, we were telling our pediatrician at that Jackson hasn't really said any decipherable words - he's a great babbler, but mostly points and grunts. That very day, Jackson waved to Kendal in the yard and said "bye bye!" and can now say "shoe" and "juice." Carlisle has her "uh-oh" down pat, loves a "baby," loves her "juice," has a pageant wave to accompany her "buh-bye," calls Jackson "Bubba," can growl like a bear and woof like a dog and can point to her nose, ear and chin (usually).

One funny quirk Carli has developed that I've talked about earlier is her love for her stuffed animals, or "be-be's." She always has at least two with her and must have at least four to go quietly into her crib. Santa (aka GanGan and Big Daddy) gave her a baby set of boy-girl twins with a stroller, crib and double swing/high chair. Without fail, Carlisle and I will be "playing" with the babies and I'll show her how to set the twins in the high chair. She will roughly and disdainfully grab the babies and toss them on the floor. Then, she gently and motherly takes a stuffed "be-be," sets it in the chair and feeds it a can of peas or a slice of pizza (from her kitchen, of course). Perhaps we'll replace some pets before introducing a little brother or sister to the family :)

On Sunday, I dressed Jackson in a most precious set of smocked cowboy overalls. Love it, wish he would wear them every day! Carlisle wore a dress that was actually mine as a baby. It's a teeny bit short but looked pretty darn darling on her. As always, they had fun in the church nursery with their buddy Will and other special friends.

From Collages

I will leave you with a little "rap" the twins and I composed tonight during bath-time... I think maybe Kendal and I need a night out :)

You can find me in the tub,
Water's full of bubs
Our Mom's got what we need
She's gonna keep us clean
Don't want to go outside 'cause my ducky's who I love
So come give me a hug
You'll wind up getting dunked
You can find me in the tub.

Just catching up

Our "stay-cation" was restful in the beginning, but Kendal was hit with a rough case of bronchitis toward the end so the kids and I fended for ourselves. Luckily, he is feeling much better but did have to miss church - thanks, Conner, for reading Kendal's sermon! And, many thanks to Nana and Papa for coming up to take care of the twins when I went back to work on Sunday!

All too soon, it was time to go back to work. Ouachita hosts regional receptions in Shreveport, Dallas and Little Rock - and this was the week! I was busy traveling much of the week and missed out on some good downtime with the family but I did get to take them to their "first day of school" in a new classroom! Their nursery teacher, Miss Nikki, moved up to the toddler room, too, as do many of their friends. The class is a bit more structured now as the kids learn about winter, eat lunch at the table and have more time to play!

From Jan 2009 - playing outside

This weekend has been fabulous. Last night, my friend Karen and I headed to Little Rock for some much-needed girl time. We hit Harold's - everything in the story was 80-90% off! I was surprised to see that Harold's is one of the economy's latest casualties, but that didn't stop us from taking some merchandise off their hands! We then got some pillows for our new couch (the real point of the LR excursion - couch and new den arrangement pictured above) and ate dinner at Cantina Laredo - yum, guac made right at your table! Karen then introduced me to the Container Store - I was horrified and shamed by the spread of organizational options, none of which I can actually find the time to incorporate into our crazy life unfortunately.

Today, I've been catching up on laundry while Kendal cleaned the garage and yard (I got the better deal!). Kendal's now off brewing with our friend Drew and I took the kids for a quick run. Ouch. I am trying to get ready for the Little Rock mararthon relay, but today's jaunt affirmed how very unprepared I am!Later, we played in the yard for a while - had to take advantage of the cozy, trendy Puma outfits from Aunt Susan! The kids found the leftover Heineken mini-keg on the porch - they were way too interested! We then had some playtime before heading in for a snack. Happy Saturday!

Let's Shine in 2009!

Happy New Year, friends! 2008 absolutely whizzed by and I do hope to take a little more time in '09 to appreciate all the day-to-day blessings. Kendal has resolved to do some serious hiking this year (the entire Ouachita trail if possible) and I've resolved to... well... that's still a little unclear! One thing I do hope to do is take some time to just be "still" and simply enjoy the kids as they enter such a curious, busy stage!

We decided to skip the baby-sitting search for New Year's Eve and host a family-friendly party at our house. We celebrated New Year's "London Time" (6PM CST) with a bunch of Arkadelphia friends. We had tons of great food (Cadbury from the UK, fish 'n chips, beer cheese and ale biscuits, cucumber sandwiches - yum!) and had a good time. Carlisle and Jackson had fun with their friends - sharing Christmas toys was a bit challenging at first, but they soon warmed up to the joys of being a kind host! The best part of the night - and how sad is this - was that everything wrapped up by 9 p.m.! Kendal and I enjoyed a little reflection time before heading off to bed before midnight and enjoyed the entire day immensely!



We've had such a wonderful week at home on our first-ever "stay-cation." We still hate missing our dear friend Kimberly's wedding in Ohio, but this precious time with the kids at home has been a time of refreshment and rejuvenation. Our best day was Sunday - for the first time ever, our family went to church together in our own town! Kendal is always out the door to church by 6:45 a.m. on Sundays so the kids and I have our own Sunday routine. This one day, we were able to hang out all together as a family, take our time getting dressed (Kendal learned that Sunday clothes are a LOT tougher to wrestle onto the kids than regular togs!) and drive to church in one car! We visited a local church that has a great nursery for the kids and enjoyed the service together - it's a rare treat to get to sit with Kendal during a service, as well as for him to not be in charge! We then had a great lunch at a local mexican restaurant and headed home for naps and family time. It was a wonderful, relaxing day and one we'll treasure for a long time. While we do look forward to getting back to our "routines" starting on Sunday, we are so grateful for this one week we've had together with no schedules or committments!

A few quick prayer requests... We just learned that our wonderful friend Greg lost his father last week. Greg and his family just returned from his sabbatical in Scotland (he is a professor at the U. of Tenn) and are now dealing with this unexpected loss. Please pray for their family. Our other "international" friends, Nick and Kari, recently returned from a 6-month in South Korea with Nick's aunt, uncle and cousins. They are now back home in Seattle and settling back in - we hope their return will be smooth. Finally, some adoption news... Friends Kathy, Trey and Tanner Berry are in China and will meet their daughter, Berkeley, in just two days! This has been a long adoption journey for them, but the waiting is finally behind them and they are preparing to hold their daughter in a matter of hours! We also just learned that dear friends Jenn and Patrick Marshall have been APPROVED to adopt a baby from South Korea and are now just waiting to finalize paperwork and receive their referral! So exciting that a baby will soon be theirs - what an exciting year 2009 will be!