Nicaragua Water Project

Emily's class has learned all about water this year. They've learned how much water a child in the U.S. uses and how that compares to children in other countries. They've learned about the availability of water here, and how its not always available in other parts of our world. The result is an effort to raise money for clean water for children in Nicaragua. Scott and I are continually amazed and thankful for this wonderful class and their fabulous teacher. Amazing, right?

Oh, and by the way. In the shot of the whole class, our kid is the one on the top left. Apparently the tree is attacking her. It wouldn't be Emily unless a tree attacked her, or the like! :)

Check out the video here.

Spring Top Ten

Spring is my favorite time of year for so many reasons. Today I woke up so aware of the blessings in my life that I couldn't contain myself. I've always been a list person, so I thought it would be appropriate to begin a list of everything Spring is bringing to life.

1. Our kids. I need to get more pictures posted this afternoon because they are so stinking cute.

2. April is always strawberry month. Last Saturday was the first time we went this season. We picked three gallons of berries. Right in the middle of the picking, the skies opened up and the rain came down, like torrential downpour rain. My kids giggled and stomped in the mud, and rather than the rain ruining out time, it actually made our time better. I loved it.

3. Spring Break.

4. The animals are out. Last week I came upon seven deer crossing the road. One stopped and just stared at us for what seemed like minutes. Even Eli said, "Whoa Mommy. Stop. Stop. Stop!" And Emily has a new pet turtle named Prince Phillip. He was found by a pond, an Em is sure he already loves her. Oh, and I can't forget the wrens, larks, hummingbirds, jays, and cardinals who come to our feeders in the backyard. I watch them and am reminded of our Creator's creativity.

5. Only four more weeks until I'm a stay at home mom again for the summer. I have so many plans for this summer!

6. Our pool doesn't open until the first of May, however, our kids are having a blast playing with water in the backyard. The three of them played outside for over three hours straight yesterday afternoon and on to evening. It was fabulous to watch them play together. I pray that they will continue to love and enjoy each other every day like yesterday.

7. My Bible study is in the middle of an awesome Beth Moore study of the Tabernacle. The study book is called A Women's Heart: The Dwelling Place of God. We're half-way through and I already think I like it more than Daniel or the Patriarchs, which is saying a lot. I've learned so much already.

8. Cleaning. I have some cleaning to get to, and some of it is slowly being cleaned off the list. But doing this with twin two year olds is not always convenient to say the least. However, the other day I was trying to figure out how to mow the lawn with the twins out there with me. I flooded one of my raised vegetable beds that doesn't have any plants in it yet, and then stuck the twins (in diapers only) in the middle of the muddy mess. Then I closed the garden gate and mowed the lawn! I felt quite accomplished when I was done, and thankful for my Rosedale roots! We Rosedale gals know how to get something done! :)

9. Right now there are so many flowers blooming. My favorite is the purple lantana that has overtaken my flower bed in the front yard. I love the flowers all over the yard!

10. The kids are growing. And growing. And Growing! Emily can read so many books its amazing. Every day she seems to amaze us with the growth she's making as a reader and a writer. And the twins seem to learn more words a day than I can keep up with. Right now Eli calls Elsie "Aya" and Elsie calls Eli "Makeen." I have no idea why, but watching them communicate with each other is just about the best thing ever.

Well, later this morning the twins both have dentist appointments. I'm not sure that appointment will be much of a blessing, but we'll see!

Emily's Birthday

One specific area that I've slacked off from since going back to work is this blog. Something had to give I guess, and while it bums me out that I'm no longer keeping track of these precious moments with our blog, it does excite me when I can steal a few moments for an update.

Emily is six. Wow. I don't even know what to say about that, so I will move on to the birthday festivities. Emily decided that rather than having a birthday party, this year she would like to go to Atlanta for the weekend and get an American Girl doll. The weekend was planned, and off we went!

The very first place we went was to the American Girl store. Emily and I knew exactly which girl she was going to get, and Saturday just happened to be the last day they would sell this beautiful doll. Her name is Felicity, and she is from the 1774 era. (And no, I really did let Emily pick, but I have to admit that I was thrilled to begin reading all the American Revolution events during the Felicity American Girl books! What can I say? I love fourth grade Social Studies!) Now this store is amazing! But somehow, the twins quickly grew tired of looking at expensive dolls in boxes. So while Emily and selected the necessary accessories, Scott took the twins to roam the rest of the mall. What a good dad, huh? (Hold that thought... you may change your mind in a few sentences!)

Once we purchased the doll, her accessories, and had her ears pierced (Yep, that's right. The doll got her ears pierced, and much to Scott's dismay, it was more expensive than when Em got her ears pierced!:) We walked out to find this precious pair with Daddy. I quickly informed Scott that not only was the Felicity doll from the 1774 period being permanantly retired, but so was her best friend Elizabeth... the same Elizabeth from all the storied that Emily and I read together. Surely we couldn't leave without Elizabeth, right? Luckily for me Scott agreed. (Really, it wasn't that hard.) I rushed back in to get the doll while Scott showed the kids this awesomely huge clock in a jewelry store.
Now here it where it gets interesting. Scott jokingly tell Emily that he had a giant magic marker so she could print her name on the back of her Felicity doll. No joke, another mom who overheard did a triple take paired with an audible gasp before she caught on that he was joking. But not only that, it turns out while they were looking at the giant clock, Eli started loudly pointed to the clock while YELLING "Big Cock!" Scott's response to the horrified on-lookers? "Oh its okay. We're from South Carolina, its okay to say cock!" *deep sigh*

The rest of the trip was rather uneventful. Emily randomly saw a girl from her class in the food court. She had also gotten her first American Girl doll. The girls were thrilled to see each other!


It wasn't until we got to the hotel room that we gave Emily the Elizabeth doll. She was one happy girl!

The next day we went to the Coca Cola museum. We had a great time except that once we got to the tasting room with over 60 sodas from around the world, both Scott and I realized at the same time that Emily doesn't even like carbonated beverages of any sort. Um... what were we thinking? Emily politely refused tasting many of the beverages and when asked why she didn't speak up about not even liking Coke she simply replied, "I didn't want to be a rude birthday girl!" Even now, neither Scott or take the blame for coming up with the Coke Factory tour. As far as we're concerned, it was somebody else's horrible idea. Luckily, our family had fun anyway!



Finally, here are some cute pictures of the kids playing at the Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. Notice Emily "helping" her twins down the slide! It was a great way to get out some energy before the long car ride home. And yes, Emily brought her dolls to all of the day's events!

Happy Birthday to our sweet girl!

This is what makes Saturday fabulous

We have plans to finally spend the weekend out doing fun stuff. After three weekends in a row with sick kids, we're very much looking forward to plans at the zoo in the beautiful 75 degree weather today.

However, I doubt a fabulous zoo trip can top this unexpected moment that I walked in on this morning.

Thank you Lord for delighting me with this blessing.



And of course, a Saturday morning with three kids wouldn't be complete unless somebody was put in time-out for some reason or another. This morning it was Elsie, who seems to think the world belongs to her. Poor girl.

This is the Stuff...

I was sitting in traffic on Lake Murray Blvd this afternoon while this diesel blocked three lanes of traffic so he could back in to a furniture store loading dock. I was so anxious to get home to my sweet family after work, as always, but especially on this day. Scott had taken the day off work to be with our sick sweeties and when he took them to the pediatrician we found out the girls both had double ear infections, and Eli was suffering from some icky virus that was leaving him tired, congested and relentlessly coughing. I couldn't wait to get home and wrap my arms around them all. And I couldn't even find my cell phone to call home and check in.

While I sat that there getting more and more frustrated at the nerve of this diesel guy (I mean, if you know you have to block three lanes of traffic to make this delivery, could you not choose 5:00 traffic as a delivery time?!) I reached down to look through the package from the pharmacy. I had two sets of antibiotics and one cough medicine. But when I looked at the antibiotics, they hadn't been mixed. Ugh. So now I had to wait for the diesel truck to MOVE and then I had to jet back to the pharmacy to wait in that awful line (again!) so I could get the meds mixed.

As I continued to sit, I reflected on the stressful school day. I had two sweeties complaining that they didn't feel good but neither had a temp. so they were returned to class to mope the rest of the day. I had one high-energy friend that forgot "part of his routine" this morning and was doing everything but pulling out my hair FOR me. Throw in a little fourth grade girl drama, and the afternoon was just not as fun as most. *deep sigh*

And then I heard this song.

My entire perspective changed as I began to feel for the poor diesel driver who probably wasn't from around here and had no idea the trouble this delivery would cause to an already congested road. As I passed I gave him a little wave and a smile, and he looked at me and smiled back with relief. No doubt other passersby weren't extending much southern charm.

What a difference a great song can make!

My Grocery Gamer!

When Emily was just a little thing I had a feeling she would appreciate my couponing. She must have only been two or three when she pushed her baby stroller in the living room and asked me if I could watch her baby while she went grocery shopping. I promised to take good care of her baby doll, and as she exited the room to go "shopping" she turned to her baby and said, "What's that baby?" (silence as she pretended to be listening to her baby) "Oh, I'm sorry baby but we're not going to get that today at the store. Its not on sale, its not on the list, and I don't have a coupon!"

Fast forward to today and just look at my happy little shopper! We went to Publix this evening after the babies went to bed. Emily carefully scanned the aisle looking for the items that were buy one get one free sale items to match with my coupons. When we got to the check out station Emily was just as excited to hear the total as I was: $32.19 for all of this!

Hey! Nice hat!

Elsie has several friends who needed to wear a special device on their heads in order to even out the heads. I'm surprised at how common it has become. Well, apparently Elsie decided that she needed one of the special hats too! She has worn it much of yesterday and today. I think she feels she is making a fashion statement!

Carnitas Tacos

I could get used to this being at home thing. I love teaching, but I also love being a Mommy at home all day. I certainly don't like that the twins were sick, but that's not to say I haven't enjoyed every moment with them at home.

We didn't figure out they were sick until after I'd already gotten completely ready for the day yesterday, which included putting this meal in the crock pot. Turns out, I got to be home all day smelling the house as it cooked. I couldn't wait for dinner, and it turned out great!

Here's the recipe:
2 lbs. pork loin
1 chopped onion
3 diced carrots
2 chopped chipotle chilies in adobe sauce
2 T. adobe sauce (from same can)
2 cans white kidney beans
1 can dice tomatoes
3 T. tomato paste
1/2 C. water
1 1/2 T. oregano
1 t. cumin
2 t. kosher salt
1 t. black pepper
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
chopped cilantro
sour cream
sliced limes

Cut the roast down the middle and put in crock pot. Add all other ingredients, except sour cream, lime, and cilantro. Cook on low for eight hours. Shred pork and mix all together. Serve with warmed corn tortillas with lime, sour cream, and cilantro as garnish.

And the best part? If you use low-fat sour cream, this dish is only 6 weight watchers points! And it tastes delish!

My morning

Elsie was sick on Saturday morning, and so even though we had great plans to head out and enjoy the wonderful weather, we played it safe and stayed at home. Well wouldn't you know Elsie was fine the rest of the day? Isn't that the way it goes? So of course the next morning we brought her to church. We didn't even think about it. And she was just fine. And then last night happened. Let's just say I elected to use disposable diapers after the first major yucky diaper change. And I felt HORRIBLE for bringing in the church nursery!

So this morning we were left with that big question: Does she go to Ms. Shari's, or do we keep her home? She never ran a fever, and she hadn't had yucky diapers in hours and hours. So we decided to bring her.

Once we got to Shari's house Elsie just didn't seem right. She was too mellow and almost lethargic. Our pediatrician always tells us temperament over temperature, so I decided to call school and tell them I'd need a substitute. I wasn't about to leave my baby feeling so yucky.

So that's what I did. I drove to school so that I could throw together some lesson plans, with Elsie in tow. I still wasn't sure what's wrong with her, but something just wasn't right. Once I got to school, I walked her in on my hip, and when I got about half-way up the walkway to the building, the guy who teaches next to me caught up and asked what was going on. I was just in the middle of explaining Elsie's weird symptoms when Elsie projectile vomited all over me and the pillar I was standing next to.

Horror movies don't have anything on a puking baby for a young guy with no kids of his own. I felt so bad, both for Elsie but also for my friend. It was pretty gross! Needless to say, I never got to my classroom.

I decided to go back to Ms. Shari's to pick up Eli, who surely was exposed to her germs. I didn't want him to pass those germs on to the other littles.

I get him home, and he puked in the driveway.

Nice. So far one of them has been asleep while the other pukes. It has worked out well this way. Because if both of them were up "getting sick" at the same time, I don't know what I'd do.

Its been quite a morning. Luckily in between the piles of yuck on the floor, the dirty diapers, and the crying there have been many moments of cuddling, snuggling and cartoon watching. I love those parts. I'm sure my sweet baby girl and boy will feel better soon. Hopefully its REAL SOON! :) But I'm enjoying my day with these sweeties all the same.

Drapes (finally) and other things

We've lived in this house for almost six years. Hard to believe, eh? During all this time we've almost painted every room in the house. One of the last ones to be done is our bedroom. It has sort of been the last on our priority list. Our bedroom is referred to as the "soccer bedroom" because of its ridiculous size. So painting it has always seemed like it would be a big task.


The previous owner put up some great drapery rods from the four windows in the bedroom. I've always loved the rods, but have never purchased drapes for them. Finally they have drapes! I used some Christmas money and got some great chocolate brown drapes that go great with the color now, but will also be great if we ever get around to painting the room a color we like better.

And this is a picture taken from our bedroom window. We're still snowed in. Its really quite beautiful even though much of the snow has melted away. However there is still a lot of ice on the trees, which means ice on the road. Scary stuff. I doubt we'll go to school on time tomorrow, if we even have school at all.

Snow!

The weatherman called for snow, which is a rarity in South Carolina. They canceled school today, and announced early last night. So we made sure the kitchen was stalked with milk and bread, and then went to bed last night anxious to see what we would wake up to! It didn't stop snowing until past noon, and we ended up with over seven inches! Wow! What tremendous joy!





I'm sure I've mentioned before about how fabulous our neighborhood is, but let me explain why! First of all, I love that when the weatherman calls for snow, the moms in the neighborhood begin getting out snow pants and passing them around the 'hood to whoever has a child that could benefit from them. Its fabulous! But also I just love that the neighborhood pool area turns in to the coolest sledding hill! Everybody begins to gather and kids go down on sleds, toboggans, or anything plastic they can find.




Here is Emily going down with some friends, and the girls helping each other back up the snowy hill. Emily and I also went down together a couple times. It was a blast!





Eli wasn't such a fan of the snow. He refused to keep gloves on (and they were really only wool mittens) and when he fell in the snow this one time, he freaked out and declared himself "done." I didn't blame him. Elsie was not far behind, as she also didn't care for the cold, but she did manage to have some fun in the wagon with her friend Reagan from down the street. What cute babies!

I'm back with random updates!

I guess I haven't blogged so much for obvious reasons. Going back to work has made me really analyze how I spend my time so that any extra time can be spent with the kids. However, as I finish up the fourth week of school and things fall better in to place, I realize that I want to get back to my old blogging hobby.

There wasn't really a great way to get back in to things, except for one of my random posts, so here goes!

Malisa's random thoughts... posted in no particular order, but rather as they flow in and out of my head:

1. Scott is up early this morning. He's at the Lake Murray Dam run. It starts in five minutes, and I pray for him to do his best. This is a 10K run. Yep, that's right. 10k = 6.2 miles. Scott has turned out to be quite the runner. I'm so proud of him! Not only is he skinnier than he's been since before we got married, but he has researched and learned so much about being a runner. Its been fun to watch him on this journey. He's inspiring!

2. I'm up to a 3 mile run, tops. I have horrible shin splints that cause me to limp after my third run of the week. So far, this had kept me from expanding the number of runs I do a week, or adding more miles. But the way I figure it, my cast hasn't been off for quite two months yet, so I think I'm doing okay for now.

3. One of my besties is getting married today. My friend Amber and I met years ago when I first moved to South Carolina. She's been my "single" friend for the past five years, the one who drops in for dinner whenever and is thrilled to share a home cooked meal with us, no matter how simple it may be. I love her dearly, and so does my entire family. She's been a chosen family member, so to speak. And the wonderful man she's marrying fits right in. My Emily loves them both, as do the rest of us. I'll be sure to post some pictures of Em in her flower girl dress, and me in my bridesmaid dress. Its sure to be a fun day! And the festivities start in just a few hours with hair appointments!

4. Mrs. Shari, the fabulous lady who keeps the twins, was put in our lives by God. He obviously knew the state my heart was in when I had kids and worked, and therefore He put Shari in our lives to ease the situation. She was wonderful with Emily, and just to be expected, she's wonderful with our twins. Its easy to see how they love her too. One quick story to signify her fabulousness: I dropped the twins off and noticed that Eli was stinky. I laid Shari's changing pad on the floor to change him, just like she does. Eli ran over, laid done, and was perfectly still. Once I started changing his diaper, he threw his hands over his head. Now, at home, this child is like trying to diaper a tiger. He rolls all over. His hands go straight to the "yuck." And the entire thing is quite disasterous. However, Shari apparently explained how they do diaper changes, and this is how they do them. Expectation raised, and the twins raised with it. Fabulous!

5. Yesterday was the bridal luncheon at noon, and so I took a personal day off work. Since I had nowhere to be in the morning, I went Emily's school and spent the day with her in Kindergarten. Her wonderful teacher (I could write an entire blog post devoted to her teacher's fabulousness) even arranged for this day to be "Leaf Day" when I mentioned this rare chance to come in to class. So I got to run a station as the children investigated all about leaves. Then I got to go to the library with the class, and to see the cafeteria where Em eats lunch. Of course I also saw Scott and his class. The entire morning was just what I needed. Emily is in a wonderful setting with wonderful people. I'm so pleased that she gets to go there to learn every day. I could never ask for more for her Kindergarten year.

6. I love my job. Turns out I this teaching thing is a fiber in my inner-being. It is who I am. It is what I love. I marvel at the brilliant things my kids say, and the hysterical things they say. When I look at where we were when we walked in the first day of school, and how our community has begun to build since then, I am so amazed at what they can accomplish.

7. With the extra job, comes extra income. And I share this not because its important, but because I think so many of us have experienced this. Scott and I got our first paychecks of the year. And since we were making it work on his salary, we were thrilled to finally have a cushion with my income. And then, the very next day, our garage door broke. Like, it won't open at all, the spring snapped in half and the rollers are rusty broken. Isn't that the way it always happens? And my first instinct is to be incredibly disappointed, but I had to force myself to change my attitude and be grateful that this garage door didn't break until after we could afford to fix it. What a blessing! Because it turns out, replacing garage doors is expensive!

8. Eli and Elsie have colds. Probably just the first bug of the season, but now they are congested in their chest, especially Eli. Neither of them are running a fever, or even have a change in their temperament. But I know its coming. I pray that they will be fine, and the chest congestion clears up on its own, however, I'm anticipating a trip to the pediatrician this week. And its only September!

Speech

I read this speech from a link posted on facebook. Basically its a speech written by a high school valedictorian. She turned in a "fake" speech to her administration before delivering this one at the actual ceremony. Its absolutely amazing. As I continue to think about school, my classroom, and future students, this speech continues to rock my thoughts.

Random thoughts for today

My posting hasn't been as regular lately. My cast came off last Tuesday, and while I'm supposed to where my boot, I haven't worn it since the day after I got it. Scott grumbles about a waste of a $40 boot, and I grumble about being asked to where the dumb thing in the first place. I was told to "wean" myself off my crutches until my strength came back enough to support my leg. Little did my doctor know that I had been walking on my casted leg for a little over two weeks prior to the "coming off" date. Obviously he didn't notice the hole in the heal of the cast. I was grateful when he viewed the x-ray and declared my leg had healed "perfectly." Scott rolled his eyes as the doctor said "perfectly" because once again I got away with not following the rules.

Anyhow, all that said, I have been enjoying every moment with it off. The very next day I cleaned out the garage. I've cleaned out linen closets, bathroom cabinets, and Emily's bedroom which once again could have used a backhoe. We've been to the beach, the pool, and to town more times than I can think. I've been moving in to my classroom, and cherishing time with the kids during these last few days.

I officially start back to work next Thursday. Depending on the moment, my response to returning to work is either complete excitement, or breaking down in to tears. I have no control over which way the pendulum of emotions will swing at any given time. All I can say is that my heart breaks at the thought of leaving my babes, but my heart also longs to return to the job I love. Ih never thought it possible to want two things.

Finally, my last random thought for today is about our last minute trip to the Zesto in Chapin for ice cream cones. I often reflect on the things I remember most about my childhood, and I wonder what Emily will remember and cherish about her childhood. I would like to think that our impromptu trips to Zesto for a chocolate dipped cone will be among those remembered things. I love to see the look on her face when, after the dinner dishes are done, Scott or I will say, "I think we need an ice cream from Zestos." Definitely a sweet spot in my day today.

Video insight

Now that the twins are mobile they seem to play more together. This is very cute, and we love to watch them seek the other out. They both seek Emily out, however Eli is the one who constantly follows Emily around and copies her every move. I love this first video because it not only shows Emily playing her favorite thing (she calls it "dance party" and it basically involves turning the music up and dancing around the living room as she sings in to a pretend microphone) but it also shows how sometimes having a twin can be troublesome.



Eli is definitely mobile. He is walking around everywhere. The biggest motivator to walk is that he can get to where he wants to go with the ball in his hand. He would get upset when he'd have to put his ball down to crawl. Now he is often found walking around with his ball. What a typical boy!

Kids live here

Today's been a lovely lazy day at our house. While our family is a family of "do-ers and go-ers" we also very much enjoy to just be home with each other. I love our home, and was thinking today about how a house reflects the interests of the occupiers. Several times today I caught myself admiring the evidence of our interests, and all I could think was, "Kids live here."

I noted some of my noticings below. Some are funny, others are odd, and some resulted in a mental cleaning list.

- I always wanted the T.V. to be in an armoire so it could be closed in and out of sight, so when we bought new livingroom furniture five years ago, we bought a big armoire to hold the T.V. with big doors that enclose it. Well, those doors now stay open, and are pulled all the way back on the hinge. This is for two reasons: 1.) When Emily is dancing around to music in the livingroom, she likes to see her reflection in the screen and 2.) Eli likes to wait for Elsie to stand in front of the T.V. and then close the doors on her head.

- Our eat-in kitchen is a toy/sitting room. Scott and I have two chairs in the corners, and toys line the walls in big toy furniture bins. This screams "kids live here."

- Smudges. There are smudges all over, and no matter how often I clean, they always return. Some smudges to note are the twins' mouth and nose smudges on both the storm door in the front, and the french doors to the backyard. Other smudges are the snot smudges that are smeared on the "time-out" wall. It took me forever to figure out where the glossy marks on the wall were coming from until one day when Emily was in time out. She was sitting cross-legged and rocking on her legs from side to side, wiping her snotty nose from one end to another. Gross? Yes. And certainly an indication that kids do in fact live here.

- The tub in the upstairs bathroom is full of toys. Never mind the giant giraffe painted on the wall.

- There is whole milk in the refrigerator. I don't know who else drinks this stuff. Nasty gross, but somehow my babies love it.

- In our backyard we have a swing set/structure with a slide, a trampoline, and baby ladder and slide, a water table, a sprinkler mat for the babies, a sandbox, and two plastic picnic tables. It looks like a Little Tykes Factory threw up back there, but our kids love it!

- There's a mini-van parked out in front.

- We have very little art hanging on the walls. Instead we have lots of pictures of our kids. We like it this way.

- Every cabinet requires a certain skill to open. Sometimes the potential opener has to press down on a hidden tab, and other times a magnet is required to retrieve the contents of the cabinet.

- And finally, you can tell kids live here because of the sounds. Sometimes its not good sounds, like crying, fussiness, or a parent at the end of a fuse. But most of the time its baby babble, giggling, or the days events being told by Emily. I think our house has good sounds. As I type right now I hear Scott through the baby monitor. Eli is talking babble to him, while Elsie fusses away. He is going back and forth between making silly sounds to Eli, and making comforting sounds to Elsie. Our house definitely indicates that kids live here.

Sleepy Babies

We had a play date with friends last week. By the time our little friends left, the twins were too tired for lunch. Luckily, I had my iPod handy and caught Elsie before she drifted off to sleep!

My Funny Kid

So this morning Emily was really in rare form. The make-believe play was fabulous, and I was cracking up all morning. Not only was pretending to be "She-Ra, the secret agent from Romania," but then she was pretending to be "Caroline, the poor mother of sixteen children without any food."

When she was "Caroline" she walked in wearing one of Scott's old ratty t-shirts over her clothes, and a dish towel wrapped around her head. She told me she was "gleaning" the fields. I wondered if perhaps she'd been taught the story of Ruth in Sunday school the other day, because that's really what she looked like, except "Caroline" had sixteen children, who were all hungry.

My little Old Testament character and I had a wonderful little conversation that made me giggle. I thought I would share.

Emily, uh, I mean Caroline came in to the room and said:

Caroline: Oh poor me. I am just so hungry, and I don't know what to do about feeding my sixteen children.

Me: Oh, you poor old lady. Do you need some help?

Caroline: Well, its just that we have such a long journey ahead of us, and not a camel is to spare. And my kids are so hungry.

Me: I don't have a camel to give you, but I can give you some fresh spinach and carrots to help feed your children.

Caroline: None of my children like carrots or spinach. Do you have any cheeseburgers?

Me: Nope. I only have fresh veggies.

Caroline: My kids don't like most fresh veggies. They only like fresh asparagus sauteed with mustard. Do you have any of that?

Me: Sounds like your children are picky eaters who must not be too hungry! Sorry, I have no asparagus or mustard.

Caroline: (deep sigh) Well, I guess we'll be on our way. We have to get on a boat for 62 days and we will have no food. (deep sigh)

Scott's Beingnets

This morning when I woke up to a fabulous smell. When I walked downstairs I saw Scott standing in the kitchen over a plate of these warm wonderful beignets. The twins woke early this morning and since Scott was already up, he decided to make them from scratch.

I came and took a seat in my chair, and Scott quickly brought me a plate with a hot cup of coffee. He was anxious to see what I thought, and I was anxious to take a bite. They were wonderful!

Carolina/Clemson Rivalry

College sports in our town are huge. We live in the South Carolina where every citizen cheers for one of two teams: the USC Gamecocks, or the Clemson Tigers. During football season cars go down the interstate with decals, stickers, magnets and flags shouting their allegiance to their team. Our PTO meetings at school are planned around home games. And restaurants advertise their "tale-gating specials" as the entire city seems to tale gate beginning hours before a game. The rivalry between the two teams is huge. One of my friends is engaged to a man who went to Clemson. She is a Carolina (USC) grad. Before every rivalry game, the two bet against each other's team. The loser has to sport a sticker from the opposing team on their car for three weeks. This is just an example of the fun rivalry in our state.

Scott and I are not big football fans, but I enjoy watching a good football or baseball game. We claim to be Gamecock fans, just because we pay Scott's doctoral tuition to the school, and we might as well enjoy the fun that comes with following a college team. Of course this last week the Gamecocks won the college world series. This was a huge feat, and a major celebration in our town. Not only did over 14,000 fans welcome the team as they returned to town, but our governor ordered the Gamecock flag to be flown above the statehouse. And of course a parade is being scheduled.

But one picture I saw really made me giggle as I considered the rivalry between the two schools. Carolina beat Clemson earlier in the series. I thought this was fun to share!