Precursor to Christmas

Even if no snowflake surfaces on December 25, we all already feel like we've had a White Christmas.

Snow started falling Friday afternoon and within a couple of hours the roads were in pitiful shape, power outages started kicking in, and then later, water became scarce. Blessedly, we were spared all the ill effects of the snow storm. The kids had only a half day of school and Bruce had taken a half day off from work to deal with the cable man coming (because I'm clueless when those techie types come to the house to hook up anything!). So we were all home as we watched the precipitation turn from rain to slush to fat snowflakes. And once the snow started, it seemed it would never stop. At its height, we had between six and seven inches of snow. That's the most snow my kids have seen at one time in their whole lives!

By suppertime, the kids were begging to go outside, so I did my job... I put the teakettle on to heat water for the hot chocolate they'd drink when they came inside. Oh, and let's not forget my other big task: to make sure everyone had gone to the bathroom BEFORE they got bundled up.

Then I watched from the kitchen and dining room windows.



They played for about two hours.

And they slept good that night! Our electricity flickered a few times, but never went out for even a whole minute.

Saturday was more of the same. The kids played in the snow in our yard for a couple of hours after breakfast. And then they were outside again for a few hours more after lunch over at my in-laws' home, which has more hills than our yard has.

My in-laws were without power, so by evening they came over for supper and "a sleepover" at our house. Right before they left their house, their water went out. And our water pressure was waning, so we filled up a couple of containers of drinking water and some other containers of water for... flushing... in case it came to that. But it didn't. After supper, the kids watched TV in the playroom and we adults watched a movie in the den. By the time the movie was over, our water pressure was back.

We know were were blessed. Via Facebook, we read about countless friends who were stuck on the interstate in traffic that wouldn't budge, or a 20-minute trip took two hours or more, or they abandoned their vehicles altogether and walked home in that cold mess. Others updated, saying they were without power or water or both.

But for us, we just had a great family evening. The kids were so excited to have their Meemaw and Peepaw over for the night. No stress. No arguing. It was truly what Christmas should be... except on a smaller scale since we weren't with our entire extended families.

Church was cancelled at the Moody's church and at ours, so this morning we had a leisurely late breakfast.

Then Spencer and Allison headed back outside, for their third straight day of snow play. Clay had had enough.

Spencer rolled a snowball as big as he could get it, then hefted it onto his sled and hauled that thing up and down a very slight hill in our front yard.



Then he had Bruce come outside and help him roll it even bigger and get it off the sled. I laughed and took this picture when Spencer told me to come outside and see what he had made. That thing is nearly bigger than he is!



Allison was content to stick with a smaller scale snowman. She built him and set him on our porch railings. He has berries for eyes and one of his stick arms fell off, but she surgically re-attached it after I took this picture, so no worries, he's recuperating nicely now.



These last few pictures are from last Sunday when the children's Christmas program was performed.

Before church in the morning, I decided to snap an impromptu picture because they ended up all dressed in the same colors. I put the boys in their matching Christmas sweaters on purpose, but must have been in a red and black mood when I picked out Allison's outfit.



Spencer is the only child of ours we could get to stick with children's choir. He has no fear. He enjoys singing, so he wanted to do it, even if we are relatively new at the church and he doesn't have really tight friendships yet.

Clay flat out refused to be involved because, although he likes to sing, and is pretty good at it, he can't get over stage fright. I feel for him, but he's doing it when they start back in January. More on that later.

Allison went to several practices, but when it came time for the long practice the week beforehand, she got all weepy and bailed on the idea. Then Sunday came and she didn't want to go to the second long practice after the morning service. I told her she would not be allowed to do the performance. Okay. But then that night, she got upset once Meemaw and Peepaw arrived and Spencer was on stage ready to perform. She's also going to do it when they start back in January. Because I don't want to hear the whining next time.

Spencer not only stuck with the choir, but he also even took on a part with a few other little boys. And he was very nervous beforehand.

But when it came time to step up to the mic, he cheesed for a minute and I thought, "Oh, he's going to be just fine." I was so glad when we got home and Bruce showed me that he actually caught Spencer right at that moment.



And here's my big boy during his few singing lines with the other few boys.



Spencer has a bit of a showboat in him. He goes back and forth between being okay in the limelight and then wavering, wondering if he's gone too far out on a limb. He's so much like Bruce that way.

Near the end of the program, the children were to sit down, but, as is so often the case, his attention was elsewhere for a few critical seconds, and he ended up being the last child standing. Now, to be honest, I couldn't tell how much of it was complete accident, and how much was a little bit planned. But watching his face, he seemed embarrassed but then okay.

And that's when Clay started laughing. Not loudly, but covering his face and pointing at Spencer. Being obvious at least to me on his one side and his grandma on his other side. And he didn't stop when I warned him the first time.

And that's when Spencer looked right at us and realized what was going on... and his face crumbled just a little bit.

And Momma got a little bit mad.

And that's why Clay is being forced to do children's choir in January.

Because you don't laugh at someone when they're being brave. Especially when they're doing something you don't have the guts to do yourself. And most especially when it's your brother.

I'm going to cut Clay a very little bit of slack and talk to the person in charge to be sure they know not to give him any lines or solos and to let him stand as far back and unobserved as possible.

But being a little uncomfortable isn't going to kill him.

I just pray he doesn't throw up on stage in front of everyone during the performance.

For now, it's feeling like Christmas!

Allison's Turn

We have been in a bit of spot since Spencer asked Jesus into his heart. If you haven't read the previous post where I told about his experience, I'll fill you in on Allison's response to the news... she cried. And then she moaned this phrase, "I'll never get to be a Christian!"

It's been awhile since we've had any twin issues in our house. And, actually, I thought I was pretty much past all those hurdles after we decided to keep them in separate classrooms when they started school. I figured the next time a twin thing came up, it would entail newly licensed teens and car keys and me praying lots.

This issue snuck up on me. But it still involved me praying lots!

Of course I reassured Allison that she could become a Christian any time she felt Jesus talking to her heart about it. But, personally, I really didn't think she was ready.

Clay asked questions for a good year before he asked Jesus into his heart. Spencer did the same. And both boys went to speak to our respective pastors at that time long before they actually prayed for salvation.

Allison has had the same opportunities to hear about Christ that the boys have had. Lots of church, VBS every summer, BSF for three years... we surround our family with Him. But she has rarely asked any kind of question that would go very deeply into spiritual matters.

After Spencer asked Jesus into his heart, I wanted to hold her back. I didn't want her to have a copycat conversion. I wished it would be truly HER experience with Christ.

But it hit me that she has not asked many leading questions because she often does not get a chance to talk much when the boys are around. Oddly enough, the boys take after me... if they think it, they say it. Allison is more like her daddy... there's all kinds of thoughts going on in their heads that the world may never know about.

I told Allison that I'd make more time for her at bedtime each evening and she could ask any question she wanted. And she has taken me up on that several times.

But I still did not feel she was getting very meaty with her questions. She was basically having me reiterate teachings she's already known about most of her life.

Last week, she started asking me (at the most inopportune times!), "Mom, can you help me become a Christian tomorrow?" Or, "Can we talk about me asking Jesus into my heart when we get home from school today?"

But then she wouldn't mention it again later.

Yesterday morning, several people were baptized at the beginning of our morning church service. And at the end, Spencer went forward to tell the church about his decision to ask Jesus into his heart. Then, last night at the evening service, the children did their Christmas program and it had the message of salvation in it. And I believe that all those things rumbled around inside Allison's head all day.

Because at bed time, she asked again: "Mom, can we talk about me being a Christian tomorrow?"

Well, I thought to myself, what's wrong with right now? Why does she keep asking about doing it later?

Do I think she understands every thing that being a Christian means? No. But she's 7 years old. I was 21 when I asked Jesus into my heart and even at that age, I didn't understand much. I learn more about what it means to be a Christian every day.

Why shouldn't she take that first step? She obviously wanted to. Who am I to stiffle that?

The Lord knew long before we did that he was blessing us with twins. And perhaps He even ordained it to be that Allison would long after Him more because her twin led the way.

So we talked some more and then she prayed for Jesus to come into her heart and be her Lord and Savior.

It'll be interesting to see how her life adapts to this new faith. I've seen my boys working out their faith and realizing the small ways God wants them to change. And it looks different on both of them. I'm sure Allison's walk will be unique, too.

Makes me think of the lyrics to the Steven Curtis Chapman song, The Great Adventure where he says:
"Saddle up your horses we've got a trail to blaze
Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace
Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown
This is a life like no other - this is The Great Adventure."

We are so blessed!

Forever and a Day

It's been awhile since I posted anything. I just haven't felt like taking the time.

Plus, more often than not, I post to keep my mom informed of what's going on here, and she's been having some computer problems. So I knew she wasn't looking.

But this weekend, she's getting some computer assistance, so I wanted to put something on here for her.

Lately, we've instituted the Kid Cleaning Crew on Saturdays in our house. You'd think that as a stay-at-home mom, I could get this house clean during the week. But I run so often to the school to do this or that with one kid or another, that I'm lucky to throw in a load of laundry and get the dishwasher running before I leave the house most days.

So Saturday mornings, we crack the whip and get everyone working together in a concentrated effort to clean house.

Now, the house might not get cleaned like it would if I did it myself, but the kids are learning to do things independently. And with all three working on the things they can do (unloading the dishwasher, folding clothes and putting their things away, cleaning bathroom sinks, gathering and then tossing all garbage into our big garbage bin, vacuuming, and cleaning their own rooms), I can concentrate on the stuff they can't yet do. Or the things that I don't yet have the patience to "let" them do... like scrubbing toilets. Not that any of them have really been eager to try that yet.

Anyway, with us all working together for a little over an hour, the house gets presentable.

I love it! The kids are learning to do it without grumbling, too. Mostly because I told them that every time they grumble I will take away a toy of my choosing. And that toy will not be returning.

So far, only one toy has left the building. All our Thomas the Trains are gone.

This is win-win for me. The house gets cleaned and toys get purged.

This first picture was of Allison during one of our Saturday cleaning sessions. She got herself properly outfitted as a Putzfrau. She'd make a fine German cleaning lady. I think the sunglasses are to make sure she feels pretty even if she is on her hands and knees, vacuuming. Whatever it takes!



The next three pictures are head shots of the kids, because they've changed so much lately.

Both boys have let their hair grow out - Clay's by his own choice, and Spencer because I think he needs a little more hair on top when it's so cold outside during the winter. (Buzz cuts are for summer!)





Allison and I went last night to get our hair cut. She wanted it short. And she wanted bangs. I would love to keep it longer and sans the bangs. But I found a wad of hair on the floor the other day after she took scissors in hand to cut her own 'do. I figured it was time to let her have her way. It's just hair! We settled on semi-short with wispy bangs.



I'm not posting a picture of my haircut for at least two weeks. And there's a reason for that. I'm feeling a little bald right now.

I told my hairdresser I wanted it short again and to do what she wanted. Well, what she wanted is a good inch shorter than what I typically do.

My boys have told me repeatedly that they do not like my new cut because I no longer look like Mom. Allison has been mum on the subject. I think because I gave her a pep talk before we went on how to act should she get a haircut she does not like.

Bruce is wise enough to exercise his right to remain silent. Because whatever he says can, and will, be used against him.

I don't necessarily dislike the cut. I'm just getting used to it.

It's just hair. Luckily, mine grows faster than kudzu in the south during summer, so I'm good.

Our Trip Out West

Back in early September, Bruce and I took a trip out West for a little bit longer than a week to celebrate our 15th anniversary. While we were gone, Bruce's parents watched the kids for us, along with all that that entails (fixing breakfast for three kids, packing lunches, driving the kids to and from school, doing homework, working Awanas verses, doing extra laundry, etc.). My inlaws are pretty great.

Bruce and I landed in Las Vegas, Nevada, at night. Factoring in the time change of three hours, it was past my bedtime, which could partly explain why I wasn't all that impressed with the city. That, and the fact that I don't appreciate porn. Or gambling. Or partying with alcohol. We simply drove down the strip on our way to our room at the Holiday Inn in Henderson, so we were in the area basically to sleep in our hotel for one night; I didn't really need to be all thrilled about the place.

When we woke up the next morning, we got some pictures of each of us sitting in our rental car, a Ford Mustang convertible. We parked in a Lowe's parking lot to get some of God's scenery in the background instead of some of the man-made structures that Las Vegas is known for.



Then we left Vegas and headed elsewhere. For what we actually came for. We did a drive-by viewing of Lake Mead.



And here's Bruce at our stop at Hoover Dam.



We drove along some of Route 66, through historic Seligman, Arizona, before getting to one of the trip highlights for me... Sedona.





While in Sedona, we took a tour with Pink Jeep Tours, which was outstanding. Worth every penny we spent on it. It was fun and beautiful. Plus, we had an excellent tour guide, Gary, who just for fun, took us an extra 30 minutes past the regular touring area, because we were his last tour of the day.

When we finished the tour, we went to the bathroom at a public restroom in town. I wiped off my face with a paper towel and it came back red from all the red rock dust the jeep had kicked up on the tour.

Then we staked out a place to eat a late supper and settled on The Barking Frog, which was fantastic. Great atmosphere, super waiter, yummy food.

Then we drove on to Flagstaff to stay the night. I woke up the next morning with my eye swollen shut. A mean bug bite that itched like crazy. And we planned to visit the Grand Canyon, so I didn't want one eye clamped shut. I had some impressiveness to SEE. After picking up some eye drops, we were good to go. We drove nearly 100 miles and then... The Grand Canyon.

There is no way these pictures do it justice, because you simply cannot imagine how large this canyon is without standing near the edge and turning your head to gawk at God's magnificence.

I kept thinking of the song "Glorious One" by Fee the whole time we were at the Grand Canyon. Here are the lyrics:

Our hands are lifted high
Our hearts are bowing in reverence
And we're surrounded by
The glory of Your presence

And with every creature
Every tongue
We're lifting our hearts
To the Glorious One

Glorious One
Glorious One
Light of the world
You outshine the sun
King of all kings
Eternity sings
Glorious One

God of infinite worth
With hands that carved out the oceans
You hold the universe
And still You run to the broken

With every heart
That's been set free
We're lifting our song
To our Glorious King

Glorious One
Glorious One
Light of the world
You outshine the sun
King of all Kings
Eternity sings
Glorious one

There is none more beautiful
There is none more wonderful

I still think about that song, just looking at these pictures. If you want to hear the song, here you go:



You can't see the people in the picture below, unless you click on the picture to enlarge it. I made it a point to take pictures with people in them to get a good idea of the scale of things when I showed the pictures to the kids at home.



We saw tons of lizards during our travels. I like lizards. They're cool. But it hit me that with that many scurrying around, some probably got inside people's homes. I don't think I could live with lizards wandering freely in my house.



The Grand Canyon also had the most uninhibited squirrels I've ever been around. They'd get so close to you, it became a little freaky. It's not natural. I started looking to see if their little mouths were frothing, because they were acting rabid. And the thing is, they were close enough that getting a good view of their mouths wasn't difficult! I'm sure their nearness had nothing to do with the signs posted throughout all the parks that stated: Please do not feed the wildlife.



We started walking down into the Grand Canyon, which just made the vastness of it all the more overwhelming. A park guide pointed out these hieroglyphics that he said many visitors miss.



We decided to hike down using our own two feet, instead of sitting astride these beasts.



The wife of the pastor at our previous church had told me before our trip about a mule that jumped off the edge at the Grand Canyon. I wasn't willing to ride on what might have been the next suicidal mule.

After hours visiting various stops around the Grand Canyon, we drove near Lees Ferry to see Marble Canyon on our way to our next destination... Horseshoe Bend. And Bruce took this gorgeous shot.



We arrived at our next sleepover spot, Page, Arizona, in time for supper. The hotel desk clerk recommended Bonkers for supper, and we really enjoyed the restaurant. Great staff. The manager even waited on us some. And he was a mega neat freak, vacuuming the floor with one of those electric-free vacuum things. It's never a bad thing for a restaurant owner to be a neat freak... not in my book anyway.

The next morning, we drove out to Glen Canyon Dam and then Lake Powell. Bruce thinks I'm nuts for taking this next picture. But I saw this huge lizard, so I stalked him. But that guy was way fast. And this is all that was left of him when I got close enough to take a picture... just lizard tracks.



This is Lake Powell, which I did truly enjoy looking at before I was distracted by the lizard.



The next tour we went on was through Antelope Canyon, which was another one of my favorite things about our trip. I was pleasantly surprised that my little point-and-shoot camera took several great pictures inside the dimly lit slot canyons.







Bruce took this one.



The tour we went on was a photographic tour. Which is great if you're really into that photography stuff. And Bruce is.

But seriously, some of the other amateur photographers were as rude as can be. After awhile, I just wandered away on my own so I could be away from them all. Pictures are great, but I wanted to enjoy God's creation without hearing someone constantly asking me to move because my foot was blocking his perfect shot. Plus, I accidentally left my flash on a couple times and, boy, did I get "the look".

Our tour guide took this one of us right before we left Antelope Canyon.



And here we are, going into Utah. But we were weaving in and out between Arizona and Utah the whole day. I pretty much ignored my watch. Arizona does not observe daylight savings time, even thought it is in the same time zone as Utah, Mountain time zone. The Native American Indian reservations in the area also don't observe daylight savings time. Nevada, our start and stop destination, is on Pacific time zone. I was either confused or blissfully, on purpose, unaware of time for much of our trip.



We drove nearly 90 more miles before stopping to see these Betatakin Ruins in northeastern Arizona that were built by ancient cave dwellers. See them?



Maybe it'll help to be a bit closer. I thought those ruins were pretty amazing.



This picture was taken outside of Kayenta, Arizona, which is where we spent our fourth night. Local Native Americans set up these road side stops to sell a variety of their crafts, from jewelry to sand drawings.



The next morning, we visited Monument Valley, Utah. We drove around the area a bit, but didn't go far onto the actual road that goes alongside to the monuments. Because we were in a low profile convertible, and the roads were simply red dirt. After an attempt, we turned around before we got stuck. Not before we took some pictures though.



Then we drove through Goulding, Utah, past Mexican Hat and made a stop at Gooseneck State Park, which was a bit like Horseshoe Bend, but not as pretty. It is amazing to see what meandering rivers can do to rock over time ("millions of years" is what we were told over and over again. And that got a bit old. No pun intended).



From Gooseneck, we drove up the Moki Dugway. Steep, unfinished roads, no guardrail, lots of switchbacks. Bruce loved it! I tried to focus on the horizon instead of the actual road. In the picture below, look on the left side, in the middle of the frame... that's a portion of the road.



A view from the top at Muley Point.



Then on to the Natural Bridges State Park. Even though bridges and arches look much the same, the distinction is made by knowing which were carved by water running underneath and which were caused by wind erosion and collapsing rock.



We drove on to Moab, Utah, which is where we stayed the night. We had supper at The Broken Oar restaurant. And I again was told they do not serve sweet tea. Those people don't know what they're missing! It was rustic and the tables were cramped a bit too close together. Seems like we waited a long time to get service, too, because Bruce was ready to leave and go elsewhere. But I had a coupon, so we stayed!

After supper, it was nearly dusk, and Bruce decided he wanted to drive out to Dead Horse Point State Park, which is supposed to be spectacular in daylight. But by the time we got there, it was dark. Bruce had just told me how cowboys would drive wild mustangs out onto the cliff where they could corral them because there was no place to go but off the cliff otherwise. I did not want to walk around in the dark out there. Especially after seeing signs as we approached the park saying that it closed after daylight hours. So I wimped and stayed in the car. I made Bruce mad, but I'm alive today to tell the tale, so I'm good.

The drive back to Moab was nerve wracking for me. Bruce says that since I had LASIK last year, I have bionic eyes. Well, every single bionic ray was trained on road shoulders, and every few minutes I'd yelp, "deer!" It's just way too hot for those animals to come out during the day, even when we were there in September, so they'd come out in droves when the sun when down. I was very glad to get back to our hotel that night.

The next day we visited the Arches National Park.





See the rock climber on this next photo? Yes, the one in the orange shirt on the bottom. But I didn't even realize until after I took the photo that he had a partner who was already up near the top.



More arches.



We drove back to Moab for lunch at McDonald's before heading to Goblin Valley State Park.

I took this picture because it made me think of my three goblins at home.



The whole park area was like being on a different planet with all these stone aliens standing at attention. And it was blazing hot, too, with the sun hitting those red rocks.



On the move again, I took the next two pictures while we drove on the interstate in Utah. Mostly because it's so very different from what home looks like.





In the areas we visited, we saw a lot of different wildlife than we normally do. Even the deer were different. These are called mule deer. See their big ears?



I got these pictures at Capital Reef National Park, which was an oasis of lush beauty in the middle of dessert. We loved this little area.

Check out the rack on this one.



Free range cows. Signs warned us of them constantly.



We drove through Dixie National Forest, which was a bit like being back at home, with towering pine trees. And we got the same whiff of Ponderosa Pine that we were treated with while on our extended portion of our Sedona Tour. One of my all time favorite smells now.

This road on the way to our next sleepover spot in Escalante, Utah, was unnerving. Where you see the pavement end, the ground ends. Not in some gently sloping way either. Just a drop off on each side with the curvy road in the middle.



There are no chain hotels in Escalante. There are no chain restaurants in Escalante. It was the most remote spot we stayed in during our travels. In fact, it creeped me out at bit. I felt like I was in an old John Wayne western. I felt out of my element just knowing how far away I was from a Wal-mart. But it's a smart small town because it takes advantage of being the only place in the area to offer hotels and restaurants to travelers. We ate supper at a place called Cowboy Blues and had breakfast the next morning at The Prospector. Both offered good, but basic fare, and had friendly staff.

Then we left Escalante for our last full day out West.

First up, Bryce Canyon. Another one of my favorite spots. More yummy Ponderosa Pine scent and wonderful views.

A Pronghorn, grazing. The only animal in the world that can run faster than these guys is the African Cheetah. The brochure from Bryce Canyon said the Pronghorn is one of only a few survivors of the Ice Age. And their eyesight is truly bionic... they can detect movement from four miles away. (Don't say you never learn any neat facts from this blog!)



I bought my calendar for 2010 a few weeks ago just because one month featured a photo of the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. The hoo what? Hoodoos are those amazing rock columns in the picture below. They reminded me of when I was a kid sitting on the shore of Myrtle Beach, trickling very wet sand through my fingers to make a big gloppy spire of sand. Yea, that. A hoodoo lookalike, on a much smaller scale and in a different color.

Here's the real thing:



From Bryce we headed to Cedar Breaks and then we needed to stop for lunch. I was hungry! We drove to Kanab, Utah, and ate at Houston's Trail's End restaurant, and I had one of the best salads I've ever had. I can't remember the name of it, but it had chicken tenders on top and some kind of spicy southwestern ranch dressing. Umm, umm!

Then we went to Zion National Park.

One of a group of Desert Bighorn Sheep... he and his friends completely stopped traffic as we arrived at the entrance to Zion.



I took tons of pictures. Bruce took mega tons of pictures. And I took a lot of pictures much like this one, because he was cracking me up.



One of the very cool things Zion has done is limited how many cars drive into the park by providing free shuttle tours throughout the park. I told Bruce that Cades Cove in Townsend, Tennessee, should look into that!



Bruce took the two pictures below. I love them both.





That night we drove closer to Vegas so we wouldn't have to be awake as early to catch our flight. We stayed the night in St. George, Utah. By this time, we were tired of real food. Heavy food. We ate at a Dairy Queen where I could get onion rings and a Blizzard.

The next day we drove back into Vegas and caught our flight home. We arrived in Nashville late and by the time we drove home, it was about 2 or 3 in the morning. So we had to wait until the next day to see our children!

So close, and still so far away!

Great trip. But we sure missed our kids. We talked to them every single day, but usually only for a minute or two per child, per parent. And we had a really hard time getting cell service the day we were at the Grand Canyon. I've never felt so removed from them. And I didn't like it.

Our next big trip is simply going to have to include the little goblins.