Quotable

For fun, we had some pistachios with our dinner tonight. This was probably only the second time the girls have had them. Lizzie got the hang of opening the nuts rather quickly. Took Ellie a little bit longer. When Ellie finally was able to open one, she got very excited and we all clapped. In that exciting moment, Lizzie yells:

"Ellie cracked!"

Over due Pictures of Gracie

I realized today when I was talking with my Grandma, that I hadn't posted any pictures of the girls (and particularly Gracie) as of late. So the following are some old and new shots of Gracie.

This is Gracie at 4 months wearing a dress made by Great-Grandma Sewell for Auntie Nono when she was a little baby
(the irony is that Gracie looks so much like her Auntie at this age, that it looks like we photo shopped a picture of Auntie Nono into a pink and purple bouncy chair)

This is another outfit that was Auntie Nono's from Great-Grandma

And this is our smiley little Gracie being herself at a little over 5 months

Mallow

Ellie (almost 3): *picks up bag of marshmallows* Dad, can we have some marshmallows that Mommy just got at the store?

Allen: No, honey, it's almost lunch time.

Ellie: Can we have them for dinner?

Sister Praise

Ellie (almost 3) just finished her pretend show on the pretend stage in the living room.

Mommy, Daddy, Lizzie: *clapping*

Lizzie: That's some quality.

Sleepless in South Hamilton

Help!

Does anyone have a secret for how to get an overly pampered 7 month old little girl to sleep through the night while living in an apartment complex with thin walls and two other kiddos to keep in bed and...oh yeah, she shares a room with her exhausted parents :-) Suggestions???

sticky

Ellie came up to me after dinner and dessert, ready to be cuddled.

I was about to embrace my almost 3 year old when I remembered that she had just eaten chocolate.

Mommy: Ellie, do you have chocolate on your fingers?

Ellie (proudly): Nope...I licked it off!

New names

Just within the last week, seemingly out of nowhere, Ellie started to call Lizzie, "Liz." Now that Gracie's home, Ellie has begun calling her "Grace." The funny thing is that the shortened nicknames usually only come at the end of a sentence. Example: "Do you want to play in the kitchen, Liz?"

Saturday

The memorial service for Carol will be this Saturday, November 7 at 1pm at Glenwood Community Church.

Phil 3:14

I will soon get to see my wife and youngest daughter. My mom-in-law passed away early Sunday morning. Non-coincidental that it was not Halloween, but All Saints Day.

Carol, enjoy your Rest. Well done.

Busy

So it's been a while since a blog post. Life without Steph has not been fun nor easy. We have fun moments and easy moments, but they are that, just moments. However, they do provide a glimpse of relief and a good chance to laugh. So it was this morning for my mom (Ma). Lizzie (4) often asks when Mommy is coming home. Our standard response has become: "We don't know. She's helping Nana go see Jesus." So, this morning Lizzie and Ma have the following conversation:

Lizzie: When is Mommy coming home?

Ma: Do you remember where Mommy is?

Lizzie: She's with Nana helping Nana go see Jesus.

Ma: That's right.

Lizzie: Is Jesus busy?