All is Merry & White

Where Fun (and germs) Abound

We're on our third episode of sickness in as many weeks. This week it's my turn. (cough, cough)

It started out the day before Thanksgiving with Joshua and "Turkey Fever," as we named it. High fevers, 2 trips to the ER, lots of Tylenol and Motrin, and some Zithromax didn't stop us from having fun. (Though maybe it should have?) Last week Anna showed off her gracious bravery as we had to apply ointment to pink eyes twice a day.

We're praying we all get well, and that Daddy doesn't succumb as he clickety-clacks away at final papers and exams this and next week. We did manage a lot of fun, which included a weekend visit from Grammie, and our first snowfall, in between manifestations of viral yuckiness. We hope the germs soon flee and the fun is here to stay.

Chilling the Turkey Fever -- sort of the opposite of thawing the turkey

Burning off Thanksgiving dinner

Grammie and her tribe

Love our cousins

We walked out in the cold, bought a tree, carried it home, and now Daddy's putting it in the basement. I'm so new at this Christmas thing!

A shoeoops!


Grammie and Anna at National Cathedral

My sweet little prince

She said it!!

Mommy (after Daddy brought home flowers the other day): You have a kind and wonderful Daddy, Anna. Don't you want to marry a man just like Daddy when you get bigger?

Anna: No, because he probably won't do what I tell him to do, I bet.

~~~~~~~~~

Anna (pondering Joshua's recent baptism): Why does Pastor Colson know ALL about Jesus?

~~~~~~~~~

Anna (noticing the pre-election day, campaign signs along the road): What are all those blue signs for?

Mommy: Because soon people in Virginia are going to choose a new governor -- a new man to run Virginia.

Anna: Oh. Daddy?

~~~~~~~~~

Anna to Mommy: When you go to get your flu shot you have to be brave like Daddy and they pinch your arm just a little bit....but, they don't give lollipops!

~~~~~~~~~

Anna at dinner: When the farmers get the milk out of the mommy cow do they put it in a bucket for the baby cows to drink?

Mommy: No, they don't need a bucket. The baby cows just drink it from their mommies, like when... (WAIT, MARIE! Do NOT compare youself to a cow!) The cows have udders the baby cows drink it from.

Anna later that evening, playing with her farm and pointing to her anatomically correct plastic bull: Oh! Is that the mommy cow's unders?

So, there you go, folks! This is why my blog is always a far superior waste of your time than Facebook!

Set Apart for Him

Sunday was a very special day for our family. Joshua was baptized at our church and we spent the whole day with dear friends.

Some pics from the service:







Joshua is our little "Ebenezer" (a symbol of God's faithfulness) from when Daddy spent 15 months in Afghanistan in 2007-08. When he left I began praying Psalm 126, and rested on it for the duration of the deployment. How neat that the Psalm reading on Sunday was Psalm 126!

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.

Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb!
Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Our prayer for Joshua David is that he will grow into this faith we are passing on to him, that he will one day make it his own, and that he will proclaim "that the hand of the LORD is mighty" and that he would "fear the LORD his God forever." (Joshua 4:24) We also pray that he would become a man after God's own heart as he grows up in this covenant community.

Anna takes the camera

That's a plastic banana.

And I couldn't resist this one of them "trading places." I think Joshua's ready for his own place at the table.

Falling for Autumn

Our first fire of the season is lit in the fireplace as I write this post. Ahh...cozy. It's been a wet, chilly last few days here; feeling more like January than October in VA. It's hampered our leaf peeping and bike riding, but has kept the pumpkin on the deck wet, "so it can grow," according to Anna.

We're still having fun, though. Last weekend we visited our local fire station's open house and on Sunday our friend Sara came for brunch and then helped us in the adoption of this year's aforementioned pumpkin.

This is the way we drive a firetruck. I even asked a fireman how they blow that crazy loud horn I often hear in the middle of the night as they zoom down the 6-lane "street" by our bedroom window. He showed me the petals on the floor they push with their feet to control the sirens and horns. How fun would that be!



Anna earned her own fireman's hat for demonstrating her low-crawling and dropping and rolling -- skills we hope she never has to use!



Joshua will be 7 months old on Sunday and I think he gets cuter and sweeter every day.

He's pretty passionate about eating...



and he doesn't mind hanging out in the "baby stocks" tasting and patting all the toys that surround him.

Anna vs. Sesame Street - A Philosophical Debate

Yesterday I sat down with Anna on the sofa as some morning PBS Kids time was wrapping up. The concluding song of "Elmo's World," caused her to exclaim, "It's not Elmo's world, it's GOD'S world!"

I'm glad we've got that straight.