"My Heart is Beating for a Gumdrop!"

Kids tend to say some pretty funny things, but tonight I couldn't believe my ears... With hopes of building a gingerbread house during the Christmas season, I bought a bag of gumdrops from our favorite candy store, Zimmerman's. The gingerbread house didn't happen, but now we have a bag of gumdrops, which probably makes Claire just as happy. After dinner tonight, she exclaimed, "Mommy, I really want a gumdrop! My heart is beating for a gumdrop!" I have no idea where she would have heard an expression like that, but it gives you an idea of how intensely fond of gumdrops Claire is!

Dancing...again

Last weekend, we went to a family Christmas party. I took this video of Claire dancing. I think at some point I am going to need to take her to dance class. The girl just LOVES to dance!! (Sorry, Cait, for getting you eating in the background.)

TAGGED...A Walk Down Memory Lane

I've been tagged. The rules are as follows:

*Go to your sixth picture folder and pick the sixth picture.

*Pray that you remember the details.

*Post it on your blog.

*Tag 5 others, leaving them a note letting them know they've been tagged.

Unfortunately, I only have 4 items in my 6th folder, and they are all videos. Fortunately, I'm going to post the 4th video for your entertainment. I posted a similar video a while ago. Claire was reading a book to her "students." She also included a little lesson on words that start with "S." In case you can't hear her very well, the words are "Skittle" and "Snake." Enjoy!

I tag Donna, Emily, Darla, and Laura.

Mercy

There is a line in a song we sing in church that says, "And if you judged my sin, I'd never stand again. But I see mercy in your hands." This line especially hits home after this weekend because I spent some time with people who were a big part of my life before Christ. My 10 year reunion was Saturday night, and I came away with such gratitude to God for how he has transformed my life. I don't mean to criticize or judge the people I was with, but after spending time with some of them, so many memories came flooding back of how I lived my life before God extended his mercy to me. I lived my life for me, and not at all for God. I even went to church and proclaimed to be a Christian, but that makes it all the worse because I was a hypocrite. This morning, I was reminded of what Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, which is what I will leave you with...

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." -Ephesians 2:1-9

First Snow and a Happy Birthday

It's hard to believe it's this time of year already, but as we celebrated my mom's birthday yesterday, we also enjoyed some white wintery weather. Claire has been talking about playing in the snow for weeks, so of course we went out to do some of that.

All geared up...





Our baby snowman...





Last night, some of us took my mom out to dinner for her birthday. As you can see, we had a good time! :) Happy Birthday, Mom!!














We only wish that Stacy and Jimmy could have made it up, but Jimmy is in the midst of college wrestling season, and Stacy had to sit in 3 hours of traffic to get home from work. We missed you both!

Flies, Turkeys, and Underwear

I know it's a strange title, but it gives you an idea of what we've been up two the last two weeks. First, I dressed up as a fly for a costume party:



Then, Claire dressed her pumpkin up as a turkey:



She also likes to act like a turkey:



And our last piece of news has to do with underwear. Sorry, no pictures here. :) But the good news is that Claire has successfully been wearing "big girl underwear" and using the potty (No. 1 AND No. 2) for a little over a week!! I am so proud of how well she is doing. She even does a good job in public. I think it's like when she took her first steps. She waited a long time to do it, but when she finally decided to do it, she was running!

I will leave you now with a picture of my wonderful brother- and sister-in-law, Mr. Corn and Mrs. Loofah. I think their costumes are quite fitting to their personalities. Benny can be corny and Caitlin loves keeping things clean. I love you guys!!

Trick or Treat

Last night our neighborhood had Trick or Treat night for the kids. Claire is really getting into dressing up in costume. Here are some pictures from the festivities...

Cinderella (Isabella), Jack-O-Lantern (Claire), and Tinkerbell (Gabi)...



Hitchin' A Ride...



Looking for a treat...



Emily, Gram Gram, and Claire (from a visit earlier in the day)...

Dreary Day

Today was a particularly difficult day for me. It was a battle for joy in many ways. As the psalmist writes, "My soul melts away for sorrow." Though I felt surrounded by darkness at times, God's Word was my comfort and my light. I was reminded that rather than dwelling on what's been lost to me in this life, God would have me "seek first the kingdom of heaven and righteousness." "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." What God took away from me was not eternal, and I am to long for that which is eternal. "It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces."

Pumpkin Picking

I love this time of year...the cool weather, the glowing colors of the autumn leaves, the smell of apples, and, of course, picking pumpkins! Claire and I went with Mimi and Pap to Strite's Orchard this past week to pick our pumpkins. Here are a few snapshots of our trip to Strite's...








(Dancing...as usual)

Claire Art

This morning, Claire was feeling creative (as usual) and drew the picture below. She titled it, "A Monkey with Glasses." I am so proud of her work. She takes after her Aunt Stacy and Uncle Seth.

New England Trip: Part Two

Sorry for the delay in posting the second part of our New England Trip. We got home last Monday, and it's been a crazy week between unpacking, laundry, getting ready for a craft show yesterday (that got rained out), and just getting back to the routine of everyday life. But I don't want to neglect telling you about the rest of our awesome trip!

Last Saturday morning, Laura, her mom (Sue), Claire, and I all left Laura's house to go to Boston for the day. Laura drove us into the city and parked at her work. From there, we took the T (subway) to the Boston Children's Museum. We had SO MUCH fun!! (And I mean all of us...you don't have to be a "child" to enjoy a children's museum!) Here are some highlights...

Claire and I in front of the Boston Children's Museum...






Laura & Sue



Having fun in the Bubbles room...





Claire in the Boats Afloat room...



The Pico Duarte Market...



Working the cash register...



That's a lot of groceries!!



After the Children's Museum, we headed to Quincy Market at Faneuil Hall Market Place. The food was delicious, and there was a lot to see. Entertainers were scattered around the marketplace - mimes, one man bands, etc. My personal favorite is the man dressed in colonial clothing below (you'll see why). Claire and I packed our lunches so we could splurge on dessert. I had a yummy chocolate chip cannoli and coffee, and Claire picked out a giant M&M cookie.



Claire & her cookie...



The colonial man (drinking a Coke)...



After eating and walking around Faneuil Hall a bit, we made our way to Boston Common, the oldest city park in the U.S. Boston Common is the home of the "Make Way for Duckings" statue, based on the book by Robert McCloskey.

Claire had fun (once we woke her up from her little nap in the stroller on our way to the park) playing on the ducks...



We had such a nice day in Boston. The weather was beautiful, and Laura did such a great job planning our day and navigating us around the city. I also learned that Claire might be more of a city girl than mountain girl. When we asked her what her favorite part of Boston was, she said, "The Train!" I think it's funny that she's afraid of campfires but loves the subway. :)

Sunday, we got up and went to Laura's church. Claire shocked Laura and I when she asked if she could go downstairs to children's church with the rest of the kids. I didn't think she'd stay and let me leave to hear the sermon when she didn't know anybody. However, she made herself at home and forgot all about me. When we came to pick her up after church was over, she cried and wanted to stay! Just when I think she can be so insecure and have separation issues, she shows me just how independent she can be. I was so proud of her!

After church, we got to meet Laura's grandmother and Aunt Sharon at their house, where we had lunch together. After lunch and a little playtime (Laura's grandma had all kinds of toys for Claire to play with), we drove up to New Boston, New Hampshire to a farm stand where Laura's brother and his girlfriend work. Here are a few pictures from the farm stand...







We had a GREAT time during our trip! It was so good to see Laura and visit with her, and we did so many fun and exciting things. Thanks, Laura, for your hospitality and kindness in having us stay with you! Thanks, also, for your great friendship - we both treasure you!!

New England Trip: Part One

Claire and I just returned last night from our trip to New England to visit our friend Laura. Laura lives in Lowell, Massachusetts, but all of her family lives in New Hampshire. We spent a day in the mountains in New Hampshire, some time visiting her family, and a day in Boston, Massachusetts.

We drove up to Laura's house Wednesday, September 17th. It took us all day to get there. Thursday, we got up and got ready to drive up to Warren, New Hampshire, where Laura's aunt and uncle have a cabin on Mount Moosilauke. While we were there, we ate our lunch by Baker River, visited a fish hatchery, hiked up part of Mount Moosilauke, and roasted hot dogs over a campfire for dinner.


Here is a video of Claire and Laura at the Fish Hatchery...

And some other pictures from our trip to the mountains:


Claire and Mommy at the Fish Hatchery...





Crystal clear Baker River...




Laura and Claire sitting on the rocks...




The cabin (Claire standing by the back door)...




"Rock" the Toad (named by Claire)...




Claire hiking down the mountain...




Beautiful Fall Foliage...




I learned that Claire is afraid of campfires as she screamed and held onto me with a death grip anytime we approached the campfire. This made roasting hot dogs interesting. :) We originally planned to stay overnight Thursday at the cabin, but as the day went on, the temperature kept dropping. Claire had a slight cold as it was, and Laura didn't feel comfortable lighting her aunt and uncle's wood stove (I didn't blame her), so we decided to drive back to Laura's to spend the night in a warm house instead of freezing. The temperature probably dropped to the low 30s that night! On our way home, we got out of the car to look up at the night sky. If you've ever been far enough away from civilization to see such a beautiful night sky, you know what I'm talking about. It is absolutely breathtaking!

Friday we got up feeling well rested and warm and very glad we didn't spend the night in the mountains! We took our time getting ready, and eventually headed to some stores...Christmas Tree Shops, L.L. Bean Outlet, CVS for some Benedryl for poor Claire (whose nose needed wiped pretty often by this point). After shopping we drove to Laura's mom's house in Auburn, New Hampshire, and had a delicious and extremely filling dinner! Before dinner, we snacked on some yummy veggies, cheese, and crackers. Laura's mom has an AMAZING veggie dip recipe:

Vegetable Dip

3/4 c. mayonnaise (real, preferably not low-fat)
3/4 c. sour cream
1 tsp. dried dill weed
less than 1 tsp. garlic salt
less than 1 tsp. onion salt
1 Tbsp. dried chives


After driving back to Laura's Friday night, we headed right to bed so we'd be ready to wake up and go do Boston Saturday morning!! More about Boston in Part Two of our New England Trip...

Doctor Visit

Today Claire was scheduled to visit the doctor for her 3 year checkup. It was timely, because this morning she woke up before dawn with diarrhea and a little vomiting. :( Claire has never enjoyed a doctor visit, and today proved to be more of the same. Very reluctant to even get in the car and go, I assured her that the doctor was very nice, and she could bring Pickles (her new baby doll) along to get checked, too. She only wanted Pickles to get checked. Other than a stomach virus, Claire and Pickles are in tip top shape. Claire measured just shy of 40'' tall at 39 3/4'', and weighs 33 lbs. In case you're wondering, her height puts her in the 97th percentile and weight in the 74th. She is now resting comfortably in her bed (thankfully) and I think I will do the same after a much too early and eventful morning. Goodnight. :)