Still working on the braids!

The braids that Kennde put in Ruby's hair finally had to come out on Thursday, and Mommy had to give it another try today. Maybe someday I'll be able to braid like Kennde (sigh).

Sledding in a Winter Wonderland

One week ago we were still in sunny San Diego. Four days ago we were back in Missouri, but it was almost 70 degrees and we were napping in the tent and playing outside. Today, it's a winter wonderland and we spent the morning sledding! That's Missouri for you!

Any guitar collectors out there?

My dad is selling a Gibson J50 and a Fender Telecaster. We just took pics of them today for him to send out. He actually has many, many guitars (he's a musician and a collector), but these are two he's looking to sell. He also may be interested in selling a Fender Mustang and a Rickenbacker Dakota, but we haven't taken pictures of them yet. Let me know if anyone out there collects guitars and might be interested. I have lots of pics of each one, including the plate with the numbers!

OK, I'm now done selling things on my family blog. Thanks for you tolerance. :-)

From the Beach to the Tent

Only a few days ago we were "living large" in San Diego on vacation. We went to the beach, the parks, the zoo, the children's science center, on a boat ride, etc. Now we're back in Missouri. Today's fun activity? We set up the tent and took our nap outdoors. Then after nap time we put away the blankets and pillows and played in the tent. Hmmmm...I hope the girls can get used to normal life again!

Back Home

Well, the girls and I are back home in Missouri now. We had absolutely the BEST vacation with my sister and her family. I got to spend a lot of time with my nephew, Isaiah. He's three years old, so all of the kids are close in age. We were on the go doing things with the kids every day, and it was awesome to see the girls experience so many "firsts." Ruby and Elizabeth went to the beach for the first time, all three girls took their first boat ride, they went to the children's science center one day, the zoo one day, and got their face painted for the first time.

The best part of all? My sister and I were together. I can't imagine life without my sister, and I couldn't help looking at my girls and thinking about their lives as sisters when they are grown up and have families someday. My wish for them is that they will experience what I have with my sis.

Me and my sister, Laura.

Laura's husband, Derrick, with all the kids. What a great uncle! He took two days off work to go to the beach and the zoo with us.
Laura and I with all the kids.

My nephew, Isaiah. Could he be any cuter?

Nora's face painting.
Elizabeth's face painting.
Ruby's face painting.
Kennde, my sister's friend (and mine too now), braided Ruby's hair.

The 80s

Even though I'm still in San Diego on vacation, I have been on Facebook a few times. It's really kind of addicting. Anyhow, in high school one of my very best friends was Nancy. We managed to sort of stay in touch until about ten years ago, and then lost track of each other. A couple of days ago, we found each other on Facebook! Then I connected with Nancy's sister too, and she "tagged" me with this photo of Nancy and I together in the 80s! We were something, weren't we?

San Diego & Ruby's Beads

Our first day of our vacation was great! The girls had so much fun with their cousin, Isaiah! Unfortunately, they were up at 5:00 this morning since their bodies are still on central time. Right now they're playing quietly with puzzles because everyone else in the house is still asleep. Today we're going to a children's science museum and on a boat ride, tomorrow the beach and a park, and the next day the zoo!

Also, it's hard to see in the pictures, but I did take everyone's advice and put beads in Ruby's hair, and she loves them! She loves to swing her head around and feel them on her neck. Unfortunately, the store where I bought them only had white beads, which is sort of boring. I used a wire to put them in, but I need to get a beader -- it would be a lot easier. Tomorrow my sister's friend, Kenda, is coming over to help me out with braiding, so I'm sure Ruby's braids will be much improved. :-)

We're leaving this morning!

San Diego here we come!

Practice, practice, practice...

This morning Ruby let me take her old braids out and try again. In fact, she was more than willing -- she was excited. So you are all correct, practice is helping a lot! This is what I was able to accomplish this morning. I know I have a long ways to go, but I'm pretty happy that I was able to do this. It took about an hour and a half. I know my braids will get tighter and more even the more I do it. Doesn't Ruby look pretty?

Thanks, My Friends!

OK, so I know that there are 8-year-old girls in Ethiopia (and the U.S. too for that matter) that can braid cornrows way better than I can. But...thanks to the encouragement I got from my friends who commented on my blog post, and a few other people that saw Ruby's hair today, I will keep practicing! And, of course, I was truly inspired by the look on Ruby's face when she looked in the mirror with a HUGE smile on her face and said, "Mamma you did it, you know how!"

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

P.S. I am so thankful for the gift that God has given me in all of my children. They are each and every one so very, very special.

Daddy and His Valentines

Tony just went out for a while and returned with gifts for his little Valentines. They each got a flower and a Pez. How cute is that?

I stink at braiding cornrows!

When I practice braiding cornrows on a baby doll with straight hair, it looks pretty good, but Ruby's hair keeps getting curled up, tangled, and fuzzed out as I go, even though it's damp. I hope I can improve with practice, but this is the best I can do. Any advice...anyone?

A Hippo?

The girls had so much fun yesterday at the zoo. It was so warm and sunny, and we had a great time. Today...30s and raining and snowing this morning. Yuck! But this afternoon the sun came out and it got into the 40s, so outside we went. I was sitting on the front porch watching the girls as they held hands and walked around pretending to be at the zoo. They stopped for several seconds, all holding hands and gazing at my mini van, and I hear Elizabeth say to her sisters, "Look, there's a hippo." Oh where DO they come up with this stuff?

Zoo day!

It was 70 degrees today in Kansas City -- another zoo day for us!

I shopped!

Tonight I went somewhere alone...to a mall...and shopped...for about three hours...and bought stuff...stuff that was NOT for the kids. Do you have any idea how long it has been since I did that? Whhheee heeee!

Getting on the feed bag!

How do kids come up with these ideas?

What's in the bag? A toy donut, lemon, and an egg!

Double bonus...it's warm AND the girls are sharing!

They usually fight over the two swings (we need to add onto the swing set), but today they figured out a way to share!

Barbie's Very Bad Day

It was a bad day for Barbie at the [apparently topless] beach (see previous post)...

And then it got worse...

P.S. Even though Nora is holding the unfortunate Barbie, she is not the culprit. The damage was inflicted by Elizabeth...of course.

P.P.S. Sorry Linda.

What do you keep in your refrigerator?

The girls have their cardboard fridge for two days, and it looks like this. I started to make some witty comment about the Barbie Dolls, My Little Pony, chicken, curling iron, and phone in there, but I was laughing too hard to think of anything!


P.S. I just looked in there again, and now the Barbies are out of the fridge and getting dressed for a day at the beach. Looks like My Little Pony and The Chicken will not be attending this outing as they are still on the top shelf (I don't think they had a swimsuit).

Great Clips Stylist of the Year

Hey, today Nora got her hair cut by the Great Clips Stylist of the Year! Yes, the award goes to...ta da...my daughter-in-law, Samantha Ford! This is her first stylist job and she won an award already! Yeah, Sam!

Baby horse needs a name...

This poor little guy needs a name. We've been calling him "baby horse" since he was born in July. Now the girls want to name him Flicka! Any suggestions?

Our new appliances...

OK, I know this sounds really cheap, but hey if the shoe fits...

The girls love playing with the toy range and fridge at church, and I would love to buy them a toy kitchen. However, we don't really have the space. AND, have you seen the price tags on some of this stuff? Anyhow, this morning we made a toy range and refrigerator out of boxes. We used construction paper and markers and even some small spools (from thread) for the handles on the doors. They've been happily entertained all morning!

Best part...if they get in the way or the kids quit playing with them, I can just burn them! :-)

A princess jump rope?

This morning I went into the girls' bedroom and found that they had devised a way to connect every single princess necklace they own together to make...a jump rope! Elizabeth was all lined up to start jumping rope with it. How can she get in too much trouble though when she's so sweet?

San Diego Here We Come!

Several friends have said that perhaps I should consider taking a vacation, especially after the tricycle dream I posted a few days ago! Well, I'm happy to report that two weeks from tomorrow the girls and I will be in sunny San Diego visiting my sister and her family! Thanks Sis!

Our Lunar New Year Celebration

My new friend Tammi, who I met at the zoo a couple of weeks ago (yes, I meet people everywhere), invited us to a Lunar New Year celebration at her home last Friday. It was a pot luck dinner, so I made chicken lo mein. The girls were very excited about going, but we hit a snag at the last minute with Tony getting off work late. We didn't want to disappoint the girls, who were already dressed for the party and had been talking about it all day, so we had our own impromptu Lunar/Chinese New Year party at home! We ate the lo mein I had made for the party, then we had milk shakes and made Chinese lanterns. I'm bummed that we missed Tammi's party, but it was still a good evening.

Just checking in...

We had a wonderful anniversary, and our evening did not involve any injuries this time! Tony didn't even let me walk up the stairs just in case I should crash down them and ruin the night again! The girls spent the night at Granny and Pa's house, and fun was had by all. ;-)