P-EWE-K

"Mom! Don't touch my pewek."

"Your what?"

"My Pewek."

"And what is a pewek?"

"It's what you collect."

So we have a new word at our house. We took Charlie's pewek and turned it into a table decoration for Thanksgiving. I am not the girlie type when it comes to table clothes and table decorations. I am taking a great bible study this semester at church entitled "Keepers of the Home." During this bible study we had a skill session on Entertaining where a friend of mine talked about using what you have to decorate.

So, I bought a roll of fall colored ribbon and added Charlie's collection of pine-cones and rocks. We picked leaves off of our Maple tree in the front yard. Dusty's grandma always had the most beautifully decorated tables. So in honor of her we used the leaves. She bought the tree for me as a birthday present the first year we lived in the house. I think it added her to our table.

We really missed her this year.

I want to swing now mom!

Somewhere around 10:30 every day Brantley cries. I try everything. I change him. I try feeding him. I try singing and rocking him. And nothing works. Out of frustration I put him in the swing and he starts sucking like he's hungry.

So I give him a bottle Daddy style. (It makes me crazy that Dusty props a bottle. He's just a baby hold him! ) And he starts eating. He would not eat five minutes earlier when I was holding him. But this is about the time every day where Dusty puts him in the swing to eat.

He finishes his bottle and goes right to sleep. He knows his routine even if Mommy doesn't. This is the only time of the day that he acts like this. Any other feeding he wants to be held except for Daddy's feeding. How funny is that? I think it's funny that he already has preferences and opinions. I find it even funnier that he can express those preferences and opinion since he can't even talk. It has only taken me a little over 3 months to figure out that I shouldn't even try holding him to eat any where from 10 to 2.

He's that way at nap time too. He cries to be put into his bed for nap. Sometimes the time gets away from me and he is ready for bed before we have read stories and sung songs and it makes Charlie mad that he doesn't want to. Brantley is such an easy peaceful kid! I wonder how long that will last?

So tall

This just amazes me. This little guy can touch the ground when wearing his shoes in his walker! Charlie couldn't touch the ground till she was 6 mths old. He is so tall!

Christmas

I found these boxes at Wal-mart. The little ones are $.67 and the big ones are $1.97. I have stamped and embellished them to add character. I hope that Charlie and Brantley's teachers at church think they are as cute as I do. I just wanted to give them a little something to say thank you and let them know how much of a blessing we consider their time and dedication to teaching the kids about God in Sunday School and Cubbies. I want them to know how truly special they are to our lives.

I used two verses

John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

Psalms 105:1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known among the nations what he had done.

This little box allows them a place to count the blessings that God has bestowed upon you.

Cale Reagan

Isn't he just beautiful! Yes, I called a boy beautiful!

Gant had his lizard at the hospital. Charlie didn't want anything to do with him.
Gant, the proud big brother!

My pink room

Dusty and his dad worked on my room for the last two days. I don't think it will be finished by Christmas but we will see. Do you see this wall? There are three electrical outlets on my wall. I love my husband.

Here is the air unit. I don't need it now but I will love it in the summer!

Here is the wiring it is just not hooked up.

They put on the siding. It is wheat and beautiful!!! I just LOVE it!!!

I can't wait to actually be using my room instead of just storing my scrapbook and school stuff in there.

Love Days like these

I wanted to help make the holiday's a little easier for LInda since Rosetta died. I know that she will still be sad but I also wanted to give her many good reasons to be happy so I invited her to help Charlie and I make kolaches for Grandpa Jindra for Thanksgiving. Grandpa Jindra is full Czech and loves this little dessert.

I just love this picture of Charlie and her Grandmother's hands. What is it about hands? I just love hand pictures especially when it shows two sizes. I just love taking pictures of Charlie and Linda's hands.

Five years ago, when I first started teaching at St. John Nepomuk Catholic School I had this wonderful family in my class. Mrs. Parizek made Kolaches for the Czech Fest. I asked her if she would teach me. So one morning I showed up at her house at 6 am and spent the next five hours learning. I have always had the best intentions on making them, but never taken the time. This year I needed to be different. I needed to take the time because I feel like I have been getting to wrapped up in the unimportant. So, I asked Linda to come over.
We had the best day! I missed my mom so much. Which is funny since I was trying to help Linda not miss her mom. Growing up I would watch mom make pies for Thanksgiving dinner. I haven't done that since 1994. I really miss that innocent time with her. She is alive and in Florida and this little experiment made me want to be a teenager again watching her roll out the pie crusts. Anyway, back to this story, Charlie couldn't stand that the "balls" weren't coming out the be the exact size.

As you can tell both, Linda and Charlie had a great time. (See the tool in Charlie's hand. That is the one she used to try and turn Brantley into a frog.)

Brantley even joined in for a little while. That $30 we spent on the Snguli was so worth it! Brantley just loves it. And for once I have an activity that I did with Charlie and I have pictures of me!

How yummy do these look? We made apricot, apple, cherry, and prune. We used the old Parizek recipe that Sheryl gave me five years ago. I think I only missed one maybe two steps and nothing that "ruined" them. Next time I will have them looking much better. I am pretty impressed with us! And I just had one of those "GREAT" days. But, I really miss my MOMMY! How silly is that?