4:45 a.m.

So, Nathan has an entourage he takes to bed with him every night. They include [but are not limited to] his Mr. Monkey, his blanket,

and his Stretch and Fun Elmo, which giggles, talks, and makes funny noises when you pull on his arms and legs.

I awoke at 4:45 a.m. for some reason and I could faintly hear Elmo giggling. He was also talking: "WHOAAA" "Elmo needs a good stretch" " Much better"......

I listened to see if it would stop, but it continued. I couldn't figure out how Nathan was sleeping through this, so I got up to turn Elmo off. I got to Nathan's door and listened again.

Elmo's voice was not coming from his room. It was coming from downstairs. CREEPY, right???? I mean, the thing is not supposed to make noise unless you're pulling on his arms and legs!

Yeah, I'm a big wimp, too. There was NO way I was going downstairs to hunt for Elmo and find who knows what!?!

I woke up Mark and sent him down instead. :)

All is well.

I love my husband. :)

He's my hero.

Snowday

I LOVE the hill behind our house.

I caught this photo last week as the sun was coming up.





Kind of reminds me of mashed potatoes with a pat of butter melting on top, don't you think?

If you have absolutely NO idea what I'm talking about, you have to check out this book by Judi Barrett:


It's one of my favorites from growing up and now my kids love it, too. Enjoy!

Learn Something New Everyday...

Had to take Evan to the pediatrician this morning for a problem with his [ahem] private part. He woke up at 2:30 this morning crying because it was raw. Poor kid. We wanted to make sure there was no infection.

Everything's fine, normal. No worries.

The doctor called the white stuff we thought was possible infection "smegma."

And I laughed out loud. [Yeah, I'm mature...]

"Is that a real word?" I asked.

[Because we tend to use it quite often in a house full of boys to refer to any gross unknown bodily secretion that may be found around here. You know, the stray boogies, balls of ear wax, and drool that is a part of every day life. Although, who knew we were pronouncing it incorrectly all this time?? Prior to this morning, we called it "schmegma" - but, maybe we'll keep saying it like that...I think I like it better...]

The doctor laughed with me and said yes.

So, I googled it.

Here's what I found on wikipedia:

Smegma, from the Greek smēchein (to clean)[1], is a combination of exfoliated (shed) epithelial cells, transudated skin oils, and moisture; a secretion from mammalian genitals

{blush}

I'm going to pretend I didn't learn the real meaning of this word today.

Some Pointed Questions

Found this blog entry today through some friends on Facebook.

I found it to be extremely relevant and timely considering the most liberal member of our Senate just stepped into the highest office of our land.

I would love to see how he'd smooth-talk his way through these questions...

Politics & Prayer

I had the privilege, as did millions of others, to witness the "change of the guard" today. Although I did not vote for Obama and am waiting for him to prove himself to the American people, it was an historic moment that I did not want to miss.

As I was watching, there were two things that kept coming to the forefront for me: how privileged we are to live in this FREE country and how amazing it is that our country changes administrations so peacefully.

I was moved by how gracious President Bush and Laura Bush were to the Obamas. I wish our media was just as gracious, but I'm afraid those days are gone.

I was actually moved to tears [and that NEVER happens with this stuff] when the Bushes and the Obamas were standing together before the Bushes left Washington. I wasn't crying for anyone - I think I was crying for our country. I immediately started praying for President Obama and the rest of our leaders. There is so much hanging in the balance for we the people. Not only the economy, but our fundamental freedoms and values. I challenge you to pray for our President and our leaders over the next four years.

On a lighter note, as we were watching the inauguration, Ryan saw the Washington Monument. He turned to me and said, "That's a really big sword, mom!" :)

No Such Thing, Huh?

Whoever coined the phrase
"There's no such thing as a stupid question"
OBVIOUSLY
did not
deal with two 3 year olds
on a daily basis.

Happy New Year

Please forgive me for my little vacation from my blog [I've missed it :)]

I've been busy with my family doing important things like this: