climbers

I promise this is the last time I am going to complain about my failed Gardenfort. Really, I put it behind me. I just wanted to share photos of the vines that should have been thriving on it right now. When I started the seeds for the fort I had a few extra so I planted a Cypress vine at my mailbox (below) and a few Black eyed Susan vines by the deck (above). The rabbits somehow never found them. I'm not sure if I'm glad to see them now or just more sad over the fort loss when I realize how lovely it could have been!

the Green Giants

Tristan has had his first few soccer games of the season and it has definitely been a kick watching a bunch of four year olds play the game. They mostly kick the ball out of bounds, away from their own teammates and into their own goals but they have a lot of fun and that's what counts! Tristan's favorite position is goalie (you get to use your hands!)...

There are smiles all around at the end of a game no matter who wins. Usually they don't have a clue anyway they just want to get to those fresh oranges and juice boxes...

Another highlight is watching Kenna watching her brother...

Grandmother

Verda Iun Day

Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother

January 1916 - September 2008

She is Home.

"So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
'Til my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown."
-The Old Rugged Cross, George Bennard

hello fall

goodbye summer

and more...while I still can

I'm stretching out these last hours of summer going through summer photos. I can't help but share more -these Mosleys are just too cute. I love what happens when you try to get all six members of a family to look at the camera at the same time. You get real life -the best kind to remember.

more from topsail

thinking

The first day of Autumn is only four days away. Summer really is at a close. I'm not sure how little Hannah feels about that...

We had one more great summer beach day with the Mosley family over the weekend. I'll probably have more photos to share of that just as soon as I finish going through all (two million) of them. It was strange to be enjoying a beautiful day on Topsail Island when we knew that a completely different scene was unfolding on the Gulf coast that day. We are so very thankful that our family and friends in Texas are safe, but we know they have a tough road ahead. Our hearts are hurting for those who have suffered so much devastation and loss.

"The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." Num 6:24-26

sewing together

I've really enjoyed reading The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule (Soulemama) and hoped to use some of her great crafty ideas with my kids. Tristan gave me a chance to do just that when he decided he wanted to sew with me. We started with cardboard, a hole puncher and scraps of yarn. When he proved it was not an activity he would quickly tire of, we moved on to burlap, an embroidery hoop, a plastic needle and thread (blue -naturally). The materials are so inexpensive but the value in this little craft is so great!

another Dhalia surprise

Too bad a little bug munched on it before I took the last photo but it's still a beautiful flower.

weeding through

With my vase of fall weeds to keep me company during nap time, I set out to weed through all my unfinished (and in some cases, unstarted) sewing projects. Why do I have so many hats? Crocheted hats, stitched hats, patterns for knit hats. They do make fun baby gifts, but I must try something new.

Just as soon as I finish these last few hats.

wild growing things

There are some interesting and beautiful wild things growing and changing with the seasons right now. The Pokeweed berries are ripening to a shiny black that the birds love. (The plant is lovely but the resulting spots left all over our porch railings and sidewalks by those well-fed birds are not a welcome sight.) Is it Joe Pye Weed towering over the drying grasses and shrubs, letting go of its fluffy seeds in the slightest breeze? I'm not sure, but I do know it is Goldenrod that sets the landscape aglow with fall color in September. Indeed, fall is fast approaching and this is how I know...

And speaking of wild growing things...

playing chess

Tristan loves to play board games. He has long been fascinated with this little Chess set with all its funny shaped pieces, including one called a Knight! Oh boy! So far we have finally established that it is called Chess not Chest and he knows the names of the pieces. He is now beginning to get a handle on how to move each piece on the board. Such a smart little man I have. I do hope I can keep up.

a good book for a quiet morning

I just finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Wow. I wish I could somehow describe the writing but I wouldn't do it justice. So I urge you to check out this book and tell me what you think. Robin already has her copy as well as a batch of scones to go with it (I love our matching pictures). If I could bake you some scones and read the book aloud to you I would, but I'm afraid it's up to you.
Here's a tidbit...

"The last time I saw her was red. The sky was like soup, boiling and stirring. In some places, it was burned. There were black crumbs, and pepper, streaked across the redness. Earlier, kids had played hopscotch there, on the street that looked like oil-stained pages. When I arrived, I could still hear the echoes. The feet tapping the road. The children-voices laughing, and the smiles like salt, but decaying fast.
Then, bombs."

"They fall on top of each other. The scribbled signature black, onto the blinding global white, onto the thick soupy red. Yes, often I am reminded of her, and in one of my vast array of pockets I have kept her story to retell. It is one of the small legion I carry, each one extraordinary in its own right. Each one an attempt -an immense leap of an attempt- to prove to me that you, and your human existence, are worth it.
Here it is. One of a handful.
The Book Thief.
If you feel like it, come with me. I will tell you a story.
I'll show you something."

Doesn't that leave you wanting more?

she's still there!

We weathered the storm last night in a very crowded bed as the loud winds brought two crying kids into our room in the wee hours of the morning. As I lay there awake with Tristan's elbow in my side and Kenna's feet in my neck (oh yes, they were perfectly comfortable!) I was waiting and listening for the storm to get worse. Thankfully, it never did. As soon as the curfew was lifted today we ventured out to the marina to see if the Summer Wind survived Hanna's winds. She was still there floating peacefully in the flooded New River. Shawn did a great job anchoring her in the cove where she could ride out the storms rising waters. It's a good thing because those waters did rise. Here is a picture of the marina this morning under some very pretty post-storm skies. The water level is usually a good 4-5 feet below the docks...

One good thing about torrential rains is the clean, sea gull poop-free docks that Kenna could run barefoot on...

Tristan of course, brought out his beloved Big Black Boots...

Too bad it won't last...

stormy weather

The rains are here and thankfully, so is Shawn. A scheduled hurricane evacuation of aircraft was cancelled due to the weakening of the storm. It looks like we're in for a rough night since I know the kids won't sleep through what's coming but I'm so glad I won't be sitting it out alone with them this time! It's cozy, movie watching, bread making, crayon coloring, book reading weather and I think we will do all of those things today.

what do you say to that?

Tristan's Sunday school teacher recently told me that she loves to let him talk in class just to see what he is going to say. At first I laughed and then I got a little worried as I thought about some of the things I hear come out of his mouth at home! For example...

*Tristan: Mom, can you see when you take your head off?

*Mom: Tristan, have you been wiping your boogers on the wall?! That's GROSS!!
Tristan: But some of my boogers are brown just like the wall.

*Mom: Tristan, don't chug your slushie like that you'll be sick.
Tristan: I'm not drinking it fast though, it's just coming into my mouth fast!

*Tristan (calling downstairs during naptime): Mom, I can't sleep! I smell wet hair!
Mom: What?! Is your hair wet?
Tristan: No, but I don't want to smell wet hair!

*Tristan (with play food): Mom, I'm making food for you and Kenna.
Mom: OK. What about Prowl? (Tristan's 'Transformer' toy that is currently always at his side)
Tristan (as if I should have known): Prowl only eats Decepticons!


The chatterbox started another year of preschool yesterday. I would love to be a fly on the wall in Mrs. Drum's classroom!

9.2.74

Happy Birthday, Dad. Now cut that cake!!

a whole sentence

Today I managed to translate a bit more of Kenna's language. The cute little phrase she has been using so much lately is her version of "I want that!!" Oh dear. She says it a lot, usually over items that are not hers and it's not so cute anymore. Well, except for moments like this one when I give in and let her have the item of interest and end up with a silly photo. My goodness she is cute.