What is a Meme?

My friend Mer tagged me for this meme. (I have a confession, I don't acutally know what a meme is - is it short for something else? I'm so not a full-fledged blogger!) Anyway, I'm tagging Jill and Colleen if they want to play!

Four jobs I've had:
1. Six Flags pretzel vender
2. admissions counselor
3. teacher
4. mom

Four places I lived:
1. Grand Prairie, TX
2. New Orleans, LA
3. Independence, MS
4. Rocket, TX (the list could go for a little while longer...)

Four movies I've watched over and over:
1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Lonesome Dove
3. Age of Innocence (I love that one, too, Mer!)
4. Casablanca

Four shows I watch:
1. Corner Gas
2. Grey's Anatomy (although not as much this season)
3. Men in Trees
4. American Idol (we love the early audition episodes!)

Four places I've been:
1. Jamaica
2. Belize
3. Maine
4. Los Angeles

Four people who e-mail me regularly:
1. Todd
2. my dad
3. Colleen
4. friends from church

Four favorite things to eat:
1. crabmeat quiche
2. lasagna
3. shrimp and grits
4. Mexican food

Four places I'd rather be:
1. the beach
2. Maine
3. reading a book
4. Mozambique :-)

Four things I look forward to this new year:
1. going to candidate conference in Virginia
2. maybe finding out when/where we'll be going
3. becoming organized at home (Mer, I bought the book - Confessions of...)
4. Spending more "fun time" with the girls

Snow Day

We had such a fun time playing in the snow last Saturday. Well, Jessie, we found, is not crazy about the cold. Can you be allergic to it? Her hands swelled up just like she had been bitten by some vicious bug. I had never seen anything like it! So, after we realized that she was a wee bit winey for a reason, we bundled her up, and she and I had a great time hanging out on the porch watching Emma, Aubrie and Daddy play in the snow. I'm not too fond of having wet, cold hands either so it was all good.

Me being really excited about the snow.

The birth of a one-eyed snow man.

Getting his other eye.

The demise of the snow man.

The snowman lives again!

Aubrie having much fun!

The porch people.

Playing in the Snow!

I'm watching it snow right now - we've already got a little accumulation. We're just supposed to get an inch or so, but it's the prettiest site to wake up to. We let the girls spend the night with Todd's parents last night so we're rushing around like little kids trying to get ready to go play with them!! Thank you, Lord!

Praying for Snow!

I know, it's a little far-fetched for Mississippi, but none of the girls have seen snow, and it would just be so great if they could! Well, Emma saw some sleet when she was a few months old, but that doesn't really count. Anyway, there's the slightest chance that it could happen this weekend so I'm praying that it will!! Here's hoping for a white weekend! :-)

On to the next step

We found out today that we get to move on the the next phase of paperwork in our overseas application. We'll be writing our autobiographies, life sketches, and statements of beliefs over the next few days or whenever we find a good chunk of time. The guy who is walking us through all this suggested that we might get someone to keep the kids so we could get away and maybe tackle it over a weekend. Sounds like a good excuse to get away to me! A bed and breakfast sounds really nice!

In Summing Up...

Thought I would post the pictures from the calendar that all the aunts, uncles, and grandparents get for Christmas. Normally, it would be a year in review, but for some reason, our pics weren't high quality enough until October. Not sure how that happened. So here's three months in review...


Most of these have already appeared on the blog, but I couldn't resist re-posting them!

My Little Bumblebee

Click here to see pictures of Emma as a bumblebee in A Christmas Dream. The very blond little girl is her good friend Annah-Jane. Emma is the in the picture with a bunch of bumbles and the one with just Annah-Jane and her. Does that make sense?

You can also read about the ballet company, Ballet Magnificat! here.

Bedtime with Aubrie

My simple read a story, sing a song, say a prayer routine has morphed significantly since Aubrie was able to speak. She wins the award for being the most independent of the three girls. I thought this was physically impossible.

We get to the changing table, and she doesn't want to lay down. She wants look at and play with just about everything on the table. She wants her teeth medicine (aka. orajel), she wants to put her diaper cream on herself (which I never let her do so I can't figure out why she still asks every time). When we finally get her diaper changed, she also wants to help with the putting on of the pajamas. "I hep, I hep." Okay, so this takes quite a while.

Then, "buk, buk." So she picks out a book, and so do I. You see, I'm not allowed to hold the one she picks out. She proceeds to get into the rocking chair. She wants me to sit on the footstool and makes this very clear if I forget. (We started out, of course, with me holding her in the chair reading the book together.) She will have none of that since she must think she is grown by now. (I know, you may ask yourself who is the parent here - I promise that not every area of our life is like this!)

She reads her book, and I read mine to her. We put up our books and turn out the light. In days gone by, I would pick her up to rock her, and she would actually cuddle with me. Not so anymore. She thinks it is great fun to hide from me after the light is out. Of course, she hides in plain view, but who can resist trying to find her? After I've found her a couple of times, I hide, too. When she comes to find me, I seize the moment, scoop her up and head for the last phase of this insane routine.

I try to sing a quick song before I am told, "No sing, no sing." Of course, I'm mortally wounded since singing is one of my favorite things in life. How can my own child not want me to sing to her? Next is, "Pay, pay." "You want me to pray?" Shakes the head. So, I pray for her and down she goes. This hilarious child wants a pacifier not only for her mouth but also one to hold. She calls them her boppies. I have no idea. She beds down, and I'm on to the next two.

Close your eyes and dream sweet dreams!