Movie Fail

The other night I was burdened that Brian needed rest. He'd been working overtime and I suggested that we all watch a movie together instead of the normal routine of him playing with the kids for hours.

I scrolled through the recordings and found "Soul Surfer." Perfect! A safe family film with waves and surfing to keep the kids interested and it might actually be entertaining for Brian and I.

Look how heartwarming. 

We all got good and invested. Madison laid on my lap and Silas snuggled with Daddy.
Angie, your ideas are awesome.

Then a great white shark came out of the water and bit the girls arm off.

The bloody stump gushed everywhere.

People were hysterical and screaming.

My eyes got huge and I looked at Brian. I didn't realize this was part of the plot line. I couldn't see Madison's face but Silas was just sitting there looking stoic. Maybe they didn't notice the shark after all. Whew.

Then after about a minute we heard Madison's squeaky little voice,
  "Why dat whale bite dat guls ahm off!!??"

And the questions started coming like machine gun fire.

Silas: Mommy, is that girl gonna die?
Are there sharks in water?
Why do sharks want to eat us?
Is her arm still in the shark's belly?
What's going to happen to her arm in his belly?
Is the arm still in his belly?
Do sharks like the way we taste?
Is her arm still in his belly?
Does that shark have an arm in it's belly?
What's the arm doing in the shark's belly?

Madison: Why dat whale bite dat guls ahm off!!??
But why?
But why he want to eat huh?
But why?
Why dat whale bite dat guls ahm off?

Silas: I want to see that arm.
Is the arm in the shark's belly?
Does the shark like the taste of that arm?

You get the idea.

The movie wasn't much fun after that. We were lucky to get through 5 minutes of movie before the questions started up again.

I couldn't blame them though. That can't be easy to process.

Because You'll Forget

You put notes like these on his lunchbox.

Thanksgiving Fiesta

This year I had FUN at Thanksgiving dinner. The food was delicious. A lovely girl made my favorite dessert, chocolate sour cream cake, which I made myself sick with by eating an unhealthy amount.

My sister and I dominated a game of spades against a so-called expert. And let me say this about my relationship with my sister. We can butt heads sometimes because, well, we're sisters. As Dr. Cail would put it, we've been fighting for commodities since she was born. But our connection runs deep. You just can't replace the bond you have with two girls who grow up together. And if you catch us in a goofy mood together, watch out. I can have more fun with her than just about anyone I know.

Well the goofy moods hit and by the end of the night we were putting on cognito and entering the Texas Hold Em' tournament. We lost but put up a good fight, sneaking each other chips under the table when one of us got low.

The night was topped off by hilarious stories from my lovable and impressively bearded brother. I just think the world of that guy.

All in all it was a great time meeting new people, hanging out with precious family we don't get to see very often, and lots of PLAYING!

And look, Sarah Palin was nice enough to join us for our poker game.
Really. Click on the picture and zoom in. It's scary.

The Future As He Sees It

Last weekend Silas and I snuggled in a camping chair outside my mom's house. I love how at home he is receiving affection. Totally relaxed, unhurried, not a care in the world. I told him about how one day he's going to be a man and talk like Daddy and have a wife and kids. And I asked him if he would still let me hold him and kiss his cheeks, although they would be all pokey. He assured me he would.

Then his eyes rimmed red and filled with tears. I asked him what was wrong and he wept and proclaimed, I really want YOU to be my wife when I get big!

I comforted him by explaining that one day he would meet the girl he would marry and that right now she is little just like him and Mommy prays for her mommy and daddy to love her and teach her to follow Jesus and how to be kind and loving. He looked off into the distance and the subject dropped.

Until church Sunday morning. During the service I could feel him looking at me so I looked down and saw his eyes red and wet, chin quivering. He declared again, I've been thinking about it and I really really just want YOU to be my wife and nobody else! I cringed at his volume and anger level and decided to not to choose this battle. I patted his leg and told him I'll be your wife, buddy, I will.

I chuckled and watched him look forward and blink heavily. He needed a few moments to let the intense emotions subside.

He's going to be quite the catch someday. And I'll cherish it while he feels the same way about me.

Postscript: 
Silas came in and saw this picture up so I told him I wrote the story about him wanting me to be his wife. I asked if he still wanted me to be his wife and he said Yep. And Daddy can have that girl you were telling me about at Guggy's (my mom's) house. They can live in a house close to us. 

Yeehaw

She was so cute for cowgirl day, I can't even tell ya. 

I sure like being her mama.

Halloween 2011

We had a blast!

Silas could've kept up with a group of teenagers. He was a pro. 

He was also quite heartbroken to wash his face when we got home.

Mash was too cute for words. Today when I laid her in bed for her nap she said "I gonna sweep, wake up, you paint cupcake my face, go say twick or tweet get maw M.M.'s. Ok?"

The whole posse.

Snapshot

If my future self were to look back at the fall of 2011, this is what I would see:

First of all, me not having a desktop which means difficult access to pictures which means very infrequent blogging. This saddens me.

The four of us living with an awesome couple from our church (Bob n Chells as Madison refers to them). It's been great for us, actually a huge blessing, but sometimes I wonder what they're thinking when Silas throws his 18th fit during dinner or I have to text Chells to let her know Silas vomited and didn't make it into the throw-up bowl (see below). We're nearing our third month of waiting for our short sale to close. It will be at least another month. Me no likey short sales.

The four of us passing around sickness for the past two months. At the moment I am freshly over strep, Silas is miserable with a stomach bug, Madison's just done with her stomach bug and Brian is fighting a cold.

Our family driving around in our new minivan. It's pretty sweet. Silas thinks it's the coolest thing since sliced bread. We said goodbye to Grease Lightening and the Geo.

My extended family taking a great camping trip which involved canoeing, a train ride, bike riding, and being surrounded by beautiful nature.

Brian enduring the most stressful stretch of work his job has given him yet.

Me discovering Pinterest. Scary.

Me and Silas having special days every Monday. Mash goes to school and Silas doesn't. I only have one more year with him all to myself so I'm squeezing all the goodness out of it I can. We love our special days.

Madison talking up a storm. Especially about elephant butts. More on that later.

Silas wanting to know everything possible about nutrition. He can tell you the protein, carb, vitamin, and fiber content of most foods.

Madison and Silas wanting to ride bikes 24 hours a day.

Me being reminded about who and what I live my life for. I'm learning on a deeper level that it's not things. And it's not a house.