merry christmas thursday things!

merry christmas eve, folks! today we're having a lovely day cuddled up watching christmas movies and talking about what time santa will probably get here. we've decided to put a sign on the front door to make sure that he knows it's okay to come in. for my thursday things today, i'm going to list what i've yet to do, and hopefully will accomplish before tomorrow morning.

-bake santa's cookies and zucchini bread for our family party tonite

-wrap presents and stuff stockings

-give all the kids a bath and get them dressed in their finery

-charge the camera battery

-try not to miss my lovey too much while he's working today, hopefully he'll be home before 10.

-a few other tasks i cannot post for fear the recipient of the gifts would read my blog today... hi mom!

i'll probably think of many more things along the way, but that's a good start.

i hope everyone has a very merry and bright christmas, full of love and peace and contentment. hug your babies, sip your cider, kiss your honey and have a beautiful holiday, i'll be doing the same.

i probably won't be posting until the new year, i'm working on a big blog post: my year in review.

love to you all.

gratitude and family.

this weekend we had a wonderful time with brady's family, they came up from amarillo and we had a little christmas party at our house. the girls had been counting down the hours, and they were ecstatic to spend the day with "all their families".

yesterday we received quite a surprising blessing. we got a check from brady's old job, which we weren't expecting until a few years from now. i'm always amazed at how the universe works itself out and relieved that we have a few less worries this holiday season.

the girls have been worried about santa being able to get into the house on christmas, since we don't have a chimney. they've planned to put our cookies and milk on a bench right next to the door and leave the door unlocked so he will know it's okay to come in. i love how their little brains work!

theodore is so very big! sunday morning he pushed himself up to sitting from his hands and knees. he's learned the sign for milk, so his little hands are busy asking to nurse most of the time now.

we are doing so well, and i'm feeling very rich and full of love right now. what a beautiful gift my life is!

thursday things.

-really neat pictures: a walk through time
-collage generator
-write something
-retired teaches keeps teaching for free
-it's so true, and not so funny
-my parents were awesome

also: my little brother is having surgery on his thumb today, please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

thursday things.

-encyclopedia of mythology
-fuzzmail.
-the arrow of time, family photos from 1976-present
-2nd favorite poem
-love, love, love these sculptures.
-the new avett brothers album came out tuesday, i love it. my favorite song: and it spread.

effie and jonnie, december 2002.

today is my brother jonnie's 22 birthday, i'm wishing and hoping this coming year is full of big adventures and excitement for him.

inspiration.

last nite i went through my great grandma's high school memory book. she saved so many wonderful pictures, notes and little things she found interesting. she kept flowers, a tiny harmonica, pictures her friends drew, cigarettes, and so many letters. it's amazing to me that i have all of these things, preserved since the late 20's.

after sorting through the things i wanted to keep out for my inspiration wire, i remembered that my uncle scanned letters she had written to my aunt dixie in the 60's. she wrote her nearly every day, noting the weather and what she did that day. there are stories of my mom and her siblings in almost each one, which i found so fascinating. reading about my mom being a one year old, "up chucking" and having problems with her tonsils. it's quite a trip.

it completely reinforced my belief in saving little things, and hope that one day my great grandkids can go through my box of goodies.

i also went through the box of mine and brady's poems and notes and things. what i found notable was a receipt from braum's from last september, where brady had gone to get the things i was craving while barely pregnant with theodore. (ice cream, ice cream cones and a granola bar.) there was also the envelope my mama used to give us a gift for our christmas date last year, she drew adorable little pictures of us and the car we used, which was the same car we'd gone on our first christmas date in.

i cherish each of these little reminders and memories of milestones and hope and love. and can't wait until the next time i go through these boxes again and rediscover all of my treasures.

birthdays galore!

today is my baby brother's birthday. except he's turning 18 and not a baby at all. i have a habit of telling my siblings they are all my favorite, something i learned from my mama. and they really are all my favorite for different reasons. jed is my favorite because he makes me giggle with his hilarious sense of humor, and because he has awesome hair :) and because he has such a sweet and sensitive heart. so happy birthday, jed, i hope you recognize how special you are to all of us.

today is also our nieces birthday party, a big yearly event. they've got water slides and all kinds of fun stuff, so the girls are pretty excited. and i'm excited because cheri has taken pictures of our family the past 2 years, so i'm hoping to get some cute shots of all of us. i don't think we even have a photo of all of us together with theodore!

if you are the praying kind, please remember my papa today. he is doing the funeral for the baby in the story i posted thursday. it's going to be a hard day for him, i'm sure. he could use all the thoughts and prayers you could spare, as well as the family involved. i've been praying peace, mercy, and compassion towards them all.

i hope everyone has a wonderful today, what are your weekend plans?

by its right name.

my great grandmother, effie marie, and me when i was still lauren marie.
(she crocheted that blanket for me, because i am her namesake.)

this snazzy, jazzy lady was a treat. when i was born, i was given her middle name. she didn't go by effie, her chosen name was petie, after a farm helper she followed around and adored as a child. (or so i believe the story goes.)

when i ask to be called effie, it's more than a passing fancy. and i feel rude and ungrateful for not personifying the name my parents chose for me, but lauren just does not fit. i've felt for my whole life that it meant big shoes to fill. "lauren" should be sophisticated, eloquent, graceful, put together. and while i am many things, i am not that.

effie means "melodious talk", which if find more fitting. effie is relaxed, fun, more likely to trip over a flat surface... much like me.

where lauren would be a lovely fur coat, effie is your favorite worn out cardigan. and i'd quite rather be comfy than pretty.

and i feel comfy in "effie". i feel like myself, with no expectations, no standards to meet, just plain ol' effie. and i like it.

"For a moment she rediscovered the purpose of her life. She was here on earth to grasp the meaning of its wild enchantment, and to call each thing by its right name."

(p.s. happy fiftieth post!)

busy times.

big weekend! saturday we had vi's party, and it was quite a success. though you can't really go wrong with hotdogs, root beer (thanks to the castoes), d.j. lance rock cake, and far too many presents. violette was very happy, thanks to all our awesome friends and family who do what they do. we appreciate it all so very much.

sunday, brady's dad popped over from amarillo and we had a quiet day while he slept and then we went shopping and got pizza, fun times.

tonite is church here and then afterwards... the midnite release of harry potter!!!!!! i can't wait, really. this morning we're headed over to my grandma's to play, and then tomorrow is my 6 week appointment with the midwives. bittersweet, because i know it's my last midwife appt., ever. i'm sure i'll cry :)

saturday was also theodore's 6 week mark, he is the biggest of my babies, by far, which is interested because he was the teeniest at birth. he is just so so chubby and roly poly! though he insists on shedding all newborn trademarks way too early, it's okay. i was concerned about it, and really wanting to enjoy his baby phase, but i had this realization the other day. when we get stuck in a particular stage, be it newborn, baby, toddler... whatever, and we're really sad when they grow out of it, it's awfully unfair to the little one. because we're so concerned about them not being what we want them to be, and also we're missing out on the stuff they're doing NOW. the past is PAST, right? i mean, how often do we get stuck there, meandering through the day, thinking about the good times we had or the bad, or just whatever. but we're totally missing out on RIGHT NOW.

time for my favorite cheese quote:

"the past is history, the future's a mystery, the present is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

today i'm going to be here now.

oh, & i love my husband. & he loves me. squeee!

all you need is love. (& a little bollywood?)

we're having some difficulties with clashing personalities over here. as in, emma and i basically have the same personality. and we clash. thanks to an unexpected visit from grammy, we made amends and she is now napping.

note to self: next time remember to breathe in, and breathe out... she is 4... is she hungry? sleepy? angry? lonely? feeling jealous?

and then i feel so.very.guilty for letting her get to me, and then making snappy comments to her. i am an adult, she is a child. who is expected to keep calm?

how do i remember to stay centered and loving? and when i do slip up, how can i be kind to myself and let it go after it's dealt with?

now i know why ariel gore refers to this as "the mother trip".



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the whole 3's thing is pretty weird... ed mcmahon, farrah, and mj.



but come on, folks die every day. i get it, these folks are special. famous. celebrities. but i'm more concerned with all the people who won't make it til dinner time because they don't have food or clean water. let's do something about that. (and did we all forget that MJ went totally kooks? and ya know, that whole little boy thing?) maybe there is a death cab sentiment for everything: "a bastard in life, thus a bastard in death".
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i love my husband. seriously. i've been thinking a lot about this encouragement thing. and while i've always recognized how hard he works and how much he loves me, i'm just really digging it right now. wanna see something cute? sure you do.

visitors, introductions, and weekend fun.

big weekend! (or, it felt big to me)

friday nite my grandparents brought by a pot of stew for our supper (and lunch on saturday!) it was a nice little visit, and the girls were thrilled to show off their bedroom which they'd just cleaned.

saturday afternoon, brady's mom and sister came up from amarillo to meet theodore. we spent the afternoon and evening hanging out with them, and brady's brother, his wife and their kids. we had quite a housefull of little girls!

saturday evening we watched "the green mile", which i'd never seen, and further confirmed the fact that i dislike movies, and i should never watch a movie directly before bedtime.

this photo of teddy is the essence of our sunday.