AND THEN SUPERMAN SAYS,

"Seriously dude! You are such a bed hog."

BOXER MIX??

So the folks at animal control had Mace listed as a "boxer mix". I've been trying to figure out mixed with what. Here are few of my guesses...

rabbit? greyhound?
deer?
tennessee walker?
wheelbarrow, maybe?

whatever it is, he sure is a sweet, sweet punkin'

DURING THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, HERE'S WHAT I GOT TO SEE...

12 masterpieces 11 nasty kisses
10 soulful selections
9 star wars toys

8 ounces of formula 7 monster truck tickets
6 toed bionicle pet
5 power rangers
4 at the kid's table
3 surprised faces
2 sad puppy eyes
And one visit with Mr. Dickel to get me through it!
merry christmas!

A BAD CASE OF A.S.S.

Understanding A.S.S.Advent Stress Syndrome (A.S.S.) is just a temporary mood, and it's not a sign of personal weakness. A.S.S. is a serious condition with a variety of symptoms. Emotional symptoms can include unhappiness, feeling the need to throw Lego's, claiming your brother's favorite stuffed animal as your own, restlessness, and trouble concentrating or making decisions. Physical symptoms can include screaming fits, licking the countertop in public restrooms, vague aches and pains, and changes eating or sleep patterns. For some, A.S.S. can include refusal to flush the toilet or climb into a car the conventional way.

The Advent Calendar posted in the kitchen aids communication between many areas of the brain and spinal cord that affect emotional aspects of a person's nature. It is also important in "controlling the volume" of messages about Christmas between the body and the brain.

If the Advent Calendar has unmarked boxes, the effect can be felt in both the brain and body. You can feel both the emotional and physical symptoms of A.S.S.. You too can lay on the floor each morning and vent your rage about the fat man not showing.

Many people suffer in silence while A.S.S. slowly eats away at their enjoyment of the holiday season. Some are ashamed or afraid to seek help; others try to steal caffeinated drinks. It's important to remember that A.S.S. isn't something that's "all in your head" and that it will all be over on December 26th.

The fact is, A.S.S. affects plenty of people who don't have any obvious risk factors. What's more, those around the A.S.S. are touched too.

And remember, placing all the stickers on the Advent Calendar will not speed up time. It may, however, get you on the naughty list.

IT'S A BOY!

We are pleased to announce
the adoption of
Mace

born mid 2006
weighing in at 50lbs

He's a very sweet and active guy we found on the petfinder website. He has been living with the animal control folks since he was picked up as a stray on Nov. 20th. He is so sweet and smart! I can't wait for you all to meet him.

resting with harrison bob has someone new to aggravate...yeah!
huge fan of squeaky toys and his favorite is...
the ladybug!
~resting nose to nose after too much fetching~
I just love him :)

NIGHT IN BETHLEHELM

More Christmas Fun...

"Was that you or the lady in the tunic?"

THE COUSINS

What a busy weekend! We had a great time. On Friday night, the kids put on a play titled The Redneck Holiday. Troy and Harrison were opposing Santas fighting for the affections of Carolyn. I was laughing so hard I almost wet my pants. Bob sat silent. Tiffany directed and played the part of the sleeping child. Sully was a Spiderman elf. Saturday, they spent a long time in the yard shooting the bow. I think Harrison came in first and Tiff came in second and it's still fun and games because nobody lost an eye. Then we had "clean out the fridge day" at lunch. I pull out all the leftovers and the kids love it. I think it might even tie for first place with Greek or hibachi....maybe they just like to eat. BTW- Carolyn and Sully make a mean egg salad. We also decorated the front yard and finally got the tree up...
but the only decoration was a lightsaber.Then we went to a reunion. Paw-Paw had five brothers and six sisters...and they had kids...and they had kids...and they had kids...and there is a lot of them now!
I made the boys wear matching shirts and the others wear olive green...that's the only power I wield. I'm just kidding. I don't hold that much power around this place...but it's nice to think I do.Presley, Sherry, Talon and St. Nick.I was trying to embarrass Tiff in front of Devon, my "cute preppy cousin"...she was trying not to punch me. I might also add that I knew I was getting old when I heard myself say, "So that's what a prep looks like now?" I don't know who the kid in orange is, but he seemed content to sit in the middle of our crowd and watch...
and then we found someone with a Bionicle...lots of ohhhs and ahhhs! You'd think we've never seen a plastic toy with lots of little parts. On Sunday, we went to Sunday school and then big church. Sully insisted on going to big church. He laid on the floor under the pew and every time the pastor would say "transform", we would hear a little gasp and "He said transformers!" in a whisper. Then we hit the Mexican restaurant and then to photograph houses for Beck and then we took the cousins home. I was trying really hard to keep Sully awake, so I stopped to buy him some chips. This is big deal to my kids. I act like the inside of a gas station is something only to be visited on long trips or major emergencies...minor emergencies are often handled in an office park or behind a bank so we don't have to get into a fight at the candy isle. I thought Sully would stay awake if he had something salty and crunchy...um..not quite...

BUILD A RUDOLPH

grandpa and sassy treated us to a build a bear trip!

~

sully stuffing

harrison fluffing

getting dressed and...ready to go...
ride the train!!

CAN YOU SPOT THEM?

So last night was the annual children's choir Christmas show. The boys did so well! I was really proud of them both. It's so hard to believe that Sully is old enough to participate. He's in a white robe on the right, by the cello. Harrison is on the steps, front and center, behind the mic stand, wearing a red shirt. Still doesn't feel like Christmas when it is 77 outside...but we are trying.

Sorry it's been so long since I updated the blog. I've lost a 2GB stick, so there are many more pictures to come...hopefully!!

POSING

Sully looked so cute for church. I wanted to take his picture...so he ran and propped his elbow on a magnet.

FASTER THAN A SPEEDING BULLET,

more powerful than a locomotive,
and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Look! Look! Up in the sky!
It's a bird. It's a plane.
It's Harrison balanced on my feet...

A GREEN CORN FESTIVAL!

Harrison was in his first play at school. He had the part of Samoset. It didn't earn him a SAG card, but he totally nailed his lines! Then the kids took turns reading their latest literary works.

"I Am Thankful For..."
by Harrison

I am thankful for my dad and my mom and my brutr. Becus I love thim. I like school and trees and moosik. I like trees bekus thees giv us oxogin. I like moosik beecus I am in cuiyre. I lik school beekus I lorn a lot.

So if there was some kind of universal emoticon for proud sappy mom, I'd do it here. Maybe like a :') ...does that convey smiling and crying at the same time? Probably already been invented. I'll have to try again. How about :-}( to represent "I'm sad because Sully said I have a mustache"? I'll stop now...

Harrison also lost another tooth. That totally goes against my "No Growing Up" policy. Sully informed me that he lost a tooth, too. He said it just grew back faster.

pilgrims, native americans and...ummm...cowboys?

When I told the boys they had to "dress up" for Thanksgiving dinner, they didn't hear the "like we are going to church" part.....so they took me quite literally and decided to go as cowboys.

happy thanksgiving!

THEY'RE BACK!

The Christmas catalogs and the hard choices.

MISDIRECTION

This is how Harrison tried to hide his crime. He sunk a staple into the table and thought I wouldn't notice if he TAPED A KLEENEX OVER IT.