A tribute to the Homeland

We have a new form of family entertainment now that we all enjoy....Mad Libs. Do you all remember those fun little stories that helped you practice your grammar? So without further ado, here is one Chris did with Annabelle last night on the subject of California, a place near and dear to our heart.

titled: What I did Last Summer

Last summer, my father and mother took me and my older house on a trip to California, which is a very silly state with very sad weather. Northern California has many vineyards where they raise grapes to make apple juice. Many old sisters go to southern California to retire and raise elephants or grow fishes. There are big factories in California like pickles that employ thousands of skilled children to make 250-seat lips for major airlines. Californians are politically goofy. And they are generally very purple people who like to jump in the sun and swim in soda. And when you say goodbye to California natives, they always reply,

"have a nice cheerios".

Sillyness

So if you get Ella all riled up, you reap the consequences.....you might get bit. Annabelle and Ella were rough-housing with each other yesterday, and Annabelle got bit and amidst her tears and anger yells to Ella....."ELLA, DON'T BITE ME WITH THOSE BIG BEAUTIFUL TEETH!!" As I am sure you all know, it is really hard to be compassionate and fair when you are laughing at your daughters pain. It surely doesn't teach Ella anything about her behavior either!

First Haircut

Ella finally had her first intentional haircut! This was done by a professional with

actual hair scissors! It turned out pretty cute, and Ella really enjoyed

being the center of attention for a few minutes.

Lunar Eclipse

We experienced the Lunar Eclipse of 2008 this evening! Pretty cool that we even got to see it at all, as usually the skies are not clear in the winter months. But we were given a crystal clear evening in which to see this event that takes place only every few years. The reddish color across the moon are the many different sunsets happening across the world reflecting off of the moon. Yet again, another one of the great benefits of living in God's creation!

A glimpse

An amazing glimpse of how great our God is! We don't usually get these neon sunsets up here. But this one lit up the sky and the light illuminated buildings. A little picture of God's glory, and this kind of color reminds me how Moses experienced the presence of God. Breathtaking!

Three Cups of Tea

Okay, so I finally finshed reading this book by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin called "Three Cups of Tea". Incredible. It truly is to me one of the greatest examples of actions behind words, a real life example of how we are to be with our convictions. This book chronicles the last 10-15 years of how Greg Mortenson poured his life into Pakistan and Afghanistan and loved the people amidst the war and planted schools for girls (boys already have schools built for them, but girls cannot attend with the boys) to fight terrorism with education. This became Greg Mortenson's conviction/passion. I am left to ask what is mine? And am I pouring my heart into it? And then to remember that Christ looks at the heart, not just the actions. Does my heart match my actions? What a great read. Highly recommended if you have not already read it. (thanks for a good tip on a great book Candace!) You can check out more about the book and what Greg Mortenson does at: www.threecupsoftea.com.

All About Annabelle

My Annabelle turned 4 today!! We had a disney themed birthday party for her yesterday in honor of her first trip to Disneyland over Christmas. Summer and I tag teamed the cakes....I learned a lot and also am not sure I will attempt it again:-) (You should check out her cool cake blog......cakesbysummer.blogspot.com)

Over all, it was a great party. We did a Disney themed Mad Libs with everyone, and played "pin the nose on Mickey". Annabelle was looking so forward to eating the birthday cake, and she even got the Mickey ears all to herself! So, today (her actual birthday) our plan was to take her to a restaurant of her choice for dinner. So I asked her where she would like to go and this was what she said after a couple minutes of deep thought:

"I know! Let's go to Target! They have macaroni & cheese there!"

And of course my immediate response was laughter, and then I suggested BJ's where she also enjoy's mac & cheese. So luckily, she agreed happily with BJ's :-)