More MO Moments

My children had a great time in Missouri.


Hazel liked hangin' out with the cousins.

Tomie just liked hangin' out!

A sea of blankets?


The tea party was fun and carried into the next day when Tomas ate Shay's "bock bock"off her hospital tray.
He's a picky eater that evidently enjoys hospital food. Go figure!



The younger set had fun posing with posies; what a sweet bunch!



But, nothing could compare to that first glimpse of the very new baby!

The Grand Tour

The weather in Missouri was delightful while we visited so the shortcakes and I went for a little walk-about. Trace was the fearless leader who regaled us with adventuresome tales, facts, and points of interest. Yep, he kept up a steady stream of dialogue regardless of whether we were listening or not. Which, of course, we were. :o)

Our guide took us to his fort where he demonstrated his mad tree climbing skills. Kimmie was his perfect pink shadow. She was determined to prove her prowess in mimicking each of Trace's skills: boasting, climbing, telling the younger child he/she can't do whatever it is I'm currently doing, etc.

The coveted treasure secreted away in the fort was a collection of unbroken clay pigeons gleaming golden in the mottled sunlight. They were rescued from childish hands by the little mother Kate. She is very like her own mother - sweetart: sometimes sweet, sometimes tarty, but always a favorite.

Each child, in turn, claimed the treasure as his... until Taylor, the last to arrive, set them all straight. Under the rule of primogeniture, the fort was his, as was the treasure! Ahem, Tomas, the walking stick is Taylor's too, but you can borrow it. ;o)

Ha ha! What a beautiful day it was! A treasure officially belonging to each participant. I'm so glad I had a chance to spend time with the "niechews" to enjoy their conversation and personalities. We Gublers sure do love those Lees a whole heart and a half!

Freedom Isn't Free!

But I know a bunch of other things that are, so Happy Human Rights Day everyone, here's my true tale of free.

It all begins with my first attempt at shopping with coupons. It was a little tricky and I didn't do as well as I could've (learning experience!), but I still managed to get about $60 of stuff more than half-off and about $30 of stuff absolutely FREE! I can't cry about that, now can I? - even if I could've gotten the first batch for 75% off. So yeah, I'm diggin' the coupon scene.

That was Monday. Tuesday my water heater decided to try its hand at becoming a geyser. It did a pretty good impersonation, so good that I get my bedroom carpet and bathroom/laundry room slate steam cleaned and new flooring for my living room and dining room courtesy of Advanced Restoration and my Farm Bureau Home Insurance. I also got two nights at a hotel where the kids got to swim in the indoor pool, plus a house full of air-blowers that turn the carpet into a bouncy house. Of course, there's that $500 deductible, but we get credit for any work we do to help in the clean-up etc.

Wednesday brought its own type of free joy in the form of tree removal. Trees Inc was around trimming trees for the power company and when I mentioned that we were planning on completely removing the mulberry in the front yard, the arborist replied that he could do that for us. "How much?" I asked. "Free." Yippee skippee! I've been trying to get rid of that tree for years and now this lovely fellow is offering to chop it, mulch it, haul it away, and herbicide it to keep it that way! Bring it on!

So that is my story of free. It is a story that continues on into the future...and always includes the staple frees like food from the parents, eggs and produce from the grandparents, movie rentals from Marvene, and tending from all sorts of wonderful people; plus random happy frees like a big bag of baby clothes from Maridee and leg warmies from Rayn.

On another free note, we're going to be shaking our four pecan trees this Wednesday (the 21st) after 3, so if anyone wants some pecans (round or long) come pick yourselves up some free yummy goodness! Tell your friends, there is plenty for everyone. Yes, you do the picking up :o)

True Love

Oh, my little Tomas Archimedes! He loves little babies with such a sparkly-eyed kind of love. He always has! He's got at least three baby dolls of his own that he's purchased at yard sales and dollar stores. He also has a baby carrier, stroller, and bottle that he uses often. As we've seen in a previous post, he likes to get the babies undressed and bathed. He also likes to feed them bottles and cookies, burp them, snuggle them in blankets, and give them kisses.



Watching this clip of him with his brand new cousin Kyra, I'm torn whether to watch his every move and antic or her constantly changing expressions. They are just SO FASCINATING!

Being a stay-at-home mom is such a gift for me since I could spend the whole day just watching my children live in their little world - spectating as they think and grow and mirror what they see, how they see it. Their little faces are windows to wonder!

Of course they frequently drive me absolutely BATTY, but I find that I get the most perturbed when I'm the one in need of a nap! Also, there's not often enough time in a day to just watch in wonder, but the magical times I can usually make up for the mundane times I can't.

Our Little Lady

Due to technical difficulties, this is the only picture you Aunties are gonna get until I get home to use my internet, but isn't she SUPER SWEET?! We've taken a million bajillion pictures of this little angel and we've given her a million bajillion kisses to help her stay sweet. We've also had LOTS of fun playing with Grandma, Colt, and the Lee family. So next week you'll probably get inundated with a plethora of pics and videos too.