Let it Snow!

Sunday night we were out as a family and it began to snow. Within minutes we had separate phone calls from two different neighbors making sure we had seen the miracle. The flakes were larger than ping pong balls... huge and heavy and wet. People were clicking camara phones, arching backs to catch snow in their mouths and even leaning out of drive thru windows, gazing in awe.

Naturally, Simeon wanted to know if it was snowing at home, too, and if there would be snow in his back yard. And then he started to get worried that snow was going to cover up his balls (and I counted yesterday... we're up to more than 2 dozen laying around the yard). But as we loaded stuff in the car, then Simmy really got concerned. Bryce had left Lydia under an overhang while he strapped Simmy in, but Simmy was fidgety. "You gotta hurry, dad!" he said. "Lydia's going to turn into an iceburg!"

Bryce's 35th birthday was yesterday. He awoke to find a huge gift-wrapped box on the patio that contained a new leather office chair, something he's wanted since we got married. He enjoyed the cards and calls from many of you, and ate so much dessert that afternoon that he couldn't finish his dinner. Sims decided he was too full to eat dinner, too, until Bryce suddenly found that he was getting hungrier.

Lydia had a fever over the weekend and we're guessing that she's working on more teeth. She loves to feed herself everything now and is doing a good job of keeping the bowl or plate on the tray. Yesterday when I came home after an appointment, she saw me and her face lit up. "Ma Ma!" she yelled, and started cruising around the chair she was holding onto. I held out my arms and she did her best Frankenstein impression, stumping toward me and falling into my arms just in time. When Bryce came home, it was an exact repeat. "Ma Ma!" she exclaimed and reached out her arms to him. "Um, I'm Daddy," Bryce corrected as he picked her up. "Ma Ma," she insisted with a smile. She wasn't going to let him throw her off track!

We wish you could all be enjoying it with us,

Susan

Here We Go!

We don't really have the energy for anything that isn't necessary these days, as evidenced by the piles adorning each room of our home. But these kids do grow so fast and older moms keep telling us to "write it down!"

We had a blog while Lydie was in and out of the hospital and braving the troubles of nasal gastric tubes and--oh yeah--heart surgery. But that was more out of survival, needing folks to pray, and not wanting to repeat the latest doctor opinion 27 times.

For three years now, I've meant to start a little book with the kids' witticisms and favorite habits. And then last week I thought, maybe this could be my little book. And rather than it sitting on our office bookshelf where no one else can enjoy it, this is a book that can be checked out by Grandma and Grandpa in Memphis, Nana in Virginia, Mim and Pip in Florida, and numerous aunties and uncles from Colorado to North Carolina. So why not?

My goal is to update once a week. Maybe more often, maybe a little less when we're traveling. But weekly is my plan, and if I just can't keep up with it, I'll say so. I don't expect to have hilarious anecdotes for every entry, but can at least say what we're up to as a family.

Oh, and Happy Birthday Pip!