Happy Seventeenth, Anna!

Seventeen years ago today I received a most marvelous blessing. She was tiny and red then but now she is taller than me. She could not say anything then but now she sings, and plays piano, and talks. She talks to me and Luke and Caleb, and that is the most fun. She is a true kindred spirit. We are not drama queen girls (we have brothers to do that); we don’t go crazy for animals; we see books and movies differently enough to talk about them and similiarly enough to enjoy the talk. We make music together. We create stories and discuss them. We have different things we do and say, some borrowed and some original; we enjoy our inside jokes. 

Our award winning homeschooled scientists.

(l to r) Anna, Caleb, Luke, Jeremiah, Gracie, Sable, and Hannah

Anna and her scholarly project.

Anna and Laura playing chemists in front of the bread machine.

Pardon the blurry-ness; Luke took the picture.  

 Anna at her beloved piano.

This is one of those things we like to do and say ever since Geometry, but mine is not that funny:

If Anna has a birthday, there will be a family road trip.

If there is a family road trip, everyone will load up in Astro Mutt.

If everyone loads up in Astro Mutt, they will be stuck together for a while.

If everyone is stuck together for a while, they will talk and laugh.

If everyone talks and laughs, they will make memories.

If everyone makes memories, they will have more in common.

If they have more in common, they will be closer together.

If they are closer together, they will be hard to drive apart.

If they are hard to drive apart, they will fight to stay close.

If they fight to stay close, their children will become good cousin/friends.

 A desperate attempt at a winter family picture.

 Anna and I amongst the muscadine vines at our 94-year-old aunt's house.

So if all of the above statements are true:

If Anna has a birthday, their children will become good cousin/friends.

Mama and us four at the Christmas Festival at a local college.

Happy Birthday, Anna Elizabeth! May our precious friendships span generations and may Winsome, Ella, Lake, and Katia someday be best friends just like their mothers!

And I pray that through the work of Christ the relationships will last into eternity and be perfected there.

 Laura

Happy Birthday Caleb!

I remember when he was born.

We spent the night at the house of some close friends. We went to their grandparents for supper that night and I think we ate hot dogs. We got a call on the telephone telling us we had a baby brother. I could be mistaken and I think I've been told this is wrong, but I have the memory stuck in my head that while Laura, Luke, and I were talking on the phone with Daddy and Mama at the hospital there was a digital clock sitting on the same table as the phone and it said 8:00 in big red letters. But like I said that memory could be quite inaccurate.

I remember that night when we went to bed. Luke and I shared a fold out couch and Laura got to sleep in a sleeping bag. (How cool is that! :-) The next morning we got up and dressed in our 'going to the hospital clothes'. Mama had picked them out, and of course, they were all cute. Laura had a little blue and purple jumper with frogs on it. Mine was a red and white checkered jumper with sunflower buttons of a similar pattern. Luke was either wearing overalls or denim shorts with a t-shirt that had lions and hippos and elephants on it.

We ate breakfast (I think it was cereal) and then we had just enough time to watch a movie. Peter Pan.
As the credits were rolling Daddy was at the door to take us to see our new little brother Caleb, at the hospital.

Though I don't remember being just 'giddy', I know we were very excited.

Lots of the hospital happenings were taped and we watched them the past couple years. Laura gave a speech to the camera saying something like, "Caleb's two big sisters and brother are glad he's here" and all. Very oldest sibling like and formal. When Luke was asked what he thought of the new baby the 2 year old little fella' only said, "He's silly." Then we all got a turn to hold Caleb. I remember when he was put into my arms I thought, and maybe said out loud. "He's heavy."

The rest is family history. We brought him home, and he grew. We have a sort of saying at our house it goes "Laura said 'yes,', Anna said 'no,' Luke said 'two,' and Caleb said nothing." That's because when someone, like Daddy for instance, would ask a question like "Laura," or "Anna, do you want to hang by your toes until your nose bleeds?" Laura would enthusiastically shout "Yes!" and I would say "No!". Daddy would always like to ask Luke math questions that the answer was two. Like "Luke what's the square root of four?" Luke was always sure to answer "Two!" But when we would ask Caleb questions he wouldn't say anything.

He eventually learned to talk though. He hasn't stopped since either. Caleb has be known to talk lots. He used to have trouble keeping his mouth shut for and extended amount of time. He's gotten a little better lately though.

It has been a wonderful experience to watch Caleb grow up so far. I am looking forward to seeing him learn and grow more and more.

Happy Birthday Cabe!!!
We love you!

A.L.L.  :-)

Happy Birthday Luke!!!

(Luke is the big one on the left.: )

Today, a very special young man turns 13. His name is Luke. My beloved little brother that I put in dresses and earrings is now well on his way to being a man.

A list about Luke:

He’s the drama queen of the family since both the girls turned out rather sober and giggly.

He toughens Caleb out, keeps Anna lively, and makes Laura feel like a lady.

He’s Mama’s hero, when it comes to vegetable picking, farm animal difficulties and technical problems when Daddy’s gone.

He’s Daddy’s extra hands and feet; and padawan learner.

He keeps us laughing with his impersonations and stray comments.

He’s one of Ad Libbia Productions best actors and their wilderness expert.

He’s a hard worker and sweats a lot.

He loves playing any cool good guy.

He is Caleb’s number one role model.

He extends metaphors beyond recognition.

He has a ridiculously large mouth. (We have a video of him sticking in a whole peeled orange!)

He loves potato salad.

He is a rapid mathmetician.

He is a realistic cartoonist.

He is an awesome little brother and big brother!

WE LOVE LUKE LOTS!

Happy Birthday, Doll Face!!!!!

Love,

Laura : )

My Sixteenth Birthday Trip (Part 1)

For my 16th birthday we went to an estuarium on Dauphin Island off Mobile. It was small, but neat and we had a good time.

A baby alligator.

A Puffer fish.

He was swimming around so fast it was hard for Laura to catch him in a picture.

A Crab. (Obviously.)

I'm not sure that that it's called a blue Crab,

or a Blue Clawed Crab,

or something else. It might be...

I just can't remember.

A Ray.

The big fish is one of those sucker fish that stick to sharks and get the leftovers.

I'm not sure what the little one is. The one in the middle is a ray.

Caleb in the divers mask...

And Luke.

Inside there was also a man who had a bunch of dead creatures that had been preserved in alcohol. They were pale-ish looking, moist, and kind of flabby, but not to bad. The man standing there told us about all of them and said we could touch them too (I didn't touch many).

There was also a place where you could hold horse-shoe crabs. Luke and me and maybe Laura all held one and Laura fed one a little shrimp.

Outside there was a board walk. Daddy really liked being out there in the wind and waves and salt. Us kids and Mama really enjoyed it too. We could see the shallow water oil rigs out on the water.

(You can see the oil rigs there on the horizon, just of the corner of the gazebo.)

An outside view of the estuarium.

A Pilot boat we saw going out to do it duties.

A Sea Gull

And another.

Here ends this post.

Join us next time for part two!

"All About Fort Gaines"

Or

"My Sixteenth Birthday Trip (Part 2)"

=D

Anna

Happy Birthday Anna!

Today is Anna's birthday. I have been Democratically selected to make this blog post. I like using big words like "Democratically" to make myself feel older. Why I said all of the above is because Anna (like Daddy) is a people watcher. If you have know her for a long time (like all my life) she will point it out to you, and most of the time, she's right. It gets really annoying knowing and not knowing she is "Reading you like book" because sometimes it's like she is literally "Reading you like a book". I love her though and I don't know what I would do without her. She listens to my jokes, laughs if they're good, and gives me the "look" when its bad. Now, decode the following message:

Merry Christmas!!!

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,

All for love's sake becamest poor;

Thrones for a manger didst surrender,

Sapphire-paved courts for stable floor.

Thou who wast rich beyond all splendour,

All for love's sake becomes poor.

Thou who art God beyond all praising,

All for love's sake becamest man;

Stooping so low, but sinners raising

Heavenwards by thine eternal plan.

Thou who art God beyond all praising,

All for love's sake becamest man.

Thou who art love beyond all telling,

Saviour and King, we worship thee.

Emmanuel, within us dwelling,

Make us what thou wouldst have us be.

Thou who art love beyond all telling,

Saviour and King, we worship thee.

(by Frank Houghton)

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

~

Merry Christmas!

Remember Christ!

~

Happy Birthday Laura

Boo hoo. Laura is turning 17. Enough with the tears. Now about her. She's the boss. (When Mom's not here.) She disappears at times, and when you find her she's in her bedroom, reading. I don't see her most of the day because she's in her bedroom doing school.

She's funny being herself. She tiptoes around and I think that's funny. Laura's is very gentle, (unlike Luke) she smiles all the time.

See, she's smilling!

Happy Birthday Laura,

Love Caleb.

Caleb's Birthday

Caleb is, as of, today a 10 year old boy who is very talkative and active. He really enjoys playing outside with the kittens or Joe, or playing "Injuns", or even soldiers. He looses stuff a lot, and I find half of it. He can be very annoying, but I love him. Whether it's getting syrup on my clean clothes, or punching me for no apparent reason (which I do to him as much as he does to me) I STILL LOVE HIM. But he's not always annoying. He's very funny, ecspeaciely when he's not trying to be. When he does try to be funny, he tells cheesy jokes that arent really funny, but we laugh at them because they are cheesy. But some of the stuff he says funny. Like he has said "I have a fond memory of that" when the memory is not something that would be fond. He's really fun to be around though, ecspeaciely when he goes crazy. All in all, Caleb is a good little brother.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CALEB!

Luke

Happy Birthday, Luke!

As long as I can remember, us four kids have been compared to a sandwich. Laura and Caleb on the ends, always the bread. Luke and me, we're the ham and cheese: the middle. And we like it that way. But enough about us lets talk about him. Today is his twelfth birthday. Which is really old. He's only like four or five inches shorter than me. I fear I'll have trouble adjusting when he needs me as an elbow prop.

I remember the night he was born. Laura and me were staying with some folks from our church. I remember being very hot in bed, all a tangle of legs and arms. It was me and Laura and another girl, the daughter of the the folks we were staying with, (who was a good little bit older than us) but we had a lot of fun together, in bed that night. I think I was the one up against the wall, and I think Laura kept coughing too. Luke Benjamin came into this world just barely on the 18th. I remember talking on the phone to Mama and Daddy while they were at the hospital, and some how, I think I must have asked if he had big feet! When I was told that he had very big feet I... Have you ever read The Foot Book by Dr Seuss? Well do you know those big orange fuzzy feet attached to the big orange fuzzy Thing?... Well that's what I pictured, not really those feet on my new little brother, just a picture of those feet. :-)

Then I remember months later me and Laura would dress little Luke up, in those cute, little, dresses that were to small for us and to big for our dolls.

And I remember when he wanted to be a farmer. And I remember when he wanted to be a cowboy and live in Texas. And I remember when he wanted to be a trapper and go out on the trap line when he got to be a teenager and go with his flint and steal and his coon skin cap and trap beaver all out around our property and other folks' if they'd let him. That was the day before yesterday.

I also remember when after we'd watch an action movie, if it were Star Wars he'd play like a Jedi, Narnia he play like a knight, Davie Crockett he'd wrestle Caleb to the ground.

Luke's always been one for:basketball or football,

fishing or hunting,

digging or chopping,

exploring or reading,

swimming or playing,

math or Lego's,

jokes or top secret.

Luke, your such a blessing to me, almost always willing to help, weather it's snakes, mice, or stopped up toilets. You don't give up very easily.

And Luke, though your jokes may not be that funny, and your silly hypothesises about how certain things work may not make that much sense, and you may be a messy eater, and you do pour to much ranch dressing out onto your plate, and you do come and take my favorite spot in the front room sometimes,(and if there were hidden cameras in there you'd see me sitting there all the time during the school year)... I just want you to know that I LOVE YOU!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Anna

;-D

Happy Birthday, Anna

When I was a child, I was excessively stupid. I had the completely erroneous idea that every little girl needed exactly one other little girl to be her “best friend.” Some of the qualifications for this best friend were, she needed to be the same age, she must have similar tastes, she must not be a relation, and she must be at a similar stage of maturity. I shall blame this idea on Anne of Green Gables, American Girl and the like, but it really was my own fault for so blindly swallowing their portrayals of girlhood friendships with my own twists.

I had no one who fit the bill for most of my childhood so I resorted to imaginary friends, and imagining meeting the perfect girl at so-and-so future event, and later on giving up in despair of ever having a girlish confidant. Those of you who know me are probably shaking your heads wondering why on earth it took me about twelve years to figure it out.

Indeed, I was at least thirteen before I realized that I had had a sleep-over almost every single night since I was 15 months old with the perfect best friend for me. She did not fit the criteria for a best friend, so as I matured I scrapped the criteria. And, guess what, I found I have a jewel for a little sister and she made me the perfect best friend. And today is the birthday of this talented young lady.

Happy Birthday, dearest Anna, I love you.

(This is the cross-stitch I made for her birthday.)

Laura