Saturday, June 14, 2008

Friday, June 13, 2008

Special Night



Tonight, Scott took Julian and Kalen to a friend's house for the evening.  Madelyn and I had planned one of our famous "special nights", as the boys were away.  We giggled with anticipation as we put Brady to bed.


Maddie and I scurried around getting everything we needed.  We gathered UNO cards, curlers, crayons, a coloring book, two shades of fingernail polish, a Madeline video, her favorite stuffed animal, and our mugs full of decaf coffee.  Yes, my daughter likes coffee. :)  

We had done this before.  It is a sweet time for just Madelyn and I to be together.  With all that goes on from day to day, it is hard to have one on one time with the kids.  I hope to do this with the boys as well.  

My time with Madelyn tonight was so sweet.  Girl time is so much fun!  We giggled and chatted for the entire hour and a half.  I enjoyed the candidness of those moments we were sharing.  I kept telling her how much I enjoy spending time with her.  She beamed.  I was reminded how much I need to tell my children how much they mean to me and then show them by connecting with them.  

I am so thankful for my little girl.  She has a sparkle in her eye that speaks to me.  Maddie knows how to be joyful.  She truly is a light to our family.  Tonight, she shined brightly before me.   

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Potatoes in the Rough

It was as if we were digging for diamonds in the rough yesterday morning.  Scott had gotten out his big shovel and starting transporting our old compost to our garden.  He was putting it around our plants.  Lo and behold he started finding potatoes.  The search was on!

You see we have two composts.  One is newer, with things that have not broken down yet, such as banana peels, apple cores, etc.  The other looks like dirt, whatever was in there has broken down.  I mentioned before that the soil in the dirt-like compost was so rich that we had a pumpkin plant and several potato plants growing from discarded food.  Those plants didn't look like they were going to make it.  We thought that it was because they were contained in such a little space.  Scott pulled the potato plants and the pumpkin plant.  Little did we know that the potato plants had actually produced several beautiful potatoes.  What a treat it was for the kids to hunt for potatoes.  Actually, truth be told, Kalen was hunting for worms. :)

Last night, I cooked up several of the red potatoes for supper.  We ate them with our collard greens, store bought cabbage, baked beans and homemade cornbread.  What a yummy southern meal that was!

We will definitely be planting potatoes in the future.  






Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Sweatin' Hot

Maddie calls this weather "sweatin' hot". Hilarious. Like most of the East, we are experiencing a huge heat wave. It is super hot! It has been for several days now. This means that the kids and I are mostly inside. So, what do we do when it is 100 degrees? Mainly, we try to not scream at each other. No, just kidding. Well, no, I am not kidding.  


We homeschool in the morning until about 12:30 or 1:00pm.  This leaves the rest of the day to do what we want.  Brayden usually naps from 1 till 3:00pm.  The others usually have rest time for an hour or so and then we/they go out and play or we go somewhere.  With the gas prices the way they are and with this heat, we have to be creative within our home.

Here are some of the things we have been doing the past two days.

We have to keep a sense of humor. At least one of us is usually clowning around.


Homeschooling provides our family with some structure to our morning. We won't stop our schooling through the summer, but we will be a little more flexible for things this season has to offer. This is a picture of something Kalen worked on this morning. From what I can tell, Kalen is a visual and kinesthetic learner.

We make plenty of messes.  This is nothing compared to the messes we can make.  Kalen had these Hot Wheels and Tonka trucks out yesterday.  


We push the coffee table aside and the kids have more room to wrestle and play.


I have more time to prep meals, with lots of helpers of course.  Photo by Maddie.  Taking pictures is also a fun way to pass the time.  


The kids played hide and seek.


Can you see Kalen's face?  :)


We have been going outside early in the morning.  Here the boys are getting water for the garden.


Brayden watered the squash for us this morning.  It was still sweatin' hot at 9am.


Madelyn watered our beans.  Yes, this is a part of our homeschooling, Gardening 101.


K & B hung out this morning and played with some bouncy balls.  Old Navy sales them for 25 cents.  We have dozens.  They had a "ball".


Here is our Julian.  Sometimes he even gets creative with his reading positions.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Anna Joins the 21st Century

You can call me "cool" now.  I have now joined the rest of the millions of Americans that own cell phones.  Years ago, I would have laughed if you told me that one day I would be the proud owner of a "cell".  I am just getting to the point where I don't despise them.  I have never really needed one and never could have afforded to own one.  


We decided that it would actually be cheaper for me to have a cell phone and get rid of our land line.  We took the troops to the mall and headed for the Verizon shop.  We checked out the phones and spoke with a kind salesman about which one is best.  I took our antsy kids out to walk around and Scott continued to purchase my phone.  The salesman asked Scott who the phone was for.  Scott told him, "It is for my wife."  The salesman said, "What plan is she on now?"  Scott said, "She doesn't have a plan and she never has."  The salesman then said, "Does she know it is 2008?"  Ha Ha Ha.  

So, you can call me "hip", "cool", or "up with the times".  Or  . . . just call me!  :)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Party Hopping

Friday we went to my in-laws house.  It was party time because they just finished six months worth of remodeling.  They had several rooms painted and their entire kitchen redone.  It looks so nice!  I was in awe.  I already loved their home, now . . . I just can't wait to return.  

We headed to their neighborhood pool for some swimming time.  We all had so much fun.  I dove off the diving board.  I hadn't done that in so long.  I felt like a kid.  Scott didn't know I could do it.  Isn't that funny?  I may be 30, but I can still have fun!  It was hot.  The water felt great.  What a treat it was to return to a pot of delicious tortilla soup.  Yum!  The family time was so refreshing, as always with the Morrison clan.

Saturday we headed to my nephew's birthday party.  Grayson just turned three.  What a cutie!  Stephanie ordered him this 3-dimensional Thomas the train cake.  It was something.  That little guy loves his trains.  He is growing up so fast.  I love him so much.

We rested as we rode to yet another get together.  Our friend, Garrett, was having a birthday party as well.  The kids were able to hang out in his backyard with one of those big blow up, jumpy things.  They live in the country.  It was beautiful being amongst all that beauty.  I am a small town girl.  I love the country atmosphere.  

Whew.  We did it, survived and thrived.  :)










Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Pictures with the Kruidenier Family


Here are our kids with Ellen and Arianna at their home in Columbia, SC


The kids camped out together in the playroom.


The kids loved jumping on their trampoline.


This picture of their garden doesn't do it justice.  



Everyone enjoyed Jen's sweet zucchini bread.  Yes, the zucchini was straight from the garden.  And yes, I did write down the recipe.  :)


Scott enjoyed reading a little Dr. Seuss with some of the kids.


Scott & Daniel are both heavy thinkers.  Put the two of them together and you'll witness some in-depth conversations.  


This photo cracks me up.  Scott is trying to fasten this helmet so he can ride Daniel's scooter.  Hee hee.


They rode out to USC to do some reading.  That is where Daniel attends school.  Daniel is working on his Ph.D. in Philosophy.  



This is a photo of me with one of my truest and best friends, Jen.  I love this gal.  

Just Us at the Beach

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

A Funeral, the Beach, & Good Friends

My dearly loved uncle, Bob Dyer, passed away recently. This past Saturday, our family went down to Myrtle Beach where he and my aunt Kay have been living for years. Bob had been sick, due to a failing heart. He died peacefully in his sleep. I have wonderful memories of him that I will cherish.

It was wonderful to go down to SC and pay our respects to such a fine man. I enjoyed seeing several members of my family, on my dad's side, that I had not seen in awhile. The kids did great and I was so thankful that Scott didn't hesitate when I told him I wanted to go to this funeral. He not only supported me, but paid for us to stay in a nice condo away from the beach, it all worked out so well.

We decided to go visit our friends, Jen, Daniel, Ellen and Arianna, as we were in SC. They live in Columbia. We spent Sunday night and stayed on till this morning. They were so welcoming. We enjoyed just living life with them for a few days. Their children are a joy, as is their home and garden. Daniel and Jen are so refreshing and fun to be with. Nothing they do is fake. They are the real thing, true friends and good people. The life they live is so meaningful and beautiful.

Our kids got along great with Ellen and Arianna. They played and played. Jen cooked us up several meals and every one was wonderful, including the Indian food she whipped up for us yesterday, yum! She is an amazing cook and has taught me so much. I was happy to bring home some new recipes from her.

We were sad to leave, but thankfully we had an early start and were hopeful about our return to Durham. Little did we know the excitement that awaited us as we took our seats and buckled up. Not even 20 miles down the road, my sweet little Brayden calls out, "Mommy . . ." soon to follow was his breakfast. Poor little guy. We stopped and recovered, not an easy thing to do four or so hours from home. As expected, his elephant, Ellie, was totally covered. This added to the fun. Two hours later he did it again. We stopped again, cleaned up, changed his clothes, wiped him down and regrouped. Whew, almost five hours later, we made it! We are indeed home!

I will post pictures in several segments, as I have so many.

Hanging out at Broadway at the Beach


Scott with Kalen and Brayden in Kay & Bob's pool


This is my sweet cousin Meredith and her precious little sleepy Noah


What a cool kid.  Brayden was all suited up.  Yep, that's Kalen's peace sign.



My kids with my dad and Sally (aka PaPa and Mimi)