Okay, it's the time of year where all Northwesterners will envy me for living in Texas. Tanner finally fenced in our backyard and installed a clothes line, so we are really taking advantage of the soft breezes, comforting sun and bright blue sky this year.

Sky so blue that you squint when you look up at it. No haze. No thin layer of milky gray to mar the sight. So clear that the sun makes your skin look golden even before it begins to tan. The type of weather that begs you for a walk and then after you've done that, you feel like going for a stroll to get ice cream or you feel like packing cold chicken and biscuits and corn and finding a bubbling brook to sit at while you have a picnic spread across a red and white checked table cloth. Kids belong in white on days like this with little straw hats. Little girls make wreaths of daisy chains and little boys have muddy knees. Bunches of wildflower bouquets fill mason jars that are stacked across the kitchen window. The jars are meant for jelly, but the girls have commandeered them.

That's the kind of weather we are having.

Palm Sunday

Today was Palm Sunday, and we almost didn't make it to church. We were up at 7:30am, but I really didn't feel like rushing the kids to get to the early service. By the time I had them dressed, since Tanner was sleeping it was a little more difficult, the middle service was already under way, so I gave up! Then Jonathan begged me to take him to church, so I finally managed to get dressed, but didn't bother with the whole hair thing, Tanner woke up and decided to go with us, and we all got to church by 11:00am.

It was our first real Palm Sunday ever. Our kids lined up at the back of the church and walked down to a grand old hymn carrying palm branches. They promptly got lost in the shuffle, and I spent a good 5 minutes trying to find them to no avail. Kate, holding Reagan firmly by the hand, marched up one of the side aisles scanning the crowd for a sign of Mommy and Daddy. She was the one that found us. She also told me that the whole thing had been "embarrassing!"

The church was holding an Easter egg roll right after the service, and imagine my disappointment when Reagan had an accident in the bathroom. I had to get Tanner and Jonathan and Kate and Georgianna with a squirming Reagan. We managed to get to the car, and we were buckling the kids into their seats when I found the dresses that Sheri bought the girls on our trip to Washington on the Brazos. Imagine my utter astonishment when I also discovered a clean pair of underwear!

At that point, I was glad that I had handled the situation so well. We got Reagan changed just as the service released. We sat down to a nice little lunch and then out to the lawn we went. Reagan and Georgie got to go first. Reagan felt very important and VERY experienced as she explained to Georgie what she was suppose to do. I don't think Georgie ever really got the idea. She was much more interested in her cookie.

Fluffy, dull, gray clouds hovered about today. A few hours of rain, followed by a warm blanket of clouds equalled a soft, muggy evening, and I pulled into the driveway expecting puddles of water, but they were missing. I guess the air was warm enough to evaporate the worst of the rain.

Tanner made an excellent peanut chicken dinner, and I added some coconut milk and lemon so that we could have a sauce to toss with penne pasta and broccoli. He is making valiant attempts at learning how to cook, and I have to admit, he is getting pretty good at it. Last night, I came home to these awesome turkey sandwiches and a multi-faceted salad with a light ceasar dressing. Wow. I almost don't know what to do with myself. I just come home and eat. It's like magic.

Kate was being a big girl the other day. Tanner and I went to an early morning practice at the ice rink and when we got home, Kate dragged us into the laundry area. She proudly showed me that she had figured out how to switch the laundry to the dryer. Then she had started a load all by herself. She had remembered soap. She had remembered to separate the darks from the lights. Everything. Except that when she was trying to figure out how to turn the water on, she set the load to medium. And the load was EXTRA large. But, I was impressed and very proud of her.

She got to wear her white skates to the ice rink for her skating lesson. At least now it will only cost twelve dollars to let them practice rather than $12 for EACH.

sunday, sunday

well, we should be at church,but this nasty bronchitis thing still has its grip on me. i go to the dr. tomorrow. Today, the kids get to watch winnie the pooh while dad sleeps and mom rests. i still have to go to work, but costume n mask will protect me.

So, I'm impressed...

Isn't it amazing how far technology has taken us. It worked! Wow, I can't believe it.

So, I know it has been a while since I've posted any updates, but just so you know, it doesn't mean my life has come to an utter, boring, stand-still. On the contrary, it seems as if life has picked up full speed, and I'm not sure what to do with all of it.

The weather is finally mellowing into that springtime that makes Texas worth the heat of summer. All of the leaves are stretching and yawning as tree limbs shake themselves awake. Birds are beginning to chirp. Bugs are beginning to crawl, and we are in that lull between grackle seasons. The days are warm and balmy. The nights are cool enough for a sweater and sometimes a jacket. I'm looking forward to three lovely, long, luscious months of perfect walking weather.

I can tell that Reagan is use to the unusually cold weather we've had because today, I insisted that she go outside to play. She took one look at clouds scudding across the sky and said, "No, thank you, Mommy. It is cold outside." I had to pick her up and take her into the sunshine. She was crying the whole time until the sunbeams hit her. Then she blinked. She stared at me in wonder and then said, "Why Mommy, it's quite warm out." And yes, she actually said those exact words because her favorite cartoon is a British cartoon called Kipper, and she has adopted British euphemisms and accent. Unfortunately, Texan is not that far removed from British, so we're also beginning to hear a lot of "yall, thayer and heylp."

Georgianna thinks she can talk. She says things like, "ma-ma, i du wan da puh-puh-buh-buh." Which in English is translated, "Mommy, I want some peanut butter."

Kate is getting so tall. I bought extra long 5x pants for the school year in September. She now wears 6x. I'm trying to stretch the size five for as long as possible, but I don't think we will make it to the end of the school year. I've had to buy 2 new sets of shoes since September since she rocketed past 12 and 12 1/2 and 13. She looks like one of those big girls that I use to have to protect my babies from whenever I went to a play place. On the plus side, she's tall enough to go on every ride in Disneyland except for one.

We took the girls on a picnic last weekend. I found this amazing drive-thru Italian restaurant, so we swung by after work and picked up some pasta and salad and pizza and took the girls to the park. We had scooters and bouncy balls in the back of the car and they zoomed around the perimeter with Georgie in tow. Then they threw balls and Georgie giggled and laughed and ran around trying to catch them. She kept kicking the balls with her legs as she ran to pick them up, and she would squeal in delight that they had somehow managed to get away from her.

Kate is going on a field trip to Houston on Tuesday, and I can't go with her because I work. I can't go with her because Tanner is in school all day, and I don't think I could manage Georgie and Reagan on a two hour trip, a four hour museum tour and then a tour drive back home. So, please pray that they have a safe trip and a great time.

so, can i blog from my phone?

wow. this is pretty amazing. i'm lying on the couch with my cell phone, seeing if in a moment of utter boredom, can i indeed blog.