Wednesday, January 30, 2008

news!

Nelson interviewed last week for a company in Bristol, VA. Today we heard back from them, and he starts tomorrow, bright and early, at 6:30 a.m.! For now, the job is temporary, but it does have the potential to become permanent. Either way, we are excited and thrilled, and we are so, so grateful for God's gracious provision for us. We also thank you all for your prayers, love, and support. We will keep you posted! :)

Monday, January 28, 2008

grandparents

For those not "in the know", Sarah calls Nelson's parents Grandma and Grandpa and my parents Mike and Mumsy. She adores both sets of grandparents and is always excited to see or talk with them.

Nelson and Sarah like to watch a game show called "Cash Cab" together on television sometimes. A few nights ago, a contestant named Mike climbed into the "Cash Cab." Sarah was a bit startled by this. She looked at the TV in confusion. "His name is Mike?" she wondered aloud. She watched for another couple of minutes, pondering. Then her face lit up in a smile. "His name is Mike!" she shrieked excitedly. I think she was rooting for Mike to win big bucks, simply because he had a name she liked and was familiar with. :)

Sarah knows that Mike and Mumsy, like Grandma and Grandpa, are her grandparents. But a new aspect of this occurred to her on a recent visit to Mike and Mumsy's house. Thinking aloud about this whole "grandparent" thing, she asked if she should be calling them "Grandmike" and "Grandmumsy" instead! :)

day at the museum

Several years ago, the state of Tennessee was building a highway in the nearby town of Gray, TN. While excavating, the road construction crew found some fossils. The construction was halted, the road redirected, and a paleontology program was begun by the state university. Since that time, scientists and university students have continued to dig and study fossils found at the site. Two new species of animals have been discovered to date. Recently, a museum was built to commemorate the exciting find and the work being done. On Thursday of last week we decided to visit that museum for awhile.


The East Tennessee State Museum of Natural History...





Currently, this is the museum's main attraction. From now until April, on loan from Chicago, the museum is home to Sue. Sue is the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex in the world. Here is the best picture we got of Sue. Doesn't quite do her justice...





This is a model of Sue's head...and sharp teeth. Although Sarah was very excited about the prospect of going to the museum and "seeing the dinosaur," she was actually somewhat frightened when she saw it person. It wasn't the size of Sue that really bothered her; it was the fact that the museum was piping in recorded "roaring" sounds. The roars, coupled with these ferocious-looking teeth, freaked her out a little...




The other part of the museum showed animals that actually would have lived in the area of the site. It was fascinating to see the models, the fossils, and read the info about the work being done there. Sarah did really enjoy this part of the museum. She kept moving from one exhibit to the next, proclaiming, "I'm so busy!"





Here is Sarah posing with one of the models in the laboratory...





The museum had a spot for children to pretend to be paleontologists and dig for fossils. Sarah really liked this "hands-on" part of the museum! :)



Sarah checks out a model in the laboratory. I don't have pictures of it, but the lab contained mock-up journal pages of the scientists' work identifying the new species they discovered. Fascinating reading!




We had a fun and informative day! Come visit us, and you can go see if for yourself! If you come between now and April, you can even check out Sue, the world's largest T-Rex skeleton! :)



Thursday, January 17, 2008

guacamole!

Those who know me well know my love for guacamole. I'm practically addicted to the stuff. :) And apparently this addiction is coded into my DNA! Last night I cooked tacos for supper. We had leftovers today. As a special treat for the leftovers, Nelson took a few dollars that we had been given by my parents and headed to the store for some of my "drug of choice." Well, I thoroughly enjoyed my reheated taco with the guacamole. :) YUM!

But I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it! The guacamole comes in a plastic pouch, and I slice off a corner so that I can squeeze it out--either into a bowl, or onto a taco or whatever. Well, I left the pouch on the table while I went back to the kitchen for something. When I returned, I found Sarah with the pouch. She had it in her mouth and was sucking the guacamole out through the slit! Just straight guac--and I thought I was the junkie! Lol. :)

"Let it snow" x3!



We got 1-2 inches of this funny-looking white stuff all over the place last night. It's wet, cold, and sticks really well to everything. I even used it to build a crude representation of a humanoid figure! Sarah had fun making tracks in the stuff, too.

All I know is, that we haven't seen this stuff for a few years now. I think it's called "snow".

Monday, January 14, 2008

brand new Kindermusik class

We started a new Kindermusik class today. Sarah has actually moved up a level and is no longer in the "Our Time" class (ages 18 months-3 years). Instead, she is in the Imagine That! class (ages 3 and 4). This means she gets to attend class by herself instead of with Mommy! Aren't we grown up! Since today was the first class, she got her take home materials. Guess what the musical instrument is for this unit! A drum! We now have a drum to add to our collection! Just what I always wanted! :-p

Last night, we tried out the new pasta machine that I got for Christmas. I didn't take pictures like Tara did (check out http://www.taraandnick.com/Pasta%20Making.htm to see what the process looks like), but we did get the whole family involved! Sarah kept saying things like, "I'm having a great time!" and "I'm having so much fun!" She really likes to help knead the dough! It did take awhile, so we are saving our lovely fresh pasta for an Italian feast tomorrow evening. But we have raviolis filled with cheese, sausage, and spinach, plus some fettuccine noodles! Yum! :)

Thursday, January 10, 2008

The Christmas sweater opened in November



Here's a couple of photos of Sarah wearing the Christmas sweater that she opened ahead of time.

funny quote about New Year resolutions

I ran across this in email today and had to share it since so many of us make New Year resolutions to lose weight. It's definitely worth a chuckle! Enjoy!

"Now there are more overweight people in America than average-weight people. So overweight people are now average, which means you've met your New Year's resolution."
-Jay Leno

letters and shapes

Yesterday Sarah and I headed to Greeneville for the day. As we drove down Hwy. 93 (a fairly curvy road), Sarah commented, "This road is shaped like a Z!" I agreed that yes, the road was indeed very Z-like. Sarah then added, "Z is for zipper!"

Later during the day, Sarah was playing with a little boy and a purple soccer ball. She excitedly told my mother, "I love this ball! It has octagons on it!" Now, I'll be honest--the shape on a soccer ball isn't technically an octagon. But we were still pretty impressed! :)

Interestingly, Sarah's fear of vacuums is joined by a fear of crawling babies. We can't figure out what it is about babies that upsets her though, but when a baby crawls over near her, close enough to touch her or pull up on her, Sarah panics. She cries and shrieks, "No, no, no!"--pretty similar to her reaction to the vacuum! We can't figure it out, and she can't explain it. Sarah doesn't have many fears--she tends to be ready to take on the world--but the two or three that she does have make up for it with their intensity!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

hilarious video clip

I saw this video that Nelson recorded just before bed the other night, and I just HAD to post it! It is SO funny!!! Enjoy! :)

Sarah the fairy

We all know how Sarah enjoys her many Cinderella books, puzzles, and dolls, and wearing her Cinderella dress. But she has added a new dress-up item to the mix, and chose a fairy outfit at Target for Christmas. Here is a picture of her posing in the new costume.



an unusual tea party

Last Christmas, Sarah received a tea party set as one of her presents from her daddy and me. This Christmas, Sarah received a set of hair clips and ponytail holders from her Aunt Tara. Sarah really loves this set of hair supplies and has made me "beautiful" several times. But the other morning (I think it was Wednesday), she got an idea for a different use of those hair clips. She spread out her tea party supplies and fixed a batch of "hair clip soup" for us to enjoy. Here are Sarah, Scooby Doo, and myself enjoying our unusual feast! :)

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Christmas pictures

If you were sitting around wishing that you could have seen Sarah opening her presents and enjoying the Christmas celebrations, then today is your lucky day! Yeah, I know it's kind of backward to post Christmas pics AFTER we've already posted our happy New Year wishes, but hey, we're a unique family! :-D (Thanks, Dad, for sharing your Christmas photos with us, since our camera was dead at the time!). :) Enjoy!


Sarah really enjoyed cooking for us on her new toy grill.


Christmas is so exciting!



Opening presents...



Scooby Dooby Doo!



Even Sarah gets tired of the spotlight sometimes...

Sarah wishes everyone a...



The new camera is nice.