No Tricks, Just Treats

Well, I got the question tonight as we were driving home from Granny's house: "Why do some people not celebrate Halloween? " As I tried to explain this touchy subject, I could anticipate The Princess of Hearts next question: "Then why do WE celebrate Halloween?" The only thing I could say is.... we don't celebrate Halloween. We celebrate life. On Halloween night, we don't pay tribute to the things of darkness. Quite the opposite: we soak in the things of light! We spend time with family; we spend time with friends. We leave nice treats for others. We try to brighten someone else's day. We have fun in our neighborhood and smile at everyone who walks by. We soak in the creativity of the costumes. We marvel at the kindness of all our neighbors. So, yes, even though we have here a scary skeleton/ghost and a spooky witch (plus a plucky cowboy), I feel sure that tonight God kept his eye on us. As for others who don't celebrate Halloween, I hope it is clear that I pass no judgment against their decisions. We all have to what we feel is right in our hearts for our own families. But for us, this was one awesome night. Plus, Kami won the quilt drawing tonight at Grandma I's house! What could be better than a Halloween-themed, hand-stitched, flannel-soft, sweet-smelling, quilt that your 96 year old granny made? Tonight, Kami hugged it and said, "this is my treasure for life." We are truly blessed on this Halloween night, and to God I lift all the glory, honor and praise!

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Free the Frogs

Is this not one of the cutest creatures that our Lord in Heaven has made? A tiny little green jewel put in our garden to eat those pesky mosquitos... a hopping wonder. Remember, our family loves frogs. In fact, growing up, I was a collector of frogs. At one time, my collection of ceramic, yarn and shell frogs numbered well over 100. And Kermit has always been quite dear to my heart. Why am I posting about this? Well, I have a certain, unnamed "friend" with the initials of NW who lives in Florida who is MURDERING these precious hoppers left and right. Using such outrageous weapons as Raid, PhoneBooks, and Umbrellas, this woman has taken the lives of several frogs, many who certainly have families back at the swamp, probably wives and several children. Join with me in my crusade to have this woman stopped, so she will get the message to FREE THE FROGS!!!!!!

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27:16

The 30th annual Tulsa Run was held today! It was a BEAUTIFUL clear day, just a bit cold, but perfect if you are running the 5K! Here are Kami and Tom nearing the finish line. She was the 111th female to finish! Go Kami Go! We are proud of you! (and good job to you too Tom!)

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The Maize

Kami has been to the pumpkin patch for 9 years in a row now, and Ellie has officially been her 7th time. So, while the pumpkin patch is a great photo opportunity and a funnish fallish experience, Kami, Ellie, and friends were excited about the new place in town (or should I say waaaaaaay out east of town) called The Maize. Unlike the pumpkin patch, you have to pay admission. But it was much more than a corn maze. The maze itself was pretty cool, a walk through winding and crossing paths of corn that took us about 15 minutes. The maze was in the shape of Oklahoma with a salute to the centennial, and luckily, didn't give me any Children of the Corn vibes. The place was packed with a ton of fun fall stuff to do, like bury each other in a pit of corn. You'd think they were on a beach, burying each other in the sand. But, well, here in Oklahoma, we don't really have that choice, now do we. So, corn it is! One of their favorite things was just playing on the bales of hay that were stacked up. And they loved the rubber ducky race below. Plus, they had a cow train pulled by a 4-wheeler and bikes the kids could ride through the corn. But, that's not all! Paintball guns were a big hit too. We had an awesome time and followed it up with a meal of cornchips, salsa and queso from Ted's!!! Yummmmmm!

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Why She is the Princess of Hearts

As we were driving in the car last week, the sun was setting. We looked up to see a sight similar, but even more stunning, than the one below. "How beautiful!" I marveled! "Look at the cloud Mommy," Luke added. Kami agreed that the sky, indeed, was beautiful. Finally, Ellie's quiet voice came from the back of the car: "It looks like the angels have turned on their lanterns in heaven to go wake up the babies in their nurseries."

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Look at These Pumpkins!

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Welcome Fall Y'all

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Toothless on a Tuesday

Ellie's tooth has been hanging by a thread for days. However, she has not been letting any of us get within five feet of her mouth. It's been driving me crazy... like a loose scab or bulging whitehead... I just wanted to get that tooth OUT!!!!!! Thankfully, the designated tooth puller Sarah, came over in the nick of time and saved me from holding my child down and yanking out her tooth. I don't think that would be too good in the memory department. Sarah just tugged and bloop, out it came. The tooth fairy was glad the tooth was out too: Ellie got $3.00 under her pillow for that tooth!

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Old Friends Are Like Gold

You know what they say, that old friends can just pick up where they left off. Well, for my college friend Kerry and I, picking up where we left off means laughing our way through dinner. Back in our OSU and post-OSU days, we just went at life enjoying the fun times kind of haphazardly. My mom always said Kerry and I were the "blind leading the blind," which now that I think of it kind of sounds like an insult, but we saw the humor in it, truly getting a kick out of whatever rolled our way. Fast forward 10 years. We've lived in different places for over a decade now. Our kids have met each other a handful of times and really don't KNOW each other. But after a night together at our house, I would say that they won't forget each other now. It was almost surreal to sit there and watch wild boys Luke and Brennon wrestling and breakdancing. (Kerry and I still can't figure out how these boys are learning to breakdance..?) It was refreshing to see Kami and Ellie and Payton have a ball cooking their own "recipe," cracking up together like old buds. I wouldn't have traded that time with those kids for anything. I'm so glad they got to know each other, and even though they're "new" friends, maybe someday they'll be able to share that special bond of being a "old" friend, just like Kerry and I.

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October 10, 1910

On October 10, 2007, Kami (far left) went on a field trip to Rose Hill School in Perry, Oklahoma. When they walked over the "bridge of time," they were taken back to the old days, when girls wore bonnets, boys said "yes ma'am" and teachers rode their horses to school. They got a glimpse of the time when teachers called students by their surnames (ex. Miss Hankins), students stood with respect when they addressed their teacher, and kids carried their lunches to school in a metal pail. No, there were no ziplock baggies or cold packs. Kami took 3 biscuits with butter and jelly, two hard boiled eggs and an apple. Quite different than what she's used to. The kids learned how to use ink wells, copy books and writing pens. They didn't smile a whole lot until recess, because Miss Rupp, their teacher, was quite strict, a no-nonsense kind of lady. But at lunch, they had fun playing marbles and enjoying the "flying Jenny." Before the field trip, Kami's teacher required the students to interview someone who had gone to school many years ago. Here is Kami's interview with Grandma I:

Interview with Ida Pondarae Reynolds, 96 years old

Q: What year did you go attend school?

A: 1917 at Etta School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Q: How did you dress?

A: I wore a cotton dress that was very simple. It was long sleeved and was made of a plaid or flowered material. Underneath the dress, I wore an underslip, and under that I wore long handle underwear. The shoes we wore buckled up.

Q: How did you get to school?

A: I walked 3 miles through the woods.

Q: What kind of food did you bring?

A: I brought a biscuit with butter and jelly.

Q: What did you do that was fun? What did you do at recess?

A: We didn’t have a playground or swings, so we played Ring Around the Rosie, Drop the Handkerchief or Marbles. We made up games a lot of the time.

Q: If you could, name one of your teachers.

A: Mrs. Mertle was my teacher. She was very nice and I loved her very much. She rode her horse to school. She would tie up the horse on a post every day.

Q: Did you like school?

A: I loved school. When we had to take a break from school to pick cotton, I was always sad.

Q: What was your classroom like?

A: It was one room and it had wood floors. We had desks and a chalkboard. We had to bring our own books and pencils. There was a wood stove in the room to keep us warm, but no bathroom. When it was time to go to the bathroom, we would raise our hand. When the teacher said to us, “you are excused,” we would go outside. On our way out, we would put our book in the door as a sign to the other children that they couldn’t come outside. There was a girl hill and a boy hill and we would go up and go to the bathroom on that hill. No matter what the weather!

Q: What was a punishment like if someone did something wrong?

A: Well, one time we were reading a story called “One Eye, Two Eye, Three Eye,” and we were supposed to learn our spelling words from the story. Two of my spelling words were “sister,” and “forehead” and I did not know them. So, Mrs. Mertle made me sit on the floor. That was my punishment and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I learned those words quickly! I never got punished again, but some people, when they got punished, had to put their nose in a circle that was drawn on the chalkboard.

Q: How many people were in your classroom?

A: less than 15 kids who were all different ages. Olin Sweatston had a crush on me and when I was punished that time, he tried to give me his coat to sit on.

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And Yet More....

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More Disney Pictures....

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The Wonder of Disney

Lots more to come.....

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