Leaf me alone!

Thanks to the rainstorms, our pecan trees have shed their bounty of leaves.  Also thanks to the rain, they aren't covered in the usual sticky sap, they're getting perfectly crunchy as they are drying out.  The lawn is COVERED with them.  The perfect playground for a child!

Ben and his best bud Katie decided to play games in the leaves today, including the game where they bury each other and pretend they're dead.  (?)  I got involved to help Katie get her arms totally covered, it's hard to bury your own arms, and then out came Dad with the camera.  They look adorable!

Also, does THIS make you want orange juice?  Or to just bite into that orange peel, skipping the peeling process to get to the center?  Doesn't it just make you thirsty for orangy goodness??

And THESE make me want pie.  And lemon bars.  And lemonade.  And lemon crinkle cookies.  And lemon flavored anything, my tree is overflowing with beautiful yellow lemons!

I love my backyard.  The end.

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Last post today, I promise!

Ember's always wanted curly hair, but using heat to curl it never works.  It's straight as a pin and very resistant to curlers, curling irons, flat irons, everything.  So we've been experimenting with no-heat curls, trying things like the sock bun, braids, regular twisted buns... still not the beautiful ringlets that she's always wanted.

Until I found these at Walgreens:

We washed Ember's hair last night, blow dried it

until it was slightly damp, and rolled her hair up

in about 8 of these things.  They're very easy to use.

They were still wrapped tight when she woke up this morning,

and when we unrolled them, here's what we got!

This is one HAPPY 11 year old this morning!

While we were shaping Ember's hair to perfection,

Ben was playing with my comb.

So I said to him, "Ben... I moustache you a question."

To which he replied, "That's very Pinteresting."

Well played, son :)

I have such funny kids!

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Tiny dancers

I recorded the entire recital, but Austin captured some great still photos on his phone.  I have such lovely, graceful girls.  On recital days, when they're onstage.  Lovely and graceful is harder to come by when you're still eating breakfast and late for school!  :)

 This is what you get when you ask Grace for a "nice" smile.

I really like it :)

 Look at her up on those tippy toes!

It's every little girl's dream to wear tutu's and dance.

This one's a little blurry, but it's one of my favorites because of that accidental lighting effect.  Good job Austin!

Her hair is so long and thick that it's always been difficult to get it into a nice bun, but we found these amazing "bun forms" at Ulta, and her hair always looks so smooth and perfect and elegant now.

And for the finale she had to pull out all the pins in the bun form and wear her hair down, but look how beautiful it is, so long and wavy!  I have such lovely girls!

One of Ember's closest friends, Maddy Nelson.

It got a little breezy and Ben decided he was freezing.  I wonder how many kids throughout the history of cotton t-shirts have ruined their shirts this way, tucking their knees up inside up to their chin?  I admit it... I did it too as a kid.  Sorry Mom.

To celebrate a job well done we took the kids out to eat, then enjoyed a fun night driving around looking at Christmas lights again.  We found a house that's in the newspaper every year, because Santa always visits the Saturday night before Christmas!  In fact, Austin remembers visiting this house when he was a child, and the owner thought maybe he looked familiar.  Fun!  So we saw Santa, and didn't even have to wait in any lines at the mall, the kids got to remind Santa that we'll be out of town, and they each got TWO candy canes.  It was a fantastic day.

And they danced...

This weekend was the girls Christmas Ballet Recital and they did AMAZING!  I couldn't pick a single video to upload, so I'm adding five.  Two for each girl, and the finale.  Enjoy!

Grace performing to "Jingle Bells"

Ember performing to "Let it Snow"

Grace performing to "Mary's Boy Child"

Ember performing to "O Tannenbaum"

Ember performing to "Feliz Navidad" and the Finale

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Orchestra Concert

This is a bit late, but Ember and Ben participated in the Franklin Elementary Orchestra concert on December 6, and they both did a great job.  It was Ben's first concert and I was very impressed.  That boy has natural talent, and he played with confidence.  Ember was able to memorize her final piece of music and participate in the strolling strings, walking around the room as she played the theme from ice castles.  It was a really fun night.

They sounded much better than I remember sounding when I was in elementary school playing the violin...

Here's a couple videos of Ben & Ember playing.

Warning: Christmas spirit ahead... proceed with kleenex

Ember was given a writing prompt today, and this is the poem she wrote.  Wow.

"I am"

I am Mary.
I wonder what my baby boy will bring to the world.
I hear my baby.
I see the Savior.
I want my boy to save the world.
I am Mary.

I understand that my baby will leave me someday.
I say, "I love you my boy".
I dream that Jesus is the Savior.
I try to be a good mother.
I hope that He will love me.
I am Mary.


by Ember Lawlor, age 11 1/2, 6th grade.

I know this is late...

I just got copies of these pictures from my sis-in-law Noelle, so even though it's from October I'm going to post it now.

Last year we started a tradition with the Lawlor girls... (one of which is an original, the others are married into... it's awesome).  Who knew when Vicki was raising 6 sons and only 1 sweet daughter, that she would end up with a HOUSE FULL of sweet daughters one day?

But I digress... our tradition.  We decided that one weekend a year, in the fall, we would recklessly abandon our husbands and children and make a trip north to the family cabin for a girls weekend.  This year we went October 14-16.  Here's a couple group shots of those able to attend (we missed you Shelley!!!)

 Jill, Vicki, Cindy, Sarah, Noelle, Celeste, and the babies...

 Madilyn and Valette!

Celeste, Noelle, and Mom kind of switched around and took turns being in the picture because it's hard to remember how to use the automatic timer on a really expensive camera with a hundred thousand menu's.  Or something like that.

And for flashback fun, here's last year's trip, which we took at the end of September!

2010 Girls Weekend

I hope we never stop doing this, no matter how old we get.  And a great big thank you to our Lawlor boys (fantastic men who Vicki raised so well) who take care of home and family while we are away.

A common misconception

Last year my daughter Ember was concerned at the use of "X-mas" in Christmas cards, advertising, and a note from a friend.  We did what most Christian parents do, tell her that it was inappropriate because it X's out the Christ in Christmas, and to ignore it when you see it and never use it herself.

Then we did a little research based on something Austin overheard, and here's what we found out.

The 'X' actually represents the Greek letter Chi, and is the first letter in the Greek word  Χριστός.
Translated, it means Christ.  The 'mas' part is from the Latin derived word for 'Mass', one of the names which the sacrament is called in the Catholic Church.  It is a memorial of the crucifixion and resurrection, or the Holy Sacrifice.

The second letter used in Χριστός is Rho, and paired together, Chi Rho, literally translates to Christ.  XR is a christogram, like a monogram, that represents the Savior.  The 'p' is often removed leaving the 'X' as the remaining symbol that truly represents our Savior.

(The Chi Rho christogram, a symbol of Christ)

So saying Merry X-mas is NOT X-ing Christ out of the holiday, it is actually a symbol of Him and of his sacrifice.  X=Christ, 'mas'=sacrifice, or sacrament.  

Once we explained this to the kids they were more comfortable when they saw that abbreviation.  I bring it up again this year because there have been concerns brought up on facebook by my friends and family who are Christian that this is inappropriate, and they are teaching their children that it is NOT ok to use the Chi Rho, or the X-mas abbreviation, to the point of making their kids feel afraid of it, or bad for having used it.

If you are more comfortable with spelling out the complete word, I understand.  I like to spell out the name of Christ also.  But I think we should dispel the misinformation, fear, and judgement of those who use the abbreviation and be more accepting.  

In general.

About everything.

Christ is our judge, we shouldn't judge each other but only follow his commandment to love one another.  Especially at this time of year when we celebrate his birth, and his entry into mortality to do what His Father sent Him to do.

So Merry X-mas to you, and Merry Christmas to you... it means the same, and I mean it from my heart.

A date which will live in infamy

This is kind of a long post... if you want, you can come back later when you have more time :)


I am so grateful that my children attend a school that emphasizes patriotism, because that's something that I've always tried to teach them at home.  Their flag was flown at half mast today and two of my three kids could tell me why.  Grace wasn't paying attention during the assembly :)

Because today, 70 years later, we remember and honor those who died at Pearl Harbor, the attack on our nation that brought the United States into World War II.

My Grandpa Shipley served in the Army in that war, receiving several citations and medals for bravery.  My Grandpa Meacham served in the Air Force as an Officer.  Austin's Grandpa  Jennings served in the Navy, and was AT Pearl Harbor the day of the attack, stationed on the U.S.S. Tennessee.  Our family history is rich with heroes, both in and out of the military.

Ember asked me why it was so important to remember that day, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.  I told her that we always need to honor and remember our fallen heroes.  We need to remember why the United States got involved in the war.  We need to remember that there are things worth fighting for.  We need to review the tragedies and mistakes of the past so we don't repeat them.

As many of you already know, I leave thank you notes on the windshields of vehicles bearing a Veteran license plate.  The kids have gotten very good at helping me spot them.  The content of my note is simple, I just point out that I noticed their license plate and wanted to share my respect and gratitude for their sacrifice and service for our country.  It isn't unnoticed, I wish I could do more than just leave a card, and I am very thankful for them.

Today I had to pull the kids out of school for a couple hours for a dentist appointment.  In the parking lot of the dental office, we found a Veteran plate.  I was out of handwritten cards, but I had already purchased a new package that was still sealed, all the cards blank.   (I like to write them in advance so I can leave one in a hurry if I have to).  We rushed into the dentist office, checked everybody in, then opened up the thank you cards.  I wrote my usual note, then left room for each of my kids to write their own thank you.  I sealed the envelope and let Ember be the one to sneak out to the vehicle and carefully place it under a windshield wiper (so it wouldn't fly away).

The kids were thrilled with themselves.  We saw the driver of the vehicle later, and it was an elderly woman in her 80's or even 90's.  There's a good chance that either she or her husband was a WWII Veteran.  That made the gift today a little bit more poignant and meaningful to the kids.  The idea of lifting someone's spirit anonymously was thrilling to them.

After we finished our appointments and had pronouncements of no cavities all around, we went out to eat.  We like Wendy's, because everything the kids like is 99 cents.  While they were eating, we were all talking about our nations Veterans, and we were talking about today's' remembrance of that one event that changed American History.  I was asking them to do the math, 1941 to 2011, and figure out what anniversary it was.  We talked about their great-grandfathers who had sacrificed and served, and what we can do to honor them now, even though they've passed on.  We talked about the importance of knowing and understanding the history of our country, and how we can be good citizens today.

The kids got up to use the bathroom or refill their drinks or something, but I was alone for a minute at the table.  An elderly gentleman sitting at the next table leaned over to me and said, "I just wanted to say thank you."

Huh?  What?

"Thank you for teaching your children the truth, for teaching them history.  You have very thoughtful and intelligent children.  You seem like a very patriotic family."

I thanked him profusely, and I was so proud of my kids at that moment.  I was proud of myself.  I am proud of my country.  I have never been given such a high compliment from a stranger before, and it literally brought me to tears several times today remembering it.  I really am so proud to be an American, and I am doing my best to make sure my kids are too.  I'm trying to teach them honor and respect for those who serve them, and protect them, sometimes at the cost of their lives.

So on this Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, I hope everyone took a moment to appreciate the freedoms we have, the lives that were lost to gain and protect them, and the amazing example that the Greatest Generation has set for us, their posterity.

God Bless the USA.

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He's a semi-aquatic egg-laying mammal of action!

They restocked the kids sizes!  

Matching shirts for Mother and Son of Perry the Platypus.  

AKA:  Agent P, Secret Agent.  

We are now officially Super Cool.

Ember wanted me to tell you, my faithful blog readers, that she took this picture.  She's a photographer now!

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