Hello?

Time for my semi-regular reminder that I’m no longer over here!! I’m on Typepad now!! Come on over, please!

That is all.

It’s Official: Our Firstborn Has Reached Double Digits

Not sure how time passed this quickly, but it did. M9 is now M10. We’re going to Chicago soon to celebrate. Happy Birthday, my sweet girl!

The Chaos Experiment is Now Fully Underway

Meet Ricky, one of three pets of the feline persuasion to join in on our chaos experiment known as the Dunham family. The other two are Lucy and Ethel. We have yet to meet Lucy because she’s been hiding in the basement ever since she arrived. Ethel is a bit on the cold side (as in she’s been rather mean), but we hope that will change as we win her over with our charming, gentle, cat-loving ways.

The girls are pretty excited, at least about Ricky. They are rather scared of Ethel because she growls (and I mean growls as in like a dog or bear growls) whenever one of us walks by her. Craig is in the basement right this second with a flashlight trying to find Lucy. I’m hoping that’s all he finds because you know how we have a propensity for being surprised by cats and all.

Now then, the obvious question here is why? Our pet excuse for so long was that the girls were too young. After that we rented for three years, which became our excuse. Now the girls are older, we own a house again (as trying as that has been), and they’ve been begging for a pet since July. Thus, we gave in.

We tend to think of ourselves more as dog people, but not the kind of dogs that make better footballs than pets. Big dogs. Unfortunately, we don’t have a fence, so we can’t exactly get a big dog right now.

However, a teacher at Craig’s school is moving to Colorado soon and can’t take her furry friends with her, so she gave them to us under the condition they stay together. So there you have it: the story of how the Dunham family grew by three in one short day.

Here’s hoping none of them find our tents.

All I Want for Christmas is…

This poor gal has had the misfortune to have lost a total of three teeth in the last month. If you’ll recall, this hasn’t been one of the easiest months of the Dunham household, so the tooth fairy, shall we say, has been a bit on the MIA side of things.

The only saving grace we have here is that, like Santa, our kids are in on the whole “tooth fairy” thing and play along, knowing full well that it’s us. The bad side of that, though, is that when the tooth fairy forgets, well, everyone knows whose fault it is: mine.

K6 has been wiggling this last front tooth for the past two weeks. It finally came out today. She glanced in my direction and I solemnly swore I would not forget this time. Tooth Fairy Mama’s honor.

I just went up and slid the expected dollar under the pillow with a note. Tomorrow she shall not be disappointed.

One out of three isn’t so bad, right?

December 25

Remembering today. Really trying to. Merry Christmas.

December 24

Meet Dasher and Dancer, root deer at the ready. Comet and Cupid are on the other side. They will soon be placed in four specific stockings. I saw this on someone’s blog earlier in the week and for the life of me can’t remember who or where. I thought it was pretty cute, though, so had to replicate it.

Merry Christmas, Everyone.

2008 Booklist

Another year, another list. It’s always nice to have a couple I started last year to give me a jump-start on this year!

January
Light from Heaven (The Mitford Years, Book 9) by Jan Karon – Officially the last book of the Mitford series, though not the last of the Father Tim stories (I’m told). I began the series when I was pregnant with M9 and they have been enjoyable books over the past nine years. Karon is a good writer and the Christian story comes out naturally through Father Tim. It isn’t forced or uncomfortable. I like these.
Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney – This was very good, and I’m thinking about re-reading it with a friend here in town. I’m also thinking about posting thoughts from it, by chapter, on my blog. If anyone would be interested in reading it with me, let me know. Maybe we can get the author to come over and give some additional input, who knows?
Cutting Your Family’s Hair by Gloria Handel and Mickey Baskett – I know. You don’t really read this book, but I’ve had it for a while and actually used it last night to give the girls haircuts. I’ve cut their hair before, but I’ve never really liked what I’ve done. I was pleased with how their cuts turned out last night, though, and I attribute the simple changes I made to the book, which paid for itself last night (four kids’ cuts locally would cost $32 at a cheap place). A good investment.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle - It’s hard to beat Madeleine L’Engle. Truthfully, I liked Meet the Austins better, but I don’t know. I don’t really know much about L’Engle’s worldview. I presume she was writing from a Christian one, as there is much biblical truth within the text, but there were some troubling allusions to universalism within the text as well. Still a good story, and good writing. The girls clapped at the end (which didn’t help the going-to-bed part). We’ll read more.
Moon by Night (Austin Family) by Madeleine L’Engle - Ummm, can anyone say “teenage romance?” I had no idea! I didn’t exactly finish it (I was reading it to my girls and didn’t think it was quite appropriate at their ages). Maybe I should go back and finish it completely, but it’s steered me away from L’Engle for quite a while. So much for the Austins. Disappointed.
Playing For Pizza: A Novel by John Grisham – I’ve always been a Grisham junkie. Loved all his lawyer stuff. Really liked Skipping Christmas. This one, though? Yawn.
Katharina Von Bora: A Reformation Life by Rudolf K. Markwald – Biography of the wife of Martin Luther. I’d not known too much about the wife of the reformer. From page 89:

“Considering Luther and Kate’s strong personalities and the challenges of serving an unending line of uprooted people with limited resources, the Luthers at times had strong disagreements. On occasion, Luther was uneasy with Kate’s authority in the household…At one particular lowpoint in their finances, Martin had to turn down a friend who wanted to hold a wedding reception at Lutherhaus. Luther exclaimed, ‘If I were to court a girl again, I would chisel myself an obedient wife from a rock.’”

It appears some marriage issues do not change with even 500 years between them. I may very well be the Katharina Von Bora to Craig’s Martin Luther. God help us.
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg – Another bedtime read-aloud. I’m not sure how I ended up with a copy of this, but I’m glad I did. This 1967 Newberry award winner about two siblings who run away from home and spend a week in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York was a cute read and the writing was great. There were plenty of things to discuss with the girls from the book (namely, please don’t ever run away from home!), but also Michaelangelo, art museums in general, and the value of the dollar and how it has changed in 40+ years. Fun story.

March
A Pagan’s Nightmare: A Novel by Ray Blackston – A fast read that fulfilled my desire for the easy and mindless. I’ve read Blackston’s other books which are in the same genre: Christian Chick Lit for Everyone. His first book was his best, the other two in that triliogy were so-so and this one was, well, it was what I expected, so I shouldn’t be disappointed. It pokes fun at the Christiany sub-culture and poses the idea of what if the world were made up of only cheesy Christians with just a few non-Christians left? It would be their worst nightmare. Really? It would also be mine. The writing is funny, and the idea was intriguing enough to keep me reading, but it never really went anywhere. Keep trying, Ray.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson – A prequel of sorts to the classic story of Peter Pan. For some reason I didn’t realize this before beginning it – had simply fixated on “Dave Barry” and “Children’s Book” and popped it into my paperbackswap queue. It was an enjoyable read and we’ll probably tackle the second book sometime, but we’re taking a break from it because it was quite long.

Yep. Not a lot of reading going on for me these days. I blame it on all the sewing. But now that I’ve slowed down on the sewing I’ve got to find something else to blame it on. The laundry, maybe?

April
Breathing Lessons: A Novel by Anne Tyler – Anne writes an amazing story. They are so sad but so good. She makes you believe the people she’s writing about could very well be some neighbors down your street. This one was no different – heartbreaking, but true-to-life, good storytelling.
The Enchanted Castle (Puffin Classics) by E. Nesbitt – Sort of a “Five Children and It” with different children and different magical consequences. Still, good story and the girls enjoyed it.

May
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger – I read this several years ago, but think this needs to go on my rotating list of rereads. Enger’s wordcrafting is untouchable and his storytelling brings tears. Beautiful, heartbreaking, powerful. One of my favorite books.
The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeannie Birdsall – Jeannie does it again. She has quickly moved into a top position for the Dunham Family’s favorite children’s authors ever. We’re all impatient that we have to wait for her to write her next one. Snap to it, please!
Coraline by Neil Gaiman – An interesting story, well-written, well-told. It had a Tim Burtonish feel to it and was a bit on the creepy side, but not so much that the girls couldn’t sleep afterwards. I heard there’s a movie being made, so that will be fun to see after reading this.

Wow, I really stopped reading this year. For shame! I’m trying to remember what I did actually read from June-December and I’m having a hard time figuring it out. I’ll try to remember what they were right now:

June-December:
Some Sonlight books here:
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elisabeth George Speare

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes

Walk the World’s Rim by Betty Baker

This Heavy Silence by Nicole Mazzarella – I was predictably skeptical of this work of “Christian” fiction, but it was very different from what most would consider to be “Christian” fiction and therefore I liked it. That sounds sad, but the stereotype exists for a reason, you know what I’m saying? I should have written this mini-review right away for I can’t remember specifics here. I do remember thinking some of the story was forced, a bit of it was less than believable, but overall, it was well done and I’ll read more by her in the future.

So Brave, Young and Handsome: A Novel by Leif Enger – This was certainly no Peace Like a River, but it was still very good writing. It took me forever to finish this book which is more of a commentary on how goofy our summer was and less about the captivating quality of the book. Enger is a rare breed. I look forward to reading more.

Grace-Based Parenting by Tim Kimmel – Excellent book. I’ve had it on the shelf for four years now and needed the incentive of the class to read it, but I’m so glad I did. Great book, well-written, worth your time.

Instructing a Child’s Heart by Ted and Margy Tripp – More of the same. Don’t anybody shoot me here, but I remember really liking Shepherding a Child’s Heart when I read it many years ago. I thought I’d like this one too, but reading it immediatly after reading Kimmel’s book was tough. And the writing just wasn’t that great. There you have it.

A very dismal 22 books this year. Maybe 2009 will be better for reading?

December 23

A present for the girls, to be presented alongside their new Singer sewing machine on Christmas morning. Now then, to clear space for them to set it up in the basement.

December 22

In keeping with all the December crafting photos I’ve been posting this month, I couldn’t help but take a picture of a Christmas ornament I saw on my parent’s tree yesterday. Made by yours truly…in 1988:

Here’s this beautiful creation from the backside:

Craig said it appears I’ve come a long way in 20 years. Boy, aren’t we all glad? And my heartfelt apologies to both my sister and Christy who were recipients of many such handmade “goodness” by me during these years I was figuring out the beginnings of what now is a fun and productive skill. I sent Michelle a lot of crafty goodness when she was in college (and I had a strong affinity for plastic canvas and yarn – ugg!) and remember making Christy random things like a fabric holder for her glasses and a misshapen pillow or two.

Gals, neither of you ever made me feel silly for bringing you those things, so thanks for that. It’s okay now; it’s been 20 years. Go ahead and laugh with me.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve Everyone!

December 20

No photos today. I no longer have a laptop and didn’t bother bringing the camera cord, so no photos. Sorry.

We’re in Oklahoma, having pulled in at 8:00 tonight. As we were leaving today, I happened to run down to the basement and opened the freezer door. I have no idea why I did this because we were packed and ready to go. I wasn’t planning to cook anything in the remaining 2 minutes we had left; nevertheless, I opened the freezer. There I discovered that all of the grass-fed beef I had in the door of the freezer and on the top shelf were completely thawed out. Then I cried.

It’s only the 20th, but December won and we’re wiped out. We desperately need a break and are hoping to get one soon after Christmas. I told Craig today that for Christmas this year I did not want to paint the living room. 1984 is growing on me a little (okay, maybe not), but I want Craig to be able to relax the one week he has with no traveling before classes resume on the 5th.

To that end, I’m giving him a one-month subscription to Blockbuster, with Lost Season 4 already on the way, followed by High Fidelity and the Godfather Trilogy. All we need next week are the movies and endless supplies of popcorn and Coke Zero. Sounds like a perfect way to regain some sense of who we are (movie zombies – that’s who we really are).

Hoping some sleep restores us tonight. Hoping the time with our families is sweet. Hoping the girls don’t get too strung out by the routine shift.

Hoping. Hoping is something. It’s a better place to be than I’ve been.

December 19

Skee-Ball Queens of 2008

I had coupons for Incredible Pizza today. Believe me, you can’t go there without coupons, but with them it’s a lot of fun. The girls were less than half-price to get in (and I paid for it with a bona-fide Christmas bonus gift card I got this year!). We got $25 in free game cards by bringing in 5 canned food items for the local food bank.

As we left the house today I thought, “What can I do while the girls are playing there?” And then immediately thought, “What can I do? I can play with them!” I left all possibilities for doing something other than playing with the girls at home. No buttons to sew on, no books to read, no cards to sign (oh, that would be assuming we were sending any this year, which as of this point we still aren’t…). Nothing.

When we got there there were other moms at a table talking. They beat us there by an hour and their kids were already playing. I almost sat with them to chat and then remembered I wanted to be intentional with the girls. We sat at a table the five of us and ate. Then we played.

Some kids like to blow all their game money on the games that just give tickets. I prefer to make my kids work for them a little bit. Enter the skee-ball section. Honestly? I love skee-ball. It’s right up there with air hockey in my estimated opinion. And we played our share of air hockey as well, but we always went back to skee-ball.

Good times, good times.

December 18

Okay, these were fun:

I’m not sure what happened to me this month: very few on the Christmas photos, way too many on the craft ones. Sorry if your eyes have totally rolled to the back of your head this month while I get all the sewing out of my system. It will all come to a screeching halt very soon. It has to: we’re leaving on Saturday and I’m not hauling the sewing machine to Oklahoma, so that’s that.

Anyway, the above items (which I’m totally gaga over right now) are a long overdue baby gift for some friends of ours who, ahem, will probably see this post tonight, but I couldn’t help myself. I had to take a photo and post it. I think they are so cute.

So, Ed and Marcie, if your sweet girls have something like this already, maybe just don’t tell me, m’kay?

Happy Twins!

December 17

Becky came over today. We’ve met in real life before because we share a mutual friend in Marcie, but we’ve not really interacted much in person. Just on blogs. Today she dropped by with her sweet girls and we traded teacher gifts. I gave her a tea wallet and she gave me this fabtastico travel coffee mug with my initials on it. I like it.

I like her too. I wished she could have stayed longer, for it has taken us about 8 months to make this happen and I fear it might be another 8 before it happens again. Ah, intentionality, why do you evade us so often?

Becky, thanks for coming by! I’d like to do it again and you don’t have to trade me anything next time. *grin*

Quick! Vacuum Cleaner Help Needed!

Our personal household electrical servants are taking a cue from the house and following suit. This time it’s the vacuum cleaner.

A few years ago I spent tax return money on an Oreck thinking it was time we invested in a good machine. Worst. Decision. Ever.

We’ve had more trouble than anything with that vacuum cleaner and I figured if I’m going to have to spend another $50-$75 to get it “fixed” I’d rather just spend the money on another, cheaper vacuum this time.

I don’t have the moolah available for, say, a Dyson. And I’m physically unable to go down the vacuum cleaner aisle at Walmart or Target without hyperventilating. I just can’t make a decision on this because if I pick one, what if I should have picked another?

Basically I need help. I need to know the best under $75 vacuum cleaner that can be found at the local Stuff-Mart. I need to know this soon before the Cheerios, which are currently spread out like Hansel and Gretel’s trail, plant and grow into a Cheerio forest right here in our living room.

Or, if the friendly blog-checking Dyson folks want to give away another one of their machines directly to me, that’d be okay too. *wink*

December 16

I saw a whole lot of this tonight:

And a whole lot of this:

Welcome to the next phase of St. Louis’s Highway 64/40 reconstruction project. Twice the commute, four times the headache.