Bowlin Beige

After enjoying the last several days at home with the kids - playing games, baking cookies, looking at tacky lights - we had a quieter day today. We attended the children's service at church, had our traditional post-church lunch at Five Guys, and took long naps. We got to talk to Grandma Camilla on the phone while the kids opened presents from her. We sprinkled reindeer food on the lawn, and put out cookies and milk for Santa. After reading some Christmas stories they are now in bed. I'm excited for tomorrow - the chaos and excitement - and the joy of being at home with our family for this special holiday. Not everyone has the chance to do that, so I try to appreciate it even more. As I think about all I'm grateful for, I'll quote one of the books we read tonight - The Spirit of Christmas, by Nancy Tillman. I had just nodded off, at a quarter past four, when  the Spirit of Christmas stepped in through my door. With a great show of sparkles, he decked all my halls in ti...

Every year the lower school puts on a winter play. All of the kids in grades JK-5 get to participate. The kindergarteners sang two songs by themselves, and then four additional songs with the full school. Ainsley also had a minor speaking part. Here's a quick video of her line and the songs. She is at the microphone all the way on the right, and then for the songs she's in the middle of the back row. They are all dressed up as eskimos. Cuteness! 

Parker had his very first school program last night. We tried to dress him in his new Christmas clothes in the morning for preschool but he refused to wear his button-down shirt (he's very big on comfort and casual t-shirts these days). However when we got home last night I told him that Nana had bought him the shirt and she would love to see a picture of how handsome he was when wearing it. He said 'Okay...I show Nana" and didn't hesitate to put it on. He looked so cute, and it was fun to see his whole class dressed in their holiday best! He is younger than Ainsley was when she started preschool, and we weren't quite sure how he would behave in front of a room filled with 400+ people. But he was wonderful! He walked right up to the front with the rest of his class and never hesitated. They were in the front row and he sang (or at least mouthed the words to) both of his songs. After his class was finished, they were to sit down so the 3-year-olds behind them coul...

Both kids had Thanksgiving programs at school. Parker had a 'feast' with his class of pilgrims, and sang a few songs for the parents.  Ainsley's school had a musical Thanksgiving program. All of the kindergarten classes sang 'Timothy Turkey' - she's in the middle of the top row. On Thanksgiving Day we drove to my parent's house in York. My mom's side of the family and my cousins were there. Ainsley and Parker got to play with cousin Kaitlyn, and we all had a fun day visiting. It had snowed the day before and there was still just  enough snow to make some snowmen - or in this case, a snow family! Daddy and Papa headed up to hunting camp, while Nana came back to Richmond with me and the kids. I had to work for a few days, and then we all headed back up to PA for a few more days of hunting. Parker stayed with Nana at the lake, while Ainsley came to hunting camp with the rest of us. Although most of the snow had melted by then, Ainsley s...

After some more conference activities, we went back to the Magic Kingdom on Saturday. Ainsley was rested up and ready for some more Disney fun. We finished the rides that we missed on our first day, and watched one of the parades. It was raining on and off all afternoon but it didn't dampen her spirits. We had a special dinner at Cinderella's castle, and she got to meet 5 princesses. You can imagine how thrilled she was! Sassy girl! Waiting for Pirates of the Caribbean  We rented a stroller this day because she was still a little tired from being sick the night before. Plus it gave her a little place to escape the rain. Dinner in the castle! While heading out of the park we managed to meet Tinkerbell. There wasn't anyone else behind us so they got to talk for several minutes! Our hotel was starting to put up Christmas decorations.   Some snuggle time on Sunday before heading to Universal Studios. There w...

Last week I presented at a continuing education conference in Orlando. Since I was already going to be there, we decided to have Eric and Ainsley join me for some fun at DisneyWorld. Parker stayed behind with Nana - he was secretly thrilled to be the center of attention. Plus the long days at the park would've been too much for him at this age - even Ainsley was exhausted. We had a great trip, and look forward to taking both kids back in several years when they are older! After an exciting plane ride, she caught a quick catnap in the car on the way to the hotel.  Shuttle on the way to Magic Kingdom We arrived! Daddy is very serious about the Toy Story arcade ride.  Magic Carpet Ride She LOVES Cinderella's castle! We managed to get last-minute reservations at one of the restaurants that has character visits. She got to meet lots of Winnie the Pooh friends! She really enjoyed the shows and parades.  Since we...

It was the spring of 2000, and I was a junior at JMU when I found and adopted an adorable calico kitten. I named her Ally. The guy I had just started dating was allergic to cats, but who knew if he was going to be around forever? I just told him not to pet her.  After living with me for a summer at my parent's house, my dad started calling her Squirt because she loved to play with water. If you didn't keep the toilet lid down, you would find the bathroom soaked with water that she had splashed everywhere.  She returned to JMU for my senior year, and then moved with me to my first apartment in Alexandria. The boyfriend was still around, and they tolerated each other. My apartment was small, and Squirt insisted on pushing her water bowl all over the place and getting water everywhere. So I put her water bowl in my bathtub. Soon I would just plug the drain and add some water to the tub a few times a day. It kept her out of the toilet.  Every day when I'd c...