Daniel again, but he's funny!

Daniel has never really been the kind of child that likes to write all over himself. He's also not a liar, thank the Lord. So the other day when I found marker on him, I was really surprised. I pointed it out to him and said, "Daniel, who did all this?"

He said, "Well, I did this, and I did this, and I did this..."

I showed him the marker on his belly.

His eyes genuinely bugged out of his head. He looked shocked

and said, "But I did not do this!"

He really looked like he didn't have a clue about it.

So I said, "Well, who did?"

He said, "Umm, Thomas?"

Daniel

Is it just me, or does anyone else think it is just so endearing when little people dress themselves? They just get an "A" for effort, I think. Above, Daniel's pajama shirt is on backwards, and his water shoes are on the wrong feet. Were we in the water that day? No. Life is just more fun with little people.

Elise's newsletter

Elise recently put together a cute little newsletter that she told me I could subscribe to, but she let me check out her sample issue. It's called "Lily Times," and it was full of helpful information and even a puzzle.

There was also a section on how NOT to get the Swine Flu. I thought it was worth sharing with you all. In case you can't read it, just scroll down a bit.

Swine Flu

How to not get it

Wash hands

Do not eat nails (she means fingernails!)

No licking the library

That's really funny, because before we go in any public place I drill the kids...

Mom: "No licking the library (or Walmart or the Post Office, etc.)"

Kids: "OK"

Mom: "How do we lick the library? By touching everything and then putting your hands in your mouth. You might as well just lick the library."

So the lesson for the day is "Don't lick the library." You're also welcome to subscribe to Lily Times. You never know what other great information might be in there.

Rachel's 16th birthday on October 28, 2009

Rachel is 16! I almost can't believe it, because if Rachel's 16 then I'm... never mind. We had a couple of fun, low-key things planned for her birthday, and everything was canceled due to our little blizzard. Before the bad weather moved in, however, we celebrated a couple of co-birthdays with some sweet friends (3 of the 4 girls [on the cake below] have Oct. 28 for a birthday and 1 is on Oct. 26). Thank you to Mr. Fountain for a beautiful and delicious cake!

Rachel also received a little package in the mail from her Aunt Tara... this pink cup that Rachel's very attached to mistakenly made it's way to Alabama and was left there. She's very excited to have it back, and she's also getting tons of use out of the sewing machine. Aunt Tara and Uncle Scott are awesome!

Rachel is a sweet gift from the Lord to our family, and we all love her so much. She grows more in wisdom as each year passes.

"Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.

Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.

Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness."

Psalm 119:33-36

That's our prayer for Rachel and all of our children.

What's a birthday without kisses from your little brother?

Rachel received a new journaling Bible for her birthday, too.

You know how to tell a great recipe in a cookbook, right? It's on the page that looks the worst. Rachel requested an old favorite for her birthday... Praline Cheesecake with Praline Sauce. YUM!

I only put pecans on half, because they're not everybody's favorite. But my cooking science was off on the caramel sauce this year. It's never happened before, but it was hard like plastic when it cooled. So we were disappointed, laughed about it, plucked it off, and ate the cheesecake!

Happy birthday, Rachel, and may the Lord bless you with many more!