Through a Six Year Old's Eyes

So I came across these pictures and I had forgotten all about them. One morning back towards the end of October, I gave Christopher my cameral and let him take all the pictures he wanted between our house and school on the way to school one morning. I wanted to see what kinds of things he took pictures of and to kind of see through the eyes of a six year old little boy. Here are some of the ones I thought were kind of neat, and/or came out clear enough to post, lol.

Christmas (Yes I know it's almost Valentine's Day)

Um, ok, so Christmas. Yes, I'm running a little behind. Christmas was wonderful this year (or, um, last year). All of us got together at Mom and Dad's, and of course Kevin was home for Christmas this time so that made it all the better. We opened presents, ate dinner, played games, and watched a movie. I don't usually make a huge deal out of Santa Claus. I mean he "brings" Christopher presents and everything, but I've never gone all out. This year, I guess b/c we're in our very own house, I did it up a little, all the while emphasizing the true meaning of Christmas, which I am proud to say he knows really well. We made cookies and left cookies and milk out for Santa. I had wrapped all of Christopher's Santa gifts in a different kind of wrapping paper to make it seem even more special. Christmas Eve we left the cookies out for Santa and after Christopher had gone to sleep I got rid of the cookies, drank the milk, and put his presents out. I even wrote a little thank you note from "Santa" for the cookies. Christopher ate it up! Krissy, Kevin, and I made Mom and Dad a little scrapbook in which we all wrote, in our own handwriting, our memories of Mom and Dad and things about our childhood. They loved it. Mom did not disappoint-I knew she would cry, although she held it to the very end and for a minute I thought she was going to get through it without shedding a tear. In one of the pics of Mom and Dad looking at it you can see Billy off to the side looking like "Oh my gosh is this over yet!". And oh yes, the dogs were of course part of the festivities too.

Halloween

Ok I know it's after Christmas and I'm just now posting Halloween, but I tried to post this sucker three times before Christmas and it kept kicking me out every time I tried to rearrange the pics. So here it is and I didn't try messing w/the pics this time which is why they look weird if they do. Halloween was really fun this year. Christopher was dressed as NASCAR driver Tony Stewart, who is apparently really whiny. No really, people made comments all night and apparently not many people are fond of him. But it was better then the Jeff Gordon costume we could have gotten!! LOL! We started off stopping by Nana's (Christopher's step-grandma) office. Then we met at Michael's parents house to show the kids off to them and then went to St. Joseph's tent-or-treat. Of course they all racked up the candy. But it didn't even end there. We then went to my mom & dad's to show them off and finish off the night by actually trick-or-treating around their neighborhood. Their next door neighbors Paul & Jamie hooked their four wheeler up to a trailer filled with hay and a bunch of people from the neighborhood rode the hayride through the neighborhood, stopping every few feet to run up to the houses, get their loot, and run back to the trailer. It really was the way to trick-or-treat. We had a lot of fun but were sooo tired at the end of the night. At least the rain held off!

The Dilemna of Shingles

Let me just say that there will be no pictures to accompany this blog. Trust me when I say I look horrible and feel worse. Who would have thought at 31 years of age I would have shingles. But here I sit, off work since Wednesday morning with yucky blistery bumps on my forehead, the corner of my eye, and the top of my head. Thankfully I went to the doctor Wednesday and caught it before it got worse. Lord, if it was much worse than this I don't know what I'd do! But I started a seven day round of huge horse pills so hopefully this will clear up by Monday, at least enough that I won't be in such pain or look like a huge freak when I go back to work. My office manager, as I was leaving for the doctor Wednesday morning before I knew what this was, stated I could possibly be becoming a unicorn...ha! And did you know that nausea is part of it too? Ugh! All this from having chicken pox when I was younger. The doctor said that one of the causes of shingles is stress, but I sure didn't think I was THAT stressed out about anything. Anyway, hopefully next time I blog it will be a much more pleasant subject! I'm going to go lay down now.

My Letter to Christopher on Election Night

Christopher,

It's 10:52 p.m., Tuesday night, November 4, 2008. You are lying next to me in my bed, sleeping soundly as the world around you changes tremendously. Tonight, America's first African-American president has been elected. I want you to be able to look back and know what was going on, what it all meant, and how your world is changing. Mommy is not a very political person. I didn't keep up with all of the issues very well. Many things were said about Barack Obama. I don't know how much of it was true or how much was a lie. Just this morning you told me that you were "not picking Barack Obama" because a teacher told you that "he wants to make mommies and daddies poor". All I know is that we are all in God's hands and that God has chosen, through the people of America, to place Barack Obama as our leader. As Proverbs 8:15-16 says "By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by me princes govern and all nobles who rule on earth". Many emotions run through my mind right now. Fear, anxiety, sadness. Someday you will read this and understand why. But something else finds its way into my heart as well. Hope. Hope that no matter who our president is, no matter what happens on this earth, in my life time or in your life time, God is in control. Someday you will read this. Remember that tonight history was made. Remember to always pray for your nation. Remember that if you have surrendered your precious life to Jesus, nothing can pluck you from his hand (Romans 8:38-39). I love you and I pray that Barack Obama will lead our nation with integrity and most of all by God's will.

Love,

Mommy

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" Romans 8:28-32

Pumpkin Patch 2008

On October 24th Christopher and I went with his class on a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. This particular patch was really neat. We rode the bus and when we got there there were several different "stations". There was an old fashioned school house, an Indian women with teepees and all her tools and animal skins, an old cabin, a nature walk, a hayride, and several other things. The kids got to look at all of the things and hear about how school used to be, how the Indians lived, etc. They even got to pan for gems. And of course they got to pick out a pumpkin at the end. Christopher said his favorite parts of the day were the hayride, digging for dinosaurs, and getting to pick out his pumpkin. Picking out his pumpkin was of course the moment he had been waiting for all day. The kids and parents got to eat our sack lunches at some picnic tables outside. It was an absolutely beautiful day! We had a blast and as you can see the day really wore Christopher out!