Pomp and Circumstance

Ellie waiting on the activities to begin

Ellie and her Dad matching patterns with butterflies

Warren in his cap and gown

Warren and his Parents As Teachers educator, Marlene

Grandma, Grandpa and Warren waiting on the group photo

Warren's PAT Graduating Class of 2008

after ellie's birth we became involved with 'parent's as teachers' through our local public school system. both children enrolled, even though warren had some catching up to do. our 'teacher' has come to the house for over a year now almost once a month. has been enjoyable, educational and sometimes exhausting. today was warren's graduation ceremony since he will no longer be involved with 'pat' and begins kindergarten this fall.
grandma and grandpa came down and we enjoyed the 'spring fling' held before the ceremony. it hard to believe how fast they grow up!

Circus Photo

The four of us enjoying the show... somewhat :)

Photos

Warren, Gram, Josephine, Georgia, Eleanor and Jackson

All at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Clean babies! Georgia, Josie & Ellie

Aunt Carrie brushing Ellie's hair.

Warren and Ellie bathing at Grandma & Grandpa's a few weeks ago.

Spring Has Sprung

our weekend brought forth warmth and sunshine! we couldn't believe how wonderful it would be. friday we relaxed after the long day we had had thursday and after the kids settled down, ryan and i watched 'there will be blood'. if you are one who enjoys the artistry of a movie: photography, score, angles, lens shots, history - then this movie is for you. but do not expect a plot of substance. perhaps i just didn't grasp the concept of competitive oil drilling, a bible-toting youth, and the embarrassment of ones own child. ryan really liked it - but i don't believe we'll add it to our collection...
sat. the kids were on our last nerve. and as my parents did practically every weekend, we went on a drive :) we had planned to travel north of the county and look over property, yet ended up driving for almost 3 hours while the kids slept. was very peaceful.
sun. the boys worked in the yard. we had promised warren that we would go to grandma & grandpa's if he did yard work. AND if he did a good job, without being distracted, he could enjoy grandma's hot tub. at 8 o'clock in the morning, warren was dressed and ready to go! he did a pretty good job, but oftentimes i found him juggling the magnolia pods instead of picking them up :) ryan mowed, weed eated, trimmed trees and hauled everything to the landfill.
the girls did laundry and dishes. nothing very exciting.
we were able to make it to mom & dad's for lunch. unfortunately mom had drained her hot tub that morning, so for the entire afternoon all we did was tolerate warren's whining...
the weather was superb and after arriving home, had friends over for a bbq. the kids played outside all day and they truly slept well!
below are some photos you may enjoy...

Warren taking a break from his yard work.

Ellie, riding her 'bike'
and no, we aren't uneducated parents... our daughter will not keep clothes on. therefore we must snap her onesies on the outside of her pants.

Warren, riding his bike

Enjoying after dinner Tootsie Roll Pops

around dusk i heard a frightening noise and saw a mass of fur on the cement block where our cistern sits. i immediately thought it was a baby bird for the object was flapping around and couldn't get up. upon further inspection we found two bats 'stuck' together. was disgusting and fascinating all at once. i don't think i've ever seen a bat up close. thankfully they were gone by this morning. warren checked at 630am!

The Big Top

Warren intently enjoying the performance

The talented elephants...

Ellie getting a piggy-back ride up the monstrous hill to our car from our dear friend, Sandy...

overall, the circus wasn't as 'dirty' as i had expected. was truly exhausting and loud... the performers far from top-rate, but the kids were pleased.
ellie was not happy whatsoever at the onset, yet begun to get into the rhythm of things once the audience clapped and she was able to follow suit.
it was miserably hot, and the scent coming from the numerous animals was not enjoyable. but overall, i'm thrilled we went and grandma was a super trooper! lest i mention her close friend, sandy, who tagged along performing more motherly tasks than i could in 2 hours.

if the circus comes to your town... a word of advice... go early so you can park close :)

Happy Thursday

besides the glorious sunshine this week, we are excited to be taking the kids to the kelly miller circus this afternoon. i cannot recall ever being to a circus, although my parents think they took us once :) i believe warren will be elated... ellie probably perturbed. we shall have to wait and see. they are promising elephants, horses, jugglers, acrobats and trapeze artists. nothing comparable to cirque de soleil... yet in our small town it shall feel like it.

ryan was to attend the event with us, yet at the last minute was invited to go to the new busch stadium to watch the cardinal's whoop up on brewers IN mayor slay's box! don't ask me how he lucked into it. but he would have been a fool to pass it up.

since ryan will be absent, i've asked grandma to join us. this shall be a treat. for you see, the show starts at 430. my daughter poops her pants everyday at 5. :)

wish us luck!

Easter and Babies

Georgia, Jack and Ellie

Ellie in her 'Easter Basket'

Grandpa - Larger Than Life

That is Dad, playing the banjo...

Making lemonade from busted glass

Music store has murals painted on boarded up windows

Apr 14, 2008 - 11:27:02 CDT

FARMINGTON — When four windows were broken in his store, Rick Wisdom decided to “make lemonade” out of busted glass.

Wisdom asked Rachel Forbes, the sister of one of his instructors, to paint murals on the boarded-up windows. He figured he’d have to wait on the replacement glass anyway.

Using Wisdom’s photographs, Forbes painted a bluegrass and country mural on the left side of the building.

The mural with an American flag background features Sheriff Dan Bullock, Wisdom, Quentin Huck, Gary Watson and Terry Tiefenauer. A few of them are music instructors there and most, including Wisdom, are members of the Sheriff and His Deputies band.

On Friday, Forbes began painting the mural on the other side of the downtown building. This mural, if she goes with her idea, features rock legends sliding, jumping, and playing instruments.

Forbes admits she is actually more of a drawer than a painter and hasn’t done a mural for a business before. She has painted a nature-themed mural in her daughter’s room.

Forbes said her mother told her that she drew her a pretty good picture when she 2 years old. It was of someone playing the piano and she had drawn notes on the paper. That’s when her mom knew she was going to be a good artist.

When she attended high school at Farmington, she took all of the art classes she could. She said art is a hobby. Being a full-time mom is her main focus.

Forbes has been working on a mural in her brother’s instruction room at Music Maker’s. The room features drawings of several musicians.

On Friday, Wisdom talked to Forbes about doing another mural on a wall on top of the store’s roof. She said it would be silhouettes of instruments with a colorful background.

She said Bob-A-Rino’s has also approached her about painting a pizza guy in the restaurant.

Four of Music Makers’ store windows were broken out March 29 when a local youth, who officials say was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, ran and jumped through a window.

Police say 17-year-old Taylor B. Moore grabbed a guitar — known in some music circles as an “axe” — and began destroying other instruments and windows.

Police said the youth was screaming incoherently when they arrived and they found him inside the music store throwing merchandise around. He had to be Tazed and maced repeatedly to be brought under control. He was handcuffed and taken to an area emergency room for injuries he had sustained.

our weekend began quite simply... i fell asleep with ellie as soon as i arrived home from work, ate dinner and we all relaxed on the couch watching 'america's funniest home videos'. how difficult it is to find something we can all enjoy.
my parents called (glorious caller id) and instead of dad on the receiving end, it was jessie. i was completely stunned! the girls decided to come down with the kids at the last minute and an enjoyable lunch was planned the following day at our home.
we were excited to have everyone here and boy was it loud! we had a great time, the meal was phenomenal and after playing my game 'scene it' for the xbox 360, i think everyone was ready for a nap!
we asked gram to stay with us and after naps we would travel to mom and dad's and enjoy a evening full of chaos. little did we know what would occur...
before the boys fell asleep, gram decided to inform me that i have dust mites in my house. probably in the carpet. he didn't suggest i vacuum or anything, it was simply important that i knew :)
on our way to mom and dad's he began a conversation about bugs, specifically bees. they are dangerous. they also sting. but honey bees are okay. i told him i believe honey bees can still sting if they are bothered. we should always stay away from bees. gram told me honey bees were alright because once they sting you, they die :)
at mom and dad's, dinner was simmering, kids were screaming and amazingly it felt right at home. the grown-up boys competed at billiards (ryan is sad to admit that dad won), the girls and grandpa played euchre afterwards (carrie & jessie were not easily defeated). the grandsons had a bath... the granddaughters following. i had finished my dinner when we heard a scream.
as parents one easily recognizes the difference between whines, screams, cries and yelling. this time we knew it was sincere.
apparently the boys were jumping on beds. don't even ask me why. gram fell. hit his head. blood pouring profusely.
at 930 ryan drove carrie and gram to the er. the rest of us were left full of worry. after an hour carrie called to say gram was chewing gum, probably didn't need stitches and they would return shortly. hours later they came back and gram - with three staples in his head - was wondering why warren was asleep and not anxious to play :)
today the household woke quite weary and as bags were packed, children dressed and diapers changed everyone appeared ready for a nap - especially the parents.
we all made it home okay, and rested the best we could. after visiting with carrie this afternoon she said gram is happy as can be and she is having to accept the fact that he is accident-prone (who can forget his er visit at jessie's wedding!). carrie also wanted to make sure that the events of last night didn't deter our upcoming trip to her home. :)
don't even doubt for one minute my son knows more than he is sharing. yet it is truly difficult to interrogate a five-year-old. one doesn't get very far. bottom line is NEVER JUMP ON BEDS. carrie did such a thing when she was young and had five stitches in her noggin!

on a more pleasant note, ryan went outside this afternoon for a cigarette break and came back in with five morels! i was SO excited! hopefully by mid-week we'll have at least a gallon!

enjoy your week and don't let your kids jump on the bed :)

almost a month since i've posted! hopefully the excitement of starting this blog hasn't waned...

the latter part of winter and introduction of spring has brought more precipitation than we have ever experienced. ultimately it began to damage our home. nothing we cannot take care of in baby-steps :) but it has been an emotional and exhausting few weeks.

as much as we adore our historic home, we must realize that selling would benefit us more than staying. so we're keeping our options open... we have a few years to decide and who knows - we may win the lottery and this entire frustration has been for nothing...

we enjoyed easter this year at ryan's aunt's home. we traveled through rain, sleet AND snow to get there (a total of 15 minutes). was unbelievable. the kids were spoiled rotten and i have photos to upload later this afternoon - if i can get away with it at work :)

have also been regulars at the doctor's office. ellie had to be put back on a nebulizer and her follow-up a week later showed she still needed the medication. thankfully she is now much better and off the breathing machine. how she hates it! apparently she does a fantastic job at daycare... just not for her parents.

warren's hearing was also reevaluated. he passed and all that is left for him to start school this fall is his eye exam. oh, and school supplies, clothes, shoes... and valium for his mother.

ryan's business has kept him busy enough. thankfully during his times off he has been working on the house. during the last weekend he scraped paint and primed the front porch. looks beautiful. once we get the roof patched then he can start on other projects.

i'm still enjoying the work i do for the local newspaper. i'm so thankful that i love what i do. i couldn't imagine doing anything else. although i do wish the office dynamic were different. i don't believe there is one person i know who gets along with all of his coworkers...
rumor has it the publisher will retire next year and who knows what fascinating changes may take place!

had planned on having my parents over in the morning to do yard work. we are now told to expect snow flurries. so much for that :) perhaps sunday will feel like spring.

other than that - not much else going on with us. hoping to make a trip to columbia for carrie's birthday and perhaps actually plan a family vacation this fall.

hope you are all well :)
jenny