Old Pics of My Sisters

I was just sorting through CDs in my desk drawers, and I found an unlabeled CD. It turned out to be a pretty random assortment of family pictures, mostly taken by Bethaney, I believe. Anyway, I was struck anew by how cute my two little sisters were/are. (My other two "little" sisters are strikingly beautiful, of course, but too close in age to me to be called "cute"). Actually, Olivia and Tori are rapidly outgrowing "cute" but they were sorta my babies for a long time-- it will take me a while to reclassify them! Anyway, this baby-sleeping-through-the-night (mostly) thing is pretty intoxicating-- I should be sleeping by now, but it's so tempting to stay up when you know you will have several hours unbroken sleep. So instead of sleeping, I uploaded some of those pictures. They are in NO order, and I'm not going to bother captioning them. They are of Olivia and Victoria... Enjoy pictures of beautiful little girls.

Party at the White House!

Yup, it was the quite the party here last night. I have photographic proof-- here was the scene at 8:25 p.m. last night.

Elliott, fast asleep and sounding like a steam engine run amok. Poor little kid was so stuffed up you could hear him breath throughout the entire house. And yes, those are pink sheets is sleeping on. His Aunt Lisa (the AK one) made him beautiful blue sheets, with a fitted bottom for the top sheet, a couple of years ago, but they got dirty the other day so I threw Cheyenne's old sheets (also from Aunt Lisa) on the bed. I am totally spoiled now with Lisa's sheet sets-- can't use any other kind.

Cheyenne, almost asleep, but smiling for Mommy.

Evan Joe, my other boy, fast asleep. He really was not feeling well yesterday, with a head cold and cough and lots of aches and pains. After the 12 hour sleep he had, though, he's functioning.

And Rilla... "WHY did you set me down, Mommy? Especially on this stupid diaper changing table which means you are planning on torturing me by changing my diaper or (GASP!) even changing my clothes??" After the horrendous Diaper Episode, though, she was a perfect baby. I set her in her crib after her nightime snack at 8:45, and she didn't even whimper. She had a coughing fit at 11:00, cried a little but put herself back to sleep. Then, at 7:00 a.m. this morning, I heard rustling noises and went to see her standing at the crib rails, smiling good morning! Best New Year's Eve EVER if you factor in that!

So while we were all feeling under the weather last night, it doesn't even begin to compare to the horrendous flu we had ten years ago. Evan and I were dating at the time, and we were staying at Mom and Dad's house. We were planning on heading over to Brent Chappell's for a New Year's Eve Party, but either Evan or I (I forget which) woke up feeling yucky the morning of December 31st. By midnight, the whole house was sick. Evan and I did have a romantic moment, though... as I went tearing into the bathroom at the stroke of midnight, I passed the other bathroom door where Evan was making horrendous noises, stopped and tapped on the door and said, "Happy New Year, honey!" Then I went and puked my guts out for the remainder of the night. Memories, eh? :-)

This was the scene in the living room the next morning. I don't remember if Bethaney was really feeling well or just got dressed to be heroic. She was in the minority, either way. That's little Tori in the pink sweatshirt in the foreground.

And a sick little Olivia.

While I was going through old photo albums to find the Flu Pictures, I found this one of Lindsey with Olivia and Victoria. While I always think my kids take after the White side of the family, they sure look like Cheyenne and Marilla here!

We're looking forward to a lazy day here. Evan is making Shredded Wheat bread, a recipe he perfected during the unemployement phase in Alaska. We may not have had two incomes for a while, but we sure did have good bread!

This appetizing looking brown gloop will be yummy bread by the afternoon! Hope you all enjoy your New Year's Day, and have a wonderful year!

Christmas on the Farm

We had a great Christmas holiday up at my parents' house-- as we always do when we get lots of us kids together. Six of the eight kids were home, plus spouses and squirts, so a full house!

Evan called me Tuesday morning and told me there was freezing rain expected Wednesday, so I really should leave right then. It was pretty hectic, getting Cheyenne to and from school, having Elliott's speech therapy, packing for a week away, cleaning my house. In the end, the house wasn't real clean when I left, so my long-suffering husband had to clean it for meeting the next night. I did get out of the driveway by 2:00 p.m., though, which was sort of a personal triumph. The hardest part was trying to convince Rilla I wasn't going out of her life forever as I made trip after trip hauling stuff out to the van-- lots of tears were shed!

Evan picked up Lindsey Wednesday night, and they were up at Mom and Dad's by midnight. Then, a cozy Christmas!

A little Fat-Lip Lily, in her snuggable jammies.


Orianna and Lily checking Marilla out. They were both infatuated (Grandpa Dana, if you were worrying that Rilla wouldn't get hugged enough, set your fears at rest. Orianna single-handedly took care of it several times every hour!)

Then, to the delight of my family, I pulled out my zoom lens and started taking closeups. At least, the groans and screams were probably delight.

A beautiful redhead in the morning light.

Tori embodying the family's attitude to zoom lens.

Livvy with her new sheets from Evan.

Handsome little man.

The beautiful Jill in the afore-mentioned morning light.

See, you don't see Rilla fussing about the long lens. And she has double chins. (Phooey on growth charts.)

Happy little girl exploring the new place and exciting people.

I don't think Evan was as excited about portraits.

Olivia is young enough to handle the extreme closeup and still look pretty.

Bethaney brought a little automated circus scene that played Christmas songs. She found it at The Thrift Store. The Thrift Store, open Wednesday and Saturday, located in Wilmington, NY is now an official member of the family. It is pointless to call Bethaney Saturday or Wednesday morning, but it's always interesting to call those afternoons and say, "So, what did you get...?" She's made a handsome second income reselling some of the things on eBay. So, thanks, Thrift Store, for the morning entertainment. It sure kept the kids captivated.

All the little animals did things, the carousel horses went up and down as it twirled-- the sound quality was even really good. Pretty spiffy.

Cheyenne and Lily both dressed in red pajamas. Cheyenne, with ever the keen eye for a photo op, requested this picture.

Bethaney, smiling fakely. She can CLAIM it was because she didn't want her picture taken right then, but it was really because I had just beaten her at Wordthief. It must be sad to have to play with Clover and always lose... Sigh.

Dad, in a similar predicament.

Yet another game.

Mr. and Mrs. Farmer came late Thursday night, after spending Christmas morning with Ashley's family. Here they are, all dressed up to go feed cows. Owen graciously allowed Cheyenne to go out with him every time. Cheyenne was quite concerned about leaving today, since they wouldn't have her help any more.

Ashley is always a hit with the kids. She is so good with them, and she's willing to watch them when the Mommys in the family aren't feeling very nurturing.

A cake for Mrs. Jill, to celebrate her brand-new bachelor's degree. Earned while she worked full-time, raised children, ran a house, had lots of company, etc. She deserved a brand-new house or something, but we went with the cake.

Lots of helpers with the candles. You're amazing, Mom, kudos to you!

Cute little dancers.

I think marriage has made Owen even more modest than usual.

Evan and Justin stayed busy Friday, Saturday and Monday gutting Mom and Dad's former tenant house. The plan (or hope, at this point) is for Bet and Justin to fix the house up for themselves. It is a very old house, so there is a lot of work to do. When we first moved to the farm from Delaware, we lived in that house for the summer, before we moved in to the house next to the barn. I remember us counting at least seven layers of wallpaper visible on one wall. It has a lot of character, and is surrounded by beautiful maple trees, but as is often the case, "character" translates into major renovation needs!

One melancholy note to the weekend was the death of Molly, Cody's extremely old Belgian draft horse. She had been failing this summer, but Dad said she had perked up in the last couple of weeks. Monday, though, she couldn't muster the energy to stand up, so she had to be put down. I'm sure that wasn't news Cody wanted to hear. She was the world's most beautiful horse, in my opinion. All the digital pictures I have of her is when she was really old, but she's still pretty.

I should go unpack one of the 632 millions bags/suitcases/Rubbermaids I carted home today. Tomorrow should be nice and busy, but at least Cheyenne's on vacation! Yay!!!

Happy Hallelujah!

Since I'm supposed to be cleaning the house for Wednesday night meeting and packing for a week away from home, I REALLY shouldn't be sitting on the computer right now. There are just a few things that are too exciting to keep trapped within me.

1. Rilla slept for NINE hours last night! She had done really well the night before, and Evan and I were wondering if it was because we had turned the heat up from it's usual nightly temperature of 60 degrees. We turned it up again last night and she slept from 10 p.m. until 7 a.m. (Soaring, exultant music in the background!!) Mind you, we did have her bundled up like a little Eskimo the other nights, but it must not have been enough. With the complete lack of insulation in our walls, it was probably in the 50s most nights-- too cold for a tender little baby. So, hang the expense (says the woman with no personal income), the heat is staying up this winter!
2. Cheyenne had a snow day, so I had a reprieve in the making cards and wrapping gifts for teachers. It was also cozy to watch the wind whip snow around while I stayed firmly plunked inside. At least, it was cozy once I had a phone call from Evan to say he was safely ensconsed at work.
3. The little monologue Elliott just had: He looked at the floor, still strewn with Rilla's lunchtime Cheerios, and said, "I sweep Roo's Cheerios." Then, as he got his little broom and got down to business, he kept muttering, "Messy, messy, messy." I said, "Thank you for being such a big help, Elliott!" and he said, "You're welcome!" Speech problems, my foot. The kid is a genius, and considerate and responsible to boot.

So these are the things making my Monday laundry day seem mighty fine!