Lenten Prayers

We have been saying a Lenten prayer that I cut out of the church bulletin every night at supper. Today at lunch, Clayton stopped me from saying prayers and said he was going to say the lunch prayer. He grabbed the little piece of paper, held it up like he was reading and then said, "A hunting prayer. Dear Lord, please don't let us get lost in the woods. Please let there be lots of deer to kill. And if we do get lost, please let the police men find us."

On Ash Wednesday, I was trying to explain the season of Lent to Clayton. I told him that I was going to try to give up yelling at him. (I'm also giving up the computer during the day and unnecessary phone calls while the kids are awake...) Later, we were talking about almsgiving. Clayton is familiar with us donating things to Goodwill, so I used that as an example. After a moment or two, he looked up at me and asked, "Are you giving your yelling to Goodwill, too?" Just for the record, Clayton is supposed to be giving up being ornery to Levi and disobeying. That should make the yelling a lot easier.

My New Camera!

Yesterday evening I got the Amazon package I had been waiting for. Inside was my brand new Canon Rebel DSLR camera. Of course, I had to spend today testing it out. What better subjects than the kids?! Clearly, it is much more fun to watercolor themselves than the paper.

Super Snow 2010

Clayton is helping Cyle shovel our driveway the weekend before we got the big snow. We only got a few inches then...

While our power was out, Levi decided he needed to wear his hat inside to keep warm!

Clayton is trying to figure out how he's going to get inside...

This past weekend we got hit with snow. Depending on where it was measured, we got between 20 and 30 inches. Our power was out from about midnight Friday to midnight Saturday. I'm so glad we have a gas stove, a generator and a fireplace. The kids were up early on Saturday and thought is was so much fun to play with flashlights. I fried homemade doughnuts for breakfast and we ate by candlelight. Cyle lit a fire in the fireplace in the afternoon and we all sat around (as much as the kids can) soaking up it's warmth watching the snow fall. By the evening it was 54 degrees in our house. After Cyle put the kids to bed (with two layers of pjs on under 3 or 4 blankets), I prayed that our power would come back on so they wouldn't get cold throughout the night. And it did!
The Canadian weather channel reported that Washington DC has gotten more snow this year than Toronto or Ottawa. Last night we got another couple of inches. Compared to Saturday, it's not too bad. The schools have been closed all week and so has the Federal Government. Cyle's gotten a mini-vacation and we've loved it! Although, he's spent a lot of that time shoveling snow...We are truly blessed to have great neighbors that have cleared our driveway for us and let us hang out at their house to break-up the time.

Catch Up!

Because of the "Blizzard of 2009," Clayton's school Christmas pageant got rescheduled to January 6, Feast of the Epiphany. The 3 year-old class were the Heavenly Choir. I didn't get any good pictures in church because it was too dark, but I did get a few in the hall. It was a very sweet pageant and Clayton did really well standing up front and not crying. Did he sing the songs? Well, kind of.

Two tired boys at the supper table!

For Christmas, I made the boys matching robes. This the the only time that both have actually worn them. Clayton loves his and wears it nearly every night after his bath. Levi hates his.

On December 19, we got just about 18 inches of snow. It was really pretty, though everything was shut down. It stayed cool enough for us to play in it for a long, long time and was even around so that we could enjoy a white Christmas!
We've had a quiet January. We're getting back into the school routine and have actually had quite a few nice days to play outside. Today it's 52 and sunny - couldn't ask for better weather in January! Levi's vocabulary is steadily growing and Clayton gets so excited when Levi says a new word. It's great because it really encourages Levi to say it again. Clayton is growing more and more independent and thinks he can do all things, "by his ownself." Levi thinks he can do whatever Clayton does. As Levi is getting older and bigger, he's starting to hold his own against Clayton, which has resulted in a lot of screaming and crying from both boys. This past week, for the first time, Levi took a toy from Clayton and said, "Mine!" It didn't go over so well with Clayton, though he go no sympathy from Mom. That's what happens after 17 months of taking toys from Levi. But, as Levi is getting older, they are starting to play together more and more. Last week they spent over 30 minutes quietly sitting on our balcony with various Nerf weaponry hunting "mouses." (No, we do not have a mice problem.) I have to say, I love that they can play together, if only in short bursts of time.
Happy (belated) New Year!

Clayton's First Kill

Yesterday afternoon, I was summoned to the door only to find my dear little Clayton holding a rabbit by the foot. He exclaimed, "Look what I killed with my BB gun! A RABBIT!" He (and Cyle) were very excited. They had gone for a walk in the woods and Clayton had asked to take along the BB gun. Once they spotted the rabbit, after a little encouragement and a little help aiming the gun from Dad, Clayton hit the rabbit on his first shot.

I pulled out the video camera to get the full story recorded and though it was his first kill, Clayton already knows how to tell a "hunting tale." It was full of exaggeration, almost accurate information, and lots of enthusiastic sound effects. Cyle was able to fill me in on the true events.
Levi was also very excited for Clayton. He kept pointing to the rabbit saying, "Pow! Pow! Pow!"

Clayton told Cyle they taught him how to clean rabbits at school. Hmmm... Turns out that Clayton still wanted a little help.

So tonight- rabbit soup for supper!

Merry Christmas!

A few Clayton stories to brighten your Christmas:

Earlier this week, I asked him what kind of cake we should bake for Baby Jesus' birthday. He thought for a few seconds then replied by asking, "Will the mailman take it to the stable?"

As we were getting everything ready for Santa (setting out the cookies and the reindeer food) Clayton looked up at Cyle and asked, "But how does Santa see in the night?" Cyle told him he had a flashlight. Then Clayton asked, "Does he bring it into the dark, scary chimney, too?"

After we had set everything out for Santa and checked his status on Norad's site, Clayton proclaimed, "Let's get to bed! And quick!" Never have we heard those words out of his mouth!

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!!

Christmas Crafts

These are a couple of the crafts I done for Christmas. I made the holly wreath for my friend Angie. And the Rudolph shirts are made with the boys' handprints.