This is one of my all time favorite commercials! Enjoy.
September 27, 2008
Some Simmons' Updates
Here are some recent photo's of the kids.
Some of interesting tid-bits about them--
Audrey's favorite sound to make right now is this non-girly sound that is exactly like a whale blowing water out of it's blow hole. She is also rolling over all the time, and is laughing regularly--especially at Cecilia, Gareth, dogs, and Daddy's beard up against her face.
Gareth is talking quite alot now and is obsessed with the Moon and Stars! ANYTIME we are in the car he wants to know where his moon and stars are, "Mommy, Mommy"
"Yes Gareth?"
"Where my Moon and star? Mommy, Mommy?"
"Yes Gareth?"
"Where my Moon and stars?" "Well Gareth they don't come out during the day. They are all asleep."
"Mommy, Mommy?"
"Yes Gareth?"
"Where my Moon and stars?"
I try and get him to start asking his daddy or my friend Amanda, but that doesn't last too long and he normally comes back to his favorite phrase, "Mommy, Mommy?" Just like Cecilia when she was young, I wonder if I should worry that Gareth is apparently a moon worshiper. But then I remember that Abram worshiped the moon before God introduced Himself and I would say that Abram turned out just fine.
Gareth also has a riding toy he got for Christmas, and he loves to crash into everything with that truck! His new favorite crash site is his older sister's shins! Several times during the day, I'll be in the living room working, and I'll hear that truck thundering down the hall, enter the kitchen, and SLAM! Then the inevitable, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MOMMY HE HIT ME WITH HIS TRUCK!"
I head into the other room where Cecilia is on the floor holding her leg and Gareth, instead of looking sad or ashamed over what he has done, looks up at me with a proud puffed-up chest and deeply gleeful smile.
Cecilia has started school and LOVES it! She bursts in the door of the school each day and tells her teachers how excited she is to be there. She is making friends with the kids in her class and is growing into a kind and thoughtful little girl.
The other day, she, Josh and I were having Quiet Time together and her Pepaw called (this is Josh's dad). She asked if she could talk to him on the phone and while they were chatting he told her that she was coming over that night to spend the night at Pepaw and Grammy's house. Cecilia got instantly excited. She turned to me to ask if it were true, and as she was asking she became so excited, so overwhelmed (please note that all this happens in the space of about 30 seconds) that she began crying, fairly uncontrollably! My heart melted. I told her it was true and she closed her eyes tightly and gave herself an excited hug.
The best part came next when, still in her highly emotional state, she got back on the phone with Pepaw and started explaining how excited she was. When Cecilia is really happy and is trying to talk about it, Stream of consciousness is the only way to describe the experience. So she starts jumping to all these things that make her happy, trying to communicate with Pepaw that she is excited and the only truly coherent thing she gets out is at the end when she blurts, "And PEPAW, God is making us houses in Heaven!!" Josh and I are laughing hysterically not only at Cecilia's verbal vomit which is so sincere and adorable, but mainly because we can hear poor Pepaw on the other end of the phone, not exactly sure what just happened, not exactly sure what Cecilia is talking about and I'm betting that he is rethinking the decision to ask her about the sleepover. When Josh got the phone back Cecilia was adamant that he let Pepaw know that she just crying "happy cries" not sad ones.
Some of interesting tid-bits about them--
Audrey's favorite sound to make right now is this non-girly sound that is exactly like a whale blowing water out of it's blow hole. She is also rolling over all the time, and is laughing regularly--especially at Cecilia, Gareth, dogs, and Daddy's beard up against her face.
Gareth is talking quite alot now and is obsessed with the Moon and Stars! ANYTIME we are in the car he wants to know where his moon and stars are, "Mommy, Mommy"
"Yes Gareth?"
"Where my Moon and star? Mommy, Mommy?"
"Yes Gareth?"
"Where my Moon and stars?" "Well Gareth they don't come out during the day. They are all asleep."
"Mommy, Mommy?"
"Yes Gareth?"
"Where my Moon and stars?"
I try and get him to start asking his daddy or my friend Amanda, but that doesn't last too long and he normally comes back to his favorite phrase, "Mommy, Mommy?" Just like Cecilia when she was young, I wonder if I should worry that Gareth is apparently a moon worshiper. But then I remember that Abram worshiped the moon before God introduced Himself and I would say that Abram turned out just fine.
Gareth also has a riding toy he got for Christmas, and he loves to crash into everything with that truck! His new favorite crash site is his older sister's shins! Several times during the day, I'll be in the living room working, and I'll hear that truck thundering down the hall, enter the kitchen, and SLAM! Then the inevitable, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! MOMMY HE HIT ME WITH HIS TRUCK!"
I head into the other room where Cecilia is on the floor holding her leg and Gareth, instead of looking sad or ashamed over what he has done, looks up at me with a proud puffed-up chest and deeply gleeful smile.
Cecilia has started school and LOVES it! She bursts in the door of the school each day and tells her teachers how excited she is to be there. She is making friends with the kids in her class and is growing into a kind and thoughtful little girl.
The other day, she, Josh and I were having Quiet Time together and her Pepaw called (this is Josh's dad). She asked if she could talk to him on the phone and while they were chatting he told her that she was coming over that night to spend the night at Pepaw and Grammy's house. Cecilia got instantly excited. She turned to me to ask if it were true, and as she was asking she became so excited, so overwhelmed (please note that all this happens in the space of about 30 seconds) that she began crying, fairly uncontrollably! My heart melted. I told her it was true and she closed her eyes tightly and gave herself an excited hug.
The best part came next when, still in her highly emotional state, she got back on the phone with Pepaw and started explaining how excited she was. When Cecilia is really happy and is trying to talk about it, Stream of consciousness is the only way to describe the experience. So she starts jumping to all these things that make her happy, trying to communicate with Pepaw that she is excited and the only truly coherent thing she gets out is at the end when she blurts, "And PEPAW, God is making us houses in Heaven!!" Josh and I are laughing hysterically not only at Cecilia's verbal vomit which is so sincere and adorable, but mainly because we can hear poor Pepaw on the other end of the phone, not exactly sure what just happened, not exactly sure what Cecilia is talking about and I'm betting that he is rethinking the decision to ask her about the sleepover. When Josh got the phone back Cecilia was adamant that he let Pepaw know that she just crying "happy cries" not sad ones.
September 18, 2008
Nostalgic Musings
I've been moving through a workbook--"The Creative Call" by Janice Elshiemer. The author encourages you to get up early & write in a creative journal she calls a daybook. This week one of the daybook exercises was to jot down some favorite memories from childhood. I deeply enjoyed thinking through this and thought some of you might enjoy reading it.
On Sunday nights after church my parents often went out with friends to Shoney's. I remember sitting beside them in the cushy booth, listening to my Dad and our pastor talk about the mysteries of scripture. Even as a little kid I felt pride in my Dad's desire to know God and understand the Word. He would get so excited that he would proclaim in a loud belly laugh the greatness of his God. I remember wanting to know every detail about the topic they were discussing that week. Their talks made me want to discover the nuggets of truth they possessed and be included in the conversation. I think this is where my curiosity for scripture was born.
Some nights, when I was not engaged in listening, I was busy making the ever popular "mystery" drink with the kids who had come. A staple of our late nights out was dumping everything from our plates and the table into our water glasses and daring each other to drink it. It was inevitable though, no mater how careful and quiet we were, the cup would always end up knocked over. The contents spilling over us, our table, our shoes and the floor. Our parents would consequently swoop down on our table and usher us out to the car and home to bed.
I loved climbing trees and playing in creeks. I remember the joy I felt when I was up among the branches. I was strong and indestructible! Grace and skill seemed like second nature which was the opposite of how I felt when I was on the ground. I loved the solitude as well. When I was up as high as I could go, and had found the perfect notch to lean or sit on, I remember closing my eyes and enjoying the wind rocking the branches and tickling my face with my hair.
There was a creek behind our church that I was always trying to get into! My mom remained frustrated in the summer because I constantly muddied my nice shoes and dirtied my Sunday dresses. I remember the satisfaction I felt when I would jump from rock to rock to rock all up and down the course of the creek. It was the first place I felt independent from my parents. Making my own choices and suffering the consequence of a wet shoe if I made a poor one. Even better was when I would take off my shoes and wade into the water. I loved squishing my toes in the mud and was terrified that I would get pinched by crawfish.
One of my favorite places to spend time with I was young was my friend Holly's house. Holly was a great friend to have. She was kind and energetic, and she loved to pretend as much as I did. I always felt safe around her. I felt like I could be completely myself and she valued the person I let her see.
She lived in, at least I remember it being an old farmhouse. There was a barn with animals (she raised a cow for 4H at one point), a big interesting back yard, her mysterious artistic older brother (smile), and her mother, Paula, who was as kind as Holly. Her house was like a fantasy land for me. There was a wood-burning kitchen stove and a big fireplace. It was away from the main road so we could roam around on our own, letting our imaginations run wild.
I think Holly is the reason I love to read today. She had so many books at her house and I remember one of our favorite past times was reading to each other and telling each other stories. Holly's mom loved telling stories too and knew many folk tales that she would tell us over and over. I vividly remember her telling me about the first woman who was executed in NC. Holly introduced me to my favorite book, "The Westing Game" one night when I was spending time with her and her family as they worked to put up some harvested something. We took turns reading it to each other late into the night, sitting by the campfire, with the aid of a flashlight. It was so spooky I wanted to stop reading but so interesting I couldn't.
Those weren't all the things I loved from when I was a kid, but it is all I'll blog about for now. I would love to hear some of your favorite things from childhood and would encourage you to take some time this week to write about your own memories. It was really satisfying!
On Sunday nights after church my parents often went out with friends to Shoney's. I remember sitting beside them in the cushy booth, listening to my Dad and our pastor talk about the mysteries of scripture. Even as a little kid I felt pride in my Dad's desire to know God and understand the Word. He would get so excited that he would proclaim in a loud belly laugh the greatness of his God. I remember wanting to know every detail about the topic they were discussing that week. Their talks made me want to discover the nuggets of truth they possessed and be included in the conversation. I think this is where my curiosity for scripture was born.
Some nights, when I was not engaged in listening, I was busy making the ever popular "mystery" drink with the kids who had come. A staple of our late nights out was dumping everything from our plates and the table into our water glasses and daring each other to drink it. It was inevitable though, no mater how careful and quiet we were, the cup would always end up knocked over. The contents spilling over us, our table, our shoes and the floor. Our parents would consequently swoop down on our table and usher us out to the car and home to bed.
I loved climbing trees and playing in creeks. I remember the joy I felt when I was up among the branches. I was strong and indestructible! Grace and skill seemed like second nature which was the opposite of how I felt when I was on the ground. I loved the solitude as well. When I was up as high as I could go, and had found the perfect notch to lean or sit on, I remember closing my eyes and enjoying the wind rocking the branches and tickling my face with my hair.
There was a creek behind our church that I was always trying to get into! My mom remained frustrated in the summer because I constantly muddied my nice shoes and dirtied my Sunday dresses. I remember the satisfaction I felt when I would jump from rock to rock to rock all up and down the course of the creek. It was the first place I felt independent from my parents. Making my own choices and suffering the consequence of a wet shoe if I made a poor one. Even better was when I would take off my shoes and wade into the water. I loved squishing my toes in the mud and was terrified that I would get pinched by crawfish.
One of my favorite places to spend time with I was young was my friend Holly's house. Holly was a great friend to have. She was kind and energetic, and she loved to pretend as much as I did. I always felt safe around her. I felt like I could be completely myself and she valued the person I let her see.
She lived in, at least I remember it being an old farmhouse. There was a barn with animals (she raised a cow for 4H at one point), a big interesting back yard, her mysterious artistic older brother (smile), and her mother, Paula, who was as kind as Holly. Her house was like a fantasy land for me. There was a wood-burning kitchen stove and a big fireplace. It was away from the main road so we could roam around on our own, letting our imaginations run wild.
I think Holly is the reason I love to read today. She had so many books at her house and I remember one of our favorite past times was reading to each other and telling each other stories. Holly's mom loved telling stories too and knew many folk tales that she would tell us over and over. I vividly remember her telling me about the first woman who was executed in NC. Holly introduced me to my favorite book, "The Westing Game" one night when I was spending time with her and her family as they worked to put up some harvested something. We took turns reading it to each other late into the night, sitting by the campfire, with the aid of a flashlight. It was so spooky I wanted to stop reading but so interesting I couldn't.
Those weren't all the things I loved from when I was a kid, but it is all I'll blog about for now. I would love to hear some of your favorite things from childhood and would encourage you to take some time this week to write about your own memories. It was really satisfying!
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