Elijah's Birthday...

The Saturday we were in Nashville just so happened to be our nephew, Elijah's birthday. He informed us on Saturday morning, AND throughout the day, that we had ACTUALLY missed his ACTUAL birthday because he ACTUALLY turned 7 while we were sleeping, about 2AM in the morning!

FUNNY STORY: We brought a small I-am-so-glad-we-are-family gift for each of the Plattners. On Saturday afternoon, I assembled all the gift bags and lined them up on the bed in the guest bedroom awaiting the evening's party. 9 bags, in a row. Upon exiting the room, I must not have pulled the door completely closed. Some time later, Elijah told his mom, "Mom. I was walking down the hallway & the door was open, so I just look in and saw gifts on the bed. Uncle Blake & Aunt Christine must be REALLY excited about my birthday. They brought me A LOT of gifts!" I think he was slightly disappointed when he only recv'd ONE of the bags :)

Happy 7th Birthday, Elijah!

Digging in the Dirt...

Although I love the benefits, oh-so-fresh & healthy foods, I do not like gardening. I mean, it is just so much work! :)

There's the digging in the dirt. UGH! And pulling weeds. And watering plants. And watching for bugs. EEK!
And then the harvesting. Blicking beans. Shelling peas. Cleaning potatoes. Washing lettuce/spinach.
Whew! I am exhausted already...and slightly hungry, too!

Now that I've broadcasted my lazyness to ya'll AND probably embarrassed my mom who has a garden the size of a small field, let's just say I was thrilled when Saturday's afternoon activity in Nashville included GARDENING. (They did the work; I took the pictures!) Alexander joined in the fun & had the time of his life 'helping' my neices Anissa, Moriah and Emily.

a boy & a spray nozzle (water hose): what a combination! these are Anissa's "gardening tatoos" from carrying bags of topsoil... picking lettuce with Emily...

In Nashville with the Plattner Pals...

We spent this past Easter weekend with Blake's sister & family in Nashville. The Plattner Pals, are so much fun! Alexander was LOVING it! With seven cousins at his beck-and-call, there was always someone to play with, read with, play with, explore the woods with, play with, chase after, ETC. Here are some snapshots of our time together.

SISTERS: Savannah Rose & Emily Marie (in PINK!)... COUSINS: the sweet blue-eyed Savannah and Xander performing a concert all their own... BB: there was lots of hoop-action on the driveway... THE REFEREE: When the action got too 'active', Xander took to the sidelines to observe...

KITE FLYING: Hey, a few inches off the ground count as kite-flying, right?

MORIAH: I love the look of pure excitement on her face as she rushes about the cul-de-sac...

So, what did we do in the afternoon? Stay tuned!

Some Recent Xander-isms...

#1 While observing me check my apperance in our full-length mirror before leaving for church. "Momma. You need to put some of that tummy away." NOTE TO SELF: Spend more time at the gym!

#2 While driving in the car & after being denied a request, the X-man said in a cautionary & quite mature voice. "I'm getting upset." NOTE TO SELF: Research 'Anger Management Classes.'

#3 Overheard while sharing lunch with his playmate. "Alea. Do you love me?" NOTE TO SELF: Keep an eye on those two! :)

One of THEM Moments...

Earlier this week I experienced one of those can-i-get-a-do-over moments. Here's how it played out. NOTE: The folloing events all occurred in about a 6.2 second timeframe.

Alexander and I were in the basement.

I smelled smoke.

I ran upstairs and screeched.

Alexander followed...and screeched louder.

The timer went off.

The smoke alarm went off.

The UPS man knocked on the door (indicating a package).

Call me crazy, but as I peeked out the window, I do believe I saw the deliveryman leaving our driveway at a faster-than-normal pace :)

Prayer Request...

My good friend. A friend of my heart. A friend who loveth at all times. A compassionate listener. A ready encourager. A follower of Christ. A friend of Christ. She was recently diagnosed with cancer. And she's scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Would you pray that her heart can be filled with peace & courage? Her name is Lois.

Family Weekend

Last weekend, we hosted Blake's family for a fun-filled family weekend. I was distracted with the 'organizing' that I did not take many pictures and those I did take...um, not so good. One of the activities was a visit to Extreme Trampolines, which was a totally fun couple of hours for both adults & kids. Here are some pictures of our time there. As mentioned earlier, quality leaves a bit to be desired -- do you know how hard it is to take photos of individuals always in motion?

We spent some time swimming together at a local hotel on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. During lunch on Saturday we had a little impromptu celebration of Dad & Mom's upcoming retirement where we gave Dad a couple of imaginary (wink! wink!) retirement projects & enjoyed some homemade sauerkraut using the crock that Blake recv'd for Christmas. In the evening, we spent a nostalgic evening eating Giordano's pizza which is not available in the three states where Blake's siblings live (yummy!) and played our own version of Minute-To-Win-It games (lots of laughs!)

More X-Man Style Files

There was this post. And then this one. And now for the X-man's latest fashion-forward entry. Pajamas, snow boots, gloves and shades. Ow!

Recipe: Homemade Granola

Alexander and I have been making homemade granola for the past several months. While we have tried a couple of recipe combinations, thanks to a recommendation from my good friend Kasey, I think I have found THE recipe in the Artisian Bread in Five Minutes A Day cookbook. Granola tends to be a very kid-friendly kitchen project. At our house, I measure and Xander dumps.I typically put my mixing bowl inside a jellyroll pan so if anything lands OUTSIDE the bowl, I know it should have been INSIDE. While I mix the liquid ingredients, the X-man stirs (and stirs, and stirs, and stirs...) the dry.

gathering the ingredients...

stirring the dry ingredients... ready for the oven...i like to store my granola in a glass jar; kind of old-fashioned nostalgia, I guess

NOTE: I have tried repeatedly to post the recipe ingredients & instructions but having some 'technical difficulties' so I will try to do so later.