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Me: Rock, what do you think we should name your baby sister?
Rock: My favorite girls name.
Me: What name is that?
Rock: Shin. (said with look that says "Duh Mom.")
Me: Shin?
Rock: Yes, that is my favorite girls name.
In several conversations since this one, he has continued to confirm that "Shin"' is his favorite girls name. I don't know where it comes from as he doesn't even know that he has a body part called a shin. I've told him "Shin" would be a great nickname.

At Juju's house the other day, I was in one room while Juju and Rock were playing in another. When I went in to ask Rock what he was doing he pointed to the door and said "Mom, please give me some privacy."

Me: Rock did you have any dreams last night?
Rock: Yes.
Me: What did you dream about?
Rock: BANANAS!!!

Driving home late one night...
Me: Rock, when we get home you have to go right to bed.
Rock: Why Mommy?
Me: Because it's late and you need your sleep.
Rock: I don't want to go to bed. I want to play for a few minutes.
Me: Rock, who's in charge of making this decision?
Rock: Mommy.
Me: So if I say that you are going to go right to bed, you will go right to bed. End of discussion.
Rock: I want to be in charge too.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Sunday night our church gathered to eat an early Thanksgiving dinner together.

Since Fix was out of town, Rock and I brought along Nana and Papa. The food was delicious.

And the dessert was clearly fabulous for all the empty pie plates and the mess we made on the dessert table!

After dinner and dessert, the 1st and 2nd graders recited Psalm 100.

And Ralph shared his impressive knowledge of the history of Thanksgiving.

During this time, Rock and Violet tuned Ralph out and colored instead.
But then WILLIAM BRADFORD SHOWED UP! Papa John William Bradford was so engaging even the kids paid attention.
He was interviewed by WRPCB's Andy Gravatt and told us all sorts of interesting information about the pilgrims, their voyage across the Atlantic, their settling in the new land, and the Harvest Home feast that has been referred to as the first Thanksgiving. Most importantly he shared how the pilgrims faith in God helped them through really hard times.

Then the Choir sang a beautiful rendition of "Come Ye Thankful People." See Linnea in the front row? She isn't really a member of the choir yet as she hasn't learned to leave her pacifier at her seat when they perform.

When the official program was over, Linus wanted to take his picture with "that funny guy."

So did Rock.

And William.

And Lucy, although she insisted that her mom hold her to keep a safe distance from Mr. Bradford. Taking these pictures I got a sense of what it must be like for those people who photograph Santa at the mall.
Finally, a cute picture of the McGoverns and Mr. Bradford. If only that little boy in the left corner hadn't jumped in to distract Zeke.

Rock thought he was REALLY funny for trying to get into their picture.

And one of just Alethea. Isn't she adorable? I think it's because she was born on the best day of the year.* Thank you William Bradford for coming to RPCB to share your story with us! And thank you to my fellow church members for putting together such a FABULOUS potluck dinner! Happy Thanksgiving to all!
*The best day of the year is of course, February 12th. This is the date that Abraham Lincoln, Arsenio Hall, Christina Ricci, Rachel Fix and countless other fabulous people were born.

Grilled Cheese Party!

Last Saturday, I co-hosted a Grilled Cheese Party with my friends Lynn and Nancy. We invited all the preschoolers from church and their families.

For the adults we made three types of gourmet grilled cheese: Gorgonzola and Honey on Whole Wheat, Cheddar and Mango Chutney on Whole Wheat, and Mozzarella, Prosciutto, and Basil on Italian. I recommend them all very highly.
We also made regular old American and White bread sandwiches for the kids.

There was plenty of Trader Joe's Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato soup and veggies and apple slices to go around. For dessert we had Pumpkin Cake and Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake.

We held the event at Lynn's house since she decorates for every season and her Fall decor was very festive.

Thank you Lynn and Nancy for helping to throw a fabulous, yummy party!

Story Hour

Rock and I love to go to Story Hour at Pottery Barn Kids. He gets a little card that they stamp each time we attend. Five stamps = $10 off our next PBK purchase. I don't want to ruin any surprises, so I'll just say that I may or may not have bought him a few Christmas gifts with the last two cards we filled out.
The best part about going last week, was that Fix came with us. I decided to take a picture where they both looked really awkward to document the event. After the tales were told, Rock introduced his dad to Stacie our favorite story lady.

Then we let Rock use up a bunch of energy at the playground. Here he is singing into the microphone. Also known as a mast.

Adeline and Camille

We recently had the privilege of nannying for Rock's friends Adeline and Camille. I've watched the three of them together before. Usually, Rock and Adeline spend most of their time concentrating on the hate aspect of their love-hate relationship.

This time it was all love. They got along like peas and carrots. They shared a chair and read to each other.

They did puzzles together. They also sang together and played a lot of Ring Around the Rosies.

Then Camille, Adeline's sister woke up from her nap and the fun really began.

Rock really wanted to "cuddle in Camille's soft blanket." So I decided to try a photo shoot of the two of them, but Camille was more interested in Rock's cup than in flashing her priceless smile.

Even when Rock shot her the evil eye, she still kept up her pursuit.

She even tried to offer her pacifier as a trade.

He just laughed.

When Adeline tried to get in on the action...

Rock was done. Perhaps too much pink?

Still I got him to hug Camille. Then she was done.

Really done. So the photography ended and we moved on to more fun. Thanks again to Adeline, Camille and Rock for a delightful day of play!

I WON!!!

While these guys were busy schmoozing and socializing at Calvin in the Capitol, I filled out a card for a door prize provided by White Horse Inn. If you aren't familiar with the White Horse Inn radio show, you should be. I have been a listener for a few years and can truly confirm that they have helped me understand "what I believe and why I believe it." I'm a big fan.
So, I was totally pumped when this package arrived in the mail. I WON THE DRAWING! The last time I won something fabulous was in a coloring contest about 22 years ago. This time around, I won an MP3 disc of some classic White Horse Inn episodes, and..... and.... and....

An IPOD SHUFFLE!!! I am still pinching myself -- I just can't believe that I won something! This is just the pick-me-up I needed and now I can listen while I work on my never-ending list of projects. I already downloaded a bunch of White Horse Inn shows and a bunch of songs.

Isn't that awesome how they engraved it? Thank you thank you thank you White Horse Inn!

Recognizable

The other night Rock was coloring and started talking about drawing a train track. So, I decided to teach him how to draw them. With just a little direction from me, he produced the track above.

Then recreated it on the top of the page on his own. I think it'll be awhile before we get to drawing trains on the track, but it's a start!