Please pray

If you have listened to any kind of Christian music over the last 25 or so years, you have probably heard something by Steven Curtis Chapman. He is one of my favorite artists in Christian music, for many reasons.

Last night, his 5 year old adopted daughter from China was struck and killed by an SUV in their driveway at home. The SUV was driven by the Chapman's teenage son, who apparently did not see the child in the driveway.

I can't image this terribly difficult situation.....please, please include this family in your prayers as they face immensely difficult days ahead. You can read more about the incident at Fox News.

A special gift

My sweet Mother's Day gift from my sweet Mother-in-law!

She pulled pictures off of my blog and MADE THEM INTO COASTERS FOR ME!

How cool is that? She is so creative. I would probably never think of something like that. But she did, and they are sooooo special to me! (Never mind the fact that Ethan likes to play the 'slam the hard ceramic coasters down on Mommy's glass end table' game (hee hee)....we've dealt with that by keeping them on higher ground where little hands can't reach!)

Lynette--I love these! Thank you so very much for doing this for me! You are one thoughtful Mother-in-law!

Progress

I just wanted to thank you all for pitching in your ideas for helping Ethan adjust to regular foods. And, if you haven't yet, please scroll down to the next post and add yours! I got several ideas that I intend to try, including what many of you said: trying to 'mash' the food up a little bit more. I am hoping that will do the trick!

Today we had quite a successful breakfast and lunch, so between that and everyone's comments, I am encouraged! Ethan had zucchini bread (not a new one--he loves that) and some dried cereal for breakfast, and Wheat Thins, some yogurt, several bites of cut up banana (which I did have to shove in his mouth for him, but he didn't scream and cry this time--he chewed it up and ate it like a champ, which is definite progress), a few bites of my PB&J, and a few Sun Chips for lunch. (He is a carb addict like his mom, can you tell? All the things he loves most....Sun Chips, zucchini bread, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, dried cereal.....CARBS!)

Anyway, thank you all for giving me some good things to work with....just goes to show you that with motherhood, you are always learning new things!

Calling all Mommies.....

Okay moms. I am calling for H.E.L.P.

My youngest little man, Ethan, is a pretty easy child on most fronts. You would think that by child #3, I would have everything down and hence, not need to be asking advice on something like this; yet, here I am, finding myself facing something that is new territory for me as a mommy.

Ethan will be 16 months old on the 31st of this month, and he is having an absolutely terrible time transitioning to 'normal' table foods. He is still eating jarred or mostly pureed food, like yogurts or refried beans (soft things). Colin and Cameron--and I do realize that each child is different--both began eating some table foods in the 9 - 12 month range; and were eating only table foods shortly after that. I always thought that 'once they get a taste of real food, they don't want to eat the jarred stuff anymore!'

However, that is not proving to be true with Ethan. He is giving us the hardest time.....meal times have just begun to get out of control. I mean, I really am starting to dread them. Ethan doesn't cry much....in fact, the most he does cry is when he is in his chair at the table! I have tried offering him MANY different foods, and he just cries and cries. However, when I finally give in and give him a jar, or some yogurt, because I know that he has to eat something, he stops crying (mostly) and eats.

He does like some table food; he will eat triscuits (how weird, huh? He loves those) or sun chips, cheerios or any kind of breakfast cereal, refried beans, some rice, some cooked hamburger, green beans (sometimes), yogurt, eggs, and cheese. But I am so limited....he just cries and cries if I offer him anything else. Today at lunch it was spaghetti (cut up really small, of course) that we fought over.

He won.

Another really weird thing....even with the foods he does like: when I put them down on his tray, he cries. I have to actually pick the bite up, put it in his mouth while he is crying, and wait for him to chew. Then, he realizes, "Oh, I actually do like this...." and will eat the rest by himself! It is just awful, and is really wearing on me.

I am at my wits end here. I know this may seem strange to some of you, especially if you have good eaters (and my other two have been!) but I am really struggling with this, and would appreciate any advice you are willing to give! :-)

Psalm 119:11 and Romans 6:23

These verses actually were from last week and the week before....I am sooooo behind! This computer trouble is giving me absolute fits, let me tell you!

So, in the time I have today, here are Cameron and Colin doing some verses! (Cameron is soooo cute doing these verses....he has 'ways' of making them his own! In this one, he turns around the words might and not. I'll correct him later--for now I think it's adorable!)

Psalm 119:11: "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Computer Down! Computer Down!

You never realize how dependent you are on certain things until they're gone....

This week, it's the computer. My computer genius of a brother-in-law is in the process of helping me fix the problems, but right now, I can't do much. I think I have some sort of virus or something....the other day, it just crashed right in the middle of what I was doing. I panicked, because when I was trying to get everything up (like, all of my pictures/videos/precious things of my boys that I have recorded!) it wouldn't come up! Luckily, Roger helped me locate and save everything to a disk....and yes, I have now learned my lesson, because if I had lost all of that stuff, I would have been devasted!

Anyway, this silly contraption is still kicking me off of the internet after about 8 minutes, so I don't have long to blog....just wanted to let everyone know that we are doing great here, other than the computer issue, which is hopefully soon to be resolved. I'll be back soon with lots of neat things, including some video of Ethan singing "On top of Spaghetti...." (well, sort of) and the boys' new verses, and lots of pics from the last couple of weeks!

Hope you all had a marvelous and wonderful Mother's day, being celebrated for the amazing women you all are! :-)

25 Reasons I owe my Mother

My Stepmom, Amy, sent this email to me, and I got a real charge out of it. A few times, I caught myself actually laughing out loud....in light of this coming Sunday, when everyone will pause to thank their mom for all the wonderful ways she has blessed their lives, I thought I would pass this along.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE: 'If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.'

2. My mother taught me RELIGION: 'You better pray that will come out of the carpet.'

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: 'If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!'

4. My mother taught me LOGIC: 'Because I said so, that's why.'

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC: 'If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me.'

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT: 'Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident.'

7. My mother taught me IRONY: 'If you don't stop crying, I'll really give you something to cry about.'

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: 'Shut your mouth and eat your supper.'

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: 'Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!'

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA: 'You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone.'

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER: 'This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.'

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: 'If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!'

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE: 'I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.'

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION: 'Stop acting like your father!'

15. My mother taught me about ENVY: 'There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do.'

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: 'Just wait until we get home.'

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING: 'You are going to get it when you get home!'

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: 'If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.'

19. My mother taught me ESP: 'Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?'

20. My mother taught me HUMOR: 'When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me.'

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT: 'If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up.'

22. My mother taught me GENETICS: 'You're just like your father.'

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS: 'Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?'

24. My mother taught me WISDOM: 'When you get to be my age, you'll understand.'

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE: 'One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you .

And the winner is.....

Brittany!

She was the first one (but not the only one) to correctly guess the birth order in the baby pictures!

It was:

#1. Cameron

#2: Ethan (I thought this one would be a no brainer, simply because E was the only one born with hair, but apparently the hair wasn't that apparent in the picture so it was still a tricky one!)
#3: Colin
Also, big props go to Julie, Aimee, Karie, Shelley, and Grandma MJ for knowing the right answers, even though you weren't the first guess!

Name that Merritt

It amazes me sometimes, when I look at baby pictures of my children, just how much they looked alike at one time. (Colin and Ethan definitely still do....) These are all pictures taken very close to the birth of each of my children, and all in the exact same bouncy seat.

Can anyone guess who is who? You have two days from today, Monday, May 5th, to get your guesses in. Just leave me a comment at the bottom of which child you think is which! When you leave your comment make sure you specifiy: Picture #1 is....., #2 is....., and #3 is......

The first person to get the correct order gets their name posted here in BIG letters as the winner! *grin*

Child #1Child #2Child #3

Ethan and my new best friend

Can you say, $12 a year to operate this bad boy?

And, like, 95% less water used with every wash?

And great entertainment for my boys, who love to watch the clothes going around and around and around and around......?

And quiet as a mouse, even when it is spinning at WARP speed?

And clothes that take no time to dry because of said spin cycle?

And the cleanest clothes I've ever seen?

I LOVE YOU SHANE!!!!

Funnies

The April 2008 Installment


~Colin comes into the bathroom, where I am getting ready.
Colin: "Mom, I have to go potty." (Why do both of my boys feel the need to annouce this every time they go?) He then gets on potty and starts going.

After a couple of seconds I asked, "Do you feel better buddy?"

"Not yet Mom...."
Tinkle, tinkle....
Tinkle, tinkle.....
Drip....drip........drip..............

"Aaaaaaaaaah, now I feel better."

**********************************************************************************

~Colin was sitting quietly one day at lunch. This is absolutely unusual, by the way--normally, he and Cameron are carrying on a conversation a mile a minute. I could tell he was pondering something, but I didn't say anything.....I knew he would ask me when he was ready. Nothing could have quite prepared me for what he actually asked.

He turned to me and said,
"Mommy, are you a spring chicken?"

I had no answer for him.....

**********************************************************************************

~Shane, to me, as he is walking out the door to go to work: "Bye, honey!"
Cameron, from the kitchen: "Bye, baby!"

**********************************************************************************

~I noticed one morning that Colin was clearing his throat a lot. So, I asked him, "Col, what's the matter, buddy?"

Colin: "I'm just having some serious coughing issues."

**********************************************************************************

~I came into the living room one morning to find Colin almost on top of Ethan, practically pinning him down. I couldn't tell what he was doing, until I heard Colin say,

"Ethan, hold still. I know this hurts, but I have to get these crusties out of your eyes."

And he did.

**********************************************************************************

~The other day was grocery shopping day. Yes, I do it with all three of them. And, yes, it takes a long time.

Many times, Shane goes with me, and we have sort of a 'family grocery shopping event'; believe it or not, we fill two carts to the brim. But those are our BIG shopping days, when I am shopping for 3-4 weeks worth of meals. This one was just a quick one, only about a page worth on my list to get.

Colin wanted to go outside that morning. Big surprise there....anyway, I told him that it was a quick shopping day, and that we would only be gone for a little while. I said that when we got home, there would still be plenty of time left before lunch, reading time, and rest for him to go outside and play.

Colin, who has gotten used to going on these 2 hour major shopping trips, thinks that over for a moment; then turns to me and says,

"Mom, realistically, I just don't think that is actually going to happen."

**********************************************************************************

~We treated ourselves last weekend to a family night out with my Mom at Monical's Pizza (sorry Dad, I know you are salivating....)

We had gotten our pre-pizza food--you know, the breadsticks and salad, drinks, and all that kind of stuff, and were getting all the boys situated with all they needed. (That can be a task in itself, huh moms?) We noticed, however, that the waitress had forgotten to bring us one of our salad dressings, so we called her over to the table and asked her for it. She left, retrieved the dressing, and brought it to our table.

"Is there anything else I can get for you? Anything else you need?" she asked me.

I replied, "No thanks, I think we are good now!" and she started to walk away. That's when Cameron, who was intently watching this interaction with the waitress, piped up from his seat:

"Yes, we need our PIZZA!"

**********************************************************************************

~And, one that is not a funny, but just sooooo sweet, and I want to remember it:

Colin, saying his prayers a few nights ago, was done, and had said, "In Jesus' name....." and stopped. Then, he said (as if it were an afterthought), "And thank you for my Mom. My sweet Mom. Who is so pretty. In Jesus' name, amen."

He got an extra big hug that night....

*********************************************************************************

~We went out for some mexican food a few nights ago. It was de-lish. :-) One of my favorite places.....anyway, as we were loading up the boys back into the van, Colin got a funny look on his face.

"What is it, Col?" I said.

Colin, after a long pause: "Mom, I almost threw up just now. I burped, and it came up in my mouth. And it was all over in there. It wasn't very fresh......it was yucky."

**********************************************************************************

~Colin was putting on his socks this morning, and grabbed one of several pairs that are in his drawer that I hate--they are soooo huge on him, it is ridiculous. They have just gotten so stretched out because he pulls them up to his knees when he puts them on. They're ankle socks, crew style. I keep meaning to throw them away, but then the bargain hunter inside of me says things like "Well, maybe I'll rummage them....." or "I should just put them away until he gets a little bigger, and then they will fit him...." and so, they never make it to the trash can.

Colin knows how much I hate these socks, because every time he puts them on, he ends up taking them off and getting another pair midway through the day because they bug him so much, and I end up saying something to the effect of, "I hate those socks."

So, he grabs these socks, and we do our usual, "Take those socks off and get another pair, Col. Those are too big on you."

To which he says to me, "Mom, maybe instead of always having to take these socks off to get another pair, we could just take them back to the lady at the store? We could say, 'Excuse me, Lady? Lady? I mean.....Excuse me, Ma'am? We just need to tell you that we can't use these socks for our kids anymore, because they are waaaaaay too big for their feet.' And, then, we could just get some different pairs so I don't always have to change out of those ones."

I wonder where he gets this talent?

If you are wondering how Colin learned to climb this high in a tree......

See the post below!
(And he is as high up as he looks in these pictures!)

How a Redneck Merritt takes down Christmas Lights:

Colin, trying his best to be helpful....but nowhere near as high as Daddy!

Important thing to note:

Yes, I know it is almost the end of April. I understand it is awfully late to be taking Christmas lights down. We actually had a neighbor stop by and ask if we were putting lights up already! I suppose it would be better to be super early putting them up, rather than so late taking them down. :-)


We always leave our Christmas lights up on this particular tree until it gets warmer outside. This tree is extremely difficult to string lights on (it takes several hours), and in turn, is extremely difficult to get the lights back off of. So, we take all the Christmas lights down in early January--except for these.


Lest you think we really are rednecks.

The 'end' of Bear

Poor Bear......
He met his 'demise' today......
All thanks to my sweet son, Colin, who thought that the phone hanger in his 'kitchen' would be a great place for Bear to rest.
(The scarf is suposed to go around his neck....)

From my yard to my table

Ah, one of the many gifts of Springtime....

The honesty of a 4-year-old

Colin's prayers last night (with me, sitting right next to him):

"Dear Jesus,

Thank you for this day. Thank you for Mommy, and Daddy, and Cameron, and Ethan.

Thank you for the grass and for my bed, and for the dresser, and for our van.

Thank you for Grandma, and Grandma and Grandpa, and Grandpa Danny and Amy in New Jersey, and Rog and Aimee, and Luke.....and.....Mommy, what is Rog and Aimee's baby called?"

Me: "Olivia."

"Thank you for baby Olivia, and for Jay and Karie, and Reese, and.....Mommy, what is Jay and Karie's baby called?"

Me: "Callen."

"Thank you for baby Callen too.

And please let us have a sunny, warm day tomorrow, so that we can go outside and play baseball.....and soccer.....and swing on the swings.....and ride bikes.....and go down the street and see Dadddy. And, please help Mommy to learn how to throw the baseball to me a little bit better. She doesn't do it very good.....Daddy does it good, but Mommy doesn't. He just does it better than her. I like it better when Daddy throws it. But Mommy can throw it too, she just.....needs to do it a little bit better.

In Jesus' name,
Amen."

Lookie, Gramma 'Nette! Lookie what we did!

The boys got one of their favorite outdoor activity tools from Grandma and Grandpa Merritt for Easter....sidewalk chalk! And, with weather in the 60's and almost 70's here over the last few days, we have put that chalk to some great use!!

Hmmm....what do we have here?

Well, this is pretty neat!

Colin, beginning masterpiece #1

Mom, how can I ever work when you are always making me look at the camera?

Colin, what are you drawing?
A picture of mommy!

Cameron, overseeing the projects from his bike

Project #2--an "I'm-not-sure-what-it-is-but-it's-filled-with-lots-of-color" picture

A message from the boys.....

So much has been happening around here lately. I am going to have to do about 6 different posts, just to catch up! We have been outdoors a lot, and having a great time together as a family. All the leaves are officially cleaned up from the yard, outdoor furniture is once again seeing the light of day, we have already mowed the grass (I say, 'we'.....I mean Shane), and we are beginning to prep the garden (yay!) for planting next month. I can already taste the tomatoes....

Oh, man. Does it feel GREAT to be outside again!

(By the way, in case anyone is wondering....the earthquake did hit us, this morning about 4:40 a.m. Shane and I both rocketed out of bed, not knowing what on earth was going on. I thought it was the wind or something, but Shane said there was no way the wind could be shaking the house like that! (What can I say....I was half asleep!) Everything settled down after about 5 seconds, we went back to sleep, and then found out this morning that our little corner of the world had made the national news! Pretty exciting....we're all fine, no damage to anything, and we're very thankful for that!)

Jok(st)ers #1 and #2

****"EDIT!!! Even if you read this post yesterday, you must read again! I had to come in here first thing this morning to edit it. I thought about just writing a new post....but since I just posted funnies yesterday, I decided to simply add to this one. The two things that came out of Colin's mouth yesterday and this morning were just too good not to add! See very bottom of post for the new additions!

Cameron has truly been hilarious this past week.

I don't know if it is the fact that he was sick the week before last and did nothing but lie around for like, 6 days, and now he just has all that extra energy and craziness bound up inside of him that has to come out, or what....but he has been in rare comedic form.

With all of the sickness floating around here lately, the phrase, "I don't feel good" has been said more times than I care to count in the last 3 weeks or so. Cameron was the first one sick, the first one to the doctor, and the first one to get better. So when I heard Cameron say this again a couple of mornings ago at breakfast, I (slightly) panicked. (Keep in mind that he took, like, 12 different medicines, and has been better for about a week and a half now.)

Cameron: "I not fee good, Mommy."
Me, apprehensively: "What?"
Cameron: "I not fee good, Mommy."
Me: "Oh really? (trying to downplay, here....) What hurts?"
Cameron: "My toe."
Me: "Your toe?"
Cameron: "My TOTE!"
Me: "Oh, your throat?"
Cameron: "Yes (nodding)."
Me, thinking....: "Cameron, show me where it hurts."
He then proceeds to point to his lower belly and say, "My TOTE, Mommy, My TOTE!"
Me, concealing my smile: "Well, we will just take it easy today, and I'm sure you'll feel better soon."
Cameron: "No Mommy....I need go goctor. I sick. I need medsin."
He looks at me, quite seriously for just a brief moment, then dissolves into giggles. "I not sick Mommy! Hee hee hee hee!"

Goodness gracious. This kid should be an actor someday. He is soooooo believable.

Some other funnies of late:

~Colin, rushing into my bedroom at about 7:15 this morning, exclaims loudly, "MOMMY!"
Me, groggily: "What, Col?"
Colin: "Do you see the sun shining brightly today?"
Me, taking the pillow off of my head, which reveals a bedroom that is flooded with sunlight: "Yes, Colin, I do. Very bright, and very sunny." Pillow then returns to it's original spot over my head.
Colin: "Mom, we can go outside today! The sun is shining so bright, and it is not at all bloomy out there!"
He was going for gloomy....which to me was funny that he even knew that word. I am certain he picked it up from me, but it was funny nonetheless.

~Colin has had terribly dry lips the last several days (all stuffy at night+an open mouth while sleeping=dry lips!) We were out to dinner a few nights ago, and I noticed he was licking his lips a lot. He is a big fan of some special lip stuff that I carry in my purse that tastes like vanilla....I figured his lips were bothering him, and I was just about to ask him if he needed some, when he turned to me and loudly proceeded to ask,
"Mommy, can I have some of the chuh.....cuh.....cruh....CRAPSTICK that is in your purse?"

Shane and I immediately died; I handed over my chapstick and made a mental note that that was definitely one for the blog.

~Cameron has this terrible habit right now of saying, "What?" whenever you say something to him.
"Cameron, come here please!"
"What?"
"Cameron, don't do that please!"
"What?"
"Cameron, time for rest!"
"What?"

Doesn't matter what you say, he inevitably says "What?" at least one time. (By the way, he is hearing what we say....this just seems to be a habit he has formed.) It can be funny, but it can also be horribly annoying. And apparently, not only to me. The other day, Cameron was in the dining room at the table, doing a puzzle, and Colin was asking him to come out into the living room and play with him....

Colin: "Cameron, why don't you come out here and play with me?"
Cameron: "What?"
Colin: "I said, why don't you come out here and play with me?"
Cameron: "What?"
Colin (getting exasperated): "I said, come out here and play with me!!"
Cameron: "What?"
Colin: "Cameron, stop saying WHAT!!"
Cameron, quiet for a moment, responds: "What choo say?"

Needless to say, Colin gave up, and I quietly made another mental note after my giggling spell.

***New additions:
~Yesterday, Colin came out of my bedroom with his new flip-flops on. We just got them over the weekend, and any time he has been able to sneak into the bag that is in my bedroom to get them, he does...then he wears them around the house for a while, until he gets tired of them.

I had already dressed the boys, but Colin had taken off his socks to put the flip-flops on, and he was carrying the socks around with him in his hands. I told him that it wasn't time to wear his new shoes yet, and to please go put them back in the bag, and put his socks back on. To which he replied,

"Mom, I have a nail."

This is Colin's way of telling me he has a hang nail that needs to be trimmed. I took a closer look at his feet, and discovered that sure enough, one of his toenails was dangerously broken...you know, the kind that, if snagged, could do some serious damage? One of those. Anyway, I told him I would trim the nail up for him, and then he would be able to put his socks back on.

Except, I walked away, got sidetracked, and then forgot all about it.

A few minutes later, I noticed that Colin's socks still weren't on--and he was still carrying them around with him in his hands. I pointed it out, and he then in turn pointed out that "he had a nail." I remembered, and said I would trim it.

Except, I walked away, got sidetracked, and then forgot all about it. Again.

Another few minutes go by, and my poor, patient Colin again points out his toe issues to me. He was still holding his socks! Exasperated with myself for still not handling the need of my poor child, I stopped what I was doing and we went straight to the bathroom to clip all of his toenails.

As I was clipping, Colin and I were making conversation....I should have known better, because his feet were somewhat close to my mouth. (He was on the counter, holding his foot up so that I could see what in the world I was actually cutting off. I've learned that lesson the hard way....)

All of a sudden, one of the nails that I had clipped flew straight into my mouth as I was talking! Talk about gross! So, I immediately started trying to spit it out.

Me: "Puh puh puh!" (That's the best I could come up with to simulate a spitting sound)
Colin: "Mom, why are you spitting all over me!?"
Me, finally having gotten the nail out: "Colin, I am so sorry. It's just that one of your nails flew into my mouth while I was talking, and I had to spit it out quickly!"
Colin, quite matter-of-factly: "Yeah, mom.....toenails are dirty, and that's gross."

~Then, just this morning, (sunny and beautiful AGAIN here today, thank you Lord!) Colin comes in my room, and we are discussing the events of the morning. You know....what we are going to do today, if we have any errands to run, and so on. Don't you routinely have that sort of conversation with your 4 year old?

Colin was once again alluding to wanting to go outside. Now, let me back up one minute. We don't have cable TV here at our house...so usually, the way I figure out what the weather is going to be like for that day is to look out a window, or, open the door to see how warm it is. Some days, I will actually look on the computer....but mostly, I just use the "arm out the door" method. It usually doesn't fail me.

Colin says to me, "Mom, when daddy was leaving just now, I stuck my arm out the door to see how warm it was."
Me: "Oh, yeah? How warm was it?"
Colin: "Mom, it was warm! I think we can go outside today!"
Me, knowing from actually checking the weather this time that it IS supposed to be about 60 and gorgeous here today: "Yes, Colin, it is going to be a really nice day today. Warm, and sunny! We certainly will be going outside!"
Colin: "Well, I don't know the exact temperature....is it supposed to be in the fifties, or in the ten-dies?"

I will say it again. Oh, my goodness gracious. What these children come up with!!

Thank you Lord, for a house filled with laughter!!