Christmas Night

 Nana and Papa brought Grandma Ogle over Christmas night.

Grandma Ogle gets to observe the chaos first hand!




Ooo, a horse carrier.  Exactly like I picked out.



This looks like it can make a lot of noise!  I hope it has an off switch.

Christmas Day

What a mess!

 

Baby Evan.



I'm directing traffic, here.



Evan is investigating everything.

Here Grandma, this is for you.

What else do I have in my bag?

Christmas Morning

Look, our stockings are so full that they could no longer hang.



Let me help you, Cody.



Wook, another twain!

This must be for the cats.

Whoops, I think Cody needs more help.

Christmas Eve

'Twas the night before Christmas, and we were with Scotty and Pam
eating lil' smokies, tetrazini, salad, pie, cake and ham.
We made the children pose in front of the tree for this great shot,
Then the mayhem began as they tore off the wrappings to see what they'd got.
Shoes, boots, pjs, puzzles, a truck that really goes,
Lincoln logs, boat trailer, tea set, and a machine that sews.
We were elated, overwhelmed, and convinced we'd had more than enough
When Daddy and I were given boots, shirts, edibles, and a bunch of whiffy stuff.
Then, exhausted we all collapsed in front of the big TV,

Claire opening her sewing machine.

And laughed 'till we cried watching Despicable Me.

It was finally time to load everything up in the car.

I'm so glad we don't have to drive very far.

We still have many preparations of our own to make

For Christmas morning when our two precious children awake.

Cody opening his truck pulling a boat trailer.

Gingerbread Train

We enjoyed assembling and decorating this gingerbread train.  (Then, two hours later, both children enjoyed disassembling and eating it!)

Zoo In Winter



"Oh dear, I can't believe I allowed myself to
be talked into this!"



School is out for Christmas break!  Well, public school is.  Homeschool can take the day off whenever it is needed.  Or wait, we can just do a field trip!  The weather could not be more accommodating.  Grab the stroller, the zoo pass, refillable zoo cups, the cousins, and let's GO!

As you can see, we began our day visiting the newly remodeled children's zoo.  It being such a warm day, guess who was out?  Yep, after a brief stop at the Nectaraunt, we braved the Lorikeet exhibit.  Ignore the date on the picture, I'm a lousy camera operator.



Makenna is a natural at this!
No look of horror on her face!





"A bird on the head is worth two in the bush."







"They may try to leave me
behind, but I'm too fast! 
They will NEVER
lose me!"



My little mini-scientist is thinking,
"this small bird just drank a whole cup
of nectar.  It is going to excrete the
waste at any moment.  Oh no,
I'm going to be a bird toilet!"









We'll never be too old for the carousel.




WE LOVE THE ZOO!



Church Christmas Program

Pre-Program Prep:  the making of an angel.

This year, the children were given the opportunity to participate in a real, live church Christmas program.  They rehearsed and practiced their little hearts out.  On the night of the program, I was shocked as close to 100 people packed into our tiny church.  I'm certain we exceeded fire code safety.  My parents stated that they had not had the pleasure of seeing an old-fashioned, country church, children's program in years.  In a small church like ours, children = babies through teens.  All participate, the older ones helping the little ones.  I just love everything about it!

Claire playing Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.

Glory to the newborn King.

Wisemen from the East.

First Piano Recital



Claire's recital piece



I'm so nervous!  It is Claire's first piano recital.  The queasy feeling in my tummy suggests that it is I, not she, that will be walking across the stage to perform in front of dozens of adoring family members.  I prepared a pep talk, told her that I know just how she feels, even gave her the option of backing out if it was too stressful.  "Mom, I'm not nervous at all.  Just calm down," she replied.

NOT NERVOUS!  How can she not be NERVOUS!  I'm a wreck.  I turned to one of the few things that give me stress relief: not alcohol, not drugs, not nicotine--hairspray!  Doesn't her hair look adorable?

Warming up just prior to the
big event.

There she is, announcing her piece.  I feel proud
and nauseated at the same time.

Awarded as best new student with a certificate and chocolates?
Well, there are a few disadvantages to enlisting outside help.

Trick or Treat

Lets see: a Samba dancer?, cowgirl, Spiderman,
tap dancer, and nerd.

Okay, I'm not a big fan of Halloween.  However, my friend Felicia and my sister Mandi came up with this great Trick or Treat alternative several years ago.  This is our third year to participate.  All of my moral qualms and safety concerns regarding Halloween festivities are put to rest.  The children schedule appointments with several families/relatives living in their rural area.  These dirt road dwellers, (some of whom are widowed, elderly or sick),  aren't used to having trick-or-treaters and really look forward to visits from our costumed candy seekers. 

Cody as Spiderman

Claire in her cowgirl best.

TRICK-OR-TREAT!

Romantic diversity



Clay and Charlotte
1998

 It was this time of year on a crisp, windy, overcast day like today in 1998 that my boyfriend invited me to go on a picnic in the woods behind his house.  There, in the secluded oaks, surrounded by a rainbow of changing boughs and flying leaves, on the tailgate of a shiny red Ford F-150, he unpacked the lunch, and unable to resist until dessert as he had planned, pulled out the beautiful ring inside that, before he had even uttered the words, made clear his intention.  It wasn't until much later that I realized why, just weeks before, he had taken a load of his prized Angus to the OKC stockyards to be sold in their prime.

I'm lucky to be employed at a very ethnically diverse work place.  One coworker recently showed me her wedding ring.  Though not nearly as fancy or shiny as mine, it was very pretty.  She beamed as she told me her engagement story.  She and her fiance spent a weekend panning the streams of her homeland after a flood.  Though the diamond mines of central Africa are owned and heavily guarded by foreigners, no amount of policing can stop mother nature from sweeping through the caves with her seasonal floods.  What ends up in the outlying streams is free for whoever is patient enough to look.  Her perseverance paid off nicely.

Another coworker fell "victim" to an arranged marriage.  The thought horrified me at first, but listening to the tail unfold; the initial meeting, everyone waiting to see if she would give her consent, the loooong engagement, the various rituals, feasts and celebrations, and finally, the wedding itself which lasted for days, not hours; left me feeling almost a bit jealous.  I realized how shallow I had been to think that the "American way" of choosing a mate, based upon some arbitrary thing such as how a person's behind looks on the dance floor, was so much better than having a small group of people who love you and have only your best interests at heart spending years searching for your lifelong mate.  We Americans claim to love the mystery of discovering the perfect mate ourselves, however, what often happens is, after the wedding, the mysteries begin to unravel and reveal that you chose a narcissistic neanderthal with a nice behind as your lifelong mate.  Congratulations!

So, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the USA, you can find 3 women, about the same age, one with very dark, coffee colored skin and black, cottony hair, one having skin resembling the color of heavily creamed coffee with long, straight shiny black hair, and the last with skin the color of buttermilk and yellow curls, working together like a well oiled machine.  Each with a very different engagement story, and each really thinking her own to be the *most* romantic.

Lake Hefner at dusk

Grandad took Claire and Elliot on a bike ride along the Lake Hefner trails leaving Cody and I to entertain ourselves.  We fed ducks, played on the playground and enjoyed watching the sunset from the beach.

No front teeth

Oh no, now she'll have to listen to everyone sing the "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" song!

Mark Twain's War Prayer

The War Prayer

by Mark Twain

It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.
Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation

*God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest! Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!*

Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory --
An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued with his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"
The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said:
"I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such shall be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- except he pause and think.
"God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -- one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.
"You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. the *whole* of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory--*must* follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!
"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.
(*After a pause.*) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!"
It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.

Piper and Nutcrackers by Landseer

What do you see in the picture?
Where are the squirrels?
What are they doing?
What season of the year is it?
What is the bird doing?
Tell about some squirrels that you have seen.
Where did they live?
How did they prpare for winter?
What is the name of the picture?
What is the name of the artist who painted the picture from which this was copied?

Saved by Landseer

Tell what you see in the picture.
How do you suppose the child happened to fall into the water?
Where was the dog?
What did he do?
What is the name of this picture?
What is the name of the artist?
Write a story about this picture.

Ardmore fountain park

What a great idea!  Located in the heart of downtown Ardmore is a beautiful park and this water fountain.  Children are always begging to be allowed to play in decorative fountains which are off-limits.  This one is specifically to be played in by children.