Happiness

Cole: "Do you know what I need to make me happy?"

Mama: "Yup."

Cole: "What?"

Mama: "A hippity-hop, a pair of underwear, your slippery socks, a rubber room, maybe some bubble gum and one can of silly string."

Daddy: "And a whole bottle of maple syrup."

Cole: "No, I just need to be taller. Then I'd stand on that table over there and climb on top of the ceiling fan."

Is that all? Who knew?!

The Birthday

It's coming...

One Month

In one month, I have
mourned the loss of my fifth pregnancy
cried over the deaths of two co-workers
listened to my husband explain to me why he lost his job



I have also
purchased new clothes for growing, healthy boys
bought groceries and gasoline with cash
worn tank tops because my house is nice and warm
eaten hot meals lovingly prepared by family and friends
given to others out of my excess



In the next month, I will
celebrate the birthday of my three year old son
sit round a table with 17 others in thankfulness
help a sweet one year old blow out a candle


"the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;
may the name of the Lord be praised"! (job 1:21b)

Heard Around The House....TODAY

Cole: "Mom, I think you get more wrinkles every day."

Reese: "Ow, I just hit myself in the sperm!"

Reuben: "Mine tea brown just like a toot-toot!"

It's not altogether a bad thing that Sean hasn't learned to talk yet.

In Which I Shamelessly Self-Promote

In a moment of whimsy recently, we decided to try something new this holiday season: A Handmade Christmas. I've been actually thinking about the idea since last fall, when I saw one of the posh buyhandmade.org tags on the Four Little Men & Twins blog. Such a cool idea; I just didn't know if I could do it. Nothing but handmade gifts? No lego sets for the boys? (I might just cave on this one yet.) I mulled over the idea for a full 9 months before mentioning it cautiously to Justin....knowing that he would pounce on it. Guess what? He pounced on it. So here we are, planning our handmade Christmas, and having more fun than I could have anticipated!

The rules: to give only handmade gifts this year--but the gifts don't have to be made by OUR hands. (Thank goodness. I told Justin he would be getting a painted rock, a knitted flask cozy and a box of fudge....and he just might be....) We wanted to also support our local (and not-so-local...I have an etsy fetish) crafters. So we will be avoiding the mall this year (yay!) and hitting many of the craft fairs instead (yay yay!). We are also coming up with new ideas every single day of things we DO want to try to make ourselves. I'm dying to post pictures, but some of them will have to wait, since I know there are family members who read this blog. You will have to check back after Christmas for some of our more-hilarious (I mean: unique) gifts!

And we have something to offer, too. For the past several years we have been making these beautiful wooden family plaques. They are handcarved with your specific last name and wedding year, and they make a lovely gift for Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays, or housewarmings. The length of the plaque is dependant on your specific information, but each one measures 8" high and is 3/4" thick. The edges are sanded to look rustic, and each sign is fitted with hanging wire.



Here's a few we've done: the photos aren't fabulous, but I will try to get some better ones to post soon:

For any readers that would like one, we will be accepting orders this year through November 30th (for delivery by Christmas). You can leave a comment here with your contact information, or email us at familysigns@live.com to place your order. Individual plaques are $30; order three or more and they are $25 a piece (shipping extra).

Your turn! If you have a handmade product you are selling this holiday season, I would love to hear about it and post a sidebar with your info to pass onto other readers. Ready, go!

Goodbye October

Hello November!