harry potter

normally i limit my blog posts to stories or pictures about the kids. occasionally i write about what i am personally going through. this is one of those times. on October 17th (i know this because i wrote it as my facebook status) i started to reread the harry potter series. i can't remember the exact year that i read the first book for the first time, but it had to be around the time that i was dating matt because i remember his mom sending me an article about the books. they were rather controversial at the time that they were first published. book one had been out for awhile because it wasn't long before i read book 2. i believe it took 8 years for the author to finish the series. (not sure on that one) anyway, after movies 1-3 came out i finally convinced matt to read the books too. and he did...slowly! it was agony not having anyone to talk to about the books, especially my husband. i wanted to talk about the details and the amazing way that the stories were formulated. pure genius! it got to the point after he had caught up with me that we started going to the midnight release's of the books. I remember one in particular that we went to for book 6. i was pregnant with micah. there is a picture of us at the party. hmmm.... that is a special memory.

two years ago we decided to host a "harry potter party marathon" on the day that the 6th movie was due to come out. we invited a bunch of matt's students that had graduated the previous year to come to our house to watch 1-5. we started at 9 in the morning and didn't finish them until 10:30 that night. after which we left micah (i was pregnant with beatrix at the time) with a babysitter, who was none the wiser since he had been asleep for hours and went to sit in the theater and wait for an hour and a half for the 6th movie to begin. silly i know, but fun none-the-less.

this year we planned a couple of months ahead to do the same thing. part one of the 7th movie is due to open on November 19. so once again we invited those same students to come and have a marathon on the 18th so we can go to the midnight showing. though sadly i will be gone for most of the day at an orientation for my new job at the Breaker's Hotel. we have already purchased our tickets! all this to say i decided that i would reread the series again. as i was reading book one for the second time it felt like i had never read it at all. 13-14 years can do that to a person. i was more aware of the intricacies of the plot lines and her amazing way of foreshadowing what was coming in book 7. i totally sound like a nerd...and you know what i am ok with that because this series of books is worth being a nerd about. i love the fact that when i read these books i disappear for awhile and it almost feels like (dare i say it) that jk rowling wrote this series just for me... it has that quality about it. it makes you feel as if you are the only one who could possibly love it as much as you do. like you sympathize with the characters more then anyone else, that you are the only one crying at the endings or the sentimental parts of the books. i inhaled this series. i started on october 17th and finished tonight and you want to know the sick thing? i'm thinking about starting them again.

my pack of wolves

the end to a great night of tricks and treats!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

tricks and treats

matt's idea this year was to have beatrix and himself dress up as prisoners. i have to admit i was envisioning something alittle more cutesy. but since i got to pick her costume last year, matt had dibs on this year. so it was up to me to transform them since i doubted that there was such a thing as prison garb for toddlers. it was fun watching yards of material change into actual clothes for both of them. i'll tell you what, i have a new found appreciation for the people all over the world that make our clothes. it is one tough and time consuming task! but worth it cause i think they turned out pretty great and a little too realistic. *grin*

this picture cracks me up because it seriously looks like they are walking around a prison yard killing time! hahaaaa!

creepy tarantula!

cutest little convict EVER!!!

from the back in all its 8 leg glory!

ready for some treats

annoyed with my millions of pictures...just trying to capture it all....trying to capture it all.

the neighbors just went on and on about how scary micah looked and so creepy!!! he was ecstatic with the responses since that was his goal.

while we were walking about half way into trick or treating micah looked up at the sky and noticed that it was dark out but "getting" light on the horizon. he looked at me and said, "oh. my. goodness, mommy! it is almost morning!! we have been trick or treating all night long!!!" matt and i looked at each other over his head and silently laughed. we didn't have the heart to tell him.

headed home exhausted but happy and excited to look at our loot.
i did end up carrying micah's costume home. for the most part his excitement trumped his warmth, but when all hope of more candy was done he was more then happy to have me carry it back.

"WOW, mommy look at all my candy!!! will you put some in my lunch box tomorrow?"

digging into hers too. started with a sucker.

after the candy eating was done for the evening, micah was sitting naked in the bathroom on the stool with his head in his hands looking incredibly sad. i asked him what was wrong and he said, "mommy i can't believe halloween is over. i just wanted it to last longer! then he looked at me and said, "next year i want to be a surf boarder!" i told him he had plenty of time to decide.

the cop and the robber

we had a party saturday night and it was super fun! several of our friends came in costume and matt and i dressed up as well. i made the orange prison outfit for matt and we found mine at target. pretty funny!

making costumes

i made micah, matt and beatrix's halloween costumes this year. when we began the conversation a month ago micah wanted to be a hammer head shark and i lay awake in the evenings thinking how i could go about making that. i pretty much had an idea of how i would do it and then he changed his mind. "no mommy, i think i would really like to be a tyrannosaurus rex. they are much scarier and i want it like this..." at which point he began to describe in detail how he would like me to make the t-rex. about a week after that micah had been talking to daddy about spooky things and he decided that he wanted to be a tarantula. i said, "micah are you SURE you want to be a spider?" he said, "yes, mommy, i think a tarantula would be very VERY spooky!" so i began to plan out how i would go about making a spider. looking back now...i really don't know what i was thinking. why didn't i just buy a black hoody and throw some legs on the back of it and call it good? cause i like to make things difficult. that is why. but it really was fun. and now that it is made, i really can't believe i did it. i literally prayed all day that God would enable my creative juices to flow freely so i could figure out how to do it.

this is from the back of it. minus the arms. i bought faux fur so that it would look realistic.

laid out on the floor before i began hand sewing it all together. micah picked the black buttons and red ones to go in the middle. pictures of the finished product up soon.

boo

we went to a halloween party last weekend.

beatrix wanted to bring along pickles (the little green frog in her pocket).

and micah could hardly wait to carve his pumpkin. see matt's hand? well under his hand is a little orange jack-o-lantern that micah drew and cut out at home. he drew the face at home so he would know exactly how he wanted his pumpkin. can you say preparation????

the finished product. artists are free to make changes, i guess. haha

two

October 20, 2010...beebs is two. we started off the morning dropping daddy and micah at school. you opened one present...i mean micah "helped" you open your present. it was a book.

we kissed daddy goodbye and you and me ran our errands.

the phone rang several times while we were out with calls from those that love you and want to wish you a happy birthday. you didn't know what to do at first...

eventually you got it down.

we had a nice dinner together and then you opened the rest of your presents. this is you telling them all thank you in your special way.

you opened mommy, daddy and micah's gift to you last. a pillow pet shaped like a panda. daddy thought you would like it cause of your love of the movie kung fu panda and how much you scream whenever it is on.

after singing happy birthday we had cake. i made coconut cake with strawberry filling. the icing was cool whip.

you tried the cake politely and then ate two helpings of ice cream. happy second birthday beatrix sparrow! we are so thankful that we have you. you were a total surprise to us when you were born and you continue to surprise us with your clever little beatrix ways.

a pre-birthday party

the sunday before beatrix's birthday we went to our pastor's house and she and her husband jim threw a little party for bea. it was incredibly thoughtful and done with such consideration for the things that beatrix really enjoys. like an elmo balloon and one with a beautiful butterfly. she made some of bea's favorite things to eat like macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and lots and lots of fruit.

ALL grins!

after dinner we headed to the pond by shirley and jim's house to feed the ducks and run micah's motor boat.

the kids were fearless!

the cake was cupcakes shaped like a flower.

and this teddy bear present was a real hit.

micah and mr. jim enjoyed drawing sea creatures together at the end of a wonderful evening.
we miss our families something awful, but we are so thankful for the supplement the Lord has provided. truly thoughtful and generous friends.

the great pumpkin

a couple of friday nights ago we had a charlie brown and the great pumpkin night. i made pizza and root beer floats which the kids had never had. micah loved it...beebs not so much.


the halloween master of ceremonies and his eager groupies. they love this time of the year and the wait for trick or treats often seems long, especially to micah.
this one will settle for a treat of ice cream.

my van gogh

{click on it to make it larger}

micah has found a creative voice. he uses pencils, crayons and sometimes markers. he has been drawing like a fiend these last few weeks. this is an underwater scene. in it he has drawn real creatures such as flounder, hammer head sharks, rays, bubbles, sailfish and other sharks. but the thing that i found fascinating was his ability to create made-up creatures as well. for instance, see the two headed red thing right in the middle with a body underneath it that has swirls and triangles and squares? that is a micah creation called an alien shark. pretty cool huh? it has been a whole different kind of wonderful watching him express himself this way and really exciting too as i now get to see tangible drawings of some of the happenings of his mind. i love that it is a deeper way to communicate. we have taken to hanging his pictures all around the house. he just grabs the tape and puts them up anywhere. at first it bothered me. i found it messy and i guess i was caring too much about our house "looking good". but then matt corrected me and rightly so...i needed it. he said, "babe, micah is only going to be young for a short time. and he's really only going to care about putting up his pictures all over the house for a short time too. i think we should try to enjoy this phase instead." that is what your best friend is for...to gently remind you of what is really important.

dear dido

Dear Dido,
sometimes you make me angry....like when you dig holes big enough for a swimming pool in about 20 seconds.
or when you run and jump on me with your dirty paws....
or when you dig even bigger holes that are so large i can't see you....
and then you look at me with this look right here. it makes me the angriest of all.... cause it says "hey, i'm just a puppy. what do you expect?"