Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Meeting Our New Baby Cousin, Emerson

"Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance;

"the whole need no physician, but they that are sick;

"wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin;

"wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, and it hath no power over them;

"And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me;

"wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children.

"Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach --

"repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin;

"yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized,

"and humble themselves as their little children,

"and they shall all be saved with their little children.

"And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism.

"Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.

"But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world;

"if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism!

"Little children cannot repent; wherefore, it is awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them,

'
"for they are all alive in him because of his mercy.

"And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ,

"and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.

"For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also they that are without the law.

"For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law;

"wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing --

"But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ,

"and the power of his Holy Spirit,

"and putting trust in dead works."

Moroni 8: 8-12, 19-20, 22-23

Grammy & Grandpa Bear Come for a Visit

A few weeks ago my mom and dad came up to see Madeline's school musical. (More on that to come.) Afterwards, before they left, Choobs spent some quality time with "Grandy" and "Bo Bo." What fun!
Puzzles . . . Choobs' favorite.






Come again soon!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Attempted Family Photos

Obviously not professional . . . and we weren't dressed and ready to take pictures. But we were on our way over to the school, and the sun was out. Such a beautiful day to snap a few photos.
Here's what we ended up with:









Somebody always ends up crying . . .

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Attention Readers

The title of our blog will officially change at the end of Summer 2010.

Krogs, Critter, and Choobs will have a new sibling, whose nickname is yet to be determined.

Here is a picture of our new little friend a couple of weeks ago:


It's going to be another long, hot summer . . .

Monday, February 22, 2010

Greetings from the Couch

Despite the cuteness, I am sad to report that she did not get a treat. We are sugared out at our house after Valentine's Day. She gets an "E" for effort, though.


We opted for these (semi) healthy snacks instead.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Frugality at Its Finest: the Bathrooms

I would like to introduce the newest addition to our home:
I have wanted a new shower curtain ever since a certain special someone accidentally bleached our other one a couple of years ago. Not able to bring myself to spend $30 or more on one I don't really like, I decided to make one myself.

Thinking it would be an easy project, I did not put up an outer shower curtain in the bathroom when we moved here, hoping to motivate myself to get it done! And a couple of weeks ago . . . after five months of procrastination . . . I vowed to "not take another shower" until I had finished.

Ahem. Two greasy days later . . . and now it is HERE! I would like to thank Down East Home for providing me with a cheapy West Elm discontinued duvet cover for the fabric. I have a bunch left if anyone wants some.

My next picture shows part of the girls' bathroom (aka "Choobs' Bedroom). This part was furnished on a dime from a great garage sale, without the aforementioned self-sacrifice. We've got:

Toile Picture: $1.00
French Plaque: $3.00 (total rip-off)
Pink Linen Shower Curtain: $3.00
(Glass Hooks: $10.00 from Target)


Is anyone else excited for garage sale season to start???

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

My Other Valentines




My Valentine


“Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made. Our times are in his hand who saith, 'A whole I planned, youth shows but half; Trust God: See all, nor be afraid!'”


No mushy post. But I just love this boy! And I love this poem by Robert Browning.

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

DO NOT Do This Outside

Back in yonder days when our family lived at the old (newly built) house in Rockspray subdivision, my friend Kara "The Maniac" Szczepaniec and I were spending a lazy Saturday or Summer day (can't remember which) at my house. It must've been pretty boring because we went with my dad to the grand opening of Peachtree National Bank. FOR FUN. And I'm pretty sure it was the first real bank in our town. It was on the corner of Crosstown Road and Peachtree Parkway, and I think another bank now takes its place.

We got a bunch of balloons.

A bunch.

And I got this crazy creative idea to make "hot air balloons" for my brother Jess' hamsters.

Which we did. We fastened the balloon strings to plastic cups and spent a heckuva long time trying to distribute the pull of the balloons evenly on all sides. (Because one of the hamsters took a little sideways spill on the first attempted launch.)

Then came the actual launch. 10 . . . 9 . . . 8 . . . 7 . . .

And then we had hamsters . . . floating V-E-R-Y slowly . . . around the living room.

I can't remember if they ever made it all the way up to the top of the high ceiling, but I remember they went above the fireplace and floated all around the room. V-E-R-Y slowly.

We were in awe. Those hamsters must've been having the time of their lives.

When I went for a hot air balloon ride in college, it was the time of MY life. But I'll save that story for another day.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Princesses in Her Teeth

Choobs has been exhibiting some of the "terrible" lately, as in "Terrible Two's." Luckily, it's actually pretty mild since she is so even-tempered, but last night she refused to let us brush her teeth. Raleigh finally figured out a way to get her to comply: we decided to "look for the princesses" in her teeth. We found Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Several times. And she loved it! Here's the little witch herself:

In Sacrament Meeting on Sunday after the opening prayer, she yelled at the top of her lungs: "AMEN! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Then after the second Sacrament prayer, she yelled, "AMEN! WATERS!!!!" (She was really thirsty, and we told her the water was coming.)

I tell Dallas when he gets home from work that Choobs has been a "faithful companion," just like a little doggy. She is really very self-entertained, but when I want to play or read with her, she is just so agreeable and pleasant. I wonder what kind of pet she would be?

Saturday, January 16, 2010

How to Make Caramel Popcorn with Your Grammy

First, go to your Grammy's house for Thanksgiving (2009). Wear sponge rollers in your hair so that you'll have curlies just in time to look pretty for dinner.
Make your favorite homemade caramel recipe. None of this "open a bunch of packaged caramels and melt them" business. This is the real deal!

Pop at least two big batches of popcorn in a Stir Crazy popcorn popper. Any other kind is flavorless for certain. Trust me, I'm a connoisseur.

You've gotta trust me!

Mix. And don't follow those directions about baking the mixture in the oven for a few minutes. We like our caramel popcorn chewy!


Don't we, Grammy?

-Madeline