C: weather changing.

i think we skipped spring.

we went from coats and scarves to flip-flops and t-shirts. and only a week ago we had the heat on trying to warm ourselves all day long but now we are opening the windows and soaking the wonderful sun in. where DID spring go?

for an example i’m going to use Sydney — we read her blog and LOVE it. we don’t actually know her but we pretend that we do. but we’re talking about clothing examples! way to get me off track you guys!

okay. this is Sydney dressed for cold weather. we didn’t look this cool but we were wearing coats and such too.

and then all of the sudden we were in skirts and t-shirts. CRAZY.

another sign of summer (for me at least) is when i start pulling out the “summer” songs. what do i mean by summer songs? who knows. they just sound like summer to me.

J: A 1942 Easter [Unleashed] – Part II

Part one might have convinced you that we are a completely normal family. This post is to reassure you, we are definitely not. Sure, dinner is lovely. Sure we all can sit and look like nice boys and girls when Dad pulls the camera out. But let me tell you – when one of the siblings has the camera, its a whole different story. I would like to take this moment to introduce you to our real selves.

Sister #1 falls asleep. (sorry Sister #1 for posting your sleeping face on the web for the world to see. i do love you. really. i just couldn’t resist).

When she falls asleep we lose B-I-L (brother-in-law) #1  to the world of technology. Generally, Big Brother gets sucked in too.

By this point in time – its hopeless and the children start turning into transformers.

Sister #4 gets very excited.

I put tea cups on my ears because it sounds like an old bad radio.

I tell C she needs to try too. So she does.

L… I don’t even know what she’s doing.

This is Baby Swyka. He was our guest so, naturally, we made him do dishes. (and wear L’s girly apron)

Our niece Scoobs puts a napkin on her head and walks around pretending to be mother Mary. She was kneeling and praying in the hallway like a perfect little catholic child. Then explaining we can’t see Jesus because He died for a day, and He ‘lives at heaven’ now. Its a perfectly normal game for a 3 year old to play.

We have children playing ragtime.

And children playing Jedi.

And children showing off their bellies.

And children looking adorable.

And C making faces.

And Sister #5 playing… what are you playing Sister #5?

But really. Even with all the crazy-ness. I love these people.

J: 1942 Easter – part I

This weekend was Easter. That’s EXTRA special around here. We celebrate the resurrection of our Savior. Do you even know what that means?!?!? He’s alive. My Jesus is ALIVE. He defeated death. He has risen. He’s promised to come back for us. And we know He will because He is alive! Now THAT’s a BIG DEAL!

Think about it – people die all the time. everyday. every second. We live, then we die. Even when it’s on accident and the doctors bring someone back, still – eventually they die! Have you ever met someone who defeated death? I mean really defeated it? Like – they will never, ever, ever, EVER die. The answer is no, you haven’t. Because there’s only one person to do it. Jesus.

That’s why easter’s so special. We celebrate a risen Jesus. amazing.

So – with that said – here’s how we celebrate easter at 1942 (our house!).

7:00am – Mom and Dad wake everyone up in the house. They come into our room and say “Hallelujah! Christ is risen!” and we sit our sleepy selves up in our beds and respond with a “He has risen indeed.” (Our response didn’t get an exclamation point because we were still half a sleep.) We quickly assemble ourselves, and head down stairs. Here’s L and I standing around with our P.J.’s and morning faces.

7:15 am – “The hunt” begins. Mom and dad leave a trail of clues leading to our baskets. The rhymes bring us all over the downstairs, and eventually lead to the baskets. Here’s C reading the first clue.

7:20am – The hunt was short and sweet this year. Only the 5 “little ones” got clues. L, C, and I are all little ones, as well as Sister #5 and little brother. L was the Easter bunny this year (her clue found the baskets). She did a lovely job. Here’s a ‘handing out baskets’ action shot. That one the left is Sister #4‘s basket.

And here’s a basket!

7:30 am – We all head to the family room to eat breakfast. All the tables are set for dinner, so there are no chairs at the kitchen table (see above photos). Sister #4 makes Cheese Braid. It gets capital letters because it’s so wonderful. As a house hold (that’s 11 people, and Sister #3 & Husband. so 13) we ate 4 this year. We only eat them once a year, so we eat all the yummyness we can! (that basket is presents. we get baskets of candy and presents on Easter. we opened them while we ate. we got new shirts – which will appear later!)

8:00 – 10:20 am – Everyone spends this time showering and getting ready for the day. Sister #3 does our hair. She’s fabulous like that. People drink coffee, orange juice, tea. We crowd the mirror in our room as we get dressed and put makeup on. Here’s what we look like by the time were done. Not bad – eh?

10:30 am – Church! We celebrate Jesus with a whole slew of people. Dad preaches a great message, and other random family members play pretty music for us. C doesn’t really play cello. She just pretends about 3 times a year for specials. She does a dandy job too.

12:30pm – Everyone heads back to the house to get lunch/dinner ready. Here is our lovely table. All set and waiting.

2:00pm – WE EAT! (we love to eat)

And drink sparkly juice.

And eat seconds.

And drink more juice.

Until we’re really, very full.

This is us posing for you. I know we’re all smiling, but really we are thinking “Gah! I ate so much food. Hurry and take the picture so I can loosen this belt!”

And because we have SO many photos, I’ll post part 2 later. Be prepared. All the exciting stuff happens in part 2!

C: daisies, chocolates, and hats.

it’s spring.

you don’t believe me???

why would you — it’s been raining/hailing and cloudy for awhile now and no day has shown sun for quite some time. so i guess i don’t blame you. you’re off the hook.

i received a bouquet of flowers two weeks ago at my recital — and they’re still alive and pretty. but they’re daisies, so of course they still look nice. everyone says that daisies are the friendliest flowers [more like Kathleen in You've Got Mail but you know...], so they have to stay around for weeks at a time looking friendly and bright and always fresh looking, right? right.

at the moment J and L are devouring a chocolate Easter egg thing — probably eating their feelings away… but you let them do that because otherwise there will be some yelling and crying later in our Sea Foam Cavern… it’s pure loveliness.

i told them to take a picture of their eating… let’s just say that they completely FAILED. they thought they were waiting on a picture in the works while really they were making a video of them not succeeding at eating… that’s a fail of the day.

another fail of the day — my hair.

when my hair isn’t workin’ i have a fancy hat that hides it all. everyone should have a hat that does such a thing as that. really.

J: I like to make lists.

I make lists a lot. If you’ve ever seen my side of our room it might surprise you, but it’s true. For example, here’s a list of reasons/times I make lists -

1. When I write emails. If you ever get a long email from me there’s a very high chance it will be in a list format. Numbers and all. A good list always has numbers.

2. When I have things to do. Like a check list. They don’t always get numbers. But then again, a list of things to get done isn’t always a good list.

3. When I’m going to hang out with someone I make a list of conversation points. I’m not afraid I’ll run out of things to talk about. I just want to make sure I remember all of the things that are most important. I want to have meaningful conversations. I want to make people think. So I think about it first, and write it on a list.

4. List of why I should do something. Sort of like this list here. Sometimes I have to convince myself there’s a reason for things. Writing it down helps me do that. And sometimes it helps me realize there is no reason for some things.

5. God made lists. The 10 commandments are a list. Matthew 5:3-12, that’s a list. How about all the places in the old testament, ya know, where the genealogies are listed? Oh wait. Who actually reads those??? Just kidding.

6a. I tend to really think about things. Then, when I’m really thinking about something I can’t seem to communicate it at the same time. I get as far as, “umm…” but then, I’m thinking too much to even remember what I was going to say after the ‘umm’. Writing a list helps me communicate my thoughts.

6b. When my thoughts ARE finally communicated I like them to be communicated thoroughly, carefully, and correctly. I want to get my complete point across, I want it to come off the right way, and I want to be sure to not miss communicate. I want to be a successful communicator.

Why am I telling you this???

1. Today is my day to post. I get to write about whatever I want and you get to read it. My list making process is something I’ve been thinking about and so that’s what I wrote.

2. I think that they are efficient tools. For remembering things, getting things done, and communicating.

3. If everyone used well written list’s to communicate, the world would be a better place.

4. To convince you to communicate with a good list every once in a while… or always.

Has it worked? Make a list on your blog this week. Write a list about anything at all, link to it in the comments below, put a number on it, and we’ll have a list of lists!

delightful.

C: another rainy monday

it’s a rainy day again. . . yuck.

we will most likely sit in our cozy beds trying to stay warm while drinking things like hot cocoa and tea from our new finds. things like little tea cups make life so enjoyable — don’tcha think?. . . the peach one’s mine. [i just thought you should know that little itty-bitty piece of information]

at some point i will walk down to our small town post office and bank because i need to deposit some money and L needs a letter mailed. . . well, her ‘letter’ is more like “this has to do with taxes so make sure you mail it today otherwise i’ll be fined” kind of letter [another yuck]. i’ll be using my red rain boots for that “adventure”.

after that i plan on bumming again. or at least being productive by reading and such while still staying bundled in my yellow flannel sheets. . . i love flannel. did you know that? L-O-V-E it.

i will also be listening to this today just because it’s SO fitting.

oh — and in case you didn’t know. . . bruises are the pits. yesterday i was getting in the car and you know how you get in sideways kind of? yeah, well…. let’s just say i missed the wide opening and managed to slam my hip into the car instead of sitting down IN it. talent? oh yes. what else could it be???

L: My sa-nuggie.

What I found on my head this morning:

Oh yeah. And this picture was taken after an hour of letting gravity pull my hair back down. I make incredible hair styles in my sleep. Who said I wasn’t talented? Can I get a “what, what”?

Ah, well. I can’t look like this every day, now can I?

It is 10am on a Friday. I’m home, lounging on my bed (wearing my Snuggie. Oh yeah, you heard me right. My Snuggie), drinking orange juice and tea, emailing peeps that I should’ve emailed a while ago, and pretending that I’m not this lame. And I’m recalling some of the irresponsible moves I’ve pulled in the last week. Like forgetting I was supposed to work in nursery on Sunday. Errrgh. Some days, weeks, I don’t have it all together. Or anything “together”. At all.

It’s a good thing I don’t have to. Right, girlfriend?

L: My favorite things.

1. I’m drinking less coffee and my love for tea has been reinstated. Especially Earl Grey. Why is it just so good?

2. I have a floral maxi skirt and I cannot wait to start wearing it! Like, tomorrow. I’ll probably wear it tomorrow.

3. Yellow. I love yellow. A lot, a lot, a lot.

4. Soon, there will be lilacs right outside of my bedroom window. I am so looking forward to it.

5. The Help. We’re reading it for book club and I’ve already finished it. I enjoyed it so much. You should go read it. For serious, yo.