Friday = Mass = Serenade

The Little Prince is sitting on the steps while I surf the net. He is playing with army guys (I think) and singing at the top of his lungs:

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Pardon your people

In our weakness

Give us strength, Lord

Give us peace

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I don't have a picture, but you can use your imagination. I need to remember this song when he begins to annoy me. Then, between what had to be the 14th and 15th time around, he called up to me: "Mommy! Thank you for all you do!" Times like these are awesome and are what gets me through the not-so-awesome times!

Snow angel

My little snow angel. Isn't he so cute?

Picture of Impatience

(click photos to enlarge)

Not sure how much snow we got overnight. It has been very windy and drifts make it hard to measure. Reese says about 9 inches. Whatever the amount, it was enough to cancel Morgan's practice at the middle school this morning and his last game in Haven this afternoon. But it was not enough to stop the Little Prince from practicing at home. He couldn't even wait for Reese to clear the whole court before he started. I took these pictures from the warmth of the office which overlooks the back yard. My job, when it snows, is to get hot chocolate ready for those crazy enough to venture outside. I love my job!!!

And the winner is...

Morgan Rupert, grade 2. Yea, Morgan! He got the trophy for running the most laps in 2nd grade during October's Race for Education. He also won a $25 check (which he immedately gave to me for safekeeping) for raising the most money in 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades.

Here he is hanging with his friends waiting for the awards ceremony to start. They also played "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" after the ceremony. Everyone had a great time.

Wordless Wednesday

Contrary to popular belief, George Washington is NOT dead, but is alive and well and living in an undisclosed location near the MD/PA state line.

Movin' on up

First United Methodist Church welcomes their newest acolyte. He practiced after church a couple weeks ago with the head usher so they let him try it this past Sunday. He had a bit of a hard time getting the candles to light since he is just a tad short. But he didn't catch anything on fire...

Coming back, he concentrated on keeping the flame lit and not running into me. He did a great job and we are all very proud of him!

Basketball

For some, basketball truly is a winter sport. Look at the air the Little Prince can get! (click on the picture to enlarge)

Yes, his coat and sweats are black. At least they were until he rolled in the snow. Each dive for the ball, he has to roll in the snow. Makes me cold just looking at him. But he doesn't seem to mind.

On Saturday, I snapped this picture of the Little Prince just before the start of his game. He scored his first basket of the season and the first basket of the game. Yea! We didn't win, but at least we got on the board. Reese was super excited about this basket because he has to be out of town for Morgan's next game which is on Tuesday night. He was sure Morgan would not score his first basket of the season until that game and Reese would miss it.

Happy New Year!

Isn't he a beauty? The Little Prince made him all by himself on New Year's Day when he and Dad were out shoveling. He was so proud of his resourcefulness in using "a carrot for the nose, tiny sticks for the eyes and a smiley stick for the mouth". Then came the wind and it was off with the snowman's head. Guess the rabbits will be happy for that carrot come spring.

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It is back to school for the Little Prince tomorrow. Yea! Not that I'm anxious to get rid of him, I just really, REALLY want my schedule back. Some sort of order...I'll take anything I can get.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas (belated, I know) and a healthy, happy New Year.

Dear Jesus, please bless...

Morgan made this Advent Chain in school. Each chain a name on it. Every night, he takes off a chain and says, "Dear Jesus, please bless..." Tonight was Daddy. Tomorrow is me. He has classmates and teachers as well as the Pastor, Mom-Mom and Pappy and Grandma and as many cousins as he could fit. The star says, "Each evening after prayers are said, take off one ring and hop in bed. When only the star is left to shine, you will know it's Christmastime."

Indian Summer

Why Indian Summer in the middle of December? Because it is so COLD and WINDY and NOT SUMMERY right now. Sure, the sun is shining, but it is under 35 degrees and the wind is probably gusting at that number, if not higher. I just love these pictures, taken on November 9th. I can still remember the feel of the warm sun and the slight breeze. And the joy of being outside without a coat. *sigh*

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But as Mom always says, "Spring is on the way." No matter what time of winter, there is that hope...

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Thanksgiving

Here are 5 of the grandkids that celebrated Thanksgiving at my sister's house today. The two on each end are brothers and the little prince is in the middle. Note his wet hair. He sweats more than anyone I know.

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Food was awesome: turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato casserole, rolls, green beans, baked corn, cranberry salad, hot crab dip and crackers, pumpkin pie, pecan pie (which we have every year and I steal a piece for my MIL), cheese cake...Just listing it makes me hungry again.

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It was so nice to see everyone. My sister who lives in LA (the state not the city) and her husband were in town for the holiday. And we got to see the newest little one again. He is so tiny and cute. Hard to recall when the little prince was that age/size.

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Hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving with loved ones and delish food.

Fun and games

I taught Morgan how to play Uno tonight. We had such fun. The score is 117 to 82, Little Prince. We are going to keep going until someone reaches 500. Wonder how many days that will take. Morgan is guessing 90-thousand.

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I remember playing Uno when I was growing up. Over and over and over. As a pre-little-prince "awwww" side note: the first weekend I came up to visit Reese and meet his parents, the four of us played Uno on their back deck in the warm Labor Day sun. I'd love even a dot of that warmth now. *sigh* Well, maybe not NOW since it is 10:18 pm. That would be a little weird. However, weather world is calling for a sunny weekend, so I'm going to enjoy it to the max!! Even if I will be stuck inside for most of the morning/afternoon at the Reading Festival in the mall. Maybe my table will be under a skylight...

The Last Roses

The other morning we saw the sun. Yea, I know, do a happy dance. But, seriously, it had been a while. It was cool out, but the sun was shining and I was low on Vitamin D, so I stood on the front porch and watched Morgan at the bus stop. Usually I hide inside the door and peek out every minute or so to make sure he's still there. I need to set up a mirror like my Mom had when I was taking the bus to school. But I digress...

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As I stood on the porch enjoying the rays, I noticed my miniature rose bush. The one out of 3 that I have yet to kill with my brown thumb. It was beautiful. Even with all the cold weather we'd been having, it was still going strong. So I ran in for my camera and tried to capture the glory of summer. Just for a moment, it was there. And I was happy.

View from the deck

This gorgeous sunset view was taken from the back deck Tuesday night. We have such beautiful sunsets and I have very few good shots of them. It still is not the same as real life, though. Autumn is such a lovely time of year in this area. I wanted to get some nice shots of the trees, but I'm afraid I may have waited too long and they are past peak.

Last night I got a shot of the moon. Again, not awesome, but kind of eerie as seen through the neighbors trees. It's an October, Halloween kind of sight.

Sadness Reigning

Pun totally intended! It has been raining all day and Morgan's soccer game was cancelled. I hear it is warmer in Maine than it is here in PA. Wonderful! But we managed to survive a day without soccer by taking Morgan to get his flu shot. This is the first time in 7 years that he did not cry when getting a shot. The Little Prince is growing up!

He and the king have been amusing themselves by playing Guitar Hero all day long. Mostly Morgan plays, but when he lets Reese have a turn, Morgan sings into the remote. I have a feeling we will be adding a mic to the mix soon. Yea! I had to drag them, kicking and screaming, out to the kitchen to eat chicken parmesan and spaghetti. Which was absolutely delish, by the way. Yum-o!

I am amazed

Morgan getting ready to kick the ball out during the warm up before Saturday's game.


He kicked so hard and fast that I couldn't even get the ball in the picture.

The amazing thing is that he stays on his feet! How can that be? And, no, he did not kick cute little #5. It just looks that way. Really. I love the expression on his face. He enjoys the sport so much. I will be sad next year when it becomes competitive.

Another one bites the dust

The little prince just lost another tooth. Finally! It's been loooooose for a couple weeks now. I was afraid to let him go to sleep tonight without pulling it. I told him I was worried that it would get stuck in his throat. Well, that did cross my mind. He was wiggling it at 90 degree angles (grossing me out, BTW) but it just would not break free. I told him I would not be able to sleep if it did not come out. He could go to bed, but I would be waking up about every hour to check on him to make sure it was not stuck in his throat.

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After his shower, we sat on his bed for about 1/2 hr and talked between wiggles. It was kind of fun, actually. I never seem to spend as much one-on-one time with him as I would like. He told me about free time at school today. I never get any school information from him. He said he drew a picture of King Julian (from Penguins of Madagascar). Then he told me the funny parts from the show, word for word.

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I finally took pity on him and told him to rinse his mouth in the bathroom and get in bed. Was it really that mean of me to say, "I suppose I will not be getting much sleep tonight"? He rinsed his mouth in the bathroom and came back in his room to tell me he thought he could get the tooth out with "just one more yank". That even sounded painful. Sure enough, he stood in front of the mirror and yanked and out it came. He had the biggest grin on his face as he said to me, "No you can sleep tonight!". As he walked out the door to show his dad, I heard him say "I'm so proud of myself!" Awwww...Little man...

Happy Birthday to me!

I had the most wonderful birthday today. By 5:45 this evening, I had received a phone call from all my sisters, my mom, my cousin, Mary and several other friends. Thanks, everyone, for making my day so special. AND...this morning while I was fixing my hair in the bathroom, my cell phone rang. (Please note: I'm not attached to my phone at all times, I just happened to have it with me in case someone called to wish me happy birthday.) It was the little prince calling me from the kitchen phone to wish me a happy birthday.

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You know, it is amazing how much Morgan tunes into at age 7. He knows how much I love books (my present from Reese was the latest from Dan Brown and he always gets me books for Christmas). When we were opening presents and I didn't have one from him, he became quite upset. He said he wanted to make me one. I gave him the paper he asked for and he took himself and his sticky tape into the living room. It was quiet for a long time. I thought maybe he was trying to wrap himself, which would have been a lovely present! Then he came out proudly bearing a flat, rectangular object wrapped in a plain sheet of paper. He said he was sorry that he didn't have time to decorate it. He wouldn't let me turn it over because he said the paper was not big enough to cover the whole present and he didn't want me to see what it was. Sure enough, it was a book that he found in the living room and gave to me. Thanks, Morgan, you are the best! We will have lots of fun reading it together. :)