Good Tidings of Great Joy

I don't have nearly as many pictures of Christmas time as I would like. It's a sign of how much fun I was having - too caught up in the moments to capture them all. A few things did get digitized... but none of the wonderful celebration at Eagle Lake, and the only shot from Christmas Eve at Grandma's is one Irene snapped of Lucille (G.G.) Oh well, I guess I'll have to rely on my old friend Memory.


Starting off the Yuletide by cuddling with Papa
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The girls had an impromptu Christmas Tree decorating party. Irene always prefers things to be done in a group setting.


We had the loveliest visit from Uncle Robert the weekend before Christmas. It's a dedicated Uncle who will go to the trouble of traveling to hear a forty-five second playing of "Gentle Mary Laid Her Child", which was Irene's piece for her Christmas piano recital.

Mary listened politely to Irene's piece, but after that Rob had to take her out of the sanctuary. Poor Rob had to miss all the other performers.

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Christmas in Old Town Katy included a snow machine. They had an area for older kids and an area for younger kids, so Mare-mare and Irene were separated. This is the most action Mary saw. Besides sitting briefly, she stood in place and occasionally bent down to pet the snow. Imagine my surprise when she cried bitterly at the end of her five minutes.

I kept trying to get candid shots of Irene playing, but her camera radar was turned on and she kept posing when I tried to get her.

The two little monkeys at the bottom of the tree are named Holt and Harper Ann.
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Uncle Robert came along for the Church carolling. Irene was overwhelmed: Uncle, outing, treats, Holiday outfit, friends, all in one go.

Christmas treat

Irene's picture of G.G. turned out well, at least.

A Stand Alone Video

Happy Turkey Day

I don't typically like the nickname "Turkey Day", but Irene's friend from Kung Fu class told her to "have a happy Turkey Day" and Irene just laughed and laughed and relived the conversation many times and marvelled at her friend's sophisticated wit. Somehow, Irene's delight with the phrase made me warm to it.

Yummy in my tummy (as Mare-mare would say)

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All dressed up

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We are thankful for...

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Popsicles and cousins.

What you can't see is the bacon in G.G.'s lap.

Best Buddies forever

Mary saw this picture and said, "That Irene? And Holt?" Note to self: Label family pictures!

The thing about Uncles is they'll rough house with the kids on a full stomach. Not me.

Monday's child is fair of face... Indeed.

Harper Ann shows off her Thanksgiving belly.

I'm sure between the two of them they got it figured out.

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Finally, someone got some clothes on that child.

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All good things must come to an end, even joyful and blessed Turkey Days.

Late night Dominoes (Is there any other kind?)

This Is Halloween

Irene spends a lot of time planning her Halloween costume. All year long she brainstormed about what she would be, ranging from wolf to warrior princess. Her most cherished hope, though, did not come to fruition. What she would like is to see the four of us coordinate and dress up as a unit. I love my child, but I don't feel I have to prove it to her by dressing up as Cruella de Ville or the Tattooed Lady. Someday she'll understand.

The Katy Rice Harvest Festival isn't strictly Halloween, but Mary wore her Halloween threads, so it gets thrown in here.

Here she is in pj's when we went back for evening festivities. Fried food makes her mean.

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Our Church had a picnic the day before Halloween. Once the kids discovered the most awesome fallen branch of all time, the planned games kind of petered out.

This is neither her game nor her chair.

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Although she didn't get us in costumes, Irene did get to go trick-or-treating with a friend, something she's wanted for a couple of years now.

Did I mention Irene did her own make-up?

Even when she was melting, she was still the cutest jack-o-lantern in Katy.

American Heritage Girls

This year Irene joined American Heritage Girls. Think Girl Scouts without cookies. Also, AHG is a Christian organization. She's really enjoyed it. Funny how the badge incentive inspires her to learn things! They work on badges at their twice monthly meetings, and Irene has worked on three at home. She's earned her Freedom's Heroes Badge - meaning she learned a bit about our armed forces, her Insecta Inspecta Badge - involving a honey tasting, and Cake Decorating - being by far the most fun. Irene loves her troop and gets really excited about AHG Fridays, which I SUPPOSE makes all the hassle worthwhile.

The Katy Rice Harvest Parade was the first major event. Irene did a wonderful job saying the Oath and the Creed with the Unit when they stopped in front of the judges table.

It can't be all work, work, work. (Actually, here she and her troop are working on their Photography Badges.)

The first graders did a wonderful job leading the flag ceremony as part of their Flag Badge.

She and her buddy worked together on the Cake Decorating Badge. Boy, they were tireless in working towards this one!

Better than decorating a cake is eating one straight off the plate with one's hands. Irene and her friends never complain about having Mary join in their activities.

Super Princess History and Science Team

We are part of a very small scale home school co-op. Twice a month we meet and do either a history or science lesson and project. In the beginning, the kids decided to pick a name for their co-op. John Patrick and Michael learned the pitfalls of democracy, as the name of the co-op is the title of this post. Here's a bit of what we've done thus far:

After the first meeting the kids display their Egyptian scrolls.

Painting bird houses

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Little Mary, official mascot of the Super Princess History and Science Team
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Another mom (yes, she's holding Mary) talks to The Bat Lady, who was mysteriously and thankfully present at our excursion to the Waugh Bridge Bat Colony. The Bat Lady was full of information and enthusiasm, which makes for an ideal teacher to first graders.

The Bat Lady's flashlight was tricked out with red saran wrap, so we were able to see the bats resting.

Kung Fu Reenster

This year Irene decided to trade in her ballet slippers for a Kung Fu sash. She has thrown herself into it since day one. She takes her "black belt attitude" very seriously and plans to make a future of being a ninja.


She spent some time, the morning of her first day of class, practicing her ninja face.


Being the awesome big sister that she is, Irene teaches Mary "horse stance".


She has progressed quickly, considering her age. I was so proud of my little gold sash girl on graduation night.

Rainy Days and Sunny Dispositions

Turns out rainy days are as gloomy - or cheerful - as one decides to make 'em. Being cooped up in the house with these two is never a chore.

Sister-love

It would have made so much more sense for Irene to hold the umbrella.

Mary has this thing against wearing wet clothes, so she took off her pants as soon as they got wet.


Are mine the only children who take recreational baths?

My sweet little Mare-mare

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Turn your back for two seconds...

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Rob showed Irene how to make her very own Roman sandals.

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Irene's "perfect rainbow"