so i went to CO last weekend to ski, which was interesting. I wasn't worried about getting hurt, I was very careful, but breathing was such a challenge. That, combined with the fact that I have done absolutely no strength training, even very little walking in the past 6 mos, made for less than usual energy on the hill. But it was fun, and, as usual, i sure appreciated the food. there was a french bakery in the little town, which was amazing! croissants, baguettes, panini, crepes. so good.

 i know food at ski resorts is expensive. but i still nearly choked when my lunch here rang up to $10.07.

 david and des watched the kids for a few days while i was gone. thank you very much! i was a little concerned how charlie would do with the sleeping, but it wasn't too bad. they sent me this picture, above, on my phone. getting him all ready to help with the baby!

 the kids definitely liked patrick betther than me by the time i got home! the next day they kept asking for him. charlie really says daddy well now.

 just playing in the playroom, with one of our babysitting friends.

 hannah loves to "write" her name. its fun to see the different stages she is going through in the learning process. i think there are a few extra letters in there, but it's recognizable! (to me :-)

 patrick, david, and a few friends of patrick's went on a fishing trip this week. only one night/day, but he had fun. it was in OK, and apparently really pretty. They were after paddlefish, which I had never heard of before. But we have a huge bag in our freezer, so I hope it's good!

 i guess you can't see, but the sign for one of these runs was called "high anxiety." i did not take that one. there was nother called "bag of bones." really, where do they come up with this? i preferred frosty's freeway. which was also a black, just for the record. but happier :-)

 yes, those are runs. no, i did do them. and my dad and lar graciously stayed with me.



Believe it or not, it snowed this afternoon in KS. didn't stay, of course. we are doing well, baby is fine, as far as we know. charlie seems so old these days, he's just talking so much. can't understand much, but he knows what he wants. hannah is such a good helper when i'm babysitting, and enjoys the other kids. charlie isn't thrilled about sharing my lap, but i guess it's good for him. we are starting to look to easter, mom and bob will be coming to visit. hope it warms up soon!

rolls and roles (warning: soapbox moment)

So the other day I made these rolls. Dinner rolls are my nemesis, as Patrick put it. I've tried a few times, no more than 3 or 4, and I've failed every time. Sometimes a miserable, inedible failure, sometimes just not as good as say, the freezer kind. These looked amazing, but it was downhill from there. but I was encouraged enough to give it another try without worrying i'd be wasting all the ingredients.

Fast forward a few days. I had really been needing to clean out the fridge. The fridge (and microwave) is one of those things I just don't get around to on an incredibly regular basis. it's enough of a struggle to keep the floors and counters washed. but the fridge really needed it. I'd been talking it up for a few days too, and Hannah really wanted to clean that fridge! So we finally got around to it, and she helped take food out so i could wash, then dry the shelves before putting the food back. it took about 3 min of this before she told me "it wasn't that much fun" and was going to go to do something else. Now at this point, many of you may gasp in horror and be tempted to call social services on me, but I requested that she stay anyways and continue helping me, until we finished our task. (I understand she's a child and her job is to play and learn, but in my opinion this fell in the learning category. not learning how to clean the fridge, but learning how to focus on a task, and finish it.) believe me, she gets plenty of time to just play! She asked why she needed to do it when she didn't want to, and i said something about how we each have our roles in the family, and that's why we need and value each other, and at the moment her role was to help me with this.

anyways, she (in a wonderfully mature way that i could stand to imitate sometimes) was fine with this plan. After a minute of silence, she said with the excitement of only a child who has just learned something new and wants to teach you too, "Mommy! there are 2 kinds of roles. The kind you eat, and the kind you do." This, in a nutshell (ok, a fairly large nutshell. maybe more of a can of assorted nuts), is why I've chosen to stay home with my kids. and to continue to, for quite a while.

There is so much Patrick and I want to teach them, not just academically but about rolls and roles and so much more. (most days, in regards to those 2 specific things, i can probably just say, don't copy me, and she'd learn her lesson :-). And i want to be there when she makes a new discovery. Not to say that we are all they need, or they don't also benefit immensely from spending time with others, mostly family members at this age. nobody cares about those teachable moments quite as much as patrick and i do. we may not be the most qualified, but God gave them to us anyways, and we are so humbled and thankful to be their parents.  i know this is cliche, but my time with them is so precious, i honestly do think it will take all 18 of their years at home. I know this doesn't mean much to anybody else, but really, in 20 years, you won't be re-reading my blog, i will. and maybe Hannah will. and i want her to know how proud i was of her, and how i never regretted a moment i spent with my children.