I-Ray

Rylan's super hero name is I-Ray. He shoots rays from his eyes. In the second photo, he's preparing to fly - apparently, he's going to burst through the roof of our front porch, but that's no problem because he has super strength.

Cole came up with the name I-Ray, and if you can figure out how he came up with it, you get to be I-Ray's sidekick.

Happy Birthday, Baby

When it comes to birthday cakes, how it tastes is more important than how it looks - that's my opinion anyway. The reason Cole's cake ended up such a mess: Rather than using pink frosting, I decided to try making a pink ganache by substituting pink candy melts for the chocolate in the ganache recipe. It didn't work.

Rylan asked for a Lego cake for his birthday. When pressed for a more specific flavor, he said strawberry with chocolate frosting. I ended up using the strawberry cake recipe from this neapolitan cake, spreading strawberry jam between the layers, and frosting it with chocolate buttercream. The Legos were admittedly an afterthought. Generally, I'm not a fan of cake, but this was some good cake.


For his 5th birthday celebration, Rylan wanted to take some of his friends to Marbles Kid's Museum. It's tough having a birthday in December - everyone's so busy - but I think overall he had a good day.

Rylan at Five Years Old

• favorite color: blue
• favorite food: macaroni and cheese
• favorite dessert: chocolate cake
• favorite thing to do: play with stuffed animals
• favorite video game: Plants vs. Zombies
• favorite subject in school: speech therapy
• favorite book: The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson

Grammy Says...

Kellie: Mom, why do you have a tambourine in your car?

Mom: I wanted to play the tambourine along with the songs on the radio.

Erin and Kellie: (chuckling)

Mom: What?

Miriam: I don't think she's joking.

Mom: Why is it so funny?

Erin, Miriam, and Kellie: ROFL

Brightening My Day Today

This rendition of Carol of the Bells from Pentatonix

 

**********

Am I the only one who gets emotional watching flash mobs? There's just something so joyful about them. This one is a classic:

**********

I can't get enough of this talk from Elder M. Russell Ballard. Whether you're Christian or not, it's worth a read.

"Imagine what good we can do in the world if we all join together, united as followers of Christ, anxiously and busily responding to the needs of others and serving those around us—our families, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens....What would be the cumulative effect of millions of small, compassionate acts performed daily by us because of our heartfelt Christian love for others? Over time this would have a transformative effect upon all of our Heavenly Father’s children through the extension of His love to them through us. Our troubled world needs this love of Christ today more than ever, and it will need it even more in the years ahead..."

********** 

Things That Warmed My Heart Today

This song from Over the Rhine

**********

26 Moments That Restore Our Faith in Humanity This Year

**********

A holiday wish list from a friend at the Green Phone Booth

**********

Life Is Precious from Blogging Vanities

Spread a Little Love

I had a conversation with a friend recently about why I don't watch the news. Well, Friday is why: Something like this happens, and it's sensationalized and analyzed and talked about over and over and over again, and I start to feel afraid and hopeless and helpless, and I despair for mankind and life feels so heavy.

I don't need to be reminded how bad people can be. I want to wake up every day believing that people at their core are good. I need to believe that there is more goodness in the world than evil.

I have some posts half-written in my drafts folder: Rylan's birthday, bike stuff, Christmas prep, yada yada yada. What feels appropriate to me right now, here on this blog in the week leading up to Christmas, is to spread a little love, and I want to invite you to do the same. If you have a blog, please share a story, a quote, a video, a song, anything that reminds you that people are more good than bad. If you don't have a blog, facebook will do. Even twitter. Let's flood the internet with love and kindness and charity.


Here's my start:

A few years ago, I wrote down the following experience that I had early one morning at a Dunkin Donuts:

"A few months ago, Michael needed a ride to work really early in the morning, and the only way I could get my sleepy boys to put on shoes and head out to the car was to promise them some donuts. You'd think they'd be grateful for the treat, but as typical three- and four-year-olds, they spent the morning fighting and complaining, and by the time we were settled at a table in Dunkin Donuts, I was pretty frazzled. It was 8:00 in the morning, and the day was not looking good.

"And then a nice gentleman at the next table started teasing my boys and making them laugh. He showed us pictures of his twin grandkids and told us some jokes. In short, he brightened the morning.

"I left Dunkin Donuts feeling truly grateful for the kindness of a man that I will never see again."

All these years later, I still often think about that man and the favor he did for me. He's the type of person I want to be like - not someone so cocooned in their own life and troubles that they miss the opportunity to help another person, but someone who's always willing to share a little happiness

Beginnings and Endings

The day after my family went home after Thanksgiving, Cole came into my room (after he was supposed to be in bed) and said, "Mom. Can we talk about beginnings and endings?"

I said, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He said in a quivering voice, "Endings - like when people have to go home and you start to miss them. And beginnings - like when you have to go back to school. I don't like beginnings or endings."

My sweet, sensitive little boy, I know what you mean...

The kid's table

Food

Nearly grown-up Ashton

Kellie and Josh seem to be having a competition that involves popping into other people's photos.

Alex spent the night at my house. He was miserable without his Mommy and Daddy, and spent the whole night facing the door.

We went to Pullen Park to try to get some family photos. Half of Raleigh had the same idea, and some members of my family get really grumpy in crowds. Trying to lighten the mood, Eli decided to slide down a hill of leaves. It was awesome, so he did it again on another hill. Unfortunately, the leaves on that hill were covering up a bunch of rocks that tore off a good chunk of his knee. Good family memories!

Also, my kids have a nasty habit of getting sick anytime we're around my family. This time it was Rylan, who developed a horrible cough. Thankfully, he waited to share his germs until after the holiday, but over the past week, first Michael, then me, and now Eli have picked it up. I am now making it my goal in life to celebrate a Thanksgiving without any illness.