Monday: The start of a week and the end of a life

Yes, a life very dear to me. My grandpa passed away this afternoon. The Lord was gracious, in that it was a very peaceful death. My mom was able to be there with her father--she left yesterday afternoon after hearing Saturday night that he was in pretty critical condition. We had been busy making a cd of stories that we read into my dad's recording microphone and writing cards to send down with my dad when he flew there today. I don't know if my grandpa got a chance to see them or not--I doubt it. This made me so sad, because I felt like I didn't have a chance to tell him I loved him and to say goodbye. I spent a good part of the afternoon crying, as did my younger siblings left with me while my parents are gone. As I was explaining this part of my sadness, my brother Keith said--"Well, now he knows that we made him the cd, and he's probably listening to it right now!" It's true--my grandpa was wholly trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation. We have full assurance of his whereabouts at the moment--he is home with his loving Father and Savior, perhaps listening to some stories and reading some cards from his grandchildren.

Maybe I will post more details later, when I have them. At the moment, I've only talked to my mom for less than two minutes, and so I know very little more than I've already written.

We're going to be spending the evening and night with my sister and her family, so that will be nice and comforting.

Prayers for all of us children at home, as well as for my other siblings, grandma, aunts, uncles, cousins, and mom and dad would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Alliteration

Keith, Amy, Erin, and I came up with this lovely alliteration this evening. Can you think of anything to add?

Because a big beautiful, blue, butterfly* bit me on the butt, my bitten bottom's big, bruised, blistered, and burns bad when I sit on the beach watching belugas blow and bouyant, burly, boats battle on the bays of Brazil.

Can you guess the letter we repeated? Try reading it out loud. It sounds funnier. :)


*Yeah, not sure the last time a butterfly bit someone's behind, but it made for a sillier sentence. See, it's addictive! I can't stop!

Happy Belated Birthday, Boo!

Okay, so her name isn't really Boo, it's Amy, but Boo is her nickname and I felt like an alliteration. Anyway, the baby of our family is now 9 years old!!! And in 4th grade! What a big girl she is!


I love this little girl so much. At the moment, she doesn't feel well. She came down with some sort of bug that was cycling through our house. Actually, she got a fever on her birthday, the 30th! But, she is still cheerful.

She is the best pretender of our whole family. Ever since she was 2 she has been able to play, whether she had someone with her or not. She finds things to play that don't require any toys, just imagination. When she started kindergarten, she was only 4. She wanted to do school with all the big kids, but she really wasn't very ready right at that point, because instead of doing her seat work, she would go to the bathroom at 9:00 and not return until lunch, when we called her. Of course, she wasn't in the bathroom all that time, she was playing!

She also loves to sing, and has a very pretty voice. She loves purses, wallets, jewelry and such, but loses them frequently. (I think she's gotten a lot better with this, though.)

She has also always been a pretty big mess-maker. Always. When you walked in the room, you knew that Amy had been there if it looked like a tornado had blown through that part of the house, even when she was still in diapers.

She is also very bright. She will think about things until she figures them out. She is an excellent reader and is also a very talented artist.

But most important, she loves Jesus. A couple years ago she made up songs about Jesus and typed them up, printed them out, and hung them up. She sings worship songs at church, in her room, while she's doing chores, etc. And she has a very tender heart.

I love you, Boo Baby, SOOOO much!

~Kaykay

Down the drain...

Two quarts of homemade ice cream went down the drain this evening. Literally. We had an episode similar (but by no means nearly as severe) to this one. That same pipe leaked or something and the water went through the upstairs flooring and dripped into our kitchen, where our semi-new electric ice cream maker was churning us a batch of vanilla ice cream. And so, that undesired added ingredient (water that has dripped through a floor/ceiling and as a result is murky-brownish in color) caused me to have to wash it down the drain. :( It's enough to provoke one to tears. Well, close to tears, at least. No, I didn't cry, but if I had been in the right mood, I definitely could have mustered up some tears. That's how important ice cream is in our house. :P

ROTK, pizza, ice cream, and family.

Yep. That's what my evening looks like. Pretty sweet. I'm excited. My mom and sisters are in Ohio, so it's just my dad, Keith, and me. So, we are going to watch Return of the King, eat homemade pan pizza, and eat homemade ice cream. I guess you already gathered that from the title. Sorry for being redundant. I'm tired.

Happy Birthday, Scotty!

[Music playing] "1-2-3-4! Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you! We wish it was our birthday, so we could party too! Hey! Happy happy birthday, hope all your dreams come true! We wish it was our birthday, so we could party too!" ~The Emperor's New Groove.

Anyway, have a very happy birthday Scott! You're getting so old! Well, not really, but you have a wife and a house and have graduated and everything...you are just pretty far in life for so young a guy. Congratulations!

I love you and really, really hope to see you soon! I have SO MUCH FUN when we're together. You make me laugh so hard. :D Thank you for being such a great role model for me. You have taught me a lot. Like being a hard worker, serving others, and loving the Lord. I love you big bro!

<3,
kate

Happy Birthday, Ben!

Hey, this is turning into a birthday series...hmmmm. Anyway, I love you Ben and I'm so glad that Allie married you. Now we can always be friends--if you move away you'll be taking my sister and nephew with you and I'll have more than one excuse to come visit! ;) You have taught me about philosophy and government, watched movies with me, explained those movies to me, comforted me when I was hurt or didn't feel well, laughed at my jokes, laughed at my gullibility, and been a wonderful second big brother. Have a very blessed, happy, fun birthday!

Love,
Katiekat

Happy Birthday, Emily!

My mom and I realized tonight that amongst all the busyness of the day, we had forgotten to call to wish you a very happy birthday! :( So, I decided to write a short post, hoping your day was filled with blessings. We all love you very much and are so glad that you are a part of our family! I had an extremely fun time with you and Scott over the 1st week of July. I can't wait to see you again!

Much, much, love,
Katie :) <3 :) <3

Funny little tidbit...

My mom has been planning our 2009-2010 school year recently. One of the things that she is planning to teach the younger kids about is the Revolutionary War. So, as preparatory material, she checked out the entire "Liberty's Kids" series of T.V. episodes from the library. Has anyone ever watched that show? It's an animated show that aired on PBS (I think). Each episode covers a different important issue during the Revolutionary War. There are three kids that live with Benjamin Franklin and are really involved in everything going on. Anyway, I remember watching it several years ago, thinking that the teenage girl was beautiful, but never really understanding the plot of each episode. The kids had already watched a few episodes, and then yesterday I was reading the back of the box it came in and saw that there were actually a bunch of famous actors that guest-starred in the show! Actors such as Ben Stiller (as Thomas Jefferson), Billy Crystal (as John Adams), Whoopi Goldburg (sp?) (I don't remember who she played) and--here's who made me want to watch it--SYLVESTER STALLONE! (as Paul Revere)!!! So, I was like, "Can we watch the one with him in it? Please??" And so we did. It was HILARIOUS! Kind of. I mean, I was really used to him as Rocky--you know, his signature slightly slurred, heavily accented way of speaking that is so endearing. But as Paul Revere, the slur and accent were (mostly) gone. It was still him though. I mean, his voice is always really deep, and it still sounded like him. Anyway, it was fun. =)

Birthday week

In my family, the week of the 4th of July is a birthday week. My birthday is on June 26, Erin's is July 1st, and Allie's is July 2nd. We were blessed to have Scott and Emily here for Erin's and Allie's (they were actually able to stay through the 6th!). Here are some pictures of my celebration. If Allie and Erin permit, there will hopefully be posts of pictures from their birthdays. ;)



My mom totally surprised me with this gift--it's a cookbook that my aunt helped to compile. I have grown up with a bunch of the recipes that it contains, and now I have a copy of my very own! It is called "Sassafras" and it is amazing. Every single recipe was tested 5 times and each time every taster had to give it 5 stars in order for it to get into the book. So, pretty much everything that you make out of it is awesome. I think she got it from Amazon.com. Go buy it! Also, notice my purple-with-white-polka-dots apron. Isn't it lovely? You can't tell from the picture, but the bottom is all frilly. :)




Mmmm...Frozen Mocha Cheesecake! It was SOOOO good! In fact, that recipe is from Sassafras. Doesn't it look delicious? Don't you want it right now? I do!

My dad was proud of the fact that he got this picture of me with my cheeks full of air and the candles 1/2 blown out.

The necklace that I'm wearing was amother present from my mom. I LOVE it!


Thank you, my dear family, for making my 15th birthday so special! I love you!

Allie, Ben, and Gideon are gone

Today, Allie and Ben and Gideon moved into their own apartment. I am so incredibly happy for them and I LOVE their apartment, but it is definitely a bitter-sweet thing, you know? Here are the top 25 things that I'll miss about them living here (in no particular order), and yes, I'm planning on seeing them a lot, so I'll still have some of these, but it won't be as much.

1. Hearing Ben's laugh as I'm about to fall asleep
2.Gideon being downstairs sometimes when I come down in the morning
3. Gideon's smile
4. Getting Gideon to laugh by saying a random word that he likes over and over (such as the word "surprised")
5.Talking with Allie about getting married and married life and babies
6. Talking with Allie about what kind of person my husband will be and possible prospects.
7. Allie coming into my room to borrow something before I'm awake when she's getting ready for work
8. Borrowing and lending clothes from and to Allie
9. Hearing them come up our steps after I'm in bed
10. Hearing them go up their steps after they get ready for bed
11. Talking to Ben about philosophy late at night
12. Allie's teasing and calling me a dork
13. Ben's teasing and calling me a 'towelhead' when I wrap my head in a towel after a shower
14. Watching Rocky or School of Rock while eating Little Debby Snack Cakes
15. Eating dinner with the whole family and talking
16. Ben asking me not to set the alarm at night because he is going downstairs to make Mac&Cheese or Ravioli
17. Driving with Ben to the grocery store or to pick up fried rice
18. Having a big brother in the house
19. Having a big sister in the house
20. Talking about pimples, makeup, and clothes with Allie
21. Brushing my teeth at night while Ben waits and teases me.
22. Allie coming into my room in the morning right after I wake up and asking, with a mischievous smile, "what are you doing today?" hoping that we can do something together
23. Holding Gideon all the time and watching Allie try to eat while holding him
24. Allie commenting on pretty much everything that "it'll give you cancer"
25. Allie talking about how much she loves 1/2 price appetizers at Applebee's

There you have it. (And yes, I did just have a long, hard cry ;)

Father's Day (a little late, I know)

For Father's Day this year, Allie saw on a blog the idea to take pictures like these and put them in a three-picture frame. We took so many pictures, but here are the ones that we finally chose to put in the frame:

I

t was so fun and easy, and Daddy loved it! I think Allie bought the frame at Wal-Mart. Anyway, I always have a hard time coming up with a meaningful gift for my dad, and this is a really fun idea! I hope others try it. It was great.

New Phone and Texting!

Over the past few days, I have been browsing the phones T-Mobile.com because we were recently up for phone upgrades. I really needed a new phone because I *blush* let my old phone run through the washer and so now the music player and camera don't work, and somehow it developed a large crack in the screen. So, it really was time for an upgrade. Last night, we went to the T-Mobile in Ridgedale Mall (Ben works there and helped us pick our phones and checked us out). And I got the cutest phone ever! Here's a picture, but it's actually cuter in person.

And it also slides to reveal a full Qwerty (no idea what that means) :p like this:

And it has a camera and a music player!

Now, for some VERY exciting news. I HAVE TEXTING! It's so fun to put that adorable tiny keyboard to work! My daddy was so sweet. He saw that this was the phone that I wanted, but I had to have unlimited texting until the rebate came back. He had already had the $5 a month texting, and I was planning on getting that, too. So, he just upgraded our plan so that the whole family has unlimited texting! Isn't he super nice? I love you, Daddy!

So, if you like texting, send me one! I'm also planning on sending pics of Gideon to friends and family :)

I am a C...

Does anyone know the tune to the song that goes "I am a C. I am a C-H. I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N..." Well, my sister in law, Emily, introduced us to two new versions of this song, and they are so funny, I just had to share them with you all. Here ya go...

I am a Chicken (sung to the tune of, 'I am a C')

I am a CHICKEN. I am a CHICKEN HICKEN. I am a CHICKEN HICKEN RICKEN I SICKEN TICKEN I A NICKEN. And I have CHICKEN HICKEN RICKEN I SICKEN TICKEN in my HICKEN E A RICKEN TICKEN and I will LICKEN I VICKEN E E TICKEN E RICKEN NICKEN A LICKEN LICKEN YICKEN.

I am a Cong (sung to the tune of, 'I am a C' and 'I am a Chicken')

I am a CONG. I am a CONG HONG. I am a CONG HONG RONG I SONG TONG I A NONG. And I have CONG HONG RONG I SONG TONG in my HONG E A RONG TONG and I will LONG I VONG E E TONG E RONG NONG A LONG LONG YONG.

Have fun!

The Ride to Louisville

Okay. I wrote this super long post last night while in the car, driving to KY (I'm in the hotel right now). Here is a picture of Gideon (I wanted to post more, but they wouldn't upload, sorry), and then you can read the actual post (if you have the time ;)
This was when he was only a few days old, so it isn't very recent, but I think it is really cute!

I'm so sorry that I didn't follow through with my promises of more pictures earlier! Here is my meager attempt to make it up to you. A post from the car on the way to Scotty's graduation! I'm writing this in the car, but I will post it either tonight when we get in to the hotel or tomorrow. I also plan to post those aforesaid belated pictures of the sweetest chunk of a baby nephew that you ever did see (he just happens to by my nephew =)
So, enough about future plans. I suppose that those of you reading this will already have read the intro that I wrote at the beginning process of posting this post, so you can just disregard that whole last paragraph.
Anyway, our near-12-hour drive to Louisville, KY has really been uneventful so far, aside from numerous bright lightning strikes and the rain that we drove past/through in the last couple hours. At the moment, there are at least five semis in our vicinity. Ah, the joys of road trips! I love them. Not semis. They scare me. Road trips. I love road trips. That special love is largely due to the fact that I've had the wonderful privilege to be able to fly standby my whole life. My dad works for Northwest Airlines (soon to be Delta Airlines). It has been an invaluable blessing to our entire family. We thank God for it. But now, road trips are the special adventurous way to travel instead of airplanes for me.
I just love the feel of the road under the car's tires and the security of being on land. I know this sounds strange, but for me, I thoroughly enjoy the time spent just cruising along with my family in the car. I love reading books, listening to music or Odysseys, or just talking to my siblings or parents. It's a time away from distractions where I'm free to relax and take it easy. Nothing is urgent or needs to be done. I can take things at my own pace. Of course my dad's....ummm....technical geekyness, I guess I'll call it (used with the utmost respect and with the most affection imaginable) makes all the difference in the world for our car trips. He bought a neat gadget that allow you to have things plugged into the car (like laptops for movies or writing blog posts) as well as a cool cassette tape thing that goes into the car's tape player and also plugs into a headphone jack (in a laptop, cd player, or mp3 player) so that everyone can hear the movie or song playing. It's pretty sweet. And he's pretty sweet for doing all that to make our ride as enjoyable as it is.
We've already watched some episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show, Boy Meets Grill with Bobby Flay (one of my favorite chefs on Food Network, which we watch at relatives' houses) and a couple Monks. Super duper fun. Poor daddy does all the work and then all he can do during the drive is drive. BORING! Thanks so much, daddy, for making our ride so nice! I love you!
Oh, yeah! I am reading an excellent book by Louisa May Alcott. It's called, An Old-Fashioned Girl. Thank you, Rose, so much for letting me borrow it! It's been a blessing (as the mom on The Art of Candlemaking would say ;).
Wow, just saw another big lightning strike.
Anyway, I'm only about 55 pages through that book, but so far I can really identify with the main character. I think I just love how Alcott wrote. I haven't read anything of her's that I haven't truly loved. Little Women is one of my absolute favorites. Along with The Inheritance. FABULOUS!!! READ THEM!!!
Okay, I just realized that I'm listening to a couple songs from Mary Poppins from one of my Classics Disney albums on my mp3, and that Burt is Dick van Dyke. I mean, I knew that, but it's funny to listen to him as Burt when I was just watching his hilarious show. Sorry. That was very off topic, and this is a terribly long post. I'm at least putting people to sleep if not boring them to death completely. My apologies.
Well, my dad just asked my mom to call Scott to tell him that we are about 30 minutes away! YAY!
We ate lunch at Culver's today. It was super yummy.
WOW! Scott just told us that KRIS ALLEN IS SAFE! Wow. I definitely thought he would go home tonight. Not because he didn't do a fantabulous job last night on both songs (or at least, that's what I think) but because everyone kept saying that it would be Danny and Adam in the finale. Okay. That's weird. Wouldn't it be crazy if Kris actually won???
Keith, who is reading over my shoulder, just informed me that I'm blabbing too much. Here are his exact words: “Did you know you're rambling?”
I already apologized for this terribly unorganized post with a zillion topics, but I'll say it again. I'm very sorry. I bet no one's reading any more. That's totally fine. I don't blame you at all. I will STOP rambling now. There. I'm done. Goodbye.
p.s. Okay, I know, I'm totally lame because I already said what should have been my very last words, but I just wanted to say to those of you who may be asking that Scott is graduating from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity. (yes, I did have to ask my mom about both facts *blush*. I'm not even sure what a Masters degree entails. I know. I'm a horrible person.) Goodbye for really truly real.

Announcing...Gideon James!

He's here! Li'l Gideon James is here at last! He came around midnight last night, so I'm not sure whether it was officially April 6 or April 7. I haven't seen him yet, but hopefully, the kids and I will be going tonight with my dad. I talked with Ben this morning and he said the baby was 7 lb. 10 oz., 21 inches long, had lots of dark hair, and "a little nose you just want to nibble off". Oh man. They are so happy.

My mom and dad were at the hospital when he came. I had put the other kids to bed and I was watching movies when my mom called. Then they came home around 2am, and I was asleep in the recliner with the T.V. still on. It was fun.

Then, this morning, I woke up before 7! I rarely get up that early and never of my own accord. Amy came into my room shortly after that wanting to know if the baby was here or not. (I had tried to wake all the kids to tell them that Gid was here, but it only registered with Erin. The other two don't remember me coming in.) Then Erin came in and we all talked for a little while and then we all decided to go ask mom about all the details (how much hair he has, how big his nose is, etc.) but we couldn't find her. Turns out that she was back at the hospital for maternal comfort and guidance at Allie's request. Nothing was at all wrong, but everything is just so new. I think I really want my mom to be at the hospital with me when I have a baby. It would just feel nice to have the comfort of "mommy" when I'm a new "mommy".

Anyway, we're doing school today, which, I might add, is flat out torture, (ok, not quite torture but close) because all I want to do is hold and kiss that li'l guy. I just talked to my mom on the phone a few minutes ago and she said "I have to go. I have to hold the baby because Allie needs sleep. I'll call you later." I was like, "Arggh! I wish I was there! I would totally love to take care of him while Allie's sleeping!" Oh, I can't wait for this afternoon or this evening. Either my mom will come pick us up this afternoon or my dad will bring us there after work. Well, I'll post pictures either later today, tomorrow, or the day after.

baby's on the way!

Yep! 6 days after his due date, the baby is on his way. Turns out Allie's been laboring since this morning. She and Ben just went to the hospital. My mom is driving. I CAN'T WAIT! I don't see how I can possibly due biology or philosophy homework. I won't be able to think of anything else! AHHHH!!!

Erin and I just got a really nice 5 piece set for him (with green and blue dinos) and another really nice brown and light green and cream colored outfit for him for $17.50 (altogether). I guess that's not proper, to write down the price (in case they read this) but I wanted to show what a great bargain we got! They are super-duper adorable. Eventually, I might post pictures of him in them, but until he grows into them, I'll post pictures of him.

Please excuse any spelling errors. My spell check isn't working. Sorry this post is so rambly. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

no news :(

Yes, sad to say, there is no news of baby Maurer. Allie is actually saying that she feels even less than nothing. Humph. I wanted him to come today! On his due date! Arg! I'm sooooo impatient. But, now that Allie has stopped working, she's not in as much of a rush to have him, so she's a happy camper. I'm not. I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!! oh boy. I have to go read more philosophy stuff for my class tomorrow. Farewell.

Happy Birthday, Little Brother! (or should I say 'bother' ;)

Today is my brother Keith's 11th birthday. It has been such a joy watching him grow up into a godly man. I know what some of you may be thinking, "Man??? He's not a man yet! He's just now turning 11! He's still a little boy." But the truth is that Keith really is maturing at a very fast pace. Of course he still loves Legos (he spends his afternoons building little tanks and machine guns, or something like that), junk food (I guess most adults love that, too), silly movies, goofing off, teasing his sisters, etc. but he also loves Jesus and the cross. He is, in many ways, more mature than many of my boy peers! (no offense ;) I recognize that God has made him special. Keith has a unique tenderness to people that you don't often see in kids his age. When one of us is sick or sad, he often comforts us in a way that only he can. I love it!

Ever since Keith learned how to read, he has picked up any book lying around that sparks his interest and reads it from cover to cover. And he NEVER FORGETS ANYTHING! I'm telling you, he's going to breeze through his high school science classes. Science has always interested him, starting with dinosaurs and paleontology at age 3. Yep. He knew (and might still know) the name of every single dinosaur. He knew their unique characteristics, the ways they communicated, everything. I can't even pronounce (much less spell) most of the things he was talking about. "Oh yes. Diplodicus was a medium sized dino with claws the size of butter knives on its toes. They communicated with high-pitched noises that they blew through their noses." (I totally just made that up.) This is the kind of thing we would hear every day. He also had/has a huge interest in all animal life. We used to get these "Really WILD Animals" videos from the library over, and over, and over, and over. I think, if you helped him a little, he could probably go through the entire "Bugs" episode. "Hi, I'm your host, Spin..." Oh yes. That spinning British globe that told you all about bats, worms, lions, hyenas, spiders, etc. I remember him well. Thank goodness Keith has now moved on to different kinds of nature shows :p.

As all little brothers do, Keith annoys me sometimes, but most of the time he makes me laugh. He makes my whole family laugh. He makes his friends laugh. He's just plain funny, corny, nutty, and witty. That's another thing I love about him. We share that special bond of goofiness. He knows just what to say at just the right time to strike me as funny. You will often find him and me giggling in the middle of the rest of my family having a regular conversation. Sure, sometimes what strikes him funny are burps and farts, but I just have to accept that as his not-so-mature side. After all, what boy (whatever age) doesn't have a fascination with seeing how many sounds they can make with their body? It makes me sick, but again, I've (almost) learned to accept it.

So there you have it. The confessions of a sister who really loves her mature yet silly, smart, tender, kind, funny brother. Happy Birthday, Keith! I love you!

Wii Fit

We finally have all of our stuff! Yesterday, the movers brought back everything from our living room and dining room. (It all had to live in storage while the workers put our house back together after the "flood".) Anyway, now that our stuff is back, we have our T.V.! And now that we have our T.V., we can set up Wii Fit. I'm so excited. We all pooled our Christmas money in order to get it. It looks so fun! None of us have actually ever played it, but we have watched commercials for it and it looks like a blast. We don't have it set up yet, but when we do, I'll post some more about it. And maybe, just maybe, some pictures. =D

p.s. I just did spellcheck, and it didn't recognize the word "Wii". How old is the spellcheck on blogger? It needs to get with the times, man! kidding.