weekly picture post

Both of our kids love books, but have conflicting reading styles. Will loves reading books slowly, where he can show off that he knows everything on the page, while Lauren likes to turn pages and pull flaps quickly. Thank goodness Memaw has a lot more patience for both styles of book-reading than I do.

We took a little trip to the pet store and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Will had been asking to visit the pet store for awhile, but for one reason or another I just hadn't gotten around to taking the kids. We saw the usual pet store staples--cats, birds, rodents, reptiles and fish--and I was reminded that I don't really like the smell of pet stores. The only downside of the trip is that Will has taken to asking me for a pet a few times a week now.

This photo is brought to you by Will. He took this picture of me attempting to play some Christmas hymns, even though he kept asking me to stop playing. Apparently he likes it when TJ plays better. Lauren was whining through most of my playing, so I have the think she also didn't approve of my skills. Thing is, it's tough to find a time to practice because when the kids are awake they never leave me alone long enough to practice, and the piano is too loud to practice after they  have gone to bed. My life is hard.

This is the mess that was our dining room table for the past few weeks. The clutter of it all was driving me crazy, but I was feeling so busy--and the projects did keep piling up--that it took feeding the missionaries to get it cleaned off.

Lauren loves to eat and she appreciates the good food I make her. This is in stark contrast to Will, who prefers nutella and applesauce to anything I make, so I chose to take a picture of her enjoying the quinoa pasta and spaghetti sauce I made special for her.

Thank goodness Lauren's got that identifiable hemangioma so you can correctly identify her as she flees the scene of the crime. In the background you see the partially emptied drawer of towels she left behind her for the second or third time that day. If you come to our house during the dinner-cooking hour, there is a good chance you will see towels strewn about the kitchen floor.

Will was fascinated by the 12 drummers drumming we saw in a storefront window when we went to the Journey to Bethlehem at the Second Presbyterian Church.