Button Up Buddy

Our children have many nicknames.
And, generally, Bill is the one who creates them.

When Lexy arrived on the scene, he started calling her "My Only Daughter!" in a very exasperated voice with a hint of a Spanish accent. Really, it was a movie quote. Which, if you know Bill, should come as no surprise. (It's from "Fools Rush In")

Lexy was also dubbed "Lexy Lou" from early on.... And sometimes just "Lou".... and sometimes just 'L'. And sometimes L-Dawg.

You get the picture.

Tori was born and immediately became "My Second Daughter!" as Lexy morphed into "My First Daughter!" said with the same flare. And then came a flurry of other nicknames for Tori-- "T Bone", "Tori Toops", "Toops", "T" and "LB" (for Little Bill, or the abbreviation for pound, which she was a lot of :) ) just to name a few.

So, it did not surprise me in the least when I started hearing Bill call Liam "Button Up Buddy." I had no idea what the origin of that nickname was, but I went with it, never questioning its meaning. I thought perhaps it had something to do with his little sleepers that had to be buttoned up from his toes to his neck every time we changed his diapers (read: a lot).

I carried on calling him Button Up Buddy for probably a good month or two until one afternoon when Bill overheard me and began a little internet search. Next thing I knew, I had an iTouch in my hands that displayed the following:

Apparently, "Button Up Buddy" was really "Bud, not Buddy."
Who knew?

Bill had that title stored somewhere back in the deep dark corners of his brain from his time as a middle school teacher in south central Los Angeles.

I had been referring to Liam as "Buddy" quite a bit, so (naturally?) Bill had made the progression to "Bud, not Buddy".

I guess I should get my ears checked.


Since then, I have actually read the book--and it is really good!
(Turns out those Newbery Medal & Honors people know what they're doing.)
We now own a copy for our own little Bud, Not Buddy's personal library.

Snow!

About every 20 years or so, there is a weather anomaly that happens and it snows in our normally sunny, southern California town. The last time it happened was in 1989, when I was in junior high. I distinctly remember making a glorious snowman at the local elementary school yard, and later driving across town with my dad through snow flurries because I *had* to have a new padlock for my gym locker at school. (For any of you local readers, we were driving to the then **NEW** Target shopping center, which at the time, was a good 2 miles north of any other development here in town. In other words, way out in the middle of nowhere. Funny how things change.)

So, flash forward to January 2, 2011, and the magic happened again. SNOW.

And we weren't even home to see it. :)

But...

We were up in the mountains enjoying the fluffy white stuff. Lots more of it, actually.

still shot before they head down the hill

These pictures were all taken in the morning, before it started snowing. The storm that brought 1 inch (or so) of snow to our hometown brought about 12 inches of snow to the mountains that afternoon and evening. It was a winter wonderland. And I didn't take any more pictures. But it was gorgeous. :) And we were thankful to make it home, fearing we might be snowed in. Neither Bill nor I were raised in snow, so clearly our perspective is a bit skewed, but it seemed like it was DUMPING snow us as we were driving home. With chains. CRAZY.

Such a fun weekend, and so thankful that our kids get to experience the fun of snow!

Florida Recap

Christmas Morning Sunrise
Pompano Beach, FL

Well, despite my commitment to finishing out the month of November with a 'thankful' post each day.... I fell short. Didn't finish the last 5 days, but that doesn't mean I wasn't thankful. :) Just busy.

No matter... I'm back, and more thankful than ever!

So, I missed the whole month of December in between--
recap: Bill had a birthday, we traveled to Florida for Grandmother Hughes' 90th bday (Dec 24th), and, of course, Christmas! (more on that later)

Our trip in Florida started out like this.

Southernmost Point of the Continental Unite States
Key West, FL

And then we did a lot of this.

Beach time with Daddy

And this.

Swimming in a warm hotel pool.

And this.

Liam's first east coast beach outing.

And this. (Lexy's favorite part, actually)

"Meeting New Cousins."
(or, meeting 2nd cousins for the first time)

And this.

Snuggling with GPa.

And this.

Celebrating Grandmother Hughes.

At Grandmother's Birthday Party
Christmas Eve 2010

And on Christmas Morning in the hotel, we had a very small celebration of Christmas. The girls have been asking for "Space Buddies" for the past 2 yrs, and despite our efforts, we could not produce. It is 'out of print,' so to speak. But, we were fortunate to have been given a used copy by some friends who were cleaning out their DVDs, and we knew we'd have some THRILLED little ladies because of it. So we captured their reactions....
I'll count that as a Christmas Success!

Thankful Day 25

Today I am thankful for 5 1/2 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
May not seem like much, but it is the most I'd had in longer than I can remember.

Liam and Lexy both currently have double ear infections. This on the coattails of the single ear infections (and prescribed antibiotics) they had last week.

Needless to say, I've spent a lot of the nighttime hours awake, playing the role of comforter and nurse.

Last night, Bill took over with Liam and let me sleep.
It was glorious.

And I feel like a new woman.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

Thankful Day 24

Today I am thankful for three children all napping at the same time.

It is a rarity.... something to be celebrated when it happens.

So, today I celebrate.

I am savoring the silence, knowing that in a very short time, the house will be full of laughter and chatter once again. And I will still be thankful.

Thankful Day 23

Today I am thankful for heaters.

Yet another modern convenience that makes me realize I am so not cut out for life in a prior century.

What a blessing it is to be in a WARM house.

Thankful Day 22

Today I am thankful for my husband.
I am thankful for him EVERY day, but today I will tell you why. :)

He is absolutely passionate for the Lord, and his passion is contagious.

He has a fantastic sense of humor and makes me laugh. (most of the time. :))

He loves our children and yearns for them to know God.

He has such a servant's heart and is always looking for ways to help others.

He is a faithful and loyal friend, both to me and to countless others.

He is dedicated and disciplined, waking up before the sun most days to train both physically and spiritually.

He consistently provides for our family, even on days when he'd rather stay home with us.

He has a "can do" attitude in his approach to just about everything life throws his way.

He doesn't take himself too seriously, and can humbly defuse conflicts with his wisdom and wit.

He cooks; he cleans; he empties the dishwasher.

He stretches me to see things from a different perspective and encourages me to search my heart.

He knows how to fix things. And if he doesn't know how to do it, he'll figure it out.

He loves sports-- watching them and playing them.

He is enthusiastic about life and loves an adventure.

He is just the man God made for me, and I am so honored to share life with him.
(Love you, Bill!)