The Boys

Look who came to visit!They LOVE fruit, and they would probably eat all I had if I let them.

Luke volunteered to sweep the stairs and patio. I won't tell him that most people consider it work.

And then there's the back hill to play on. What boy can resist a leaf-covered hill?

Christmas Day

Patrick's artwork on the left; Luke's on the right

The Professor and I got a Very Special Christmas Present this year: Luke and Patrick had made angels for us, with help from Mommy, of course. As they worked on them, Patrick told his mommy,

"Give Papa."
"Have eyes and face and beard! Mommy draw it."
"I do good job."
"Papa 'ov green. Papa like it."
"Papa say, 'oo, dat's pretty!' "
"Papa say, 'Dat's giffi-cult.' "

Luke apparently worked without much comment, but he mastered the scissor work and the hole-punching.

Christmas At Church

Last Sunday at church the 2's and 3's sang Away in a Manger (a long-standing tradition at our church and their intro to singing in front of the church). Usually there are tears from at least one child, but not this year. That's not to say that they were all pleased with being up there; we did see a few unhappy faces.

Two boys who looked quite happy were Luke and Patrick. Luke sang and did all the motions. Patrick didn't sing a single word or do any of the motions. He stood up there grinning the whole time, and waving to the congregation. It was hilarious!Blurry picture, but you can see Luke in red, doing the motions, with a classmate next to him, mad about being up there.

Patrick in white, grinning and waving to everyone.

Thanksgiving Turkeys

Luke and Patrick came to visit Aunt Greta one day before Thanksgiving, and made clay turkeys. The turkeys then got fired in the big, giant, hot, hot oven. Patrick's is the one with the waddle on top of the head.

Happy Birthday Boy

Look who's four!

We were invited to the birthday party on Saturday evening, with the other grandparents, and most of the cousins and aunts and uncles. Luke asked for meatballs ("no sauce") for dinner, and cupcakes.

He hopped on his new bike and rode with no hesitation. He may be dumping the training wheels soon!

A Romp in the Leaves

Luke and Patrick surprised me with a visit first thing this morning (they brought their mommy too). They joined me for a bowl or two of granola, and next thing I knew they were outside on the patio.

Luke felt he needed to sweep all the leaves into a pile. Patrick felt just as urgently that he needed to ride his tricycle right through that pile of newly-swept leaves.In the end, Luke used the big, big backhoe and the "snow shovel" to scoop up the leaf pile and dump load after load into the flower beds. Thank you for all your hard work, Luke!