Chilly Spot

Yesterday we had some friends over. We had nine kids in the house. The baby was taking a nap and I thought, great, everyone can play and I can steal away for some computer time...so I did. Meanwhile, the kids were playing hide and seek, because through my closed door (the baby was sleeping, after all...) I kept hearing phrases like "go hide", "Shhh" and "aaaahhhh" as they tore up and down the hallway. Silence, then screams (of delight, surely). Silence again, screams again. Silence again, screams again....you get the picture. So, later I decide it's time for lunch and I go into the kitchen to get it started and I open the refrigerator door to find this...the newest hiding place! Kids....

Pencil Sketch

Ball Team, January 09

This was supposed to a Christmas present, but, I just didn't get it done in time, so - surprise! I had the kiddos stuffed into this little Mall photo booth for this pencil sketch. No-one wanted to go all the way to "town" just to be shoved into a booth and told to smile. (A bribe of hot mall pretzels did the trick...) So, besides the fact that Jay is about to be pushed out of the picture, and Jo looks squished, I think it turned out great.

And yes, Ma, I have sent you a copy. :)

Books should stay on shelves?

Jay is getting so big! He can crawl now - he's pretty quick, too. He is pulling up to furniture and walking along the edges. He waves, claps and picks up cereal using only his finger tips. He can go from crawling to sitting and crawling again, so he is literally all over the house. He pulls down the trash can and empties it. He pulls books off of shelves and bowls off of tables. Yesterday one of his sisters left the bottom drawer of a cabinet open - this happens to be where we keep the coloring books, tablets, crayons and markers. Jay was giggling to himself so loudly that I could hear him a room away, as he emptied the whole drawer item by item. Here he is - fresh from a scrub down - curls all a mess and cute as can be!James, II - January 2009

Nice to Ice

My friend Emilee noted on her blog just recently that the weather here in Arkansas had gone from Ice to Nice. I am sad to report that Mother Nature has changed her mind yet again. I took the picture of the bank sign on Friday, January 2 showing a snowman and a temperature of 80 degrees! Today, January 5, we have mini icicles on the dome! Back to nice, please....

The Big Dam Bridge

These two photos were taken on the same day. It was rainy, then sunny for a while, but, it rained again just as we were headed out. We got soaked.

We spent the afternoon in a town about twenty minutes away. There is a dam in the river and a big walking bridge above the dam, so you can walk across and see the workings of the dam. There's even a playground just before the bridge. I'm all about an afternoon of fresh air and free entertainment, so we walked the bridge. Yes, the Big Dam Bridge.

Samantha is in STITCHES!

Samantha had a new adventure - stitches! She was in the backyard, playing with the dogs and her sisters when she came in the house howling! She had fallen over a brick and gashed her knee. She had taken a chunk out of her knee about an inch long. I soaked up the blood and got out the camera... Samantha insisted that she didn't want stitches, but, the doctors felt differently. She had a laceration - see? - injuries are a learning experience in so many ways...

We went to Children's Hospital in Little Rock-love that place. There was maybe a ten minute wait to be seen. The staff was friendly and Samantha got to ride in a wheelchair. Here she is holding her laceration together.

While the doctor was waiting for the anesthetic to work its magic, the ladies played checkers. We also got to talk to a wonderful lady named Ms. Denise, who is a Child-Life Counselor. Her job is to answer any questions that the kids have about their injuries and explain what will happen to them. She was fantastic. Samantha had a lot of questions, and Ms. Denise brought a set of all the tools the doctor would be using to put in her stitches. Samantha got to put stitches in a doll's knee and use a syringe.

I snapped a picture right after the doctor was finished with the stitches - four of them - and Samantha will now proudly tell you that stitches are not that bad. They have slowed her down a bit, but, she was back jumping on a trampoline with five of her friends just three days later! Very brave! At nine years old, Samantha is the first in our family to visit the Emergency Room for stitches!

Charlotte is Six

We have slightly different way of counting the holidays in December here at the Ball Team. It goes like this: December 24th is Christmas Eve, then December 25th is Christmas. December 26th is Charlotte Eve and December 27th is Charlotte's birthday. This year she turned six. All she wanted was a new bike and that's exactly what she found in the front room when she woke up on her birthday morning. Here she is with her bike and some hallway balloons. And for breakfast - birthday big cookie!

We had a great morning for riding a new bike - it was about 65 degrees and overcast. By afternoon rain was pouring down on us. So, we played with some friends and stopped by Sonic for some birthday ice cream and a photo opportunity with the Sonic sign, letting the whole town know that it is Charlotte's day!
At six years old, Charlotte is in kindergarten and loves school. Her favorite part of school is reading, which just turned her world inside-out. She reads signs everywhere we go and she can read some of our books at home with almost no help. She is so proud and loves it, just loves it. You can just see it in her face when she sounds out a word that she is gaining knowledge, confidence and a little attitude about her abilities in this world. You go girl! Charlotte is a dancer, a climber, and a loving big sister. She is spunky, scrappy and she is fearless (she had the first broken bone in our family - she broke her leg when she was three). Charlotte is blunt and opinionated - she speaks her mind - so watch out. (We are working on it....) She is a clown at home and shy in public. Charlotte is a fish, literally. She loves to swim, dive and simply be in the pool. She watched the Olympics this past summer and decided that she could do that. She could! She is easily fascinated and asks great questions. Charlotte is our cuddliest baby girl, our puddin-duddin and our Charlie-girl. We love you, Charlotte.