Town Square Christmas

Our little town in rural Arkansas has a town square. It's bordered by the police department, the water company, a bank, the post office and a barber. There's a big fountain in the middle and the parking lot for these offices is where the carnival sets up every summer.

This year the town had a Christmas Gathering and set up a Merry-Go-Round and big Christmas tree. Local businesses donated cookies, hot chocolate and the bikes under the tree - which were raffled off. We entered the drawings for the bikes, listened to the carolers, drank hot chocolate and rode on the merry go round.

The whole gathering was free to the town. Just stroll and enjoy the season. The trees had been decorated by the ornaments made by the elementary schools. The fire trucks were available to inspect, and there was a hay ride through town and by the railroad tracks. Small town Christmas.

Charlotte, Josephine and Samantha :: Rachel (far right) and two friends

Jay on his trusty steed :: Josephine goofing for the camera!

As a cute kids quote, I have to include a comment from Josephine about the Merry Go Round. It seems she thought that the ride was called a Miracle Round. For all her six years, she had misunderstood Merry Go Round for Miracle Round. When I heard her call it a Miracle Round at the Town party, I corrected her and said "No, Joey, it's a Merry, like you are happy, Go Round, like it takes you in circles." She said, "Ohh. I thought Miracle Round was right because the horses are on poles, but they still go in circles and go up and down." Joey, you are adorable.

Thanksgiving Week

The weather in Central Arkansas has been spectacular. Seriously. Low seventies, no humidity. Light breeze. Clear skies. Gorgeous fall colors.


The ladies had the full week of school off. We had plenty of playdates.



Lots of Rock Band. Day or Night? Still jammin'....


We had visits with family. This is Jim Ball, James' Dad. The truck is Jeannie, named for his wife. Rachel, Jay and I went down to meet Popop Jim at work and Rachel got to drive and park the big truck! She was so excited. Jay got to ride and that was thrilling enough for him. He told me, "I ride big tuck, Momma."


We had plenty of artwork and playing school. Tons of jumping on the trampoline and playing at parks. I wasn't kidding when I said beautiful weather. The only rain we had was on Thanksgiving Day.


And, a turkey. Funny story - our house was struck by lightening, and a few random things quit working - one of which was the oven. So, I cooked it at our friend's house (thanks again, Krista) and the picture of Charlotte above is her guarding the finished turkey on its journey to our house to eat it! Her name was Alice and she was pretty tasty, if I do say so myself...


We have so very much to be grateful for. Thank you to all of you for even reading the blog and leaving comments. Each of you, near and far, old and new, family and friends, touch our lives and we are grateful for each of you. Happy Thanksgiving from the BallTeam!

Thanksgiving Tradition

As a start to Thanksgiving week, I just wanted to share our newest tradition - the Gratitude Calendar. Each day, each family member adds something to the calendar for which he or she is grateful. No repeats. We all help Jay, since he is only two. Otherwise, he would be thankful for footballs and basketballs every day. I know this picture may be hard to make out, but, the list includes sweet and humbling entries like - my parents, testimonies and Jesus; to fun and whimsical entries like - slippers, candy and elbows. In all, by Thanksgiving on the 25th, we should have 175 entries!

Charlotte's New Style

Charlotte has developed a new style. Bandannas. She won't leave the house or even come out of her room without one. The school lets her wear them; even though they felt it necessary to explain to me that hats are not permitted, they will allow her bandanna since it more closely resembles a headband. Charlotte started the bandanna craze when she got a haircut she didn't like. I think she did a great job of turning what she saw as a negative into a new, stylin' positive. Way to go, Charlotte!

Playground Hopping

Last week we had some inCREDidble weather. Just perfect. And to boot, the ladies had a day off of school so the teachers could attend some professional training meeting. We can't stay inside with the weather so beautiful outside, so we grabbed our friends and hit the playgrounds. Of the six kiddos in this picture, only three are mine. My older ladies were at friends' houses and I took the little set here playground hopping. We hit three playgrounds, having lunch somewhere in there, too. When school is out we love to go play at playgrounds of schools we don't attend. Fresh Air and Friends!

KidBits -- 9 November 2010

Our comings and gong, but, not quite enough for a full sized post. This is the Halloween candy fun-sized version.... :)

Our backyard doesn't have much grass. It's mainly dirt. We have tons of shade trees, which are great for shade, but, not so great for growing grass. Shade trees are also great for producing leaves in the fall. This week the ladies raked up the leaves and we had a bonfire. Complete with marshmallows. Good work ladies. We'll do it again next week...

Josephine has curly hair. It's just adorable. This week for church, though, she decided she wanted it straight and Rachel obliged. Which do you like better?

First picture: Charlotte is reading Charlotte's Web with her class. She's read books before, but, this one was exciting because she was the center of attention, since she shared the name in the title. She says she's the spider of her classroom! Charlotte even brought her own copy of the book to class (a Christmas gift from her grandparents last year.) When her class is finished with the book, they'll watch the movie. Second picture: Jay and "K" and I went to the grocery store this week. I filled the cart, and Jay had to be a big boy -- he had to walk AND hold the cart. This was his first time and he was great. Such the little man.

Happy Halloween

Mario, Cheerleader, Skeleton, Cheerleader and Hippie

Halloween, 2010