Bling

In the last couple of weeks Zane has pulled out more of his bling. Although still somewhat bashful, he's showing more of his wild side to others now.

First, one afternoon we were in the store and as I was checking out, Zane walked out in front of strangers to high five them. What?? Cashier raved at his friendly spirit. I replied that I was concerned because never had he done that before. I kind of like the shy Zane -- feels more protected that way. :-)

At another time when we shouldn't have been grocery shopping, Zane kept asking me to buy various things. And although I allowed him to help make choices for the things we did intend to buy, I turned down a huge percentage of his requests with a firm no, not this time. After a while Zane snapped and said to me in a very loud voice, and of course after much other whining,  "Mom, you keep saying no! It's just not fair. God didn't make it that way!"

When leaving the store another day, some of the cashiers and store workers shared Happy Holiday wishes. Zane yelled back in a very sarcastic tone and with hands spread out to the sides, eyes rolling and with a concluding slap to the forehead, "You mean Merry Christmas?!' Or "It's Christmas, not holidays!" Believe it or not I did not teach him that. It seemed innate. Love it. I also didn't object to his professing, although I did point out that he could say it in a nicer voice so they will hear him.

Laughing Cousins

Is that guy hilarious or what?! :-) Thanks for playing along Cousin Jacob.

Coming Down the Track

Zane was excited to check out the model train exhibit at COSI a couple of weeks ago. If it's something he's excited about, he'll stay and watch for a while. It was nice to stand/sit there and watch and listen to his comments. He was intrigued by all the work the older men and women did to create the display. Some of the gentlemen shared stories and hidden things to look for, although Zane didn't like sharing my attention with them. They shared about their investment and love for sharing their hobby.

We left with some free magazines too. Zane was excited to pick them out -- one had an engine that resembles ours. Story goes that a fellow collector passed but had an outbuilding the size of a garage full of 40 years of railroad related magazines to be dealt with. His friend sharing the story said he was called to handle the stash. He was advised to call a recycling company but he didn't have the heart to trash the collection, knowing what they meant to his friend. We thanked him for sharing with us.

Before I know it Zane will be off on his own way . . . heading down his own track, all by himself. I find great joy in our present moments, with him allowing me aboard this train of memories.

You Little Turkey

I think Vanessa decided she would ask to eat a turkey leg for Thanksgiving dinner so she could blog about it. She wanted a picture for her school blog. She posted one but not this one -- I like this one but the other one showed her more composed and seemingly innocent. Her choice. :-)

Her parent-teacher conferences with both teachers went well. I heard about her leadership, independence, focus, eagerness, enthusiasm and care for others. I heard she's always on task and an incredible delight. I ended up pretty speechless but fumbled a request for an area to improve. Little turkey . . .

Indeed she has an insatiable hunger for learning and for sharing her energy and creativity. Indeed she's a spitfire. She recently shared a story with me about one of the special days she gets to have recess with the older kids, the fifth graders. She said she was chasing some of the fifth graders and one of them said to her, "You're not as tough as you think as a second grader." Vanessa asked, "What did you say?" The fifth grader repeated the comment and Vanessa replied, "Well that's where you're wrong. I'm a lot tougher than you think." She gets her innate confidence from her daddy.

Remember November

Mollohan Cousins

Holton Cousins

This November was full of many ups and downs -- full of sad but also full of happiness and many things to appreciate. We're blessed. And we're thankful.