first tooth!

Claire lost her first tooth! We discovered it was loose at Grammy's house on Sunday night, so we told her to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle! She was quite distraught about the loose tooth, crying, and saying she didn't want it to bleed - when she woke up the next morning, she said, "I'm so glad I have a loose tooth!" We just can't keep up with this kid.
When I picked up the kids on Wednesday afternoon, Claire came flying out of her classroom, toothless! She lost her tooth at lunch! I asked her if she'd been eating an apple, and she said, "No, just beans." Her teacher and the other kids couldn't find her tooth, so we think she swallowed it. Cameron said I'd better check her poop - ew! I knew there had to have been some drama involved, so I asked Mrs. Miller (claire's teacher) if Clairely freaked out - yes indeedy! She was crying, and wanting to call me so I could take her home! Anyway, we put a special note under her pillow for the tooth fairy, and Claire asked if she'd see her, and I said no, because she was so small. Claire says, "Oh, is she small like a rat?" Another day in the Holman house ...

I like it now!

After 6 1/2 years, Claire has finally eaten her first bowl of cereal ... with milk! She has refused to put milk in her cereal, instead preferring to eat it dry. This has really bugged me, but everytime I've tried forcing her to eat it with milk, drama has ensued, with sobbing and pleas. So we've simply let her be herself, and left it alone. Well this morning, we were eating cereal, and I had a moment of clarity - this kid is almost 7 years old, and still doesn't eat cereal with milk! The ridiculousness of the whole situation led me to pour milk in her bowl, and sit her down. The tears started pouring again, so I fed her a few bites (I know, I know - a mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do!) and then left her alone while I ate ... lo and behold, the girl starts picking up her spoon, and she eats the entire bowl! "Mom, I like it now!" she declares, with shiny eyes. Her new slogan? "Sometimes you just have to try it, you might like it!"
We called Cameron into the room, as he's witnessed many episodes of her and cereal bowls, and he's so happy for her, he says "Claire, now it's time to try jelly!" One at a time, Cam - one at a time.

claire and ava

You gotta admit this is pretty cute - whenever Claire gets home from school, and we have Ava for the day, they have the best time together! Claire loves to feed Ava, and you'll usually find them on the floor together, with Claire's barbies and princess books stacked all around the blanket. I love taking pictures of them!

Martin Leather King Jr.

Short and sweet - I picked up the kids from school yesterday, and Claire was so excited to tell me about someone's birthday on Monday! Thinking it was her friend's, I said,
"Is it Olivia's birthday?"
"No, Mom! It's Martin Leather King Jr's birthday!"
I burst out laughing, and Claire got upset and cried,
"But Mom, it's not funny! He died!"
Martin Leather King ...

out of the mouths of babes . . .

Here are a few of the funny things the kids have been saying lately:

• "But Daddy, I must! I must touch it!" - Caloway, on seeing the Mcdonald's play slide, and not being able to go on it (germs!!)
• "Mommy, does Grampy still have that beard that's just on top?" - Claire, on seeing an older picture of Tim's dad with his mustache
• "But Mom, they didn't do anything wrong!" - Cam, after a conversation about unmarried people having babies. I'd asked Claire if one of her teachers had had her baby yet, and Cam said "What? She's having a baby?" And Clairely says, "Yes! She's married!" So then I tried to clarify that someone should be married before having children, etc. Cam says, "Well, some people aren't married and they have babies." So then I had to explain God's plan and how important it was to follow it, but he kept saying, "but those people didn't do anything wrong, did they?" ummmm ...
• "When I get to heaven, I will build a house machine and make a house just like ours, and then jump on it, because I can go through walls!" - Cameron, on heaven.
• "Mommy, I have cracker lips!" - Caloway, after eating crackers.
• "Let my people - GO!" - Caloway, while we were reading the story about Moses and the burning bush. See how VeggieTales leaves an impression?
• "Um, Dad - his name is Moe" - Cameron, correcting Tim on Moses' name during the story - haha! We've been watching Moe and the Big Exit (the veggie story of Moses).
• "Dad, your breath smells like chips!" - Cam, while Daddy and Cam were praying before bed.
  

another snow day!

School was canceled this morning, since we got more snow, and the temperature dropped into the teens. Honestly, they could've just done a delay - I'm sure we'll get much worser weather! Anyway, the kids were begging all day to go outside, so we waited til' after lunch, and then bundled up and let 'em loose! Caloway got to wear his brand new snowsuit, so Nani, these pictures are for you! Thank you so much for the snowsuit! And yes, that is ketchup on his face - lunch leftovers haha.

Christmas with the Holmans

Merry Christmas!

We have officially survived the holiday season! There should be a new law that moves Thanksgiving at least 3 months away from Christmas - those two days are just WAY too close! I will say, however, that this holiday season really seemed to drive home how thankful I am for things that seem so ordinary and overlooked. There were so many families in our church this December who suffered through serious medical issues; heart attacks, bypasses, cancer, surgery, all completely unexpected. As we were driving down to Indiana on Christmas morning, we passed a cemetery and there was a woman and a young girl standing beside a stone, with flowers and notes. I was blown away by that scene - I've never seen that before on Christmas, probably because I never look for it, you know? Yet how GRATEFUL I am for everyday, ordinary things that are extraordinary in every way! Health, family, our house, a car to drive, my husband who incredibly loves me in spite of me, a daughter, two sons, jobs, a great country to live in, freedom, and most of all, our Savior Jesus Christ - I didn't have to look too far to realize how blessed we really are! Tim and I tried to impress on the kids this year, especially, how easy it is to lose focus amid all the rush to buy gifts, make lists, go to parties - all of those things that make it so easy to put ourselves in the front seat, and forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place - the incredible, extraordinary birth of a tiny baby who would become the Savior of the world, and our liberator from sin! There is nothing ordinary or forgettable about that in any way.