Emily's Art

Ceilidh Kids

"Ceilidh", pronounced "Kaylee", is the Gaelic word for gathering of friends and like minded folks for a festive time.

Paul has always sang Irish songs with the kids from the time Adam was a baby. They sing them in the car, at bedtime, all the time. Yesterday I had Adam hold Ruby while I was working in the kitchen. I heard all the kids singing to her and had to sneak up on them to get this one. You can barely see all five of them, but I had to sneak because the big ones would have been mortified if they had known I was taping. I might have an Irish quintet on my hands.

Our Trip to Texas

Our first adventure was to the Dinosaur Valley State Park. It had rained quite a bit for a few days before we got there so the dinosaur footprints in the river were not visible. We were going to tour the Creation Evidence Museum also, but it was closed for remodeling.

It was too hot to take the little ones hiking, so after a few pics with the dinos, we went up the street to Dino World.

The rare picture of me since I'm ususally the one with the camera.

We had a lot of fun with this head statue


They had an area to dig for fossils. The kids had a great time of it.

Lily's Texas Birthday Party

My beautiful baby with my beautiful cousin.

Getting cooled off.

Ruby Elizabeth with Aunt Elizabeth

Catching the pet chickens

Our Day at the Fort Worth Zoo

Feeding the birds. This is one of our favorites at this zoo.

On the kimoto dragon statue. My little sister was with us. Isn't she pretty?

The reptile house is another favorite.


Ruby pretty much slept the whole time.

More Texas Pics

Great-Grandma with her girls

My Papa with his two Rubys
Ruby Elizabeth and Augusta Ruby

Nolan doesn't care that it's a pink Barbie Jeep as long as he gets to drive it.

On our way back to Georgia, we stopped at a rest area to have a picnic lunch. I have always loved these derrick picnic tables. You probably have to be from Texas to really appreciate them.

Lily's Party

We were headed to the park yesterday to have Lily's birthday party when it started raining. The closer we drove to the park, the faster the rain fell. I was trying not to panic. Paul, who was following me, called and said to call everyone and just tell them to go to the Bowling alley near the park. He was definitely my knight in shining armor at that moment. And I'm thankful for my wonderful father-in-law because he took all the pictures. I was scatter-brained and forgot. Everyone really seemed to enjoy it and Lily was very passionate about her new love of bowling. To view the slide show, just click on the link below:
Snapfish:Photo:Shared

Happy Birthday to Lily!!!!!!!!!!

My Sweet Lily turns 4 today. She and I spent her Birthday Eve in the Emergency Room. When Paul got home last night, Emily, Lily and Nolan were playing tickle with him on our bed. Somehow Lily's elbow got hyperextended. I put an ice pack on it, gave her some motrin and she seemed to be sleepy, but okay. I went to the store to buy food for her party and when I got back at 9:30, she was moaning in her sleep. I got her up to make her go to the bathroom and she started crying again and couldn't move her arm. So we went to the ER (with Ruby in tow). When asked how bad her pain was she pointed to the frowny face that had an 8 under it. The X-rays came back fine so the nurse said that Lily had what was called Nursemaid's Elbow. It's where the ligaments get hooked around the end of the bone in a wierd way. The only way to fix it is to manually move them back. So the nurse grabbed Lily's arm and manipulated it until we heard a "click". This was with much screaming from Lily, but two minutes later she sat up on the bed and pushed herself up with both arms withour even a wince. They put her arm in a sling and sent us home all in about an hour. This morning she picked up a 3 liter jug of water so I know she's fine. I'm taking the picture of her with her sling on for posterity's sake.

Procrastination Paid Off This Time

I was afraid we waited too long to get our garden started, but it turned out to be a good thing, because the temperature got down into the 30's last night. These pictures are from yesterday.

Yes, Emily is tilling and Lily is skipping with a shovel. Living on the edge.

Lily is digging for worms. Her favorite!

Getting big!

Honey Strawberry Preserves

Today we made Strawberry Preserves sweetened with honey.
Cutting the berries

Adding the pectin
Sealing the lids

We were able to do it all while Nolan and Ruby were taking naps.
It is a little too sweet for my taste, so I'm going to try making the next batch from just berries without any added sweetness. I have some great little helpers.