Just a Lil' Update

Don't worry folks who live far away, we've not been washed downstream by the torrential rain which hit the Northwest this past week. We did, however, have a family vacation planned to the Oregon coast which may have to be canceled again (i'm going to give up trying to plan family vacations pretty soon!) due to the impact the storm had on the cities on the Coast. Evidently they don't have power or telephone service, which means that we have no clue how to get in contact with the hotel we had reservations at to see if they are operating or what. I guess it'll work out--it always does! I do feel bad for those people and businesses at the coast, tho, that can't be good for business or life.
Jonah's b-day was a couple weeks ago and everyone's probably wondering why the heck i haven't posted pictures...that's cuz my digital camera is broken. and i took pictures with a regular camera (you know, the kind with film that has to be developed--remember those??) and i am a slacker and keep forgetting to turn the film in...but Ian said he took a bunch, so I'll try to post some soon. I think they may even be on this disc here. Oh yes. Hey, I blame "Mommy-brain". I'll post 'em tomorrow. I promise.
So Jonah is SEVEN and has now declared that his bike is too small and baby-ish (his word, not mine), and that he now hates Barbie movies, and that he is done with all his matchbox cars, and that he is going to be a chef when he grows up. That last one I find awesome. He frequently now comes into the kitchen and asks to help me cook and I try to let him (i'm a control-freak and don't like messes--bad combo for a mom). The other day he made everyone a sandwich after church while i was feeding Brynne. Mine was two pieces of bread with a piece of cheese, a squirt of mustard, and a sprig of cilantro. I asked him if he knew what that green stuff was and he said he thought it was "like a lettucey-thing, you know." I took a bite and it was surprisingly good in a simplistic, cilantro sort of way. I love that he did that for me "to help Momma out and give her a break" he said. He is a silly, thoughtful, kind, and sensitive boy who is smart and quick and confident and I am just so thankful to have him.
(So don't read into my lack of posts about his b-day--it's my dumb broken camera and the dumb film that i have to drop off and then pick up! You'd think I could kill an hour at Target!)
I love Christmas traditions and the little quirks that makes each family unique. Our tree is up and on it I have an ornament that Grandma Grace (GG) made me that is a little santa face, and it has a piece of paper glued to it that reads "Squeeze my cheeks, and I'll give you a kiss". Ava LOVES that ornament. Everyday she wants me to hide it and she looks for it so she can get the Hershey's Kiss that's inside of his mouth (That's what happens when you squeeze the cheeks...get it?!). Except she calls them HORSEY Kisses. I think GG would have laughed when she heard that. When I was little my mom had another Christmas decoration that GG made which she hung on the knob of her china cabinet. The thing said NOEL, but every time my sister JoAnna walked by she would flip it upside down so it would say LEON. So silly, but everytime I see NOEL written anywhere this time of year I think of Jo and it makes me happy. I think maybe I should get one for my china cabinet. And wrapping paper--I need some of that, too. :)