Another kid funny...because my son is hilarious.

Yesterday afternoon, Abbie somehow closed the closet door on her foot. She was (ultimately) fine, but a lot of crying ensued. I gave her an ice pack to put on it. Micah came over and squatted down next to her, and said, "Abbie, can I see it?" Abbie tearfully lifted the ice pack and showed him the red line across her foot. Micah said, "Wow, Abbie, you are really brave. If that happened to ME, I'd be crying like a little schoolgirl."
I'm still laughing out loud about this.

Breaking my silence...

....I really just haven't had much to say lately. Well, I did have some news, but I don't think there are any people who read this blog who I'm not a) related to b) working with c) live in Manteo or d) Facebook friends with. But for the one of you that might exist....psssst.....the secret's out: I'm pregnant! :) Baby is due in March.
This week has been fun. The kids have had VBS at Mt. Olivet this week and have been having a blast. Melody came down from Pennsylvania with Evie and her brand-new baby, Cana. It's been really neat meeting Cana when she's so teeny...and she is TEENY! I can't get over how little she is; she's way littler than even Abbie was, and she was my smallest.
But my real reason for breaking my blog silence is to tell you that my niece, Evie, is just about the funniest thing ever. Melody and Chris have taught her all kinds of expressions that crack me up. For instance, she's not thirsty, she's "parched". If you say, "Question..." she will come right back with "Yes, Dwight?" Tonight, she was having trouble rolling out the PlayDoh I had taken out for her, and she whined, "I CAN'T DO IT! HELP ME!" I said, "Evie, how do we ask?" Without missing a beat, she said, "Please-most-wonderful-Auntie-Gretchen!"
Sigh. I love that kid.

If your dryer is ever broken.....

....as in, when you attempt to turn the switch to "START", it moans as if it wants to start but just doesn't have the energy (much as I feel most of the time), and you go for four days over the holiday to call your landlord and hang all your clothes including your work clothes out on your handy-dandy clothesline and then forget to take them in and it downpours and you're totally frustrated and fed-up and when you finally call your landlord he says his guy will come "tomorrow or the next day" and now it's the next NEXT day and you're about to scream because it's been a week now, get your husband to check and see if there's a DIME jammed in the door, causing it not to latch correctly.
Because that's probably what's wrong with it.

An auntie again!

My sister Melody and her husband Chris (and their daughter Evie) welcomed Cana Strayer tonight! 6 lbs. 5 oz. of perfect new yumminess.
Thanks for your prayers regarding her could-have-been-but-thanks-be-to-God-wasn't-very tumultuous entrance into this world.
Can't wait to meet you, sweet thing! I love you already!

OK, so the smell thing

Last week, I noticed a vaguely funky odor in my kitchen. I sniffed around. Couldn't find anything. The left side of my kitchen is a possible odor nightmare, as the refrigerator, trash can, washer and dryer are all right in a row. So I don't find anything.
The next day, a bit worse. Smells like musty old man breath. (You KNOW what I mean.) Not like rotting trash, or fruit, or mildewy clothes. Still can't find it.
Third day now horrible. Go through refrigerator, nothing. No dirty/stinky clothes in washer. No not-quite-dry-so-now-musty clothes in dryer. Trash can empty.
Wait. Waaaait just one minute. What's that BEHIND the trash can? Oh, it's the lid to the trash can. (Why do I even keep that? It's NEVER on the trash can. Screw it, I'm going to throw it away.) But as I lift it, yuck, what's that black liquid pooling on it? OH MY GROSS, IT SMELLS SO FOUL! WHAT IS THIS VILE MIASMA OF NASTINESS?????
I look up, to behold a lone potato sitting underneath a bag of onions in the produce basket that hangs from the underside of the cabinet. The onions are fine; the potato, sadly, is not. At arm's length, with a paper-towel-covered hand, I throw the potato in the trash can. Then gag into said trash can. Carry the bag out. Go spray the offending liquid puddle with some strong chemical. Gag again. Almost leave it for Jon to clean up, honestly only because he has a stronger stomach. Soldier on. Have to move refrigerator to get entire puddle. Gag some more. Dry-heave into trash can.
Get the picture? Have I painted it well enough?
In other news, we leave for Creation THE DAY AFTER TOMORROOOOOOW! Woo-hoo!

What's the WORST smell you can think of?

Seriously. The worst EVER. (OK, don't get too graphic. I'm not talking dead bodies or anything. Just your average, run-of-the-mill, might-encounter-it-occasionally-or-hopefully-only-this-once-in-your-lifetime smell.)
I'll tell you why later, but I'd be interested in what it is for you.

A photo shoot

We took pictures at the Lost Colony park last week. I will post more later, because Israel took the "real" pictures. I haven't sorted through those yet. These are some that I took over his shoulder while he was working. I love them!

She posed herself like this. Princess much?

Ahh, that pensive look she's perfected.

Micah was actually just climbing here, not posing.


Check out the eyes! Love it.

Silly pictures are best.

Again with the pensive.


Easily my favorite of all of them.

Cutie Abbie.

My rugrats.

The whole group.