Mind Doodles

Thanksgiving and Traditions

We have the entire Stoner clan with us.  They all drove down from Indianapolis through the night and arrived this morning.  We love being together--especially for holidays.  Our Thanksgiving has always been very traditional. We don't make many adjustments to your typical menu. 

What we serve is pretty much the very same thing that half of the country is serving on this same day--with 2 possible exceptions:

Black Olives and Pimento Cheese Stuffed Celery.

           

There is no one I know that loves black olives more than the Stoner family.  I had never even had a black olive before meeting Greg.  But, you can be certain that if we are having a family dinner, black olives are going to be a part of it.  There's even an art to how they are served.  If you put them out on the table too early, they disappear within minutes--regardless of the number of cans.  So, you wait until the last possible minute--hiding them until it's time to sit down at the table.  That's the only way they can be evenly dispersed.  Today we had 6 large cans--3 at each table.  

We'd never think of having a Thanksgiving day meal without them.

On the other hand, my side of the family loves pimento cheese stuffed celery. Not the store-bought kind. No--the pimento cheese is made from scratch with just the right amount of garlic salt, pepper, mayo and finely shredded cheddar cheese.  Greg has come to love this food as well.  So, today, even though we were dining with the Stoner side of the family, the DuBose side was represented.  

It's been a great day--nothing better--our family with a few good friends mixed in.  

Here are some pictures of the day. . .so far.

Aaron was the first to be one plate down.  Matt was the second.   

       

  Look who popped in right before dinner!

              All the Stoner cousins + a few extras.  

New Do

Just when I thought she couldn't get any cuter. . . 

 

Kelsey's Humanities teacher, Mr. Bolin, has a theory about girls and their hair.  

He says that in high school, girls like their hair long.  Right before they go off to college, they cut it and keep it short through college.    

Then they grow it out for their wedding before cutting if off again when they have kids.

Hmmm.  Interesting.  That's how it was with me, too.

Traditions

I can always tell when the holiday season has set in. . . .I get the urge to buy a magazine off the grocery store shelf with lots of new holiday decorating ideas. I rarely ever implement the new ideas, but I LOVE to read all about them. 

Soon after both of my daughters have their birthdays, I start into full out holiday mode--What is for Thanksgiving dinner??  Who is coming?? What Christmas gifts do I need to buy?  Did I get any great new decorations at last year's "After Christmas Sale"?

But, my favorite consideration. . . . 

What traditions do I need to remember to plan for?

I LOVE traditions and more importantly my kids love traditions.  Even the smallest thing makes a difference to them when it comes to family traditions.  Special moments don't just happen; they have to be planned on purpose.  But, although it takes some work up front to put things in place, these memories that we create have a huge impact on our children.  We all live lives that are filled with craziness at every turn.  Our kids cling to the simple things that are a part of their heritage.  

So, I thought it would be fun to use my blog to highlight a few of the things our family does each year. Maybe they will give you a couple of ideas or encourage you to keep doing the things you have already set in place. Most are not original.  Some came from my family, some from Greg's.  That is one of the beauties of how God weaves families together.  

1.  The Birthday Plate

Years ago, I purchased a red birthday plate that says, "Today is My Special Day" on the side of it.  When it is your birthday, you get to have the red plate.  You also get to decide what we are having for dinner.   

Yesterday was Kelsey's birthday.  She's 18, as you can read from yesterday's post.  Because we are in the middle of a huge remodeling project, our kitchen and dining room are not heated right now.  For those of you who live here in North Carolina, you know that yesterday was a day that we desperately needed heat. I thought we would just fix Kelsey's birthday meal, and eat in the family room so we could stay warm. Hence, I didn't set the table or get out the birthday plate.  When it was time to eat, Kelsey immediately said, "Where's the red plate?  Don't I get to eat on the birthday plate?"  

So, there you go.  You never outgrow the red plate.  

 

18 on the 18th

Eighteen years ago today something really great happened in our lives.  Kelsey was born.

From the moment she entered the world, she stole the heart of everyone who met her.  She still does.

So, in honor of her "golden birthday" (18 on the 18th), here are 18 things that I absolutely love about her.

1.  The way her hair feels when I run my fingers through it.  When she was little, she was attached to my hair (it was longer then).  Now I'm attached to hers.  It really is like golden silk.

2.  Her smile.  She can light up a room.

3.  The way she loves her sister--she's a great big sis.  She always has been.

4.  Hugs and cuddles.  Even though she's growing up, she's never outgrown her need for physical affection from her dad and mom.

5.  Style--she has her own and it's very classy.

6. A heart of compassion for others.

7.  Her friends--she's made really wise choices over the years.

8.  Her laugh.  We hear it often.

9.  She's serious about her studies.  She's an excellent student.  Diligent but not driven.

10.  Endearing habits--like clipping her fingernails every single day.

11.  Her love for kids.  I love it that we share this passion.

12.  Her crazy way of breaking out in a song (usually from a musical) at any moment.

13.  Excellent character

14.  The way she adores her daddy.

15.  A real desire to serve others.

16.  Her voice.  If you've never heard her, you've missed out.  It's a gift from God.

17.  She's so creative--even though she doesn't believe it-she is.

18.  Her love for Jesus and the way it permeates every area of her life.

That was easy because there are so many things I love about her.  I'm proud to be her mom.  But, even if I wasn't her mom, she'd still be one of my favorite people.  She's a terrific girl.

Happy Birthday Kelsey!

I love you!

Random Thoughts on Sunday

1.  Greg and I have been away at a retreat with Crosspointe's leadership staff for a few days.  It was a great time, but it was nice to be home with our girls today. 

2.  Brrrrrrrr!  It was cold this morning

3.  I love the chance to sit at the Kids Welcome Center every now and then on Sunday mornings.  It never ceases to amaze me how many new families come through our doors each week.  I love getting to meet them and introducing them to our INCREDIBLE children's ministry for the first time.

4.  Our volunteer teams rock!  I stuck my head into Kidspointe South, Kidspointe North and World of Wonders this morning.  They were busting at the seams but the volunteers had everything under control. I'm just so proud of these teams who love kids and are sold out to creating a great place for them to come each week.

5.  Greg and I attended a parent meeting communicating some changes on the horizon for students today. Change is often scary, especially when it involves our kids.  What was most exciting for me was talking with a group of students after the meeting who said that they are ready to step up to the plate and lead their peers through the change.  I was especially proud that two of those students were our daughters. I'm telling you, we've got some awesome students at Crosspointe!

6.  We got to enjoy lunch after church with Courtney's friend, Jenna, and her mom, Sheri-- Two of our favorite people.  I love my kids' friends!  Jenna could move in with us and it would be okay with me.

7.  Spent some time this afternoon planning Kelsey's 18th birthday celebration.  Can it be true?  Are Greg and I old enough to have an 18 year old child?????

8.  Life Group tonight.  I love these people that we get to do life with.  Lots of good conversation, laughter and as always good food.  They make my journey better.

9.  The Amazing Race.  Love it.  It's been around for a while, but I never get tired of it.  

10.  It's been a full day.  It's late.  I think I'll call it a day.

Things We've Done Wrong As Parents # 5

The list continues. . . .

Not making a clear distiction between different privileges at different ages.

WHAT?? You might be saying.

Let me explain.  I know this sounds very vague.  

Our daughters are 2 years apart. They have similar interests and many common friends.  

Kelsey is 18--or will be next week.  Courtney is 16.  

As they were growing up, it was just easier to let them do the same things.   I have always believed that there are some things that you should have to wait for.   I always thought that our girls should have different bedtimes and priviledges (you know--age comes with priviledges . . .)

But that really never panned out.

So, now, when we try to enforce rules like that, they don't go over very well.

Case in point. . . .

A movie that the girls really want to see comes out this week.  They are really excited about it.  The first showing is on a school night at midnight.  Kelsey and some of her friends would like to go.  We said okay. She has never done that before, but, she is 18 and it is time to loosen some of the strings a little.  

BUT--of course, Courtney wants to go as well.  We said no. 

She was so disappointed--still is actually.

To her defense,she did take it pretty well (after her initial shock), but is sad none the less.

If we had been doing a better job of this along the way, it would have been much easier.  If I had it to do all over again, I'd start early making clear rules and priviledges for appropriate ages.

Senior Pics

Kelsey's a senior.  We have begun checking off the list of the MANY things that we need to do this year.  

Number 1--Senior pictures.

Here is one of them. There are a lot of other ones but they are taking SO LONG to load that you will just have to take my word for it.  

 

                                        Seniors '09!

The girl who took them is Katherine Fallis.  We heard about her from my friend, Kathleen.  

You can check out her photography blog here.

Ludowici

When I was a kid I had a favorite place to go--Ludowici Georgia--speed trap of the south.  Yep, that's really the name of a town. It's smack dab in the middle of Jessup and Hinesville, Georgia.  It's where my Granny lived.  Ludowici is about as small town as you get. And, there's really nothing like a small town.  The people are great, the food is great--there's such a relaxed feel to everything that goes on. 

My girls have always loved going there as well.  My Granny is no longer living, but we have some great friends there.  My kids call them Grandma Claudine and Papa Mark.  They love my girls (and my husband) as though they were family.  

Claudine and her daughter, Tammy, own the local beauty shop/florist.  (Yes, it's all one business.)  The girls love to go to the "shop" and answer the phone ("Town and Country, may I help you. . .") and take money at the desk.  They especially love it when there is a funeral in town because we are all in everyone pitches in to make funeral flowers.  I remember when they were about 5 and 7 and making funeral wreaths.  (People actually paid for them!) 

They have had so many fun experiences in Ludowici--riding four-wheelers, cooking crab stew, riding the golf cart around town, camping in the swamp during hunting season, low-country boils. . .the list could go on and on. Tammy's husband, Darrell, is the fire chief and the local phone man so he always takes Greg on his runs.  It's a trip that's always fun for our whole family.

We rarely make it down to Ludowici these days because of the girls' schedules--maybe once a year.  We did go last weekend and it was memorable as usual. 

I used to have tea parties on this same set of porch furniture 

when I was a little girl.  I think it was painted white then.

 

Outside of the Shop (They've now added a tanning bed!)

This is the real sign that hangs in the beauty shop.

  Greg taking advantage of a free haircut (by Claudine)

Me, taking advantage of a few quiet moments.

"Town and Country"

Where do you and your family go that is your "Ludowici"?

Five

. . .Total number of times our doorbell rang on Halloween night! 

Where have all the trick or treaters gone?

Of course, it only takes one real cutie pie to make the evening worth it and he arrived right off the bat.

Jonathan as Dumbo--

Isn't he the cutest thing you have ever seen?

I heard rumor that his best buddy Hayden looked pretty cute himself but we wouldn't know--because he didn't bother to drop by.