Silly Saturday

We have been singing this today. And dancing and playing and (sort of) tidying the house. But mostly singing this. 

May your Saturday be silly too! 

little guy, little bike, big words!

Jonah and I were out "riding" his bike today. I was going to just snap a few photos, but then he got to talking so I hit *record.*

He cracks me up. 

I want to save this video forever!

i love his little voice. 

A Guitar

One day Jonah was asking to play on the guitar. Jonathan has one that he rarely plays and Jonah thinks it is great. Well, one day when I was on my own with the kids he wanted to play the guitar. I didn't have the ability to supervise him so I suggested we MAKE a guitar. He thought it sounded exciting. 

We created this:

Nice, huh. I was proud of our 15 minute effort. Jonah liked it!

(it looked a little nicer the first day)

Well, then, my amazing husband had another idea.

Did I mention the word AMAZING?!

it's solid wood.

 I came up with the strap for this one...other than that, this is completely an original Jonathan Atkins creation. He sketched it free-hand & everything. 

 While the boys were working on the guitar I was trying to get myself ready to go somewhere. Elizabeth was screaming, so I took her outside (to give myself a break). When I came back out Jonah was singing to her!!!

When I came back home later the guitar was finished and Jonah was giving a concert.

Glass Tint USA

Do you remember the time Jonah got to be the star of that commercial for Whole Hog?

Well, he's done it again. Somehow my sister landed another commercial spot. A spot for which they also wanted a cute kid. I'm delighted to share their latest spotlight with you. (again, it's literally only 2 seconds of Jonah, but he sure doesn't disappoint!)

New Driver!

Well, the day has come much more quickly than I anticipated....my little guy is a new driver! Granted, he does have a few more skills to learn (umm, steering), he sure is cute behind the wheel! 

We had a sticker chart (that came in a package of pull ups) that Jonah got to fill in each day that he was "all clean all day" while potty training. At bath time each evening, if he had not had an accident, he got to place a sticker on that chart. We told him when it was full he'd be getting a big truck...he just had no idea how BIG it was! 

By Good Friday he had earned his last sticker...but he wasn't home that night, so we waited until Easter Sunday. It was getting dark when we got back home, but not quite as dark as it seems on the video. We let him "play" with it that night, but didn't charge the battery until after....so I took more video the next day. 

A Sporting Good Time

I first uploaded each of these pictures individually, but it wasn't as enjoyable to look at. So, I made one of my fun collages! Aren't you excited!

If you have met Jonah, then you know he loves to play ball. Any ball, he's not picky. But, he doesn't limit himself to just balls. He likes anything that is done outside, or anything athletic (although he doesn't yet know the word or meaning of 'athletic')

above you see Jonah:

• wearing a bike helmet (the way he thinks it should look)
• sporting BEN's tennis racket (it had to be Ben's)
• with his fave....the basketball
• ready for swimming

• being Joe Cool
• playing t-ball with Molly
• drying off after swimming

below you will see Jonah playing his own little made-up game...

Football on the Hammock, or "weeep" 

(since that's what I call the word he keeps repeating):

I did not put the ball on the hammock.
This was all Jonah's doing...no form of weird parental torture! 

David and Goliath

Jonah has a favorite Bible story. We usually read one at bedtime and he usually asks for David and Goliath. Here lately he has been telling the story to us, so I recorded it! 

Leap Day 2012 (Tornado Footage)

Many, if not all of you, know about the tornado that ripped through our little town early Wednesday morning.  It has been all over local and national news. We were not nearly as devastated as some other places were on the same day and the damage doesn't even come close to what our neighbors in Joplin faced last May. 

Lots of family and friends called/sent text messages to check on our family. We came through just fine. Our trashcan blowing over (not unusual) was the only evidence of any kind of storm at our house. For that I am thankful. I know people who rode out the storm in closets and others who no longer have a house or car. There are many many businesses that were destroyed/damaged beyond doing business anytime soon. 

This video shows some footage of the destruction. It covers a portion of "The Strip" (Hwy 76), then moves to the Mt. Branson area where the iconic Candlestick Inn overlooks The Branson Landing, and then switches to helicopter footage that covers the eastern portion of Taney County. I personally had a hard time following the camera in the helicopter...it gave me motion sickness. 

If you are wondering about joining in the relief effort you can check out Volunteer Branson by clicking here. It might be a few more days before any projects officially get going. Thankfully most places have electricity again. (and wouldn't you know...the city of Joplin sent some reinforcements in to help us out)

Wake-Up Wednesday

I have not posted much Jonah footage lately. I've mentioned that he's hard to "catch in the act" these days. Anyway, I heard him wake-up today. So, I turned on the video before I went in. It isn't fancy, but he is always cute!

Play Tent Fun

One of Jonah's Christmas gifts was this little "Cars 2" play tent. He has such fun running into and crawling out of it!

I tried to catch his fun on video. However, each time he noticed the camera, he would come over to see what I'd captured. I had a hard time getting much. And you will have to forgive my sloppy filming. I was watching him a bit more than I was paying attention to the footage on the camera. Oh well, his giggle makes it worth it. And the "cheese" at the end is pretty cute! 

Mama, Ah-mere!

This afternoon I was getting ready to go to work. I had just left Jonah who was in my room playing with colored pencils and a notebook when I heard him call to me, "Mama, ah-mere!" (mama, come here!!)

So, I went. 

And then I quickly turned around to get my camera.

Yes, he is sitting amidst our unpacked luggage!

translation (in case you can't follow him): six, six, six, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleben, tummy, one, three, four, five, six, five, six, six, six, six, one, three, four, five, two, five, five, six, one, i drop it

What if...

I found this funny video today. 

Happy Thursday.

If Joseph and Mary used Facebook.

Birthday Week 2011

Well, here it is! The last week of October. The little man is almost out of the "baby" stage. In less than a week he will enter full-blown toddler stage. *sniff sniff*

To kick-off Birthday Week I've created a little video. Jonah received an early gift in the mail a couple of days ago. Since Daniel and Riss couldn't be here to see him open it they requested video footage. And to make it even more exciting...well, at least for me...I expanded my horizons and posted it to YouTube.

Without further ado, I give you:

Proper Coffee...and something worthwhile.

In honor of the weather changing to that crisp coolness which makes coffee drinking so delectable...I give you A Proper Cup of Coffee (by a folk group from my neck of the woods...Trout Fishing in America.) 

I dare you to listen to the whole thing (or at least stick with it through the chorus.) 

It is a silly silly song. I also dare you to try singing along!

My mother will not be able to stand it. 

And then, after listening, go fire up your Proper Copper Coffee Pots!

Traditional Turkish Coffee in a Copper Pot

Does anyone else find this "less-than-proper?" 

I don't think I could choke that down. 

I'll stick with what I know best.

ok, enough. go drink a cup of coffee and read some other blog with more worthwhile content. 

Here is a blog that will do:

My friend Amy and her husband are in the middle of an adoption ordeal. It was smooth until the baby was born and they discovered there were some legal issues. They AND another family have legal documents for adopting the baby boy. They attended a custody hearing yesterday which gave them more insight into the process, but did not result in a placement of their son. They are still waiting for a final answer, but trusting God with all the details. 

Read more at Becoming Five.

Two for Friday

It's Friday Friday. 

(I'm not going to continue that song. If you know the one I mean, I'm sorry)

We are headed out to spend some time with the Atkins family. Jonathan and I are also gonna go witness a weddin'. One of his life-long friends is getting married up near K.C. I'm looking forward to our trip.

I usually do Five for Friday. But, today I've really only got two. I could try to force more, but I think two will be fine. 

Here is my very short list ...of music videos.

I just watched this video over on my friend MarytheKay's blog. I really like it.

Even though life isn't always pretty and sometimes there are epic failures, there is always a hallelujah. The music is beautiful.

And I have really liked this song for a long time. My favorite line in it is "feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you."

I think teens often get caught up in the lives of others. This is a great way to communicate to them you have to live YOUR life. It's also a great reminder that anything is possible...tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it!

Oh, and if TODAY is where my book begins, how do I want it to be written?

How do YOU want your book to be written?

Still Newlyweds.

May 19, 2007

It has been four years since we said "I do."

And you know what, we still "Do."

We like to consider ourselves newlyweds...we'd like to keep it that way for 50 more years. 

(yeah, we are sappy and silly)

I just received an email with a link to a cool video. I thought it was very fitting to today's post. Hope you like it. It is very happy and very sweet. 

Somehow he got this to play right after another movie trailer!

if the video doesn't expand, you might enjoy viewing it full size.  click here.

Easter Sunday

yep, those owls are smocked on there!

he's waving...love it!

Jonah had a cute little outfit made by Grammy Pammy!

When I was young she made me a new dress each year for Easter...she's very talented with a sewing machine. She loves to create cute things. Sadly, Jonah is quickly outgrowing handmade "cuteness". I'd better have a baby girl someday!

Our Easter Sunday was a bit unconventional. We physically went to church, but not as a family or to the actual church service. Our church likes to have the Easter service in a local theater (to integrate a large crowd into one worship service). With that comes added responsibility. So, Jonathan and I helped out. He was helping with hospitality...they served doughnuts and coffee to everyone! (early that morning he picked up 100 dozen krispy kreme...yes, you read that right, and no, I'm not exaggerating)

I helped in the nursery. I (and several others) loved on some babies while their parents enjoyed the church service. It was fun. Jonah got to be with me! 

After church, we jumped in the car and drove down to be with my family. 

(i forgot the camera, it was raining, and my dad had to work, so NO family picture this year)

Our usual family tradition is to fly kites after lunch on Easter. I LOVE that tradition, so I was pretty bummed that it rained so much. 

If you haven't already seen it, watch this video. It is a fun, non-traditional way to celebrate what Easter is all about:

Because I Like Them

I thought I'd do something a little different today. If you haven't seen these videos...well, I think you should. So, here are some of my favorite internet videos that I've seen lately.

Enjoy.

this one is so cute. it is a bit long, but just kept me laughing...i can only imagine what they are "saying"

this one is just plain wonderful. it gets me every time. i'd love to have been there.

and this one will be appreciated by all the dog lovers out there.

and this one...well, it's as close as i'll come to being a cat lover. the little girl is cute. if you watch it more than once, the phrases will get stuck in your head.

That's all for today. 

Jonah says "hi."