Too much snot

Three days in bed. And today Dennis joined me there. And tonight David is medicating himself. I'm taking a turn for the better and will return to work tomorrow (in fact, I even went in for 3 hours today). Dennis seems to feel good after his day of rest, and David looks lots better than he did right after he got off work. We're praying for a quick recovery. And we'd love to be completely well by Saturday, as we have a fun day planned. As I think back, I remember that we are usually sick the week of the Clanton Christmas parade and tree-lighting, and that's next week. I'd like to think we'll have just gotten over it with early this year. There are benefits to this: we will enjoy the parade and tree lighting, and Dennis will not be heavily medicated at his Christmas performance at church (which means that there might not be an exciting stunt this year--2 years ago he hugged Grace in the middle of it, and last year he was waving his arms and took Caden out).

Here's to our prompt healing!

tree hugger

Dennis and Gran, Gigi, Daddy, and I had a wonderful time choosing our Christmas tree at the tree farm yesterday. Dennis picked a robust 7 footer, and he helped David cut it down and rode with it up to the barn where they shook it and wrapped it for us. We all availed ourselves of some free hot cocoa and enjoyed the company and the view. And then we brought it home and had just enough time to get it in the stand before David headed to work. Tonight we decorated it before we went to get dinner. When we returned, Dennis was so happy to see it that he ran in and announced "I love our Christmas tree so much that I'm going to hug it!". Recognizing an impending Kodak...er, Canon...moment, I grabbed the camera and caught him embracing the tree. I continued to snap as he held up mistletoe over his head and kissed the tree. Silly kid! I enjoy his sense of fun.

so thankful

What I am most thankful for: a child who observed the overfilled Walmart parking lot as we drove past on our way home and wondered about the Black Friday sale, and then said a heartfelt prayer for the safety of the workers and kindness of the shoppers. What a blessing he is!

yes, I suppose it would

Watching a Spiriva commercial, Dennis said, "Look, she has an elephant!". I then said "I wish I had an elephant." Dennis quickly replied "but it would be hard for you two to communicate." Wow. I suppose it would. Then he said "I'd like to name it Cappuccino." Funny kid.

tough wardrobe choices

He's out of school today, so I thought we'd go for breakfast together before we head to the church so I can do some work. It's very difficult to motivate him to get dressed. We've chosen pants, but when I suggested a striped shirt, he told me "that shirt's too good-looking. If I wear it, everybody will call me handsome." So the shirt search continues...

learning the ways of a man

As our day was winding down, I asked Dennis if he wanted to spend some time playing in his room. He told me "no, I really want to irritate you!". He chanted the word "lickety" because he happens to know that it sends chills of grossness down my spine. I told him I would be REALLY irritated if he went to the refrigerator and brought me a coke. He pondered that for a second before saying "that wouldn't be irritating-- that would be helpful!". But he still went and got me one, giggling as he went. I love that kid. I especially love the sweet Get Well song he made up.

I have lots to be thankful for this year! I hope I get well soon enough to enjoy the holiday.

a symphony of coughs

We checked Dennis out of school early on Friday to go to the pep rally. He was pretty excited. And we had a great time. It sure has changed since David and I attended one 20 years ago! Sadly, our school was defeated in the 2nd round of playoffs, so the season is over.

I had another ministry academy class this weekend, and David and Dennis had a Guys Night Out. Dennis saw Santa at Bass Pro Shop, and then the two of them shopped wherever Dennis wanted to look at toys. They had lots of fun together!

Now we are sick! I'm the sickest, but Dennis is getting a bit congested. I hope he's spared the cough I'm struggling with at the moment. He read me a nice long story tonight. I'm so proud of his reading! When I checked him out of school, another teacher popped out of her room and asked "is that Dennis? He's the one I've been hearing about that is so smart! I heard he is just an incredible reader." Yep. That's my boy!

the list maker

Dennis finished dictating his Christmas list by September. He's discovered a new use for his iPhone. He's composing a birthday list on the notepad. He wants ninja turtle toys, lots of them, and some line of Big Foots toys that I think are just hideous. I enjoyed collecting the Star Wars and superhero toys because they are cool, but the big foot things just look stupid to me. I think he's been subjected to a clever commercial. He still loves a good infomercial.

This is his third night to sleep in his fort. He's been telling me that Daddy is his best friend and that his Daddy is the best Dad anyone could ever have. I love hearing that!

Fortress of Fun

What an awesome day of rest and renewal this was! Dennis and I stayed home and stayed in out of the rain and cool weather. He thrived in his environment today, happily renewing relationships with toys long neglected and playing with the usual favorites. He was in a happy, fun, and delighted state all day. He played alone for long stretches of time and then would come find me for a chat and a cuddle before returning to his fun.

When David got home and I had to run out to a meeting tonight, Dennis announced his grand plan for the night: they would build a big fort out of blankets and pillows and play in it. David was exhausted after a hard day of work, so I was very pleased to talk to them on my way home and hear that they'd built a fort. Dennis greeted me in the hallway and made his important announcement and formal welcome to Fort Dennis and David before leading me to the library to see their masterpiece. The three of us sat in the fort and played Hungry, Hungry Hippos, and he shooed us out to get his fort ready for sleeping. This took many toy and pillow gathering excursions, but he'd finally created a nest for the night. We tucked him in and read his bedtime story, but he kept getting up to inform us of various fort-related business items. He intends to sleep in it every night and covert his bedroom to his lab and headquarters. The library will contain his sleeping fort and his spy office. I presume he'll stage a coup and take the kitchen and den any day now. But for now he's sleeping peacefully and happily in his fort (conveniently built around a futon).

Strep throat again

We were on our way to school Friday when Dennis said "I think my throat hurts too bad to go to school." I knew it was serious because Friday was a special day--the elementary kids were scheduled to walk over to the high school and attend the pep rally. He'd been very excited to go. We went to the doctor right away, and he told them "I feel like I have strep throat." So they swabbed his throat and found out that he does. Since Friday, he's developed a nasty cough as well. He's still cheerful and sweet, though.

Yesterday, we proceeded with his Taekwondo tournament. He clearly didn't feel his best but was okay to go. He earned 2 bronze medals. David earned a silver in one of his competitions. It was a long competition, and we were starving when we left, but after a quick lunch, we all felt pretty good, and Dennis was perked up and ready to shop.

I got to see Dennis' interview at church this morning-- he had great things to say about our church and he was so cute on camera. I'm so proud of him! This afternoon he and David had a BB gun shooting lesson (which Dennis loved) and tonight he entertained us by asking the Magic 8 Ball weird and exciting questions. I'm so glad tomorrow is a holiday! I'm looking forward to having a full day with him.

Voting

Dennis accompanied me to the polls on Tuesday, correctly reading and pointing out to me "Romney" on the ballot. He even helped me draw the line on the ballot. We were sorely disappointed to discover that our candidate did not win. I couldn't shake my sadness (and fear for Dennis' future) the following morning. Dennis agreed that we should pray for God to work in the President's heart. And then Dennis wrote me a note for my office that said "good day and good job". He said it was to cheer me up since he could tell I was having a tough day. I posted it in my office as soon as I got there after dropping him off at school.

Yesterday he got on "yellow" again at school for playing 'rock, paper, scissors, gun, bomb, and water' (I may not have the last three things exactly right). He says they just got a little too loud. He is most assuredly one hundred percent boy! But he's a kind-hearted little soul. When we went to vote, he took pocketfuls of peppermints and gave them out to the poll workers. They were delighted with his thoughtfulness, as was I.

enjoying autumn

Dennis had great fun playing outside this afternoon. The leaves are beautiful, and after this morning's rain, the air was clean and clear. I enjoyed some time with my camera, taking fall color photos and shots of Gran's and Pop's house as they are about to leave it behind.

Dennis and I tried out a new iPhone feature tonight: face time! We were playing spies and using our phones as high tech communicating devices. It was almost as funny as his chats with Siri on his phone. Who knew that a computerized personal assistant would be such great entertainment for a 5 year old? Tonight when he asked it "why?" it told him "because."

Halloween fun

He wore an Auburn football uniform to trick or treat this year. He scored plenty of candy and had fun with friends. I went to his school party and his girlfriend talked nonstop to me! It was a fabulous Halloween experience.

I'm shocked at the amount of reading homework he's had this week, but upon further consideration, it's probably a good thing. I remember worrying about him reading early and being bored at school, but it looks like his reading teacher is moving him forward as fast as she can. He'll be in the first grade levels right after Christmas if he gets to keep going at this pace. He tests brilliantly every week, and he was tested twice this week (so he advanced two levels). I'm thrilled that he's being as challenged as he is. He's not waiting for anyone to catch up, that's for sure!

Tonight I taught him how to use Siri on his iPhone. He setup a homework reminder for himself, asked for directions to the nearest McDonalds, and then it got interesting. He asked Siri how many stars are in the sky, and it replied with "here are the stars closest to you: Nail Star, Comstar...". We had a good laugh and he asked again. This time the phone Google searched the number of stars in the sky and gave him a number of visible stars in his area. He asked it what an iPhone was and it opened the apple website. We also got it to tell us how far away the moon is. Very fun.