"Shut Your Pie Hole"

That's what you are saying, isn't it? I've rambled on for more than a week now. You just want me to shut it and post some dadgum pictures of the kids, don't you?

Well, truth is that I have more rambling to do. But, in my defense it is requested rambling. Amber, Crystal, and Alisha asked a while back that I tell the story of how Joel and I met and got together. Well, "it is finished." I typed it all out this weekend. And believe me...you have some reading to do. I had told Amber at one point that it would be in at least 3 parts. Well, I was wrong. I have 7 blog posts so far...and I'm not even quite done. So, more than a week's worth of Joel and Michawn for you. Figured I'd better get some kids on here today, right?

First, a little update on the kiddos for you...

Grady - SUCH a conversationalist these days. Some days he just talks and talks about everything under the sun...quite the chatterbox. But, he can be very pensive, quiet, and thoughtful too. He'll sit quietly for a very long time...then sometimes after that he'll say, "You know what I'm thinking about, Mama?" Cute. He and Hadley are playing SO GREAT together these days. They are playing family, strolling their dolls around, going to their house (under the table) one minute...then they are climbing trees picking berries (we have a pitanga tree and a mulberry tree)...then they are going into outer space...then Hadley is running in the house because the Grady dinosaur is after her. They have great imaginations. Grady loves to not only talk normally, he loves to make up words too...some are his "Portuguese"...some are just made-up. He's super duper sweet and very complimentary. He goes on and on about how good the food is at mealtime. :) He'll say to Hadley after she gets dressed, "Wow, you look so pretty." He runs up and kisses my hand totally out of the blue a few times a day. He's just very sweet. He can be rough and tumble too though...and loves to climb the trees (spends hours doing that), ride his bicycle really fast, and play baseball and soccer.

Hadley - Also has become a very impressive conversationalist. Her facial expressions crack us up. Sometimes if we tell her to do something, she will put her hands on her hips and say in a very exasperated way, "Mama, I can't do that now." It's nothing defiant, just funny. I'm sure she's mimicking what she's heard from us when we are busy. Of course her "busy" is a little relative. She is very funny and a little crazy sometimes. :) The big news in Hadley's world is that we potty-trained her on Saturday. I so love waiting so long to do that...it's done in one day. She LOVES her babies and is very motherly. She asks us to wrap her babies in a blanket non-stop throughout the day. She loves to "wear" them too...we make a sling with the blanket. She feeds them, holds them and bounces them, and even puts them to bed including all the normal routine given her (book, closing curtains, turning on the fan, and closing the door). I suspect she'll be LOTS of help come March.

Asa - Asa is all over the place. She's super friendly as usual. She blows kisses all the time now. She repeats things you say or noises you make. For instance, today she dropped her cup and I said "Uh-oh." So, she dropped her cup over and over and each time she said, "Uh-oh." It was funny. I think the next step for little Asa is going to rock her little world...we plan to take the passy (pacifier) away soon. She also has started some fit-throwing when she doesn't want to be put down on the floor that we are going to have to "deal with." :) But, she's so super fun and such a happy little girl. She climbs ALL the time...but, when given boundaries is very compliant very quickly. She's a smart little thing. She loves to be outside...and LOVES her older brother and sister. This morning she woke up before they did. I fed her and everything, but could not get a smile out of her. Then...Grady walked in the kitchen. That did it...ear-to-ear from then on out. She still takes 2 naps a day and eats like a little horse. :) She also loves babies...real ones and dolls. She'll walk around with a baby doll, rocking it, and saying, "Aww-eee" or "Ay ay."

Anyway...just some tidbits about the kiddos. Enjoy the pictures.


The kids and their bikes. We had just gotten Hadley's out of the car from the store.
Love her poses...she gets a little crazy sometimes.
Smiling with her big piece of purple bubble gum.
Talking to Daddy.
We bought this little pool in Phoenix when Grady was a baby...never took it out of the box...until now. Yep, here it is in Brasil. :) The kids love to cool off in it on the days it doesn't rain and gets really hot.
It's officially rainy season here now. Every afternoon, almost without fail (and sometimes other times too...last night it rained during the night), there comes a little thunderstorm. It's nice. Really cools things off...in fact, doesn't ever get really hot here as long as there's a rain every day. Here Joel and the girls are playing in it a little bit.
Grady saw the water on the walkway and decided to fix the problem. So, he went and fetched the squeegee and went to work pushing the water down the drain.
The view from the front of our house. The people living in the houses are the faculty and staff of the seminary. They are really great people.
Daddy followed Grady's lead and got a squeegee too. Hadley couldn't be left out of the fun, so she went and got the broom.
Grady with his new haircut.
Every night after supper and showers, they have a little time of reading in their beds before a Bible story, prayer, and lights out.
Reading a story to their baby (in the blanket) before they put her down for a nap.
Notice the pretty pink training pants. She doesn't have a lot of meat on her bones in that area, so they fit her, but look more like shorts. :) Cute.
Getting in on some tune playing.
Mangoes are now starting to be ready around here. We have a load of trees here where we live on the seminary campus. So excited about that. Joel and the kids went for a little walk to find their afternoon snacks. The next few pictures are of that snack session.

Notice how Grady and Joel are holding the same pose. :)

Dish duty.
Working hard outside.
Peek-a-boo.
A nice swing in the hammock with Daddy.
Back from a walk with Daddy with a bag full of mangoes. 2nd day in a row to go on a mango walk.
All ready for church last night.