gotcha

As most of my loyal blog readers know we do not celebrate candy holidays and holidays with fictional characters.

Halloween comes and goes without Beachy participation. We have a strict policy on willingly sending our kids out to ask strangers for candy AND on the sugar binge we Americans feel is a necessity.

Christmas is sans Santa. The idea of a stranger clamoring down our chimney sends shocks waves through our sleeping habits. Besides, if it was true then Santa would be no more because he would have met up with a glock (you know you are laughing Mel).

There is no Easter bunny to hop around our back yard pooping out plastic eggs for us to pick up so we can gorge ourselves on sugar either.

However, for some strange reason we DO allow a fairy to fly in during the night and take the tooth that has been left by the bedside. I am not sure how it happened. When Carsyn lost her first tooth I immediately told her that if she left it in a dish the tooth fairy would come and get it and leave her a gift. What?! What I was thinking?! Kinda backwards but from that moment on the tooth fairy became a tradition.

In the last year Carsyn has been skeptical about the whole fairy thing but she never could explain it. She assumed it was me but I never fessed up.

Yesterday she and Luke were talking about his loose tooth and Carsyn said, "Arthur lost one of his molars and he got $10 from the tooth fairy! Maybe you will get $10."

Without thinking I said, "There is no way Arthur's mom gave him $10 for one tooth." and I kept on chopping veggies.

You could hear her smile as she said, "Gotcha mom! I knew it was you!"

:)

Ah well, our one make believe tradition is gone.....

got it. thanks.

Reagan: Did you know that you don't always have to listen to your mom?

Me: Yes, that's true but did you know the Bible says that you should obey your parents whether you want to or not. God calls you to obey- that is your job.

Reagan: I didn't tell you that so you could give me a talk. I just wanted to be sure you knew.

So many things I could say here: how it clearly shows the sheer awesomeness of my parenting skills OR how my sweet baby girl has a strong desire to test the limits OR how from that comment I can draw parallels to my relationship with Christ.

It's late. I have no strength to dive into the depths of it right now. Maybe in another post. For now I will allow you to draw your own conclusions...

spring or winter?

Yesterday it snowed. And not just a tiny bit. It snowed all afternoon and evening. When it was finally over we had 6". 6" in late March!! The kids had fun playing outside but there was no chance I was going out there and admitting that winter is not quite gone....

bring on The South (in the snow)

It's no secret that I have a strong desire to live in the Southern region of the United States. Dale and I spent the first 4 years of our marriage on the coast in South Carolina. We loved it there: the weather, the slow-paced life, the food. It was beautiful.

One of our favorite Southern traditions we learned while there is the Low Country Boil. Basically you boil up some water in a really large pot (like a turkey fryer), add "an old shoe" for seasoning, throw in new potatoes, corn on the cob, sausage, crab legs and shrimp and cook it up for a bit. When it is ready you dump it out on a table and dig in. Mmmmm... Soooooo goooooood.

Today Dale and I were introduced to a different kind of boil... Our favorite St. Louis Southern friends hosted a Crawfish Boil (at our house). Michael brought over the biggest pot we have ever seen and 30 lbs of crawfish, plus all the fixins/seasonings! Initially I thought: "30 lbs of crawfish! WOW, that's a lot of seafood!" Plus we had sausage, potatoes, corn and shrimp!

Umm, yeah, We ate all of it! It was soooo good.

This is not how we envisioned the day going:
Our crawfish wanted to experience sunshine not snow!

Here's what 30 lbs of crawfish look like:
Our wonderful cook and his secret recipe...
The pot was so big we needed a board to stir it...
Check it out...
Michael is giving Dale a crawfish lesson...
The kiddie table (minus a few little ones who were eating in the dining room)...
Carsyn really enjoyed it!
Dale is in heaven...

When we finished our table looked like this...
It was the best meal I have had in a long time (despite the 4" of snow- in late March). THANK YOU Michael and Melanie!

Ryan Kirby

Today I am highlighting another great artist: Ryan Kirby. Ryan is the dad of one of Reagan's friends (and husband to my best texting friend, Mary Catherine). He just completed his first album Postcards from Vermont. We have listened to his CD over and over. Carsyn even has it on her ipod. :) A few of my favorite songs are: Come and Go, Calling on the Angels and Chasing Your Shadow Around (oh and Two Loves).

Here is a bit of info about the album:

Ryan Kirby has just released his first cd, entitled Postcard From Vermont. With smooth, soothing vocals complimented by an easy-going guitar, he carries you to a time and place that resonates with every spirit. His compositions touch on a range of themes including work, time, place, moods, emotions, seasons, nature, coming of age, rites of passage, and relationships. Their timing and cadence gives the audience momentary pause -- according ample time for the message to sink deeply into the heart of every listener. Ryan's music sparkles with inspiration and touches the soul. Ryan's music sparkles with inspiration and touches the soul.

If you are a music fan you will need to get this cd (Dee- I think Mike would like it).

Check it out here!!!

Russ Mohr

These next few posts may comes as a shock to my blog readers (all 4 of you). Over the next few days I will be highlighting a couple of artists who have released new albums. When you think of Amy Beachy I am sure you don't think "music aficionado." Never-the-less I am about to direct you to these two exceptional artists.

Today I want to share with you the new album that Russ Mohr put together. He is the front man for Fundamental Elements, worship leader at City Church, husband to my friend Katie and dad to Eliot (and soon to be baby #2). Russ and Katie are adopting another baby boy this spring. Russ put this album together as a fundraiser.

I downloaded his worship album this morning and we have listened to it many times. It is a great compilation of worship music. My kids LOVE it!

Check it out here- it's an easy download!

last day of warm air for awhile- possibly

We spent the first part of our spring break visiting family. We are home now and decided to enjoy the last day of warmth. We grabbed the football and headed to Laumeier Sculpture Park. The kids had a lot of fun!

more spring break fun

We spent time at Uncle Darrell and Aunt Beth's house today. Everyone was gone so we ruled the place... :)

Carsyn played with Leo...
Luke played with Legos...

Darrell and Dale chopped wood...
Dale has a knack for catching snakes...

Reagan played with Roosevelt...
I got to jump on the trampoline with the kids. It was a lot of fun but my legs are sore!






We ended up at Roseland's for ice cream with Drew and Trevor...