Ah, Memories

I love memories-- well most of them.  There are some I'd like to forget, but I suppose they help me remember the work God has done in me and how much I need him.

There are some that I hope I never forget-- the way my babies smell when they are little, the way Gray's face feels with those fluffy cheeks, the way Joshua clings to me when I have to leave, the way Julia wraps her arm around my neck and pulls me close every night when I sing to her.

There are some that I know I'll forget, so I write them down--in a notebook, blog, email, scrapbook....stories of our life, the day-to-day ups and downs.

And then there are some that I just need to read periodically because there's nothing quite like the laugh you have remembering some crazy family story.

I guess I just see how fast life goes by and I don't want to forget what we have experienced, so recording memories is a big thing to me.

Last week I ordered a book of the first "Crabtree Chronicles" and it's due to come in any day.  I love that.  Having all the stories I typed out in a real live book I can flip through and hopefully generations can read how Gray ate peas out of a toilet and other fine tales.

Then I remembered that blog wasn't the original.  Remember the family blog we started back in 2008?  I was in Washington and Jeannie, Amanda, Mama, Daddy, and I somehow all made a blog we could each contribute to.  How fun that was!  And then the site was canceled, but I saved it.  I pulled out the external hard drive and lo and behold, there it was.  So now I'm going to look into printing that one as well.

But first, you must take a look at this gem.  It's a page we all wrote some family memories on and it cracks me up.

Remember When...

Just wanted to start a page of funny family memories.  Anyone can add on if you have one about any of the family (extended included).  The only rule is it has to be funny and not be a story that someone involved would be too embarrassed about.  The key is to post things that we WANT to remember, not things we're still trying to forget!

I'll start....

1)  Remember when Daddy used to drive us around the block while we waited on Mama in the car so that she'd think we left her?

2)  Remember when Jeannie dropped a dish during a family dinner at Grandmama's and said the "s" word?  (Hey, I picked that up from Grandmama when she cleaned windows.)

3)  Remember when we videoed a simulation of a newscast during Hurricane Hugo and Amanda pretended to be the hurricane by making noises with her mouth?

4)  Remember when Grandmama hid in the bathroom to avoid a relative and Granddaddy came in and used the bathroom while she was hiding?

5)  Remember when the cousins all played together and made Clarke be "Daisy"?

Okay, this is just to get the ball rolling....hope people have some good little tales to tell!

6)  Remember when we were playing hide and seek and Amanda got stuck in the dryer??

7)  Remember when we all got "spanked" with a wooden spoon for secretly watching soaps w/ Grandmama when we were in, like, primary school?

8)  Remember when SOMEONE say SOMETHING about sneaky Holly! How about running into the gutter with the car?  And hitting the garage door while trying to back out?  And getting the car stuck in the mud in the front yard?  And driving the wrong way down the interstate when trying to come home from school?

9)  Remember when Amanda pooped in the tub & blamed it on someone else?  (Yeah, I know you all were thinking it but didn't want to say it :)  Sorry-I've had poop on the mind ever since Carly got it everywhere at naptime today....even on poor Mama's wall!

10)  Remember when Jeannie and Holly were playing games together and Holly agreed to play Jeannie's game first, but then Jeannie lost and threw all the pieces to the game?  Yep, that's right, I had to clean it all up and didn't get to play my choice of game either!  You'll never live it down, Jeannie!

11)  Remember when Holly and Jeannie used listen through the wall to Amanda's phone conversations?  We also did exercise programs in our bed for fun at night.  Wasn't sharing a room so much fun?

12) Jeannie, remember when I (holly) got engaged and you didn't believe me?  I think it took about 5 "Nuh Uh's" while you stared at my ring for you to think it wasn't a joke!

13)  Remember when certain members of the Fudge family sat in a swing and it broke?  (someone remind me of who it was!)

14)  Remember when Matt Leighton stumbled upon Jeannie walking around in her bra?  (is that over the line?  was debating on whether to share)  I think everyone in the fam has seen me in a towel or less. haha.  That's what you get for coming to my house.

15)  Mama, remember when I (holly) slept walked when we lived in Chester?  You told me I came in the den and tried to pee on your lap, as if I thought you were the potty.

16)  Remember when Amanda used to run around the house yelling, "Things are getting out of hand here!"  like the lady on that Polly movie?

17)  Remember how we (esp. Amanda) would DIE laughing over that horse part in the Esther Williams movie?

18)  Remember when Jeannie pitched a fit because we didn't rent Oklahoma from the movie store?  Can't live without those musicals, can ya Jeannie?

19)  Remember when Matt Crabtree came to eat at our house for the first time ever and put mayonnaise on his muffin, thinking it was butter?  After realizing his mistake, he ate it anyway!  Way to make a good first impression, Matt!

20)  Remember when Constance and Holly spent hours on end at the pool at Springmaid perfecting our synchronized swimming routine?  Never mind that our talent was minimal...we sure thought we were good!  I remember one time I put non-waterproof sunscreen on my face and reapplied often, but (DUH) the pool water was washing it right off, so I ended up with the worst sunburn ever!  Those were fun times, though.

21)  Remember when Joan couldn't remember Lou's name at Amanda's wedding?  Joan went up to Daddy and said something like "I was just talking to [pointed to Lou] and she's so nice but I can't remember her name.  What is it?"  Daddy responded w/ something that was NOT "Lou" and so Joan approached her and called her by the wrong name, much to Daddy's enjoyment.

22)  Remember when Mama was saying the blessing and when she got to the end, (where most people insert an "Amen") she said "bye bye."

23)  Remember when Matt C thought venetian blinds came from Venetia?  (Wasn't that the story?)

Party Party

Well, not so much.  Matt didn't really want to celebrate his birthday, as he's usually more into keeping things low key and he's been pretty preoccupied with school.  But he did let Cindy and Barnette take us to lunch and then the kids and I had hamburgers for dinner with him and gave him some gifts.  The day also included a quiche for breakfast (which Julia called "cash"), some new coffee and beer, some chips and guacamole, and some little cakes for dessert.

Took just a few pictures:

New backpack for school!

 By request, I made this from Matt's bottle caps.

Matt-isms

Well the big guy turns 35 tomorrow, so thought I'd write a little about the birthday boy.  Here are a few things that you may or may not know about Matt.

1)  He is a movie teller.  Loves to tell all about movies he has seen and is also pretty good at predicting the outcomes of ones he hasn't.  No spoiler alerts here!

2)  He still puts into practice a lot of army-learned lessons....always on time, big on taking good care of things and hard work, highly reliable, level-headed thinker in a crisis.

3)  He is super smart.  He can understand things easily that I may have barely been able to grasp back in college before my brain turned to mush.

4)  He loves to eat.

5)  He may come and sit by you and lift up the back of his shirt.  Don't be alarmed--he just really loves back scratches.  He has passed this technique to Gray as well.

6)  He is good at everything.  Really.  I can't think of a thing that he can't do at least pretty good.  Well, maybe one thing.  He tried to help me make bows at Christmas last year and, well, we didn't use his creation:)

7)  He is very proud of the kids and has always assumed everyone else will find them just as fascinating as he does.

8)  He's a bit noisy.  Is that a ship pulling into shore at 5 a.m.?  Nope, just Matt blowing his nose.

9)  He is very happy to be a Duke student and tries to be a Duke fan as well, but his true colors show when State is playing--and they are red and white.

10)  He is like a kid in a candy store when he goes to a new restaurant with food he's never tried.

11)  He LOVES snuggles.  He also considers each snuggle with one of the kids so important that I should come and watch and probably take a picture:)

12)  He loves to eat.

13)  He can sometimes primp in front of the mirror for quite awhile before going somewhere.  And before you think he's combing his rugged mane, let me say that his task is actually arranging his clothes to fully conceal his concealed weapon:)

14)  Some other things he likes:  beer, NPR, The Goldbergs, our new car, sledding, black coffee, Redbox.

15)  He is spontaneous.  He loves to suddenly decide we should go somewhere or he should take the kids to get a treat.

16)  He is not afraid to go to the movies alone.

17)  Julia has him wrapped around her little finger.  He tells me I should be tougher on her but he means only when he's not around to melt when she cries.

18)  He knows when to hold em and when to fold em...or is it he knows how to hold his cards to his chest?  Whatever the analogy, everyone is pretty much told things on a need-to-know basis, of which he determines the need:)

19)  He is tough.  He can take the heat, cold, little sleep, heavy loads, hard labor, you name it.

20)  While he is slightly intimidated/aversive to the idea of having all the kids to himself, he is a highly capable father and things always go well when he is "babysitting."

21)  Did I mention he loves to eat?

I remember when he first showed interest in me, one of his fellow staff members told me, "He's a neat guy."  That was about 12 years ago and now that I know what I know about him, I'd have to say....she was right.  Thankful to call this guy mine!  Happy Birthday, Matt!

For you, Mama.

Don't think you ever saw Joshua all dressed up in his ninja costume.  He is very serious when he does it--so funny.  You did a great job!  Thank you!

3 Things

I don't know if anyone reads this anymore since I haven't kept it up well, but if you do, here are three updates on us...

1) We decided that our old church, Good Shepherd, will be our new church.  Lots of ups and downs on the church front these last two months, but we feel this is where we should be.  Love seeing old friends and just really like the teaching and worship there.  The boys seem to like their classes and Julia already talks about her new friends.  It's neat to see how much families have grown and changed in 4 years since we left and also how much they have stayed the same.  Look forward to finding our place there again.  We did find that the cousins also have a great church and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting there with them!  Thanks Kim and Randy for having us there and not pressuring us at all in our search!

2) We bought a car this weekend.  After a lot of thought and some time, we got a used smaller SUV that holds 8 people.  It's small enough that I don't feel too awkward driving it (as Matt pointed out, I could never do a suburban) but big enough that we can give rides to folks now and maybe one day hold more kids of our own.

3) Matt found out he will travel in Nicaragua at the end of the summer for a two week "cultural immersion" that is an optional part of his curriculum.  Excited for him to get this experience!

That's all our updates for now!  Taking this rainy afternoon to rest and prepare for the week ahead.

Prima-ballerina

I am biased, but she makes one cute little dancer.

Kid Photography

chalk creations

 don't know which boy took this, but it's beautiful!

Sand wars

Joshua really wanted to remember this cake.

Funny hair- I brushed it before giving him a trim.  He looks much more like himself when he doesn't wash or brush it:)