Marianna's Description of a Cold

"Mom, Therese has the snots."

(Thanks, Doll, just what I needed to know!)

Staying with Jesus

 

Due to the excessive heat, we've had a whole lot of imaginative play happening indoors lately.

 

The other day Gabriel and Andrew were playing with the farm set when I overheard this conversation:

 

Gabers: Where am I going to sleep?

 

Andrew:  I don't know.  The barn is full.  Maybe you can sleep in your car.

(Such a nice big brother!)

 

Gabers:  Oh well, maybe Jesus will let me stay at his place.

Just another spelling test

Yesterday, I was giving a spelling test to Matthew and Andrew.   The word was "healthiest".

So I said, "Who is the healthiest person in our family?"

While Andrew was writing the word, he said, "I think Joseph is the healthiest person in our family."

To which I responded, "He drinks pop for breakfast, I don't think that's very healthy."

Then Therese piped in and replied,  "Well, at least he doesn't skip breakfast!"

Hmm, maybe we should define "healthy", first.

So much for manners...

This week I decided that Gabers needed a refresher course in courtesy.  His "gimme, gimme" has gotten old.

After lunch, I was singing the Please and Thank You song to him.  He gave me a funny look so I asked, "Don't you know please and thank you?"  

His reply, "I know Tom and Jerry!" 

Maybe we need more than just a refresher course.

Fashion in a heat wave

Can't get Gabriel to wear shorts this summer...he's afraid his knees will get cold.

More Gabriel Terrors

I thought Gabriel's issue with the tent caterpillars was quite hilarious.  Here's what we found outside our window yesterday.

While we're all enjoying the view Gabriel says, "Stay away from the geese, they will break your bones and rip your insides out."  Wow!  Have to wonder who he's been talking to lately. I think I'll blame the video games.

Those Terrifying Caterpillars

See that little guy?   Seems pretty harmless, doesn't he?  Gabriel does not agree.  I cannot get him to play outside because of the tent caterpillars.  He says the caterpillars are mean to him and he wants me to do something about it.  They ARE annoying and kind of gross because there are soooo many of them and they are totally destroying our trees.   Didn't mention that to Gabriel though.  Obviously he has his own issues to resolve this Spring.

Typical!

Timothy:  Gabers, are you gonna play piano or guitar when you get older?
Gabriel:  I'm gonna play video games.

Gabriel's Litany of Saints

At the end of our family prayers each night, Dan starts a litany of all of our name saints.  St. Joseph...pray for us,  St. Timothy...pray for us, etc. all the way down to Marianna.  Then the floor is open to anyone else's saint suggestions.  Matthew's favorite is St. Benedict.  Andrew likes St. Francis Xavier.  Therese always mentions St. Catherine of Sienna.  And then there's Gabriel's version...St. Robbie(the neighbor's horse) and of course we respond....pray for us!

Andrew's shoes fit so much better than his own!

Wisdom from Therese

Therese was helping me clean the kitchen yesterday when Clare told her it was time to vaccum their bedroom.  Therese sighed and said,"How come Clare can't do the dirty work for a change?"

Later, Tim was talking about the importance of knowing the difference between fiction and ....fraction, Therese chimed in.  I believe he was going to say non-fiction, sweetie.

That's My Boy

Yesterday as I was helping Gabriel into his jeans,  I told him that he was getting to be such a big boy.  He said, "Yep, Dabers IS big.  Dabers is going to drive soon."  Uh-oh!

Eating all the croutons for SNACK

He also doesn't appreciate Dan's co-workers fishing on HIS lake.  He saw two trucks parked down by the water and said, "Dabers don't like people at our house.  Why are there tents on the ice?  Take those tents away!"

The World According to Gabriel

Little boy blue got a hold of the camera...kind of interesting seeing things from his perspective.

Hmmm, anyone notice a reoccurring theme here?

Every night Gabriel says, "Thank you Mom for supper."

Last night I made beef stew and bread (cheating with the breadmaker, of course) and Gabriel insisted that he wasn't going to eat.  Dan bribed him with the promise of popcorn for bedtime snack, so he took a bite and then announced, "Thank you for making yucky stuff for Dabers, Mom!"

You can run but you can't hide, little boy!

A little giggle for you...

Here's a joke from Matthew's handwriting book:

What is grey, wrinkled and baggy, and belongs to Grandma?

Answer: Grandpa!

Another gem from Therese

Therese announced the other day that if Joseph becomes a priest someday, she hopes he'll be a fixer priest.  That way he can fix her car and she'll pay him $500.  I'm right behind her on this one.  We can always use a $500 fixer around here!

Gabriel is a little mixed up in the pronoun department.

Gabriel's favorite word is Dabers.  He's called himself Dabers for as long as I can remember. 
"Dabers play cars."
"Dabers hungry!"
"Dabers done eating he supper."
Wait a minute.  He supper?  Poor guy has an aversion to certain pronouns (him and her being two of them).  This seems to really bother a certain grammatically-sensitive older brother.  Andrew has tried correcting his misguided sibling but to no avail.
Yesterday I heard Gabriel say, "Marianna throw she cereal on the floor."
Press on, Big Brother, press on!

So this is why she loves me....

I bought the sugar-coated cereal. Shear happiness in every bite. Party at our house this morning...oh yeah, oh yeah! (With all that sugar, party all afternoon, too.)

Anyone for some petsue?

Therese offered this lovely artwork the other day and asked if I would like some

 Petsue....petsue....hmmm...OK,sure I'm game

Oh, you mean Pizza! (Better get back to the spelling I guess.)

Twelve Days of Christmas (Therese-style)

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me.....3 FRENCH MEN, 2 turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree!

Let's Give Johnny His Due

As I'm taking the sugar cookies off the pan, a certain little boy says he especially likes the chicken.  The chicken?  Oh, you mean the snowman.  (I think we're in big trouble!)