Hanging with my gnomies

Erin, this one is for you....

Hank HATES gnomes. I mean Hates them. When we were getting to know each other one of his questions was "do you like yard art?" Little did I know then he really meant "Do you have gnomes in your yard?" If he had his way this is what he would do with all the gnomes of the world....A gnome Gitmo if you will.

Well, my sister Erin and her dear husband, Chip love to figure out what gets under your craw then they peck away at it much like a chicken pecking your eyes out. Since Hank's hatred for the little magical elf came to light they have torn pictures out of magazines and put them on the fridge, bought a gnome in a box at B&N bookstore, and wrapped a little garden gnome holding a Christmas wreath and placed it ever so gently under our tree one year. It has gotten so bad Hunter & Roz have begun texting pictures of gnomes to him. Dang kids and their unlimited texting. No disciple and no respect for their elders!

Jane, never to be outdone gave Hank a t-shirt for his bday that said the "Slowly the garden gnomes are stealing my sanity." Now Hank loves that shirt and wears it quite often. Never has a statement been more true.

There is a point to this, I promise. So, when I was PG we went to OKC to spend Christmas with the Miles gang. Hank, being good natured, bought three colorful garden gnomes and began hiding them in the least suspecting places around Erin's house. One was in the kitchen and I forget where the others wound up. Knowing Hank in the bathroom on the toilet.

This weekend Kenyon discovered the gnomes that had been tucked away in the garage for several years now. Hank pulled them out and let her play with them in the front yard. He called me outside so I could witness our child holding the gnomes by the tip of their pointy little heads and making them dance. Then she would gently push them over and say "night night" The third she would cradle in her arms and pet as if to get it to go to sleep.



She kept referring to them as "My babies". It was pretty sweet. But not sweet enough to leave them in the front yard for decoration.

















I really don't know what he has against them? Travelocity has been able to make a go of having a spokesgnome. They are pretty cute, especially when they are trying to make you laugh at breakfast.

Welcome Home, Sir

We are throwing up a prayer of Thanksgiving this week. Hank's buddy from West Point, Mike, made it home from Iraq after 13 months. I know Teresa & Jack are beyond crazy happy that he has returned.

We are thankful he has come home to the "right side of freedom" as I posted on his FB (Facebook to you novices) wall. Hank still has friends in the fight to varying degrees and we continue to pray for the safety and well-being of not only our soldiers but their families as well.

We long for the day when the troops are home and the world is at peace. So to Mike, welcome home Major and thank you for your service. And to Teresa, Amen.

Ahh crap, I mean Audad

Well, we have a new member of the family, one audad sheep. it is hanging in Sara's room finally. It resided under the dining table for several weeks. Our neighbor, Tom, helped Hank get it on the wall. Needless to say there was much backslapping going on afterwards. See the trophy pictures.
Kenyon is finally over her virus. She is growing like a weed. Hank took her to the Dr. this week because of her low grade fever. He said it was normal and not to worry. I told Hank that her fever was because she was so smart her brain was working overtime. I can't help it our baby is a genius. She had a big week at school. She got to ride in the buggy outside and got to sit in the exersaucer. Today I packed away her playmat as she rolls around too much and has lost interest. So, she has graduated to her exersaucer. I'll get some pictures posted of her in it soon.

Miss K is rolling around like she has been doing it forever. She definitely has places to go and things to do. Here is a series of pictures:

Kenyon's school pictures came back and were awful. There was one pose with her shoulders up around her neck and a big frown on her face. My picture that I posted previously was way better. We decided to keep our $50.

Hank managed to get a picture of Kenyon and me earlier this week. She was wearing an adorable dress I picked up at a consignment sale.

Finally, I selected her Halloween costume.....our girl will be a baby chicken. Her school has a fall festival next week. I will post pictures, don't worry. There will always be more pictures.