I mopped the bathroom floor the other day...but only after I dropped a dark blue towel near the base board and retrieved a dark blue towel with a large gray collection of dust on it. What is the world coming to? 5 years ago I was so focused on keeping the house spotless: I mopped at least weekly (Mr-Janitorial-background, here). Now I seem to have lost my zeal for cleaning. As long as the counters are clear, the dishes are clean, toys are off the floor and the kids are content--things are peaceful. I guess I have found peace in something other than cleanliness (and that must be a good thing).
Posted as a comment on voxpopuli-hannah.blogspot.com and after I typed it I thought it was realization I should post here too.

Little Readers

Having kids that are close in age has some wonderful moments; they just love to do things together. This afternoon I found them in the living room reading our old Tintin comic books.

The other day Joshua authored another book, this one is an "ABC" picture book. He did it almost completely on his own except for the spelling of a few words, including xylophone. Later in the day I found Joshua teaching the other kids (who were completely engrossed) their abc's.

Coolest birthday cake yet

It has become a tradition in our home to make birthday cakes in cool and unusual shapes at the request of the kids. We have had a fish, fire truck, teddy bear, school bus, and most recently a Nautilus and Tiger Shark for Joshua's birthday.

Yeah, it takes a little more effort than a normal cake, but the kids love it, and Anna and I have fun making them together.

Seriously considering a crazy departure from normalcy

In case you didn't know we are planning to build a house on some land we bought with some family & friends. Anna and I kind of Stumbled upon monolithic domes and now we are hooked.

Here is an example of this Beautiful Monolithic Dome from the inside.

Here is a page with the construction process and a floorplan.

Why a monolithic dome?

1. More interior space with less surface area.

2. 1/3 the cost to heat & cool.

3. Disaster proof.

Please comment with your thoughts.

This movie had a very solomn impact on me.

How many more days are going to go by before I become the person God made me to be?

(Humor) Date Of Apple Backlash Set For March 21, 2008

NEW YORK—In the face of Apple, Inc.'s 3- billionth iTunes sale and soaring stock price, some Wall Street forecasters are predicting that consumers will finally get fed up with the computer manufacturer's high retail prices and various product bugs sometime between March 20 and 22 of next year.

"At the current rate, we believe that at this time a sea change will occur in which people will look down at their glossy white or black devices and feel a sense of embarrassment and gullibility," Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Shore said. "They will realize that, despite all the sleek design, they got caught up in a wave of hype that made them shell out additional hundreds of dollars for options and features they didn't need. Until then, I would like to point out that my iPhone is awesome."
Apple has responded to the backlash rumors by announcing the late-October release of a mint green iPod in time for the holiday shopping season, a strategy that appears to have silenced naysayers at least temporarily.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

The kids watched the old Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie the other day. It was a hit, the kids really liked it. 
Maria in particular wanted to watch it again. She said," Can I watch the scary Bambi movie."

While we were checking over our living will this morning we explained to Joshua that if Anna and I were to die that he would go to Uncle Ben and Aunt Cindy and they would take care of him and his brother and sister.

We gently asked, "Do you understand?"

He said, "Yes, but I won't be able to drive the car to get to their house." 

#1 Bella takes the cake last weekend.

In case you hadn't heard, Bella the movie debued last weekend. It is an incredible film that everyone over 12 should go and see.

It was #17 as far as box office take with a healthy $1.3 million...but it was being shown at only 165 theatres nationwide. That is a huge $8,051 per theatre which puts it at #1. The next closest was earned only $6,100 per theatre and the rest were way below that. (source Yahoo box office)

Way to go Bella. I hope you make it into EVERY theatre in the world because people need to see this movie.

Halloween, the only to time we see our neighbors

We had a very nice Hallowed Evening. Cindy brought her kids over (they like our neighborhood because it is fairly dense) Dominic and Damian were running from house to with excitement on their faces. Joshua, Maria and Sam were quite a bit slower. I think they got lapped by their cousins who ended up with their buckets overflowing.

I know many of you don't like halloween because of all the scary stuff, but we look past that and use it as a time to get to know our neighbors. Most of the time people are cloistered in their homes with blue light (from the TV) flashing in their windows. Tonight, only one night of the year, everyone is standing in their front yards smiling, talking, and handing out candy to kids. We just found out that one of our neighbors has a kid named Joshua Thomas, too. I think it's great.

Maria and the tub are friends

Maria learned how to turn on the cold water in the bathtub a few weeks ago. And just this week she learned how to plug the tub to fill it up.

In case you didn't know Maria is crazy about swiming, baths and water in general. This afternoon Anna found Maria dancing around in the tub in 2 inches of ice cold water; she couldn't figure out how to turn on the hot water but it didn't bother her.

Back in the day we used to dance more

Star in Your Own JibJab! It's Free!

Sensitive kids and their sense of justice

This afternoon Sam appeared to be getting ready to draw on our globe with a marker. Anna and I both interviened from the couch by saying "NO" very firmly.

Well apparently Sam was not planning on drawing in it, and he was very sad that we had been so abrupt with him. He came over wimpering and looking for us to apologize. But we didn't apologize as first; instead we cuddled him. He continued his little fussy wimpers so my adult mind told me "distract him."

So I tickled Sam while doing the "your foot bone's connected to" song. He layed quietly and even laughed when I got to his collar bone. But when I finished he started wimpering again. So I did the whole song again with the same reaction. And again, after I stopped he started fussing again.

I thought for sure I could just get him to forget our mistake, but Anna finally realized that he wanted us to apologize. After we apologized he stopped and went back to his normal self immediatly. Aren't kids amazing?

This afternoon while putting the kids down for a nap the kids, as always, asked for a story.

I started telling them about my Boy Scout days, camping and climbing mountains.

Maria was so funny she kept interupting and telling me how she was there with me.  It went something like this:

Me: "it took me all day to climb up the mountain..."

Maria interupts: "Yeah, I was with you daddy, and I carried you when you got tired."

Me: "Oh yeah, was I heavy?"

Maria: "No, I was so much huge-er than you, you were just a baby."

(she had Anna and me in stitches)

 

During our yummy pumpkin-pancake breakfast this morning Joshua had his mouth full, but his plate had just become empty.

He reached his arms out and made grasping motions as if to 'sign' that he wanted more.

Anna asked, "are you trying to say more please?"

Joshua responded, "I can't say more please because my mouth is full."

But he said it with his mouth full...hahaha, I thought that was funny. 

I don't know about you, but as the temperature drops our family starts to drink more hot tea. The like it because it makes them feel all grown up as they sip it in their special mugs.

I tried to add less honey today, so it was slightly less sweet than the last time. 

Joshua took a sip and set it down with a tired expression on his face. Then he said, "I don't really want to drink this its too hard to hold."

Anna questioned, "Do you mean its not sweet enough and you want more honey?"

"Yes!" Was his response. (which in the moment was very funny)! 
After we sweetened it he drank the whole thing.

Looks like its worth seeing

Check out this movie trailer for Juno (not the city in Alaska). It looks good.

NEW Ray Family Picture Gallery

We have a new place to view all our pictures.
just go to http://gallery.mac.com/rayfam
Be patient as they load, because there are lots of pictures within the events and you can skim through them by moving the mouse over the top of the event.
Enjoy.

Aunt Threatens To Devour Helpless Newborn's Toes

WALDEN, TN—While family members stood silently by and did nothing, visiting aunt Debbie Koeler proclaimed her desire to consume the "tiny little toesies" of her nephew Daniel, a powerless infant less than one-fifth her size, after the child's christening Sunday.

"Who's my little sugar pie? I could just eat you right up," Koeler threatened as she held the vulnerable child above her cavernous mouth and simulated the impending act of cannibalism on his tiny, dangling legs. "I've gotcha! I've gotcha! Yes I do! Yes I do!"

Koeler then returned the confused and speechless newborn to the bouncy seat, prodded his abdomen, and disappeared behind her own hands.