Thanks for the dance

I feel the need to document the way I spent the last 45 minutes. I just finished a memorable, rather intimate dance with one 15-pound raw turkey. As I cut open the bag, I took one good look at him and said, "Allright, turkey, let's dance." (It was best the family wasn't home to witness the spectacle.) Tom was a rather silent dance partner; he even allowed me to lead. Though I should say he tried to get away more than a few times. I was not offended, but even more resolved to finish what we had started. I should have known he would be very accommodating when he put his neck on the line.

Okay, I have to break with the analogy now because I really did yank the poor thing's neck out of his body cavity. I didn't want the pun to be mistaken for his moment of death. Nevermind the backbone I demonstrated by doing it. Sorry, that one was awful; I'll stop now.

I'm actually pretty excited about the turkey. This is the first time I've done the whole shebang. I went with the Perfect Roast Turkey recipe from RecipeZaar and it sounds like it should be really delicious. If it doesn't turn out to be a keeper, well, at least I'll always have that dance.

Hawk Shoe

Some recent funnies from our eldest:

A: Mommy, pretend to be asleep so I can wake you up.
Mom: I can't really close my eyes right now because I'm feeding C her cereal. That could get messy.
A: Well, then you just have to hawk shoe.
Mom: Hmm?
A: Like this...haaawk, shooooo, haaaawk, shooo.

Dad to Mom as we approached the front door: Got your keys handy?
A (with utter disbelief and confusion): Why'd you call her Handy?

Her prayers are getting quite impressive. She thanks God for the trees and the grass, asks for more rain so the flowers (weeds) in our yard will get bigger, thanks Him for all the good things He gives us, prays for anybody we know that might be sick and a few who might be healthy. Today, at lunch time, I knew she'd been paying attention to my prayers when she added a line on behalf of Mrs. B (one of our good friends), "Please help her to be umpliant (compliant) to her children." Thank you, Father, that the Holy Spirit interprets our groanings for us.

My personal favorite has been an ongoing conversation inspired by the book "Guess How Much I Love You." She recently told me, "Mom, I love you all the way to the moon." Of course, I replied, "I love you all the way to the moon and back again." Some of her other replies to try to top mine:
-I love you all the way to the sun, then to the moon and back again.
-I love you all the way to China and then the ice cream store.
-I love you all the way to the moon, back to Thailand and across the river.

FYI

We are all still alive and even well. Sorry for the long pause in posts; I hope to have a few updates this week. Until then, I leave you with these pearls of wisdom...

1. Little girls' sneakers do not require decorations on the bottom. For example, tiny butterflies and/or flowers with intricate details that create myriad crevices and veins do not make little girls run faster. Who even pays attention to the design on the bottom of the shoes?!
   
2. A thick paste of baking soda and vinegar, a toothbrush and toothpick are my tools of choice for removing lingering evidence of dog poop from the beautiful butterflies and flowers on the bottoms of little girls' shoes.
   

May you never need to verify these nuggets of knowledge for yourself.