In the mountains. Some poop. A bad back. And a Christmas tree!

You see that title?  Well, that's what I get for getting behind on my blogging.  I'm trying very hard to use blogging as a substitute for scrapbooking..... a documentation of what we're doing so when I'm old and can't remember, I can look back and say, "Oh yes!  I was there!  I remember that!"  Well, so far, November has offered MUCH to be remembered.  Some I'll WANT to remember, some I WON'T.  But, document the memories, I shall.  The good AND the bad.

In the mountains:
A couple of times a year, Mudger and NightNight sponsor a fun trip to the mountains for the whole clan.  We all pile up in a lovely cabin in the woods and have a grand time.  Dollywood is officially decked out for Christmas, so it was so much fun to walk around and see the decorations and lights and hear the Christmas music in the bushes..... PERFECT.

The boys love, love, love every minute we spend together at the cabin.  They play pool, enjoy time with cousins Will and Josh, and ride the roller coasters at Dollywood over and over and over again.  The grown ups in the bunch enjoy rocking on the porch, listening to the boys laugh and talk, and just gazing at the view.  And little Mary fell in love with this family tradition, too.  We weren't sure how she would react to being in a new place or the stimulation of a place like Dollywood, but she did GREAT.  I'm pretty sure we'd still be going round and round on the Carousel if it were left up to her!

Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Thanks, Mudger and NN for a wonderful time!  The last place we'd been was CHINA and that was FAR from being a vacation, so we were ready to get the heck out of dodge.  Good fun, good food, good fellowship.......JUST what the Powells needed!

After a full morning of travel, Mary still had a smile on her face.  She's a GREAT traveler!  She found that bib at the farm the day before and wore it the whole trip.  It says, "I'm the Boss" and every grand kid has worn that thing..... I think those words are MOST true on this person.  She seems to have the lot of us wrapped around her little finger.

I love this person.  He didn't even complain when I told him to turn around and let me take his picture.  

My big and my little..... LOVE.

Hey boys, stand in front of that yellow tree and let me take your picture.  Some are fine with this.... some are not.  Whatever.  

Mary's FIRST RIDE EVER was the CARS at Dollywood.  She LOVES to "drive" and this was perfect for her!  HOWEVER.... do you see them WALKING off the ride instead of actually RIDING the ride?  Well.  It broke down.  Good thing she didn't know any better..... Joe just let her sit there in the STOPPED car for a LONG time and just drive and drive.... car wasn't moving, but she didn't care.... 

Here is what I got when I tried to get a picture of all three of my kids.  Classic.

It got cold.  We bundled up.  

Little kid.  Big tub.  Happy!

There was a lot of this...... (I think Joe's getting beat....)

And some of this......

Then some quality play time with Will and Josh.....

We spent A LOT of time eating..... Joe was delirious from all the food and fun.....

Joe introduced Mary to Howard and Vestal Goodman at the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame at Dollywood.  Special Daddy/Daughter moment..... (according to Joe....)

There was a HUGE train display with TONS of lights.  Apparently, I didn't take any pictures of that.  But I did take pictures of these two.....

While the boys rode the fast and wild roller coasters (over and over and over and over and over), Mary tried out things more her speed.  Her first carousel ride!  She wasn't too sure at first.....

But she LOVED it.  Joe and I took turns and she rode that thing over and over again.  And she had to have the SAME horse every time - the one beside the cat with the fish in its mouth.  Joe didn't catch on to this and put her on the wrong horse the last time around..... she was ticked.... that's why it was the last time around.  Joe couldn't figure out what in the world she was so mad about all of a sudden - I told him - wrong horse.  Honest mistake, dad.

I realize this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with our trip to Dollywood - in fact, this is Disney World - but I HAD to include these pictures.  Joe emailed these to me later in the week.... Jack - the early years - on the carousel.

And Max a hundred years ago on the carousel.  So sweet.  

More driving fun.  This time, it was a giant duck.

While waiting to see Santa, Mary couldn't stop staring at all the trees and decorations.  

Then it was our turn to see SANTA!  Mrs. Claus was there, too!  Mary was not impressed.  Here, she is getting OUT OF THERE.

But then, Mrs. Claus, understanding that Mary's mother was desperate for a decent picture, took over and showed her that Mom and Dad were RIGHT THERE!  I PROMISE that Mary then turned and smiled at Santa and Mrs. Claus and actually got tickled at something they said to her.

Santa gave us a thumbs up that all was well..... only Mary had stopped smiling at the exact moment that I took this final picture.  But again, I PROMISE she wasn't miserable the entire visit.

But she MUCH preferred to look at Santa from the bench on the other side of the room!

Cabin porch photo op with the Mudger and the NightNight.

And, just before we left, both boys had to do THE HANDSHAKE with NightNight.  

Some poop:

Actually, not SOME.  A LOT OF POOP.  Mary, dear, someday when you are a teenager or grown up and you look back at this blog to relive your childhood, I'm sorry that you'll have to read about your poop.  But, it has been SO SUBSTANTIAL since you've been home that we simply can't avoid it.  Our pooping problems began with a pesky PARASITE that hitched a ride to America with Mary from the China.  She was diagnosed with cryptosomethingorother and was given a LONG round of antibiotics to fix it.  And it did.  Once we filled our EIGHTEENTH (yes) vial of poop for sampling, it was determined that the parasite was gone.  Thank goodness.  Our pooping troubles were over.

Until a couple of weeks ago.  I began to suspect we had some issues with lactose intolerance or something, so I mentioned it to our doctor at Mary's two year checkup.  I think I said something like, "Oh my GOSH I am having to change like seven hundred dirty diapers every day!! Please figure out what is wrong with this child's poop!! This is NOT normal!! This is like something out of a sci-fi film or something!"  (Both doctor and nurse were so very patient and didn't at all think I was being over dramatic.  Or at least they didn't mention it to me.) They called us a week or so later with the results - ROTAVIRUS.  Mary has ROTAVIRUS.  We had no idea.  We'd been so used to ALL THE POOP, that it was just another day in the life around here.  She showed no other symptoms.... no fever, ate and slept well, etc.  Just A LOT OF THE DIAPER SITUATIONS.  But, the silver lining.... my sweet, sweet faculty at school had just given us a DIAPERS and WIPES shower a couple of weeks ago at a "Meet Mary" gathering after school one day, so, thanks to them, we are STOCKED UP on supplies needed to conquer parasites AND rotavirus.  So there.

A bad back:
I'm blaming it on the fact that I have to bend over to change a zillion dirty diapers a day.  Mudger says it's because I rode that one crazy roller coaster at Dollywood.  Joe's blaming it on old age.  But MY BACK HURTS.  Every now and then, it flares up, and BOY OH BOY, it makes things difficult.  Mary very much enjoys being ALL OVER ME all day.  She wants me IN THE FLOOR so she can crawl on me or, if I MUST stand, she prefers that I hold her and continue on with whatever I'm doing..... vacuum?  You can hold me while you do it.  Cook?  Hold me while you stir.  Change out the laundry?  You can do that with one hand and hold me with the other.  I am THANKFUL for this attachment we've got going (that's why I took this year off in the first place!), but having a back issue does not go well with all of this.  So, this past weekend, Joe did all the holding and lifting and such and I tried to just sit still.  We did a little Christmas decorating, but I pretty much just gave out orders and took pictures.  Jack had his ASTA honor strings festival concert, but I just sat really still and enjoyed the music.  Other than that, I pretty much stayed still.  That, plus a crazy amount of Aleve (I heart Aleve) has me on the mend.

And a Christmas tree:
We usually put up our Christmas decorations on either the Alabama vs. LSU game day OR Veterans' Day..... but, since we were out of town on both of those days, we started the process this past Saturday.  We didn't get it all done, but we made a good start...... and I'm actually glad we're taking the decking of the halls slowly..... cause it's SO fun to watch Mary take it all in.  We put up the Disney tree in our dining room and she caught on VERY quickly to how it worked.  She can hang ornaments like a pro!  I made her a little pile of ornaments just for her:  the princesses, the castle, Minnie, Pooh.... and she would come over, choose the one she wanted to hang, then go to Joe or one of the boys, hold up those sweet arms, and have them pick her up so she could hang the ornament.  More than once, the boys would say, "It's my turn to help her!"......and they'd gently pick her up and show her where to hang the ornament.  It was precious.  I thought we'd have trouble with her wanting to constantly mess with the ornaments, but she has done so well.  Several times a day, she goes into the dining room and just looks at the tree.... she walks all around it and just babbles and points to stuff.  We'll see how she does this weekend when we put the family tree up in the living room.  I.  Can't.  Wait.  Cause last year, we had a Mary Jewel ornament, but no Mary Jewel.  This year, we are ALL here.  MERRY Christmas, indeed!

Joe only had to show her once how it worked.  Her first ornament to place on the Disney tree?  Minnie Mouse, of course!

Great technique - stretch that string so it fits on the branch.  

Hanging the castle.....

Max helping here.  If you're wondering, his shirt says, "Vote Bob Ross for President."  Cause that's how we roll.

The BIG castle ornament.  She stared at that thing for a LONG time before we finally convinced her to put it on the tree.  You just wait until March, baby girl..... you're gonna see a REALLY BIG castle!

More help from the Max.

And Jack helped with the REALLY high places.

Love that my boys still love helping with the trees!

They so crazy.

I think Max and Mary forgot to tell Jack that they were going to annoy Mom by NOT smiling.  

I'm not sure WHO gave in to her and opened the piano, but she's been on that thing every day since.  Jack's showing her how it works.  And if you've SEEN the long fingers on this child, you'll know that she is PERFECT for this instrument.  

I asked Mary the next day what she thought of the Disney Christmas tree.  This was her response.  I think she like.

So, November has already been full and busy.  Time is absolutely FLYING.  

My plan for the holiday season is to SLOW DOWN TIME so I can be sure to enjoy it.  I want to mentally record every laugh and sip of hot chocolate and twinkling light and night by the fire and Christmas carol sung.  I want to savor every tradition and be VERY intentional about how we spend the holiday season.  Stress and hustle and bustle?  NO.  My strategy for this involves envelopes and black and white movies and cookies and our neighbors.  There will be conversations about the nativity and a birthday party for Jesus.  And there will be a LOT of time spent together.  It's going to be a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

The boys. Or "Mary ain't the only one doing things for the first time."

Three years ago, Jack Powell picked up a violin for the first time.  Within months, he'd joined a small group ensemble at the University of Alabama and, with the instruction and encouragement of some people far more talented than Joe and I will ever be, he began to blossom.

Now, he participates in the church orchestra, the Tuscaloosa Youth Orchestra, the high school praise band, and has been in several festivals and honor bands.  Violin has become his thing.  He LOVES music.... makes me SO happy.

Last Saturday, Jack had the honor of playing violin at the wedding of a couple from our church.  They were precious to invite him to be a part of their special day..... and he was a bit nervous about "messing it up."  Turns out, it was a beautiful ceremony..... and Jack did a marvelous job.

He began with hymns, then played Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring (processional), Canon in D (unity candle), and Ode to Joy (exit).  I almost didn't recognize that tall thing standing up there in his fancy clothes playing his fancy music.

I'm so proud of him.  Here's a snippet for your listening pleasure:

Jack's awesome wedding violin playing


Back in July, Max Powell put on a set of football pads for the first time and began to endure three nights a week of football conditioning and learning.  I think the whole "being with my buds" was what drew him into the game, but he has REALLY enjoyed it.

He's spent most of the season at left or right tackle and tried to explain to me multiple times some of the plays or what his job was in defense or offense.  I have NO IDEA what any of that meant, but I smiled as he chattered away about his new thing:  football.  With this being his FIRST YEAR EVER to play the sport, we were amazed at all he learned.  The coaches and parent helpers on his team are remarkable and dedicated and we are thankful for the influence they have had on Max this year.  Not all coaches have a positive influence.... these did. He's decided to stay with it and play on the official middle school team next year, so we'll be cheering on the Jags for quite some time, I'm sure.

#73 didn't make EVERY tackle in front of him this year, but he put a lot of people on the ground (or at least pushed them back a bit.)  And my favorite part every time is the little pat on the back he'd give the other guy when the play was over.

I'm so proud of him, too.

Pictures of this football awesomeness: