a bit of magic?

It’s been one of those weeks.

After much consideration, C2 named his new pet fish Teal O’Neil. (Even though he’s brown? “At night, he jumps out of the water and does cartwheels and somersaults, and his stomach turns blue.” Of course.) And my cluster headaches came for a night, a second night, and disappeared. And Rainbow (the bearded dragon) was bleeding, wait, no, he just ate some dewberries. And the SAT and I will sit down and have one last (please, Lord) dizzying conversation of words and numbers on Saturday morning. Oh right, and this morning, fat snowflakes fell straight out of the sky, and I drove to the doctor with flurries hitting my Houston-Texas-windshield, y’all. It’s been one of THOSE weeks.

And in the midst of all this global warming (ahem), you just have to snuggie-up and ask,

"Have you ever traveled to where snow is made,
seen the vault where hail is stockpiled,
The arsenals of hail and snow that I keep in readiness
for times of trouble and battle and war?
Can you find your way to where lightning is launched,
or to the place from which the wind blows?
Who do you suppose carves canyons
for the downpours of rain, and charts
the route of thunderstorms
That bring water to unvisited fields,
deserts no one ever lays eyes on,
Drenching the useless wastelands
so they're carpeted with wildflowers and grass?
And who do you think is the father of rain and dew,
the mother of ice and frost?
You don't for a minute imagine
these marvels of weather just happen, do you?"
(Job 38:22-30)

No, Sir.

And (before I go back to my snowman) C2 decided to keep warm from the cold temperatures (see above) by putting on his brother's pads and tackling little B from next door (who fell over giggling when he first caught sight of the mini-football player) because yesterday was just one of those days.

pin split (part two)

When I was three, I prayed every night for a sister. When I was three and a half, my twin brothers were born.

Fifteen years later, I've never been so thankful that a prayer wasn't answered the way I originally wanted.

Words could not even BEGIN to express how much I love you two. You are the most amazing young men I know, and I am so ridiculously proud of both of you. And now, because you're sitting right next to me as I write this, I'm going to stop my message here and... attack!

Happy birthday, my pins!

pin split (part one)

My baby brothers turn fifteen on Sunday.

FIFTEEN.

They already have plans to pick up their permits and take over the Houston freeways as soon as the calendar flips to October 11. But this should be no big deal: they've been driving for years.

Because they're twins (or pins, as they corrected everyone who made this common mistake twelve years ago), they celebrate on different days. Because they're twins, the baby pictures must be brought out on separate posts.

But I don't mind. I kind of like these two.

that's a wrap

Last night, my little town showcased an impressive amount of blue. Mustang-blue. We moved here about two years ago, and it still amazes me that most of the town stands behind the local high school football team. (Stars Hollow, anyone?)

Tradition holds that the band upperclassmen (with parental permission) wrap the houses of their freshmen the night of the first home game. This isn't the first middle-of-the-night-excursion. We started off the school year with nineteen band guys lined up outside my bedroom door at four in the morning to kidnap my brothers. Except I have twin brothers, so everything that happens must happen twice. Early this morning, our yard was TP-ed not once, but two times (despite, please note, our hilariously severe lack of trees).

(All pictures were captured around three o'clock this afternoon after the majority of the toilet paper had spread all over the neighborhood.)

I really should have helped clean up...,

but I found it too great a Kodak moment to pass up

and thus spent the afternoon standing in the grass, cracking up at their newly found, tree-poking skills.

Welcome to high school, M&M. I love you!

so when the cat has got your tongue, there's no need for dismay

In the midst of an intense Sorry tournament (the board game, not a lesson in apologizing), C2 stood up and announced something was missing. He slapped my hand, and I obediently followed him up the stairs and past the pencil-sketched “Keep out!” sign, a piece of faded notebook paper Scotch-taped to the door. He marched onward into the room, painstakingly stepping over the perfectly arranged Bionicle men and Lego masterpieces carpeting the floor. He then brought out my new best friend.

Meet Rainbow. (Please note the hammock in the upper righthand corner. The lizard's got it good.)"Ya gotta wash your hands after, Katie. Rainbow will give you salmonella."

It didn't take long for the cats to join us. They pressed their noses against the glass and pawed at the cutie inside. The lizard would, in turn, puff out his beard and throw himself against the glass. It was intense. C2 rooted for the cats. I'm still for the little firecracker.

But really, y'all. If we had a showdown, who do you think would win? This gal?

Or this one?

I rest my case.

"Remember the last few verses of 1 Corinthians 3: 'For all things are yours... and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.' Throughout all our personality we are God's, and since God has made our whole selves, there is great joy in realizing who is our Creator. This realization is to permeate every area and level of life. In appreciation of beauty, mountains, music, poetry, knowledge, people, science - even in the tang of an apple - God is there, to reflect the joy of His presence in the believer who will realize God's purposes in all things." (Pete Fleming, Through Gates of Splendor)

taxed enough already

My family crashed the Dallas Tea Party over the weekend. Among those sweatin' it out were some of the funniest, friendliest people I've ever met. They posed ("Should I look outraged?") for my pictures: