TV Kid

Jonathan (age, 8):

Hey Momma, if you have another kid, I want you to name him 'TV'. That way, when you ask me what I am doing, I can say, 'Watching TV.'

I guess he wasn't ready for his "screen time" to be over. Such a creative kid!

A Beautiful Sunset

Last night, Thomas noticed the sunset and said:

"Momma! It's beautiful. It's like a painting from God."

Jonnie's Gig

A fiddle player came and gave fiddle lessons at Jonathan's and David's Elementary School. Here's an article about it that was in the local paper: Fiddler Teaches Art at Cascades

Jonathan had his fiddle performance on January 16. It was fun watching him.

Here he is warming up.


A couple pictures of him performing:



A video of part of his performance:


Posing for Mama:

1 Minute Under Water

"Hey Mom! I figured out how to stay under water for one minute."

"Do you want to see how?"




[He was so proud. He ran to show off his trick to Daddy. AFTER, a big drink of water.]

Every dollar counts

Jonathan (age 8) came to me tonight and said, "Daddy I got $10 for Christmas. I want to give it to help the people in Haiti."

So, this weekend we'll look at what charity we'll send his money to.

Fiddle-De-Dee David

Our elementary school is hosting an artist in residence program. Kelly Thibodeaux, a violinist and member of the Lane County Arts Council, is doing a 3 week program at the school. The program began with an assembly on January 5th. The students were introduced to violin music at the assembly. Then, each child receives instrumental instruction in classes during the 3 weeks. At the end of the program, parents are invited to the final classes to watch the students perform.

David had his final class and performance for parents today. It was fun to watch a group of Kindergarteners play fiddles. David had a fantastic time and his Momma was really proud of him.







Now, I am looking forward to Jonathan's performance. He starts his lessons tomorrow.

2009 Owen Time Capsule

Last year we started a new tradition: The Owen Time Capsule.

Each family member got 3 squares of paper for the project. One paper was for drawing a picture (of themselves, if possible). Another paper was for answering questions. The questions were:
1. What was your favorite Christmas present?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What is your favorite color?
4. What is your favorite desert?
5. What is your favorite toy?
6. What is your favorite thing to do (besides video games)?
The final paper was a wild card. Each person could do whatever they wanted with that paper.

The kids were really excited when I pulled out the 2008 Time Capsule. Seth and I took turns reading last year's answers.



Everyone was excited about the 2009 Time Capsule.

This year we let Elisabeth color the numbers.


We carefully decided on the answers to the questions (we used the same ones as last year).

We worked really hard drawing the pictures.


Elisabeth tried to trace her hand.

Daddy and Elisabeth did a 2nd hand tracing.

David and Jonathan were excited about each other's pictures.

Momma and Daddy took time to complete their papers (unlike last year when we never got around to it).


The whole family enjoyed putting together the Owen 2009 Time Capsule.

It is being "buried" with our Christmas gifts. We will open it New Year's Eve or Day of 2011.

One Little Princess

Last year, I got the sweetest idea from my friend Jill to take pictures of my daughter in my wedding dress. I took pictures of her in the dress on her 1st birthday. The plan was to do it again when she turned two.

Here are her 2 year old pictures. (Yep, we are a month and half behind.) There are a few more here: My Princess Bride

Getting Ready


Such a Princess

What a Beauty

Sugar and Spite...I mean, Spice

"I love Daddy"

Sweet Moment with Mommy

Mommy and one sweet, sweet girl

Christmas Favorites

Some of our favorite Christmas Photos

Decorating the Gingerbread House on Christmas Eve

Christmas Photo (table cloth from one great grandmother and flowers sent from other great grandparents)

Ready to go downstairs and open presents

He said: "You found just what I wanted!"

Enjoying a new Princess book

She'll take a little water with her huge smile

David the Drummer

His smile says it all: He loves UT and loves the new jersey

Momma sharing a stocking treat with Elisabeth

Merry Christmas from the Owen Family

December Student of the Month

David was the Student of the Month for his class in December.
We are very proud of him.

When I grow up...

Yesterday I had a conversation with Thomas about what he wants to be when he grows up. It started off with him saying he wanted to be a robber one day. We talked about the good (costume) and bad (jail, disobeying God, disappointing Momma and Daddy) of being a robber. He changed his mind.

Thomas: "When I grow up I just want to be a normal dad."
Momma: "A normal dad? That sounds nice."
Thomas: "Yep, but I am still going to cheer for Tennessee."

Owen Adventures

What in the world have we been up to? I have so many pictures to share. We went to the pumpkin patch. We had a blast dressing up on Halloween. Elisabeth turned 2. Gran and Daddo (Jane Anne's parents) came to visit. We celebrated Thanksgiving. Time just keeps flying by. So, before I begin numerous posts sharing pictures, I thought I would give you an update on the kids.

In reverse order-

Elisabeth: Oh my goodness, this little girl steals my heart every day. She calls me "Mommy". I have no idea why. The boys have always called me "Momma" and they still do. Sometimes when I say "Momma" she says, "No, Mommy". I melt every time. She calls her brothers "Boy". If she want to be where they are or wants to get them, she says, "Boooooys!" But, if you ask her individually who each one is, she just answers "Boy". The boys get a big kick out of that. Elisabeth loves her baby dolls. I love watching her play with her babies. Oh, that's another thing, she rarely tries to say her name. Seth says she has tried to say "Elsie" but I haven't heard it. She calls herself "Baby". And if something is hers, she says "Babys!"

Thomas: Thomas is my tough boy with a big heart. He has a pretty big crush on a girl in preschool. He talks about her quite often. He talks about what she brings in for show-n-tell and he will tell me how she wears her hair. It's a precious 4 year old crush. Thomas can be so sweet. He keeps me on my toes, too. He insists that he is "Bad to the Bone" and wants his nickname to have "Bone" in it. (This summer Seth and his brother played that song for Thomas. He loves it and claims it as his own.) It certainly goes along with the mohawk he has had lately. (Oh, I need to share those pictures, too!) He is letting it grow out because he is afraid his head is going to get too cold.

David: David amazes me constantly. He is doing great in school. I wouldn't have ever doubted his abilities. I just didn't know how much he knew or how fast he would catch on to things. David lost his 1st tooth on November 22. He has no idea when he lost it or where it went. (And, once we suggested he might have swallowed it, we knew we would never say that again.) David is so afraid of blood that he would never let us wiggle his tooth. He would ask, "What if I swallow blood when my tooth comes out?" So, he just left it alone to come out on it's own. It did. He has another loose tooth right now. I wonder if we will get to pull this one.

Jonathan: Jonathan's big thing right now is playing chess. When Daddo (my dad) was here, he taught him how to play. If he cannot play video games (his first love, I'm afraid), he plays chess. He is trying to teach David and he even made an amazing effort at playing with Thomas. I had to try to explain (with out hurting Thomas's feelings) that chess might be too hard for a 4 year old. When he isn't playing games, he is usually reading. It is not unusual to see him sitting on the couch reading. He tells me a lot of jokes and shares trivia with me. I asked him today about his favorite part of school and he said it was when he was explaining something to his teacher. It was a trick from "The Dangerous Book for Boys".

Why We Kiss

David: "Daddy, why do we kiss? It just spreads germs."

Jonathan: "I know! I know! It's a crazy romantic way of evil love."

Family Photos

Sometimes we go months without having any pictures taken of the whole family. We had 3 family pictures taken in the last 2 weeks.

During Halftime of the Alabama Tennessee Game

At the Pumpkin Patch

On Halloween

October Student of the Month

Jonathan was the October Student of the Month for his class. He was given the award for "always listening and always working hard."

We are proud of him and how hard he works at school. He was thrilled to get the award (and the candy that went along with it).