Jim n' Jennie

2010-01-24T13:29:00.006-06:00

Christmas

2008-12-31T20:25:00.008-06:00

We had a great Christmas this year.

Caleb got a new bike.

Emmylou got a cash register.

Sally got some M&M's. Okay, Sally got more than M&M's, but she was as excited about them as she was about anything else.

I got a new bike too!

And, we all got helmets. We also got a bike trailer and this cool attachment that turns a regular bike into a tandem bike, so we can all ride together.

Here I am pulling the girls in the bike trailer and looking supremely dorky.

And here are the boys.

Baylor Playground - Waco

2008-11-02T16:56:00.003-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa came to Texas in October. They helped us get our yard ready for winter. We went on lots of hikes, played at the green and gold Baylor playground and ate great Texas barbeque.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

2008-09-07T13:08:00.006-05:00

Caleb turned four on Saturday! He has been so excited for his birthday. He asked for a pet and a dinosaur cake. Mom was a little intimidated by both, but how can you say no to such a sweet boy?

The cake turned out alright except that the head kept falling off.

And the toad seems to be fairly low maintenance . He gets looked at a lot.

First Ponytail!

2008-06-30T08:43:00.002-05:00

X-ray

2008-06-15T19:49:00.003-05:00

Soon we will have more pictures of Caleb's insides, than his outside. He was "steering" a 45lb plate on the wieght lifting bar in the garage on Thursday when it fell and landed on his face and arm. He was seen by a good friend in the ortho clinic and cleared to continue wieght-lifting. It's amazing that little boys survive little-boyhood.

The World Book Encyclopedia

2008-06-08T15:50:00.005-05:00

The previous owners of our house left us a 1980s set of World Book Encyclopedias when they moved out. Little did we know that by doing so, the Fergusens had provided Emmylou a seemingly infinite source of entertainment. She recognizes more countries flags, more breeds of dogs and more species of fish than I ever will. Recently I've been doing my best to answer questions about atoms, atomic and mass numbers and electron orbits. I came home from work the other day to find that she had been working all afternoon on a Periodic Table of the Elements. Its admittedly crude, but she's 5 years old for crying out loud! Is this cute or macabre? Any advice on whether or not we should enroll her in kindergarten this year?

Yard Work

2008-06-01T20:43:00.002-05:00

I've always enjoyed having a shovel in my hand, but it has never been so much fun as when I'm working in my own yard. We have high hopes for our garden this year. The tree whose shade kept us from ever growing anything that wasn't laughable died last Winter. I bought a chainsaw and cut it down this Spring. We've already harvested a summer squash and green peas. The kids insisted on planting Okra and purple-hulled peas in addition to tomatos and watermelon. They've become quite the little helpers, each has their own watering can and loves to sprinkle the moutain laurel, the tree named Steve (a red bud) and the "Eater-leaves" (a cast-iron plant that they think eats things). Here are some pictures, come and visit any time.

Hair

2008-05-13T06:28:00.005-05:00

This is a picture of Sally's newly emergent hair. If Sally's hair were in a race with a tortoise it would lose. She is still pretty bald.

This is Emmylou with the worst case of morning hair I've ever seen. What was she doing in her sleep?

So, this isn't hair, it's frosting, but it looks for all the world like she has a big thick mustache. I don't think I could have painted it on any better.

Obsession

2008-05-11T14:37:00.003-05:00

Sally has recently developed a mild obsession with clothing. It began with her emptying the dresser drawers, carrying all of her clothes to the laundry room, and putting them in the dryer. Now she has started putting the clothes on. Here she is in one of her hobo outfits.

Enchanted camping trip

2008-02-26T16:42:00.010-06:00

Over the weekend we took a little camping trip to enchanted rock state park in the Texas hill country. Enchanted rock is a big round bald chunk of granite sticking up out of the ground. We hiked to the summit with the kids on Monday. The wind was blowing up the mountain like nothing I've ever experienced. It was blowing so hard that it was actually easier to go up the mountain with the wind at your back than to come down with the wind in your face. I was afraid to let go of the kids lest they should blow away.

We also made a little side trip to Luckenbach, Texas since it was in the area. You can't really even call this place a town since I think there are only three people who live there. It is really just a group of small buildings made of old unpainted boards. It contained an old post office turned gift shop, a dance hall, and a barbecue/bratwurst/beer stand. Oh, and it was absolutely packed with bikers, rednecks, and the occasional rooster.

Emmylou and Caleb loved camping, but you could say Sally wasn't exactly a happy camper. She screamed all night the first night and was a little restless the next night. With Sally screaming and the usual difficulties of sleeping in a tent (the deflating air mattress, dropping night temperatures, and the howling wind), we were all a little tired for the ride home.

Note: You absolutely have to click on the second picture, so you can see up close the look on Emmylou's face.

There's a Pinecone in my Refrigerator

2008-02-06T09:48:00.001-06:00

There's a pinecone in my refrigerator, between the processed cheese food and the moldy leftovers. I usually have canned goods on my bookshelves, and when I can't find my shoes, I know I'll have the best luck if I check the bathtub first. Sometimes these rearrangements are annoying, but usually they just make me smile. I know some day the kids will grow up and everything will stay where it's supposed to, until I get old and demented and misplace things myself. Well, I always have that to look forward to. Here's Sally reorganizing the kitchen cabinets.

Late Night Trip to the ER

2008-01-23T22:38:00.000-06:00

On our recent trip to Mexico we picked up this great souvenir. It came in a drink at the big new year's party we attended. It has a little light bulb in it that changes colors, and it makes a great magic wand. The kids had a great time playing with it until Caleb, for some unknown reason, decided to take it apart and eat the insides. So, we got to take a trip to the ER to make sure it didn't get stuck in his esophagus. It didn't. Here is a picture of the battery and light, big and bright (clap, clap, clap, clap) deep in the bowels of Caleb. I need to go to bed.

Jennie's Tutorial

2008-01-13T17:51:00.000-06:00

Though she could probably figure this out on her own, we sat down today and had a blogspot tutorial so that Jennie could help keep our site updated. Stay tuned for creative and insiteful content now that Jennie knows how to post to our blog.

Mommy's Room

2007-11-10T21:35:00.000-06:00

I spent every waking momement and every dime we had in October remodeling our bedroom. We finally have some bedroom furniture. Dad sponsored the project by buying me a miter saw and a nail gun. Here are a few photos of the finished product.

Recital

2007-11-03T16:34:00.000-05:00

Emmylou had her first violin recital on Oct 25, 2007. Luckily it was on an odd day so I was able to attend. I've never been so proud. She was fantastic, radiant, some violinist! We recently finished reading Charlotte's Web. Here's a link to the video of the recital.

Variation B.wmv

Where are the seagulls?

2007-10-13T05:06:00.000-05:00

We're in the thick of the annual cricket plague in Central Texas. Crickets are everywhere in alarming numbers. If not for two year's previous experience we might be watching for someone to lead an exodus out of Temple. The other night Caleb woke up screaming; Jennie ran in to see what was wrong. Panting in hysterics he said, "There was a cricket on my head, so then I wacked him, then he was on Clifford's head!" We've also found a large number of geckos in our house lately. Were gekos one of the 10 plagues? The little lizards are really cute, but they have a tendency to run around spastically then try to hide in the shadows under your feet. This makes them very hard not to step on. Just yesterday Caleb stepped on one and its tail came off. He looked at Jennie with remorse in his eyes and said, "I broke him."

Girl's Room

2007-10-07T09:45:00.000-05:00

We've spent every waking hour for the last few weeks working on Emmylou's room. It is now the "girl's room", as we've moved Sally out of our bed into her own next to Emmylou's. Jennie made some fun shadow boxes with one of each of the girl's dresses. The furniture is frog green, but it goes nicely with the pink. Here are a few pictures of the finished product.

Blue Bell & Vanilla Coke

2007-09-30T00:05:00.000-05:00

I've gotten in the habit of drinking some Vanilla Coke while I'm on call at the hospital. Though it keeps me from falling asleep in the operating room at 0300, it also keeps me from falling asleep on the rare occasions that nothing is going on and I might otherwise get in a short nap. The other night was one such occasion, so while I wasn't operating or sleeping, I sat up and thought about Emmylou and hummed an original tune. Tonight I found a program (Mazzika) that let me record the tune and I've posted it with this entry.

I have brought the kids up to the hospital on several occasions and taken them to the cafeteria to eat ice cream. One day when Jennie and the kids drove past, Emmylou pointed and said, "there's the hospital where daddy eats ice cream." It's no wonder she tells me that she wants to be a doctor.

Beginning

2007-09-26T09:07:00.000-05:00

We just got back from Houston where we spent a fun weekend with our close friends the Handy's. Jennie and Jamie were freshmen roommates at BYU and Trent and I became good friends soon after our wives introduced us. I suppose few people are so blessed to have both spouses enjoy the company of another couple as much as Jennie and I enjoy being with the Handy's. We've sure missed the snow cones and the heated competition of the card and board games we once played. I used to invite ourselves over to dinner on almost a weekly basis when we lived in Houston. When you're comfortable pillaging from the fridge or changing the TV-channel mid-program when visiting a friend's home, it speaks volumes about the depth of that friendship. Jamie introduced us to blogger.com and we felt like this was the perfect forum to let our loved ones keep in touch with the goings-on in our lives. Work keeps me busy, tired and cranky, but the kids and Jennie seem to like me anyway. If this first entry is not grammatical, or even coherent, I'll blame it on not having slept last night. I've been at the hospital for 27hrs and can't wait to get home to see my little ones.