Christmas Card Grammar

It's that wonderful time of the year again, and a lot of us are working on our Christmas cards.  So, I wanted to pass along a grammar tip that I think many people don't know.  There is more info on this website as well as on this website.

When signing cards, it is grammatically correct to write "Love, the Peltons."
Is is grammatically incorrect to write "Love, the Pelton's." 

See the difference?  It's not possessive and doesn't need an apostrophe.  I notice it a lot when we get cards in the mail and thought it might be helpful to share.  Brandon reminded me that he had been doing this until we signed our first Christmas cards as a couple.  He had to see it on the internet before he believed me.  Seriously, what did we do before the internet?

I am kind of a nerd and really enjoy proofreading newsletters and such.  So, stuff like this just jumps off a page at me.  

This makes me happy...

The following little dialogue (written in Caleb's own language) took place just now as Brandon and Caleb were working on building a fire.  Caleb doesn't like being in the backyard by himself these days because he is afraid of the neighbor's cat.  So, Brandon had brought a load of firewood inside and left Caleb for a moment.  The little man followed soon after with a sad look on his face.  

Caleb:  "Daddy, you keep not staying with me."
Daddy:  "Oh, did I come inside without telling you?"
Caleb:  "Yeah, you walkeded away from me.  You got away from my love."
Daddy (smiling):  "I did, did I?"
Caleb:  "Yeah, I love you."
(and as they were on their way back outside...)
Caleb:   "You're my best friend." 

Caleb and I have this ongoing thing when I am affectionate to him and he wants to be playful.  He turns to me grinning and says, "I get away from your love." And, I say something like, "You can't get away from my love."  And then it goes on from there...something like The Runaway Bunny story by Margaret Wise Brown.  Until now, Daddy hasn't really been a part of it...so we both thought this was pretty funny....and random.

I really like these two.

Caleb's Eye Update

Yesterday, we had another eye appointment for Caleb.  We went in sure that Dr. Simmons was going to tell us that Caleb needed surgery to fix his eyes.  For more info about his intermittent exotropia, read this post.

We have seen Caleb's eyes improve...over all.  But, one day after we had forgotten a few days of patching, he was really tired and one of his eyes went so far out that I know he was seeing double.  He was crying and covering his eye, and I could do absolutely nothing about it.  It was heartbreaking.  Apart from that day, things have gotten better...but we have been pretty certain he would need surgery.

And it seems that for everyone we have talked to who has had the surgery (or knows someone who has), multiple surgeries have been required.  So, we really didn't want Caleb to have to have this surgery.  Although the crazy hard things our friends have been through lately have given us perspective, we have prayed that this step would not be necessary.

Yesterday, after the doctor examined him, he looked at us and said, "good news."  Caleb's eyes had improved considerably since the last visit.  He said he was "tickled" about it, and he wouldn't need surgery.  In fact, we don't even need to continue eye patching.  We will have a follow up in six months.  We are so grateful that God answered our prayers in this way.  Thank You, Lord!

The Lies We Believe

Every woman (and man) should see this. And how can a program such as Photoshop be so wonderful and despicable at the same time?

Tonight's Prayer

Me: "...and thank You for this little boy and his daddy..."

Caleb: "...and Mommy.  Thank You for Mommy.  She's cute."

Me: "What did you say, honey?"

Caleb: "You're cute.  And thank You for our friends...and for guitars...and my guitar...and drums. And, I play guitar.  And I pray for someone to play drums while I play guitar.  Amen."

"Hey babe!"

So, if I counted how many times those two words are shouted in our home, either by Brandon or me, it would be a surprisingly large number.  "Babe" is just what we call each other, and "Hey" is the word we use to get the other's attention.  What is the even more surprising number, however, is the amount of times we hear "Hey babe!" yelled from the mouth of our little boy.

Caleb, I think, has determined that it must be my name.  So, when calling "Mommy" doesn't work, he soon resorts to "Hey babe!"  I haven't yet stopped laughing enough to correct him.  If only you could hear how funny it is with his little voice.  It's just one of many things he does that entertain us.

Operation Christmas Child

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry of Samaritan's Purse.  Last year, 7.6 million shoe boxes were collected and sent all over the world to children in need.  That means that 7.6 million children experienced the love of Jesus in the form of dolls, stuffed animals, coloring books, soap, toothpaste, cars, etc.

We are big fans of OCC, and this year has been even more fun.  Caleb is enjoying buying toys for "little kids who don't have toys." Stuffing shoe boxes is a great way for Caleb (and us) to learn to share what God has given us. Check out their website to find a location near you.

White Sands Balloon Fiesta

We love our hot air balloons down here!  A while back, Caleb and I braved the ridiculously early morning and headed out to White Sands National Monument.   We both thoroughly enjoyed all the colors floating over the endless white, especially when the sun decided to make an appearance.  What a beautiful place we call home...and what a wonderful God to create such wonders!

During the fiesta, it wasn't too long before Caleb was distracted with driving a little Matchbox car in the gypsum sand.  Unfortunately, the small toy got buried and lost forever.  The dunes are always shifting, so I don't think it will turn up anytime soon.  So much for "leave no trace."

Katie Pertiet Frames

Fight for Feuille

I realize that my blog has been full of prayer requests lately, but I fully believe in God's power to heal.  And, so I am asking you to ask God to heal another friend.  Robert Feuille was a student here at NMSU, then an intern here with Cru, and now a graphic designer/photographer in El Paso.  Lately, however, his full-time job has been fighting testicular cancer.

After a surgery in which part of his liver and many lymph nodes were removed, Robert and his wife Aimee got bad news tonight.  The surgery was a failure, and the doctors have given him a 10% chance with another round of chemo.  Robert and Aimee have two little girls and a baby boy, Egan, who was born just weeks ago.  Please, please pray for them.  You can read more about his fight here or here.

"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens."   Psalm 68:19

Arrrrghhh!!!

Caleb really has no idea what a pirate is, and he most definitely did not request to be one for Halloween. Our original plan was for him to be Peyton Manning of the Colts. He has a jersey that his Uncle Patrick and Aunt Hannah had bought him for Christmas, so we just needed a helmet and some padding. The helmet, however, proved to be more difficult to find.

So, because the little guy didn't care one way or the other...and Liz had just recently been sent this costume in a box of clothes for her kids...of course he had to be a pirate. We have heard countless pirate comments over the past few months so I don't know why I hadn't thought of it before. So, I colored in his eye patch with magic marker. The result was the cutest little pirate ever! He loved dressing up and was even willing to pose for an incredibly long thirty seconds. While both visiting friends and at our church festival, he walked up to most everyone and said, "I'm a pirate."

Sorry, Peyton. You'll just have to wait until next year. Please try to stay undefeated.