I know that everyone thinks that we Warrens don't ever fight (just don't ask Stephanie K....she's seen it all) and all we ever do is love each other and laugh. That is...partly true. We can love each other while we're fighting, can't we? To set the record straight, we do fight. Sometimes. These fights usually revolve around "Why are you wearing my sweater without asking me?!" or "I took the trash cans out last Friday so YOU have to do it this time!" or "You knew I was getting up to get some water and you took my seat!" or "Why are you sitting on my bed??! Go get your own bed!"
You get the picture. However, there is one fight in our home that has been raging since the Warren world began. A fight that will, most likely, never be completely resolved, a fight that we will never get tired of fighting, a fight that we will carry with us to our graves. Or, to our parents' graves.
Let me explain the backstory here. Years ago, in a far away land, Mom and Dad were very, very poor. No money, little food, and terrible living conditions. (Yes, they've come a long way.) It was time for Christmas and Dad and Mom looked at each other, wondering whether they would be able to have any Christmas at all. It didn't feel like Christmas because they couldn't afford one single decoration. Not a lot of presents for their little girls either. Mom, despite having little funds, was determined to make it the best Christmas ever. She began hand sewing all of their Christmas decorations. Wreaths, manger scenes, trees, gingerbread men, and even our stockings.
Some people might think that hand made decorations are cheap and useless and should be disposed of as soon as possible. But to us, they are some of our most cherished possessions. Every year, we break out our decorations and with it, the homemade stockings. For all of these years, we've wondered which one of us kids would actually get the stockings in the Will. We've begged for them, debated over them, attempted to bribe our parents for them, and a few of us have even considered hiding them until Mom and Dad die so we can "inherit" them. Some people take out life insurance money on dead people, but we plan to have a free-for-all for those stockings.
Now, it's not just the stockings that are the issue here. The stockings represent a much larger and rather illusive "Inheritance". Nevermind that there really is no Inheritance to speak of, but we know that whichever of us ends up with those stockings is truly the favorite child and will have all claims to the Inheritance. Mom and Dad say "Oh, there is no favorite child!" Yeah, right. Someday, we're going to find out who it is. But while they're still living, we all think we still have a chance at the stocking prize. We plan to use this blog as a public debate forum in which all 9 of us will lay out our best arguments for why we should get the stockings and with it, the Inheritance.
I'm sure the arguments will go something like this:
Aubrey-- "I'm the oldest!"
Kristen-- "I'm the smartest!"
Annie-- "I'm the prettiest!"
CJ-- "I'm the...sickest."
Nathan-- "I'm a multi-dollar recording artist!"
Beth-- "I'm the skinniest!"
Shelley-- "I'm the pinkest!"
Caleb-- "I've edited Wikipedia!"
Tim-- "I can do the best Army crawl!"
Stay tuned for each of our very convincing and mostly true arguments. Vote for your favorite after we've all posted!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Threthrathrilla
Entry #2--Threthrathrilla
Don't be alarmed by the look of this word--it has a very simple pronunciation. Simply roll each R, and pretend that you're saying "quesadilla" with substituted consonants.
Years ago, when I (Shelley) was about five or six, Dad took us all out to a mexican restaurant. After stating that I wanted a quesadilla, Dad leaned in and said, "Shelley, do you know what the *real* way to say quesadilla is?"
"No, what?"
"Thre-thra-thri-lla. That's the Spanish way to say it. So when the waiter asks you what you want, tell her you want a threthrathrilla. She'll know what it means.
[Waiter walks over]
"I would like a threthrathrilla."
[Befuddled look from waiter]
[Dad laughing so hard he's crying]
[Mom shaking her head]
[Shelley vowing never to be Dad's friend again]
So, to this day, very rarely will any of us say "quesadilla." We know the REAL way. And now, so do you.
Don't be alarmed by the look of this word--it has a very simple pronunciation. Simply roll each R, and pretend that you're saying "quesadilla" with substituted consonants.
Years ago, when I (Shelley) was about five or six, Dad took us all out to a mexican restaurant. After stating that I wanted a quesadilla, Dad leaned in and said, "Shelley, do you know what the *real* way to say quesadilla is?"
"No, what?"
"Thre-thra-thri-lla. That's the Spanish way to say it. So when the waiter asks you what you want, tell her you want a threthrathrilla. She'll know what it means.
[Waiter walks over]
"I would like a threthrathrilla."
[Befuddled look from waiter]
[Dad laughing so hard he's crying]
[Mom shaking her head]
[Shelley vowing never to be Dad's friend again]
So, to this day, very rarely will any of us say "quesadilla." We know the REAL way. And now, so do you.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Gr-in-Baby
We know this blog has been severely neglected, and so to remedy this, the 9 Warren kids have decided that we will begin a new series entitled "Warren Culture". We will be posting words, phrases, embarrassing stories and jokes, arguments concerning which of us REALLY gets the Inheritance, and other blurbs to shed light on the Culture that Mom and Dad have created in our home. We're weird. Really.
We have a long, long list of words and phrases that we've made up and way overuse, and if you live in San Antonio, you've most likely heard many of these. Some of the entries will include a video or audio clip to make sure you know HOW to use the words and HOW to say them. We hope you'll have with this, and that you'll start incorporating some of these awesome words into your daily vocabulary. That way, we won't be weird. We'll just be normal.
And so we begin.
Entry #1--Gr in Baby
If you ask any one of us, one of our earliest memories is of our mother teaching us how to read English. She had great phonics charts with "bl in black, st in stack, cl in clock, dr in drop" and every single bl in blend you can think of.
Because our dear father has a hard time taking most things in life very seriously, he LOVED to give us what he called the "true blends."
They went like this:
bl in block
cl in clock
st in stack
dr in drop
gr in baby
He insisted that it was really a true blend and would even tell us that Mom didn't really know how to teach phonics. We waited through our entire phonics book to be able to use "gr in baby" and...it never showed up. To this day, if Dad encounters any child who is learning to read, he will undoubtedly ask them, "Have you learned gr in baby yet? That's my favorite!"
So the next time you're teaching your child to read, be sure to teach them gr in baby. They'll be glad you did.
We have a long, long list of words and phrases that we've made up and way overuse, and if you live in San Antonio, you've most likely heard many of these. Some of the entries will include a video or audio clip to make sure you know HOW to use the words and HOW to say them. We hope you'll have with this, and that you'll start incorporating some of these awesome words into your daily vocabulary. That way, we won't be weird. We'll just be normal.
And so we begin.
Entry #1--Gr in Baby
If you ask any one of us, one of our earliest memories is of our mother teaching us how to read English. She had great phonics charts with "bl in black, st in stack, cl in clock, dr in drop" and every single bl in blend you can think of.
Because our dear father has a hard time taking most things in life very seriously, he LOVED to give us what he called the "true blends."
They went like this:
bl in block
cl in clock
st in stack
dr in drop
gr in baby
He insisted that it was really a true blend and would even tell us that Mom didn't really know how to teach phonics. We waited through our entire phonics book to be able to use "gr in baby" and...it never showed up. To this day, if Dad encounters any child who is learning to read, he will undoubtedly ask them, "Have you learned gr in baby yet? That's my favorite!"
So the next time you're teaching your child to read, be sure to teach them gr in baby. They'll be glad you did.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, July 26, 2008
God is great; God is good!
If there's anyone out there who we have NOT already nagged to death about tonight, the Psalty musical is at 4 PM today!!!! So if you want to see 25 adorable kids singing and dancing, then come to Geneva School of Boerne, and stay for a free Texas BBQ supper afterwards!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Sunday, June 08, 2008
its true, we'll make a better day, just you and me...
So here's the two best friends/cousins on the first couple days of swim lessons - the girls are having a blast together!
Some of these are far away since the instructors are pretty manic about keeping parents at a distance. For some reason they think we're a distraction :-)
Carrie and Erin have been great at blowing bubbles in the water, putting their whole faces in the water, hunting for treasure at the bottom of the pool, and kicking their legs while the instructors help them "swim".
We love summertime!
Friday, May 09, 2008
Funky fresh
It wouldn't let me post the video, so here's the link
Aren't you so proud of what your kids are learning?
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Fat Sam's Grand Slam....
This is our Sam (3 1/2yrs)! He loves Cheezits! It is pretty much all he eats. If you walk into the Russell pantry today, you will see approximately 8 unopened boxes of Cheezits. If you walk into the Russell pantry tomorrow, you will see approximately 5 unopened boxes.
Why, you ask, is he allowed to eat that many Cheezits??! Because, Sam has been very sick since birth and until last year when we discovered Cheezits, he was severely underweight. Cheezits alone have put him back on the weight charts, even if he's still at the bottom. We sent his story to the Cheezits company and they sent Aubrey and Dirk a huge box of coupons for Cheezits!
Beth recently sat Sam down for a photo shoot with his favorite food and his favorite monkey friend.
Maybe you'll see his cute little face on a box someday!
Praise the Lord for Cheezits!
Why, you ask, is he allowed to eat that many Cheezits??! Because, Sam has been very sick since birth and until last year when we discovered Cheezits, he was severely underweight. Cheezits alone have put him back on the weight charts, even if he's still at the bottom. We sent his story to the Cheezits company and they sent Aubrey and Dirk a huge box of coupons for Cheezits!
Beth recently sat Sam down for a photo shoot with his favorite food and his favorite monkey friend.
Maybe you'll see his cute little face on a box someday!
Praise the Lord for Cheezits!
Monday, April 14, 2008
You're My Trampoline
All 9 of the Warren kids have been together all weekend and we've been up to our old antics. We decided to take some crazy trampoline pictures in different poses. It took about 3 hours to get a perfect shot from everyone, but it was 3 hours of great Purely Warren Fun. Rarely do all 9 of us get to be together, alone. So it was awesome. We did convince Dad to join in some of the fun, but Mom said she refused to jump on the trampoline... we're not quite sure why. ;)
Tim is wondering if he'll ever be able to fly...
Caleb was trying to look like he wasn't falling.
Shelley had the Superhero pose down.
We're not really sure what Beth is doing. Karate?
Nathan is just...always cool. And he can jump higher than any of us.
This was CJ's only shot. Despite all warnings not to even touch the trampoline, she got some severe whiplash on her way down from this shot. It was ugly.
Even Annie's scary pose looks pretty!
Kristen was trying to look like Wonder Woman. But isn't she WW already?
Aubrey was scared after CJ's accident so she decided she was not jumping. But she's the oldest..she can do that.
Go Dad!! Work it!
Tim is wondering if he'll ever be able to fly...
Caleb was trying to look like he wasn't falling.
Shelley had the Superhero pose down.
We're not really sure what Beth is doing. Karate?
Nathan is just...always cool. And he can jump higher than any of us.
This was CJ's only shot. Despite all warnings not to even touch the trampoline, she got some severe whiplash on her way down from this shot. It was ugly.
Even Annie's scary pose looks pretty!
Kristen was trying to look like Wonder Woman. But isn't she WW already?
Aubrey was scared after CJ's accident so she decided she was not jumping. But she's the oldest..she can do that.
Go Dad!! Work it!
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
tell me your favorite song... just go ahead, let your hair down.
Erin and Carrie, all dressed up for Erin's "Tinkerbell Birthday Party".
Such pretty girls!!
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Monday, March 03, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
update on Mom
The latest installment in the WarrenFamily Saga of Comedic Tragedies.
[Tragedy because horrible things keep happening. Comedic because we immediately start laughing when something bad happens.]
Last night, Dad took Mom into the ER because she was having symptoms of a heart attack. Almost immediately after being seen, the doctors decided that it was bad enough to admit her for the night. They did the usual cardio workup--ECG, chest xray, and stress test. They obviously could not due a regular stress test on the treadmill because of her broken leg. So they did the nuclear test and injected chemicals to make her heart do some tricks. Mom said that stress test was very rough and never wants to do it again in her life. (We're hoping she doesn't have to...) The doctors said that the results of that test showed some evidence of blockage in the arteries surrounding her heart, so they decided to keep her through tonight instead of letting her go today.
Tomorrow (hopefully in the morning), the doctors will be inserting a heart catheter to check for blockage. If they do find blockage, we think they will proceed with the balloon thing which we think is called an angioplasty...? Someone can correct that if I'm wrong. The heart catheter test will take approximately 6-8 hours so we're expecting them to keep her through tomorrow night also.
Mom is in good spirits, we took her some food, her laptop, movies, and lots of books to keep her busy. Dad is being the incredible husband that he always is and staying with her all day every day, getting her whatever she needs (and doesn't need... : ). He is very exhausted from all of this and obviously worried.
We're all fine over here at the house. Everyone's doing their schoolwork but occasionally trying to get out of doing a math lesson... :) COG Church, as always, never ceases to amaze us by how loving and attentive and kind they are to us. If you do not have a church who loves you and bears your burdens with you, you need to find one. You don't know what you're missing.
Please pray with us as we walk through yet another health struggle in our family...
Pray that there will be no blockage in Mom's arteries or veins. Pray that they will find the source of the problems and that they will be quickly taken care of. Pray that she will stay comfortable in the hospital and will be able to SLEEP well. Pray that the LORD will give her peace about the upcoming procedures/surgeries/tests and their outcomes.
Pray that Dad will have the strength he needs to stay with Mom and take care of her. Pray that he will get the rest he needs and that he won't worry about what will happen.
Pray for us and the Russells and we sit at home and just...wait. There's not much we can do besides that, so pray that we will have patience and peace as we await phone calls from Dad.
Praise the LORD with us that Dad and Mom raised us to be able to handle struggles like this and to fight through them together as a family. Praise the LORD for giving us a church like COG and for the amazing blessing they are to us.
Pray that, most of all, the LORD will be glorified through all of this and that we will be an example to everyone watching of how to rely on Him and His strength.
God is sovereign.
For everyone,
the Warren kids
[Tragedy because horrible things keep happening. Comedic because we immediately start laughing when something bad happens.]
Last night, Dad took Mom into the ER because she was having symptoms of a heart attack. Almost immediately after being seen, the doctors decided that it was bad enough to admit her for the night. They did the usual cardio workup--ECG, chest xray, and stress test. They obviously could not due a regular stress test on the treadmill because of her broken leg. So they did the nuclear test and injected chemicals to make her heart do some tricks. Mom said that stress test was very rough and never wants to do it again in her life. (We're hoping she doesn't have to...) The doctors said that the results of that test showed some evidence of blockage in the arteries surrounding her heart, so they decided to keep her through tonight instead of letting her go today.
Tomorrow (hopefully in the morning), the doctors will be inserting a heart catheter to check for blockage. If they do find blockage, we think they will proceed with the balloon thing which we think is called an angioplasty...? Someone can correct that if I'm wrong. The heart catheter test will take approximately 6-8 hours so we're expecting them to keep her through tomorrow night also.
Mom is in good spirits, we took her some food, her laptop, movies, and lots of books to keep her busy. Dad is being the incredible husband that he always is and staying with her all day every day, getting her whatever she needs (and doesn't need... : ). He is very exhausted from all of this and obviously worried.
We're all fine over here at the house. Everyone's doing their schoolwork but occasionally trying to get out of doing a math lesson... :) COG Church, as always, never ceases to amaze us by how loving and attentive and kind they are to us. If you do not have a church who loves you and bears your burdens with you, you need to find one. You don't know what you're missing.
Please pray with us as we walk through yet another health struggle in our family...
Pray that there will be no blockage in Mom's arteries or veins. Pray that they will find the source of the problems and that they will be quickly taken care of. Pray that she will stay comfortable in the hospital and will be able to SLEEP well. Pray that the LORD will give her peace about the upcoming procedures/surgeries/tests and their outcomes.
Pray that Dad will have the strength he needs to stay with Mom and take care of her. Pray that he will get the rest he needs and that he won't worry about what will happen.
Pray for us and the Russells and we sit at home and just...wait. There's not much we can do besides that, so pray that we will have patience and peace as we await phone calls from Dad.
Praise the LORD with us that Dad and Mom raised us to be able to handle struggles like this and to fight through them together as a family. Praise the LORD for giving us a church like COG and for the amazing blessing they are to us.
Pray that, most of all, the LORD will be glorified through all of this and that we will be an example to everyone watching of how to rely on Him and His strength.
God is sovereign.
For everyone,
the Warren kids
Saturday, February 02, 2008
wouldn't you think i'm the girl, the girl who has everything?
Carrie, after her manicure and pedicure...
Erin just couldn't keep her eyes off her barbie pink nails...
The two princesses, freshly painted. By this time they were more interested in watching "Cinderella" than showing off their nails.
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