Peanuts

• Melissa, blessing the food: "... We thank thee for Mommy, and Daddy, and Mewissa ... [quietly:] dat's me! I'm Mewissa! I'm a girl. I saying da prayer. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

• "I guess, technically, I already beat [Katamari Forever]. But not on drive mode! And I still need to collect some cousins and presents!" -- Rachel responds to a suggestion she play something else

• Rachel: "You know, I would hate being the guy manning the phones at the Butterball Turkey Hotline on Thanksgiving. Because you know it's bad news, and it's too late to fix it."

• Rachel: "Melissa, I'm going to put Isaac to sleep now. Please play quietly until I'm done." Melissa, five minutes later: "Daddy, Mommy is _gone_! Maybe she went to orchestra!" It's hard to tell when Melissa is actually paying attention to what you tell her. (It's also amusing that, a year later, Melissa still equates "Mommy is gone" with "Mommy is playing in the orchestra.)
  

• Things I never thought I'd have to say: "Matthew! No sawing the railing!" (I was hoping I had misinterpreted what I thought I was hearing from inside the house, but Matthew just replied, "Okay.")

• I don't really see the point of adding slices of white tissue-bread to a plate full of barbecue, but to the kids it was a revelation. Matthew tried to figure out why his mother only ever bakes whole wheat: "Mom?" Yes?" "Do you know how to make white bread?" Yes. "Did you ever make any?" Yes. "Did it turn out okay?" Yes...

• Matthew: "Were Satan and King Herod friends?"

• Isaac's job: take shiny, fragile ornaments off the tree and pull the tops off. Daddy's job: put the tops back on and re-hang higher on the tree.

• Me, washing the pie Rachel gave him off Isaac: "You get him dirty, you clean him up! That's the law of the jungle!" Rachel: "No, the law of the jungle is 'Teach him to say Da-da.'"