Cuteness!

Our neighbor found this baby butterfly and so we took the opportunity to take some cute pictures!

Too bad I don't have an amazing camera that can really focus in on the details.  Too bad Emma looks like she's half asleep, but I think they are cute anyway.

Emma's Testimony

As a regular part of our Family Home Evening, we have started to encourage each member of the family take a turn bearing their testimony.  It has been an incredible experience the last few months.  Paul and I have really been touched and learned so much from our children. 

One such experience was when Emma said, "Even though I try really hard to be good, I still make mistakes."  "I am thankful for second chances."

I too am thankful for second chances, especially as a parent.  I try really hard to be good but I still make lots of mistakes.  I am thankful for forgiving children who don't hold grudges and still love me with all their hearts.  I am also thankful for an understanding and forgiving Savior who listens and accepts my heartfelt repentance, even if it is for the same mistakes over and over again.
What wisdom there is to be found in the testimonies of children!  Oh, to be like a little child.

Emma on modesty

I was listening in on a conversation from the backseat between the two girls.  They had the Ariel Barbie and Jenna asked why her tummy was showing.  We have been working to teach our girls about dressing modestly and I have wondered how to handle the competing world views.  As I scrambled in my brain to come up with an explanation they could understand and accept, Emma beat me to it with a much better explanation than I was preparing.  I was ready to dive into the fact that not everyone has the same standards that we do and the fact that the makers of the doll don't think or believe the same things we do etc etc.... 

Emma's explanation was perfect.  "She is a mermaid and lives in the water.  If she wore a long shirt in the water it would get very wet and heavy.  When she becomes a girl she covers her tummy."   I need to retrain my brain.  Perfect simplicity!

Echoes of myself

Listening to Emma downstairs playing:

"Time for dinner everyone"

"K guys, come to the table"

"Why are you not here?"

"People, it's time for dinner and I still see empty chairs here!"

In the deep, deep part of Daddy's pocket...

One day, Emma was looking in the pocket of Paul's dress shirt. She said, "that's a deep pocket". Evidently, this fact got her thinking about what could be in the deep part of that pocket. It all started with the bunnies. She told us that there are bunnies that live in the deep, deep part of his pocket and...

they "have chubby cheeks like this" "and big eyes like this"

"and eyebrows like this"

"and ears like this"

Then she proceeded to tell us about the walking refridgerator that gets food from the restaurant and then walks around giving out food.

She talked about this imaginary world in the deep, deep part of Daddy's pocket for about 20 minutes, describing all the details. Unfortunately, I didn't take notes imediately and when asked about it a couple of hours later these were the only parts she or I could remember. What a fun cute imagination she has. Often times it is not fun to have VERY dramatic kids, but when they have a good story to tell, it is hilarious!

On turning five

Our little Emma turned five years old on December 30th. Time is flying away from me! My little one will be going to Kindergarten in the fall and she is sooo ready. She would go to preschool twice a day rather than twice a week. Sometimes it gives me a complex to see how independent and adventurous she is. A mom likes to be needed sometimes. This year was her year to choose an activity for a "family party". She wanted to go to Kangaroo Zoo, have shrimp for dinner, and then to for ice cream. She walked up to each adult at Kangaroo Zoo and informed them that it was her birthday and that she turned 5. She has never been shy!




We got one chance to take a picture of her with the Kangaroo and this is what we got! Oh well, she was thrilled anyway. She got to tell him it was her birthday and that she turned 5.














She got a pack of Disney Princess Barbies and plays with them all day everyday! Mom also made a hooded butterfly towel for her, the boys gave her a Tinkerbell action figure set and Jenna gave her some dress ups. Overall, she was one happy little princess!


Our Emma is a very special part of our family. She is fun loving, caring, good at sharing and eager to live life to the fullest. Whether it is keeping up with the boys as they climb "just one more step up" in the never ending quest to attain flight into the Love sac or playing princess with Jenna making sure they have just the right accessories, she does it all with her whole heart and enthusiasm. She loves to see if she can give the longest kisses and tightest hugs before bed. She makes up the most amazing songs about everyday things and is always singing. She also draws the most fantastic stories. I am continually amazed at her imagination and creativity. We all love and appreciate Emma so much. I am grateful for the chance to ponder all the things I love about her.

The way we say things

Emma was watching an episode of one of our favorite cartoons, Backyardigans. The cute characters were singing a song that has the lyrics, "into the thick of it". Last night she was singing the song and insisted that, it was in fact, "into the fickle bit". When we asked her what it meant she said it means to go around in circles just like the song says. She still argues days later that the song says "into the fickle bit".

After Jordan watched Wall-E for the first time, he walked around saying Larrr-y. When we tried to correct him, he argued to the bitter end. When he began to read, he finally laughed and admitted that he had been saying it wrong all along.

The kids love to hear about themselves and the things they used to say when they were younger. I am glad I have worked to keep a journal for them while they are young. It has not always been easy or consistent but I have tried to record important and favorite things through the years. Inspiring them to write in it themselves as they get older is another challenge all together.

A bowl full of sugar...

Emma just started singing "A bowl full of sugar makes the medicine go down..." Traditionally, it only takes a spoonful of sugar to get that medicine to go down, but lately, the portion seems to be growing exponentially.

Emma the Menace

Emma loves our neighbors! I mean, some days I think she would rather live with them. She constantly asks if she can go to play at their houses. They do not have any small children, but what they do have is candy and popsicles! Recently, Jordan has developed a liking for playing at the neighbor's houses too. I wonder why? Evidently, popsicles from the neighbors taste better than at home, especially right before dinner.

Until recently, Emma had two houses that she frequented. She usually would decide to visit the neighbors when I was otherwise occupied doing laundry in the basement, using the bathroom etc. in order to avoid any oppposition to her visits. She became so comfortable that she would just walk into the house and wander around until she found someone. One day, I learned that she had made one of her unannounced visits to the neighbor. Evidently, our neighbor had just gotten out of the shower when Emma wandered into his bedroom! He told the other neighbor, that all he saw were two blonde piggy tails disappearing around the corner. She made it back so fast that I didn't even realize she had gone until 3 days later when the other neighbor told me.

We have been so blessed to have great neighbors who love our children and help watch over them. They even return them when they have wandered off as toddlers. We will be ever grateful for the roles they have played in providing happy childhood memories for our children.

Oh, no! Another allergy!!

Like we need more allergies to worry about in this family! I really can't complain because as with everything else, there are always those out there with problems worse than ours!

We just discovered that Emma is allergic to anything penicillin based including the amoxicillin she was taking for a sinus infection! She has a full body rash with welts. The photos don't do it justice!

Poor little thing! Well, at least the reaction wasn't more serious and now we know.

Some cuteness amid the chaos

One of Emma's primary teachers is getting married and this will be her last Sunday. The other teacher had such a cute idea! They are having a little wedding shower for her at the end of class and Emma was asked to fill out this sheet. I had to save a copy for her, for when she gets married. (Unfortunately it seems to download blue?)

First piggy tails! So cute!

We have a Jonas brother look alike!

Meagan, one of the girls in Emma's primary class was watching the Grammy's with her family. The Jonas brothers were performing and she said, "He looks like Emma's daddy!" He is pretty handsome!

Emma's Peter Pan syndrome

Emma has informed us multiple times, sometimes tearfully, that she doesn't want to grow up. She doesn't want to be a mommy. She doesn't even pretend to be mommy to her dolls. I have to admit this has made me question my example of motherhood. I wonder if my life really looks that miserable. Maybe all she sees is a stressed out adult who works doing things she doesn't like (cleaning toilets, laundry, the list could go on and on and on) and yells a lot. I take comfort that when asked why, she has said that she doesn't want to stop being Emma. We have had many conversations about things we learn, opportunities in her future, and the fact that she will still be Emma. We have even shown her pictures of Paul and I as children. Unfortunately, she can't seem to understand it that way. So for now, I just tell her that she doesn't have to grow up now and she won't have to until she is ready. This is okay with me. She is growing up too fast as it is.
Meanwhile, I'm working on having more fun during my days, listening to music, singing, dancing, and laughing. She is right. I need to show my happiness and be crazy sometimes. It sure helps to beat the January blues!

The Christmas Story (according to Emma)

Emma's sunbeam teacher told me that Emma was telling the Christmas story to her class. She confidently explained that Joseph took Mary on a trip, built a fire for her and they roasted marshmallows. Baby Jesus had a marshmallow too!

For family night tonight, we are going to use our puppets to tell the Christmas story together. Can't wait to hear her part! :)

*Later in the season Emma was telling me the story again. Marshmallows were a big part of the story as before. Baby Jesus liked them so much he ate the whole bag. It also included the star which was raised and lowered by Mary and Joseph when they saw the shepherds and wisemen coming.

Our new family pictures!

We haven't had our family pictures taken for over 2 years so we decided it was about time! Paul's niece Lori took these pictures for us and I think she did a great job!

Santa, Heavenly Father, and Jesus are watching

It's an amazing thing when your 3½ yr old is able to set an example of priorities. As we discussed the fact that Santa is watchingshe thought for a few minutes and decided to make her bed. As she finished, she turned to me and said "Mommy, Jesus is watching me too." As I smiled and confirmed that He is and loves her, she said "He came back to life again" I asked her where she thought Jesus was. She didn't know and so we talked about that He is with His father, Heavenly Father. She promtly replied, "Heavenly Father is watching me too." As I assured her that He is and loves her she nodded and went off to play. What simple faith and insight. We enjoy Santa around our house but it is important to remember that "Heavenly Father and Jesus are watching too" a fact that we should remind our children and ourselves of every day.

Halloween and Fall in full swing!

Here are some pictures from Halloween. They are usually so cute! Christian is a dementor (too bad his nose was itching!), Jordan was a Vampire (minus the teeth because he couldn't eat candy with them, would have been a plus in my mind), Emma is Cinderella (did you expect anything less?), and Jenna is our cute dalmation puppy.

The kids got so excited to jump in leaves they couldn't wait for the neighbors giant maple to drop so we raked up the few we had.

Emma's running away....or not

Emma and I just had an interesting encounter. She had determined that she is big enough to use "sharp knives" as she dragged a stool over to the cutting board. As we discussed the fact that she needs to be much bigger before she is ready for this particular hazard over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, AND OVER!!! (Her preschool teacher who has been running a preschool with multiple classes for years described her as the most stubborn child she has ever met.)

As we both became incresingly frustrated, she gave me the classic "If you don't let me ____, then I will (won't) _______. Doesn't every kid pull this out? But, she's not even 4 years old yet! Unfortunately she has very experienced coaches in this reasoning.
Her ultimatum was this: "If you don't let me use sharp knives, I won't live here anymore!" I paused to see her reaction to what she had said and to take a deep breath. I then watched her face as I asked her where she would live. The realization of what she had said was visible on her face. I then reassured her that we would miss her very much and Mommy would probably cry for days and days, maybe even forever, if she chose not to live here and be a part of our family anymore. We then talked about all of the things she can do such as make her bed, get dressed, put away clothes, unload the dishwasher, etc. and how fast she is growing up.

As I finally distracted her with what to have for lunch and the chocolate milk I made, I thought the discussion was ended. Halfway through her lunch, I was sitting here at the computer checking email and she came to me crying. When I asked her what was wrong she said "I don't want to live somewhere else." I held her on my lap and assured her that Daddy and I will always love her and want her with us.

It's nice to know that she will be staying a little longer, at least until the next time she wants something else beyond her abilities or maturity.

3 year old shoe addict?

Lately, Emma has taken to telling us stories full of woe about her lack of footwear! She already has more shoes than her mother but is convinced she needs a sparkly pair of pink flip flops and new black shoes because they are almost too small. Paul told me that just a couple of days ago she was telling him about all the shoes she "needs", all eight pairs of them! This would be in addition to the 8 or 9 pairs she alreadsy has! It doesn't matter if we are going grocery shopping, if she hears we are heading for a store she asks if she can get a new pair of shoes. It was heartbreaking for her when I bought new shoes for the boys for school and she didn't get any. They needed them, she didn't. Not to mention the fact that I had just bought her a pair the week before!
I don't understand where she gets it from! I for one, hate shoe shopping and am perfectly content to have a 2 or 3 pairs for each season, including dressy shoes. I know I am abnormal but that's the way I am. Soooo, the only thing I can figure out is that she gets it from her father, who has consequently bought most of my shoes too, because he hates it when I steal his! (Don't worry, my feet are not freakishly large, his feet are small.)
I worry about the teenage years! We can't afford to have a shoe-a-holic, not to mention the closet space!

First Blood!

We had a couple of firsts this past week.

Jenna fell down. That in it self is not new, all the bruises and scrapes make her look like an abused child. What was new however was the split skin on her eyebrow. It's the first time we've had some heavier bleeding with her. Head wounds always seem to bleed a lot. It seems to be healing just fine and hopefully will not scar to leave a hairless line in her eyebrow.

Our other first was the first bloody accident on the trampoline. I know what you're thinking. "Oooh, trampolines are so dangerous!" but at least it happened at home instead of the neighbors. Actually, it didn't happen on the trampoline at all. Jordan, our kamikaze child jumped off the tramp onto the grass as he has since the second day we got the thing. (It takes too much precious time to climb down the step ladder.) Unfortunately, little sister Emma decided to try it too. I was in the kitchen trying desperately to catch up on the dishes after our foray into salsa making (see previous post) when she came pounding on the door screaming. At first I thought she had just split her lip but on further examination realized she had bitten her tongue badly. Her two front teeth had gone about half way through her tongue, leaving two deep gaping holes separated by a little piece of flesh. It was bleeding very badly and I wondered what to do as I cleaned her up and tried to talk in a soothing voice despite feelings of hysterics. I was amazed that she was crying more because she was angry at Jordan for "teaching me that trick" than because she was hurt.

Somewhere in the recesses of my brain I remembered learning that they don't stitch tongues. (Actually, I later found out they do if they are shooting blood or about to fall off. Thankfully, neither of these applied to this situation.) I tried to call our neighbor the physician but he wasn't home and so I called our other neighbor the nurse. She confirmed that it wouldn't do any good to take her in and told us to just flush it with a salt water solution periodically and that her tongue would heal completely within 72 hours. We are so blessed in our neighborhood to have so many kind people, so willing to help.

I am sorry to say I doubted the diagnosis until I saw her tongue this morning. It is amazing! It is at least half way healed! Evidently it is because of all that blood we have flowing around in our heads.

So, all is well once again and everyone is healing. Paul and I just hope that two important lessons have been learned:
1. Little sister is always watching, looking up to you, and wanting to follow in your footsteps.
2. Just because someone else is crazy enough to do something, doesn't mean you should!