Our Graduate

Josephine has finished her first full year of school. Kindergarten was a tough transition for this sweet girl. At first she wouldn't let go of my leg, or she wouldn't get out of the van. Her teacher was very helpful and every parent teacher conference was nothing but praise for a sweet little girl who was ready to learn. Now that kindergarten is over, Josephine can read at the level of second semester first grader, she ties her own shoes, she calls her friends on the phone and she shows all the confidence and independence of the bright little lady we all knew she could become. It's bittersweet for a parent to see their little ones become strong independent voices. The mom in me wants the timid baby girl who refused to let go of my hand. But the real gift here is seeing how far our kids can reach and celebrating their accomplishments. We are all so proud of you , Joey. First grade will be even better!

What did he say?

Jay Michael. Bless his sweet little heart. Sometimes I just can't understand a word that boy says. Mind you, some of it is crystal clear, but, sometimes I just don't get it. The other day we were saying prayers before bed and Jay Michael has a habit of repeating one phrase to himself while the person is praying aloud for the family. I suppose he thinks he is praying, too, and that's just fine. This particular night, Jay repeated what I thought sounded like, Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Potter... I was confused. Samantha was saying the prayer that night and did not mention Harry Potter. I told him, Jay Michael, during the prayer, you need to be reverent. He said, in his sweet three year old voice, Momma, I good. I talk to Heavenly Father. And we thought he was saying Harry Potter? Kids know. He knew he was saying Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father. Good boy, Jay.

And don't you love his summer-do? All curls on top. Delicious!

Lack of....

....that's the funny thing about a blog. When you are so busy living, you have much to tell the world, many great photos and a host of antecdotes. Ironically, you are also too busy to post anything about your adventures on your blog, because you are living them. So it goes.

New Outlook

So, a routine eye exam turned into a new look for Rachel and Samantha. They were both so excited to get their new glasses. Not a care in the world that anyone would call them geeky or a bad name - nope. Not these two. They were thrilled with the new perspective they gained. Rachel is far-sighted, so she was excited to see more clearly when she reads, plays the piano and texts on her phone. Samantha is near-sighted and the WHOLE ride home from the doctor's office she was narrating- Speed limit 30, Railroad crossing, no parking, Adams Street, Dave's Vacuum repair....the WHOLE ride home! And don't they look GREAT?!?!

The Lighter Side of Easter...

Whoa, Boy!

I love having a little boy in the house. Even more, I love watching him grow into a little man. Let's just slow it down a notch, okay? (Jay Michael, three years old and almost nine feet in the air....) Sorry about all the bikes and trucks in the picture, but, you can tell by all the toys and dirt that all the ladies are also outside-loving kids!

KidBits, April 2011

In this edition of KidBits - a little news on everyone - we will cover dental hygiene! I took all five kids to the dentist for one appointment! I am ashamed to admit it, but, this was Jay Michael's first dentist appointment. So until now, I never took all five kids. Jay was excited at first, but, not happy by the time we left. We use a pediatric dentist who has televisions mounted in the ceilings above his chairs, so the kids wear earphones and watch SpongeBob while he works on them. My ladies love the dentist. Weird, huh? Jay Michael? Nope. Not so much. As you can see from the picture, it's a kid friendly kind of place.

The Activity Girls at church hostessed a night for the parents this month - a Modesty Rocks Fashion Show. Each of the girls took to the runway in various apparel. Some showed modest sleepwear. Some showed playclothes, athletic gear, or school clothes. Charlotte chose Sunday Best and modeled a modest, respectful outfit that showed her personality - bright and happy. You can't see well from this angle, but, she even has a flower in her hair! And sorry the picture is blurry - she was strutting her stuff down the runway!

Samantha is the oldest of the Activity Girls group and she was the Master of Ceremonies, introducing all ten girls and describing their outfits. She hammed it up and made it fun. She had to coach a little, too, helping the girls know when to come out (Samantha translation: Get out here!) and when to walk (Samantha translation: Go on; strut!), which the audience thought was pretty comical.

When we got home from the Fashion Show, we had this group at our house - the entire Young Women's Presidency and 16 of the Young Women! The were there to give James a Heart Attack! To do this, they marched through our kitchen and living room muttering, Heart attack, heart attack, all the while taping hearts all over our walls. The hearts had been made my them and each had a good wish or a scripture for James. Stuff like, We are thinking of you and your family. Or, We are here for you; we love you. James was surprised and delighted. The group then sang us a song they are practicing for the church Easter program. Just beautiful! Then they took requests and we had them sing our favorite Primary songs! The picture is bad, it was a little too dark outside to take a good picture without a flash; sorry. Such a great surprise! (Well, at least I had a warning....but James was surely surprised!)

(Rachel is the pretty one on the front row in the brown shirt....) They are a great group of Young Women and Rachel loves being a part of it! (Samantha can't wait until she turns 12 in July and gets to join in, too!)