A messy day!

I have decided I am the craziest mother ever. Yesterday, we went for a picnic at the park with Crystal, Ciara, and Ethan. It was a beautiful day. After we played for a while, I brought the kids home and put them down for a nap. When they got up, things got messy. I told the kids we were going to make a huge mess. They, of course, were all for it. I put down black trash bags on the floor and long pieces of paper. The kids took off their socks, rolled up their pant legs, dipped their feet in paint, and had at it.

Charles and Michelle had a blast. I enjoy so much watching them be creative and hearing the dialouge that goes on during our craziness. When they were content with the mess we made, I carried each of them upstairs to soak their feet in the bathtub. Here are the results of their feet painting. I loved them so much I want to have them framed!!

Michelle's First Talk (2-1-09)

Michelle is getting so big. She gave her first talk in primary last Sunday. Her talk was about families. Just like all kids, she had to have her mouth touching the microphone instead of staying back from the microphone a little. Michelle did a good job. Even Charles told her she had done good. Here is a picture of Michelle before we left for church. Following the picture is the talk she gave.

Here is my pretty mother

Here is my father tall

He is my older brother

But that is not all.

Who is this other person?

Of course you know it's me.

One, two, three, four

Make a nice family.

Heavenly Father gave me this family

As part of His plan for us

I'm thankful to be a daughter

And a little sis.

I love my family very much

And know they love me too

We are working to be together

Now and for eternity, too.

Slap Jack!

The other night, Charles needed something to do. I decided to teach him how to play slap jack. Of course Michelle wanted to join in. Both kids got the giggles because they would accidently slap a king or queen. It ended up giving everyone the giggles, including Gabe who was trying to work on homework. On Charles' next preschool day, Michelle asked if we could play slap jack. I told her as soon as I finished cleaning up the kitchen we could play. In a few minutes I turned around to see this.

When I asked her what she was doing, she said she was getting ready to play slap jack. I am not sure she understood the concept. At least she had fun!! Of course the whole thing turned into dancing in the cards. I love being a stay at home mom!!

Another Bonk!

Well, we have been worried about how this year was going to go since we ended up in the ER with Charles on Jan 1st. Here is the latest bonk. Charles was climbing on dad's workout equipment. He managed to pull one of the bars loose and it smacked him in the back of the head. Once we got him settled down and the bleeding stopped, we took him right into see the doctor. Luckily it was a skin tear that was really wide and not deep. The doctor put steri-strips on the wound for 4 days. We were sure he was going to need more stitches. Two emergency visits in one month is plenty for this family. We are thankful for wonderful doctors and for kids who are healthy and active and can heal from these injuries.

Extremely Warm Weather!

Well, here it is the middle of January and we again had a day where it was 75 degrees. It was way too nice for us to stay indoors. We loaded up in the car and headed for one of our favorite places, the zoo. Many other people had the same idea we did. Though there was a crowd, it was not unpleasantly crowded. All of us enjoyed being out in the sunshine. The animals seemed to enjoy the warm weather, too.

My kids are learning about compromise and agreement. When both of them find something they want to do or want to get and they don't agree, I have been encouraging them to compromise or come to an agreement. Today at the zoo was no different. I told them we could ride either the train or the carousel. Charles wanted to ride the train. Michelle wanted to ride the carousel. The were talking about which one to ride. Charles turns to Michelle and tells her that today he would like to compromise with her. He told her he would be happy riding just the carousel since it was what Michelle wanted to ride. She thanked him. They both enjoyed the carousel. When we were finished, I told them how proud I was that they had agreed and that there wasn't a fit. I took them to ride the train also as a reward for such good behavior and compromise.

We had a wonderful day. It is great to have these warm days during the winter. We are better able to cope with the cold and snow when we have one or two warm days to get out and enjoy the sunshine.