"She's His Honey"

Last night I had to take Olivia (and all of the other kids) to the Dr. b/c I thought she might have an ear infection...negative. While we were waiting...FOREVER...for the Dr. to come in and check her out we were having a deep conversation about the differences between Dr.s and Nurses. Brought on by sweet little Aubrey. Alli ended the conversation with a great observation.
"Mommy, there are girl Dr's and boy Dr's aren't there?".
Me "Yes, there are sweetie, both boys and girls can be Dr's".
Alli "Mommy, I want to be a Dr AND a mommy when I grow up."
Me "That is great, you can be whatever you want when you grow up."
Aubrey "Mommy, I know that they call boy Dr's 'doctors' and girl Dr's 'nurses'".
Me "Well, no, doctors are doctors and nurses are nurses".
Aubrey "Right, boys are doctors and girls are nurses"
Me "No, there are boy doctors and girl doctors. And there are boy nurses and girl nurses. Girl doctors are called 'doctors' and boy nurses are also called 'nurses'. Did you know that we know someone that is learning to be a nurse?"
Both girls "no we don't!"
Me "yes we do...Aunt Heidi is going to school to become a nurse. Who is Aunt Heidi?"
Alli "Heidi is Alan and Heidi" (Alan is Sean's brother, Alan and Heidi are married)
Me "Yes, Heidi is Alan's what?"
Alli "Heidi is Alan's...hmmmm (she thinks for a sec)...I know, Heidi is Alan's Honey!"
I smile and try not to laugh out loud "Yes, Heidi is Alan's Honey"
I thought it was so cute because she came up with it herself and it was a great way to explain it for a 4 year old.

OK just one more but it's important....

My friend emailed me this link and its amazing! These are people posing as Christ and other biblical people. The artist is Mark Mabry so check it out!

Photo's of Christ

Poor Alli

I just realized that Alli doesn't have a picture up. So here you go. Here's a little about Alli.
Alli wants to be a Doctor and a Mom when she grows up. In fact sometimes she thinks Olivia is her baby, Olivia doesn't like this game. But I have a feeling there will be a mutual admiration as Olivia gets older. Alli has got all of my genes and so far has looked identical to me at every age. Not sure that will ever change. From what I hear mostly from my mom she acts and sounds like me, too. Sean just rolls his eyes. She is a self proclaimed "daddy's girl" and as with all the girls has him wrapped around her little finger. Alli is 4 1/2 and is taking ballet classes and LOVES it. She likes to take charge of anything she can, even bossing Connor and Aubrey if they let her get away with it. She is VERY loving, she loves all of her family...aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and can name ALL of them. She might act shy but she knows who you are (that goes for family...not strangers).

Sleep Walking

So I started to comment on a friends page (thanks Angela) and realized that I was amusing myself (which doesn't take too much ;) with the things I have done in my sleep. So here you go...
I'm pretty sure I started sleep walking at a young age. It peaked around Jr High-High School. Now that I'm married and have kids I think I am now limited to talking in my sleep. (at least thats all I know of...) I'm probably just to tired to get out of bed.

I came to my mom's room in the middle of the night and demanded she help me find my "pre-algebra doll". No that's not a real thing, but clearly I was stressed about pre-algebra.

Once while sleeping over at my grandma's house around the age of 10-11, I walked out the back door and had apparently taken a walk because my feet were filthy and I was locked out. Luckily for me her property was 5 acres and fully fenced, who knows where I would have gone had I been home.

Here is the most amazing thing (at least I think) I've done. While on a chaperoned summer trip to Wa DC/NY between 7th and 8th grade I escaped. Because there were only a couple teachers and parents on the trip there were "stops" put up to prevent kids from sneaking out at night. One adult slept in the hallway, the outside of the doors were duct taped (for the noise, I'm pretty sure they didn't actually think they could keep the doors shut with it), AND there was a security guard posted at the elevators. Well, I left my room, passed the sleeping adult and convinced the security guard that I was on the trip with my grandma, had left my room for some reason and was now locked out. I guess we talked all about it on the way down to the lobby of the hotel where we called my mom. That's when I woke up, on the phone with my mom in the lobby of a hotel. Wow, was I surprised. I finished talking to my mom and she explained to the Clerk who then explained to security that this was a problem I had. They were all very amused and slightly impressed that I could do such things in my sleep. The security guard got me a drink of Coke and chuckled about it as he walked me back to my room. Unfortunately for me this was in the beginning of the trip and I was so afraid it would happen again the chaperons moved furniture as an obstacle and informed security and hotel staff of my talent.

So, if I ever show up on your doorstep in the middle of the night call my husband, get me a cup of coke (i prefer diet) and walk me home.

Happy Easter!

This Easter was wonderful! This year we felt it was really important to teach our kids about the meaning of Easter, not just the chocolate bunny's and egg hunts. So we asked the Easter Bunny to help us teach the kids about the meaning of Easter. The Bunny hid only 1 special egg with Lifesavers for each of the big kids and all the others had pictures and scriptures about Jesus' life from birth to His Resurrection. I was really worried about how the older kids, who were used to lots of candy and hoopla, would take the change. So before the hunt we told the kids that Mom and Dad asked the Easter Bunny to help us teach about why we celebrate Easter, so he didn't do the same egg hunt that we had in the past. After the kids found the eggs, only 14 total, we all sat around and put the story together and talked about each scripture and picture in order. I was pleasantly surprised at their reaction! They listened intently, needing only a couple reminders to pay attention. I looked into Connor's eye's as I spoke about the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Crucification and he was truly touched by them. I don't know how to explain it. It is the first time as a mom that I have had the experience of knowing that what was being said at that very minute was building the testimony of my child. There simply are no words. We also spoke of how joyous it was and is that Christ was Resurrected and that we, too will live again. Not once did any of the kids complain that there weren't enough gifts, or that they needed more candy. It was a proud day for me as a mom.
I hope that everyone had a wonderful day. I am so glad for the beauty of spring as it is coming in all around us!

I used an article from The Friend magazine (LDS Church) to help with our activity. Here is the website:
www.lds.org
go to:
gospel library
magazines
Friend
For Little Friends
The Story of Jesus

keep on chuggin' along...

Well the last month has flown by! I can't believe its been almost a whole month since I have posted anything. When I started this blog I wanted to post something weekly. I'll be working on that.Well since last time we have been busy enjoying our new "warm" weather (pretty much anything over 40 degrees).

Connor has been busy with his friends in the neighborhood including learning the joys of Guitar Hero but mostly doing boy things outside...Riding bikes, playing basketball, running around and making up games. He has also been learning about the neighborhood bully "Mean Wyatt". So there have been a lot of discussions about handling conflicts. As he is learning these lessons I can't help but think about how close he is to being baptized! Just a few short months. It should be the first weekend in July. I can hardly believe it!

Aubrey is very happy about the sunny days and the warmer weather. She has been slowly venturing out to enjoy the outdoors again. She has learned that she is not much of a winter girl. The idea of playing in the snow was appealing to her this winter, until she actually was outside. She happily dons her pretty pink hat, gloves and boots. Layers on the turtle necks and sweaters. Finds the perfect socks to go with her whole outfit. Zips up her coat. Jumps out into the snow, frolics for a moment. Declares to one and all it is TOO COLD and comes inside for a warm cup of hot chocolate. This was the routine about once a week. I began thinking that she may just do it all for the hot chocolate, but it kept her busy so I didn't mind. So needless to say since we have had such nice weather she has been pleased.

Alli has loved the winter just as well as the springtime. This winter her poor little body and mind weren't working well together. After an hour of playing outside her limbs would be freezing but she just didn't want to stop having fun. This is probably where the hot chocolate came in, it was the only way to get her inside. So, her toes and fingers and nose are pleased with the sunshine. We made the delightful purchase of sidewalk chalk for $1 and this has kept her busy with Aubrey coloring pictures all over the driveway, front walk, and steps. Just this week there are a whole collection of artwork. Self portraits, flowers and of course hopscotch! Also the slope of our driveway has proved just enough to race their bikes and scooters up and down (of course never in the street!).

Olivia has grown up so much in the last couple of weeks! She is sitting alone for the most part. As long as she doesn't get too wiggly she sits well. As soon as she is excited she moves around and topples over. She is now 6 months old. With all of the health concerns the first 4 months went by so slowly. I can't say that I minded. Knowing that this will be the last baby (at least from my tummy!) I have tried to take in and appreciate every stage she has gone through. She is just SO happy all the time it is such a blessing! This last Sunday while in Sacrament Meeting she found a new way to entertain herself (as well as Sean, myself and even the bishop got a kick out of it). While facing forward sitting on Sean's leg she began to shake her head back and forth against his chest (as if she were saying "no" quickly). She started doing this and it must feel good because she would not stop and she just kept on and was smiling and giggling and shaking her head, smiling, giggling, and shaking her head. Its not so much that she does this but that she gets such a kick out of it, its adorable! (maybe you have to see it for yourself)

So along with spring our family is doing some learning and growing. I suppose it's inevitable. We have been so blessed and we are looking forward to all that the future holds. I am truly happy and thankful for the blessing that is my family!