Friday, June 23, 2006

Birthday Earrings for Haven

It’s Mathes and Haven’s birthday today, and they’re 3 and 5 years old! For Haven’s birthday I took her to get her ears pierced (with her Daddy’s reluctant OK) since she has been asking to get it done for quite a while now. I called ahead to make sure there would be two girls there to pierce her ears simultaneously since I thought it wouldn’t go over very well if we did it one at a time. (Although, for those of you that don’t know, Livy had hers pierced and she had hers done one at a time, and she sat still for the whole thing!) Haven sat in the chair all by herself, and sat very still since she was feeling a little shy and was also a little apprehensive about it as well. Haven picked out her favorite pair of pink sparkly flower earrings, the same ones Livy has, even though her first choice was the GIANT cubic zirconia pair that looked like they were big enough to be cuff links. I explained she needed to pick a smaller pair that were more flush with her ear so they wouldn’t get caught on anything.
   She knew it would hurt a little, but she was determined to get her ears pierced, so she sat quietly and let Miss Brittany mark the dots on her ears for the earrings. Miss Brittany had Miss Kim come over to help, and the two of them on the count of three pierced Haven’s ears! Haven’s face crinkled up in a little grimace, so we told her it was all done and she looked beautiful and that was it. She didn’t even cry! I was so proud of her for being so brave, and she absolutely loves her new earrings! I’m glad we got it done at this age since she’s old enough to ask to have it done, but not old enough to really get that it’s a hole in your ear. She told me it “only hurt fast then it didn’t hurt anymore”. Afterwards we went to Orange Julius for a fun treat and I let everyone pick out their favorite smoothie. Afterwards we went to Grammy Lesa’s since she had some presents for Haven and Mathes. They had a great time there, and loved their presents! Mathes loved running all over the backyard and going in and out the dog door, with the dogs right behind him! Haven was showing everyone her new earrings, and telling them all about her experience and how brave she was.
   (You know Anne, I still have my pierced ears from you. An ice cube and a needle in your professional ear piercing hands was all it took, and here we are this many years later, and they’re still pierced! We had a lot of fun that summer!)
   After a very nice visit we went home so Daddy could see her earrings, even though he wasn’t all that thrilled to have his baby girl get holes in her ears. He was a good sport about it though, especially since he knew how excited she was to have them done, and told Haven she looked like a princess, which she did!

Sunday, June 18, 2006

The Song Police

My Noah is so funny. For those of you that don’t know him, he really likes things to be “just so” and if they stray too far from his ideals, it drives him crazy! (I have no idea who he got that from….) He is usually pretty serious about most things, and to him it’s all black and white with not much room for any gray areas. One time while we were driving home from Mammy and Pappy’s Haven was singing “Baa Baa Black Sheep, except in her own version that went “Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full. One for the Master, one for the Dame, and one for the little boy that lives down the land“.
   I don’t know if she heard it wrong, or thought the word really was “land” but I didn’t think it was a big deal and let her sing her little heart out, whatever the words. Noah however, had all he could take of Haven's mistaken lyrics, and turned to her and said in a very loud voice “No no no Haven, it’s not “land”, it’s “LAME”! So Haven duly changed the ending , and ever since then, the little boy lives down the “lame”. So remember, when you decide to correct someone when they are making a mistake, make sure you tell them “it’s LAME”!

Sympathy For The Devil

Ciel reminds me a lot of myself at that same age, but she’s still very much her own person. While she’s fairly quiet, she loves to laugh, and enjoys the funny things in life and has a great sense of humor, getting downright silly at times. She’s very much a kid, not interested in teenager stuff, and has her head in the clouds a lot, but that’s because she’s thinking about something. She’s always thinking though, and you never quite know what she’ll say or do next. She loves to draw, and she’s very good at it, no matter what her subject is.
   A few years ago, I was meeting with her first grade teacher Mrs. Bodily, for Parent/Teacher conferences, and she was explaining to me that each of the children had decorated a folder that held their school work and tests that we would be discussing in that meeting. I saw a pile of various folders, each with different drawings like rainbows, unicorns, race cars, rockets and kittens, all drawn by a child's hand. Then she pulls out Ciel's folder, and with a strained look on her face, she hands it to me. I quickly understood why when I saw Ciel’s artwork. She had decided to draw a little devil character on the front of the folder, and had colored in huge roaring flames all around the little Satan. She had even given him a lopsided smirk on his devilish face, holding a big pitchfork in his hand, looking rather pleased to be burning for all time on the front of the folder.
   Frankly it was a very good drawing, and I even caught myself thinking how much I liked the way she had brought the flames to life with her crayon and colored pencil technique. Sadly her teacher did not share my enthusiasm for Ciel’s abilities, and haltingly tried to express her concerns to me about the serious matter of Satan and First Graders. I knew Ciel was just drawing whatever had popped into her head that day, and it was totally innocent, but nevertheless it still took some explaining, and a lot of reassurances that we had a normal home life, but Mrs. Bodily never quite looked at me, nor treated me the same ever since. Ciel is still a fantastic artist, and draws what she wants, and whatever she thinks, and I love her work! What can I say except “Bwah! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!!!!”.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Thank You Granny

While talking to Granny yesterday, she told me that 63 years ago that day (June 13, 1943) she was baptized a member of the Church. We talked a lot about what great things have been brought about in this family from that decision she made all those years ago, and the great influence she has had in so many of our lives, especially mine. I then thanked her, because I feel that I owe so much of the happiness in my life to having the Gospel in it, and without Granny’s decision to become a member, things could have been very different. I am thankful that both of my Grandmothers were such strong women and recognized the truth in the Gospel and followed the promptings of the Spirit and their hearts and went forward.
   I love hearing her tell stories from her childhood, and then as she grew older, married and began having children. When she talks about being a young mother, handling different situations with each of her children, and as a wife, what it was like for her then, I often think about my own life, and being a wife and mother, and how some things are the same for me as they were for my Granny. It’s so funny to hear her talk about my Dad as a small boy and some of the trouble he got into, my Aunts and what they were like growing up as sisters, and how my Uncle was such an active baby and toddler. I find it fascinating to hear about each of her pregnancies, labor and delivery experiences, and how things were handled when you were having a baby, and how so much has changed in maternity care (for the better in my opinion). It puts so many things into a different light as I chase my own children about, and I think about how I will one day be telling my own grandchildren stories from my own life, and what it was like for me as a young mother, and what it was like in my ”day and age”.
   So often I have turned to Granny for advice and counsel, comfort and compassion, and I am so thankful for my realtionship with her, and that I am lucky enough to have her as an example in my life. I miss her terribly, and I hope that she can either visit, or come home for good, very soon.  I count myself blessed just being her granddaughter, having her in my life, and for showing me the joy each day in being a wife and mother!

Friday, June 9, 2006

The Path Of Destruction

Gracen decided she needed to thoroughly explore the house today and left a messy trail of debris as she went! She started with some magazines and stuff in the kitchen, then moved on to the lid drawer, then to the toys in the living room, ultimately ending up back in the kitchen where she started. She flung toys, books, lids, puzzles and more all over during her busy little adventure, and was quite pleased with herself when she was done. Who would have thought she was so wicky!
I really enjoy Gracen’s love of exploring, and I am constantly amazed at her fearless attempts to be just like her big bothers and sisters. The stairs weren’t even a challenge, they were just a small obstacle standing between her and her destination, so off she went, no fear! She goes up and down them without even batting an eye! And we haven’t even begun with the climbing. She is up onto chairs, the couch, tables, beds, boxes, anything! It’s funny how quiet she is about it too, it’s like one minute she’s on the floor, then you turn around and she’s smiling at you from on top of the table. Never a dull moment! With each of my children as they grew, I was always amazed at each accomplishment, and thrilled with every achievement. I know they’re doing all of their baby learning and it’s all a part of their development, but it doesn’t stop me from thinking that their a “super genius”! They’re all so incredible and so much fun, I feel guilty sometimes because I enjoy them so much! So here’s to my amazing Gracen and her love of life!