A Day in the Life...

Our kids are blessed enough to have a babysitter who takes them on fun trips.  This week they went to Thanksgiving Point.  It's been so warm and beautiful outside!  While sitting in my closed, windowless office and getting pics on my phone was a little sad and made me long for home, I was really grateful they could go and happy to see smiling faces.  Micah's newest way to pose for pictures is to tilt her head.  It's cute but sometimes I want to just straighten her out! I'm not sure what Copper's doing here, but she's having a ball!  And in the background is surrogate big-brother Ethan.  What a ham.  Her "smile" for pictures is so funny and cute! Although, I admit I like her natural smile a little more...

Copper prays nightly that she (and others) will be good and kind. Usually the phrase, "Help us be good" is repeated off and on during the prayer five or six times.  She prays that she can turn five years old because she's so very anxious to be in school.  She gives herself homework, and tells herself she can't play until it's done.  She dresses up in fancy clothes and struts around in stores because there can't possibly be anyone cuter.  And she's right.  Lately she wants more and more independence and chances to practice new things..  This week she made her own sandwich... peanut butter, ham, saltine, and cheez-its.  Needless to say, one bite later was enough.  We had a bit of a talk about what foods may or may not go together, taste wise. I think she understood. It's funny how each of my kids has their own place in my heart.  I love them the same but differently.  With Copper, I will always respect her as my first; ther...

Some of the best kid conversations at home happen with Kota.  My favorites: Each night at dinner Kota says, "Happy or Sad Day?"  We play this conversation game at the dinner table where everyone takes a turn talking about if their day was happy or sad.  Dakota LOVES it.  When it's her turn, she Always says, "I had happy day."  When asked why, we hear, "Because I love mom."  It's pretty dang sweet and quite endearing.  She hams it up with a tilted head and hands on her cheeks.  If she could bat her eyes I'm sure she would.  She does this all the time too, I love it:  Me: Dakota, love you. Her: Nope I love you more. Me: No... Her: (yelling) No I love you the most! Dakota is a sponge.  She repeats everything she hears.  I am not ashamed to say TV is a frequent visitor in our home. (I call it sanity).  Thanks to LeapFrog shows, Dakota knows her alphabet, numbers, shapes, and most colors.  She lear...

Oh Micah...  The other night we asked the kids to clear the table after dinner.  Micah frequently refuses to help and is usually not interested at all. She often just quietly wanders away, unnoticed. But the other night we found she had helped in her own little way... by putting green beans and a sippie cup lid in baggies and hanging them on the fridge. Tim found it  little later. It's so funny and so Micah. Needless to say, it's still there. I often find her stamp of "I was here." Like when I pulled out the bowl to our wheat grinder to find trash, an old waffle, regurgitated candy, tea cups, and toys.  Or when she had craft time at my mom's.  She was supposed to make a snowman out of marshmallows.  She glued her noodle dinner to it. Micah loves the closet in the master bedroom.  She can now reach Tim's ties and struts around in them.  She can also reach the bars of soap he uses, breaks open the box, and builds towers o...

Dakota: Copper... come here! (Sounds like 'com air') Copper: What? Dakota: I peed a lot.  On mom's bed. Copper: Kota, that's gross. Dakota: Yea.  Pee You!

Praying... Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for our day. Please help us be good. Please help us be kind. Please help other people be kind. Please help us be good. Please help us get a puppy. Please help that I will be 5 years old. Please help I can go to kindergarten. Please help us be good. Jesus Christ, Amen.

It's Monday... wacky dinner night...