Birds and Birthdays

Bri talked Grandma into getting her own cake on Mal's birthday.

Mallorie turned 9!

 

This is what he does when you ask him to smile for a picture!

 

 

....and lost a tooth!

 

Just another day down on the farm!

Back to bloggin'

I've been away for far too long. I have yet again ventured into the art of potty training, and looked to this old blog to see my past experiences. Wow, it was like memory lane! I realized I needed to pick this back up. To jump right in, Jadon, our son which I have not blogged about yet who's two, said to me today as I was cooking lunch, "What chu cookin'? Chicken....and bubbles?" That struck my funny bone. He was trying to guess what I was cooking by observation. He clearly saw the chicken in the oven, and the spaghetti boiling in a pot on the stove. At a rolling boil, it would appear to a two-year- old that mommy was cooking bubbles. Haha! Man, I love those moments. The moments when you realize how innocent they really are.

 

  Then there's my sweet Brianna. Yesterday we inadvertently had a mommy daughter day. I was able to do some things with her that she has been wanting to do with me. You might be amazed at what those things were: Helping cook a meal, sweep and mop our school room, decorate with school posters, and she even took out the trash. It was nice to just spend some special time with her. Oh, and she came up with a poem, too. For Mallorie, since it's almost her birthday. Here it is: "I'm sorry Mallorie, I wish you could stay, But when you turn thirty, You'll be moving away." Hahaha! I guess she's planning ahead. And I guess Mal will be here until she's thirty. And apparently Bri will still be here, too. It is entirely possible these days, but there was also so much innocence in her words. Mal got a kick out of it anyway.

Mallorie is about to be nine, and growing into a smart and talented young lady. When I think about the time period when she was a baby and little girl, it just seems like such a different life we were living; a different time period. Mallorie was our first child, and our hardest. She really helped mold me into the woman I am today. I thought I wasn't going to get through a lot of what we went through, but I did. We did. And here we are. Not perfect and loving it. Just while trying to do this small post, I have had to dispel arguments and stake my claim on the focus of my attention. So, we bloggers can keep a lot of the negative things to ourselves, and remember what gets us through. The beauty of why I am wanting to blog again!

 



 

 

*cricket noises*

...um...hello out there?

Real dough, play dough, and my flower girls.

Homeschool playgroup, after making mini-pizzas from biscuit dough, and having their faces painted! Sweet kids!

I made the kids some homemade play dough out of flour, salt, and water! Very fun! Mal is showing off her "Frosty the snowman"

Bri's famous head tilt. I think she knows it's cute.

Frosty and a beautiful smile.

She couldn't stay as still. Bri's blurred face and her Frosty ;)

Famous head tilt again, and Mal picking flowers.

I thought they were so cute out there picking flowers together, I had to run in and get the camera!

I have no idea...looks like the cover of someone's album, I can see it now, band name: Raising Dandelions.

Maybe I'm biased....

....but these girls seem photogenic to me; even if they weren't!...but they are. ;0)

"I'm gonna getcha!"



*sigh* A picture says a thousand words. Priceless.

 Can I just say that I love staying home with my girls. I am getting to know them now more than ever. They are such sweet kids. Mallorie can read most of the words in the scriptures when we read together. And she surprised me yesterday, having remembered stories and meanings behind them, and where the pictures were and in what order in the book before we turned to them. Wow. It was a learning moment for me. And the other homeschool moms have taught me an important lesson, just by their examples: Just breathe. Don't overload children with things, just teach by the spirit; things both spiritual AND TEMPORAL. Love it. It is building a mutual respect between the girls and I. Who could ask for more.

Turning 6

This year we had Mallorie's birthday party at Michael's craft store. You could pick out what you wanted the kids to do, so we picked bracelet making and face painting. The bracelets turned out to be a little more intracate than some of the kids, including Mallorie, could stay interested in:) I think they all liked having their faces painted and enjoyed themselves for the most part. Here are some pictures:


Mallorie and friends starting their bracelets.



Still workin'....

Mal with her face painted!

"Yummy!"

Everyone was excited to help!

Had to show this one...Bri, with her cupcake mustache and trying to get in the middle of present heaven!



Here's how the cupcake cake turned out! I was happy with it. *And as you can see, I broke down and got pink for the edge and black for her hair*

 All in all, Mallorie had a great birthday thanks to new friends, grandparents, and{hopefully} her "wonderful" parents who put alot of time and effort into it!!! For real though, she had a great time thanks to all who helped celebrate her birthday.

Hope being 6 is great Mal! I still owe you your birthday spankings, though!



Gettin' crafty!

We have been watching way too much T.V. around here! When I need to fill in down time, that is what bonds the time together...the boob tube. I try to keep these kids, and myself, going all day with something constructive, but alas we succumb to iCarly, The Berenstain Bears, or some other DVD that screams "I'll capture your attention and pass the time!"

I was thinking the other day about that. Why do I try to pass the time?! I want time to slow down, really. I need to find, for myself and my entire family, something that helps us enjoy the time we have and not be bored or on the contrary overly extended. The internet and fb capture alot of my time, too. Limiting myself to checking up on fb to once a day is plenty, I'm sure; I digress. I wondered, do I really know my kids, I mean really know them? I want to.

T-I-M-E. Not passing time, but spending time. It's weird how you can live with people, and get so used to it that you forget how special the are, and what they hold inside that you have no idea about because you've become complacent.

Yesterday, we did a craft together, and it's what started me thinking of this. I really had all intentions of just blogging about the craft, but it meant so much more to me than that.

We thought it turned out pretty cute *thanks G-ma Stansel*. I hope I can learn how to relax more and spend quality time with them while they are young, especially. Maybe they will think I know something when they become teenagers. That may be wishful thinking though. Mallorie already thinks she knows more so who knows.

Mallorie also received a birthday package today! She and Bri were pretty excited!

After taking all the clothes out, she decides to try them on!

And, the gummy bears must have melted somewhere along the way.

"Look, mama, they're one big gummy glob!"

"That won't stop me!"