Rachel's Food Prayer

Rachel can now say a prayer when she is told what to say. This morning, she was asked to say the breakfast prayer. I said, "Say, Heavenly Father." Rachel said, "Hey Fa". I said, "Thank thee." Rachel said, "Tane ee" I said, " for food." Rachel said, "Foo." I said "Bless." Rachel said, "Bess." I said "Food." Rachel said, "Baby." I said, "And food." Rachel said, "And babies." I said, "and bless the food too." Rachel said, "and bess babies too." I then had her close the prayer, and we all laughed and laughed. She is so funny and stubborn!!!! Our breakfast didn't exactly get blessed, but all of you out there with babies, Rachel has blessed them today.

My Beauty

Isn't Ruth just absolutely beautiful? And I am sure that I am not bragging, because she does not look a thing like me.

Afternoon Thunderstorm

More Cute Anya Stuff

When we had the missionaries come give a lesson they asked the kids some questions after their presentation. Johnny, Ruth, and Kate were eagerly giving their answers and excited for the attention. Anya sat on my lap and watched attentively. She then spat out her pacifier and began cooing excitedly at the missionaries. I love how eager Anya is to be doing what the other kids are doing.

Johnny's Missionary Work

I forgot to write this, but we had the missionaries give us a presentation on Preach My Gospel the other day and I remembered that I wanted to write this. The second to last day of school, last Tuesday, Johnny had two of his friends over before school. After they played here some, I took them all to McDonald's Playplace for lunch and then to school. On the way to school Johnny said to his friends, "Do you know about the Book of Mormon?" They both said that they had heard of it, but that they had not read it. Johnny then said, "Well, if you don't read The Book of Mormon every day you can not go to Heaven." Then Johnny added, "My parents read the Book of Mormon to me everyday so that I can go to Heaven."

Tagged By Becca

I will do this because it cuts and pastes easily from Becca's Blog.

10 years ago today....

• I had been married just under a year, and Little Ruthy was almost 2 months old. We were still living with the Robertson's, but I was eagerly awaiting our move to Ann Arbor, MI. The time just after we moved to Ann Arbor and settled into our own place is just about my favorite time of my whole life. I loved the time I had to do whatever I wanted. Life was easy and free and uncomplicated.
  

5 things on my To DO list today....
1. Play trains with Adam
2.Do a lot of Laundry
3. Make a lot of food and do all of the clean up.
4. Family Home Evening
5. Buy a battery for the phone

Snacks I enjoy....

• Chocolate!!!! Nothing Else is worth the calories.
  

Things I would do if I suddenly became a billionaire...

• Buy a house with cash for all of my family members, and put the rest in a trust fund for all of my kids for a college education.
  

3 Bad Habits:

• Yelling across the house
  
• Biting my finger when I am frustrated
  
• Saying whatever off the topic thing comes to my mind
  

Jobs I've had:

• Phone survey person
  
• Waitress and Chamber Maid
  
• Camp Counselor and Group Home Attendent
  

Five Things people don't know about me:

• I was a real dork in high school.
  
• John was afraid I would be a bad wife, so he had all of his family interview me to make sure they didn't think he was making a big mistake. I agreed with him that he is defini
  
• I used to sneak and buy and eat junk food when John and I were first married because John said we could not afford junk food. (Luckily it was a little enough that I neither gained weight nor made it possible for John to figure out by how much money was being spent. )
  
• I really like the song "Take me home, Country Roads"
  
• I pray that when we are resurrected John will be taller than me and that my nose will be smaller and without that hideous bump.
  

Some Things I've Learned From Being a Parent

1. Your kids will not tell any lies until they can talk.
2. Two year olds will try and hide their mistakes, but not very successfully.
   
3. It is really hard not to get mad over spilled milk especially when it is the third time that day, or you have just spent 40 minutes washing the floors.
4. All diapers leak, especially when you don't remember to change them until they do.
5. All parents will do things they thought they never would-- like smelling some one else's bottom on a regular basis.
6. Dinner conversations with your children will often involve feces and vomit. But that is okay, because parents are good at sneaking in more food and tastier food once the kids are in bed.
7. Mothers learn to eat things their kids don't like just so they don't have to share. Jalapeno peppers are good on almost anything.
8. There must be a rule given to children in Heaven that says: Whenever your parents have to get up extra early be sure to be more difficult about going to bed and wake up three or four times in the middle of the night.
9. Don't ever ask your kids where they want to go out to eat unless you already want to eat at McDonald's.
10. Kids will sleep in every day that they have to get up early, but they will have no problem getting up at 6:50 Saturday morning to make it in time for 7am cartoons.

Anya

Tonight I was laying in my bed with my legs propped up with Anya using my legs as a back rest. Kate was laying beside me reading to me. I was not paying any attention to Anya, because I was watching the words as Kate read. Anya kept falling off my legs. When I finally decided to look and see why, I noticed that she was staring at my pillow sham. So I laid her down on her stomach in front of the pillow so she could get a better look at the pattern. Anya stared at it for a while and then rolled over onto her back and began fussing. I was still trying to pay attention to Kate's reading so instead of leaning over to Anya's mouth I stayed in my same position and placed her pacifier in her hand. As soon as Anya felt it with her hand she started cooing. Then she lifted it up, looked at it, and cooed some more. Anya just talked to her pacifier for a few minutes before putting it up to her mouth. I never did see if she got it into her mouth, but I just loved hearing her talk so sweetly to her pacifier. She is just a sweet and pretty baby. I love my little Anya. I am really glad that she is here with us.

Bits About Adam

Adam loves cars. Whenever I go out with just Adam, I let him sit up in the front with me. Every time Adam sits in the front seat he watches me drive very carefully. Then he will ask me a bunch of questions like, "If you put your foot on that peddle, will that make the car go?" or "what is that button for?" "Why do you make that light go on and off?" Adam seems to understand about the gas and the brake peddles, and about steering the car. I don't think that Ruth and Kate even know there are foot peddles. He is also very fascinated with all of the buttons. Whenever he has an opportunity, Adam will get into the front of the car and push all the buttons and turn all of the knobs. We always have to remember to check the headlights after Adam has played in the car. Once the battery went dead from Adam's button pushing. Occasionally, and this is usually on temple trips, John or I will wonder why the other has the heat on in the car when it is 80 degrees outside or the air conditioning when it is 50 degrees outside. Sometimes we will be uncomfortable for some time until one of us speaks up and we discover that neither of us have that weird of preferences and that it was just Adam pushing buttons and turning knobs.

A few days ago Adam told me that he was hungry. I asked him what he wanted to eat, and Adam said, "Grasshoppers." I was rather taken back, but thinking that maybe he was remembering John the Baptist, I asked, "And honey too?" Adam said, "Sure." Then yesterday when I was writing the grocery list and thinking about what to buy, I realized that Adam probably meant the mint E.L. Fudge cookies called Grasshoppers. I just thought that this was pretty funny.

Adam loves his ears!! When Adam is tired he will suck his finger and hold his ear. When things get too loud for Adam, or he does not like what you are telling him, he will pull the top part of his ear into the hole to plug his ears. It is just the funniest thing. I love Adam's ears too. They are just so pointed and stick out so far. I think they are cute. Adam will also try to hold other people's ears. But most people will not let him.

Adam loves Rachel. he is always calling for her and asking her to play with him. When he does not know where Rachel is at, he will come and get me and tell me that he can not find Rachel. Adam also is really bad about taking away whatever Rachel is playing with. He has always seemed to think that whatever Rachel had or owned actually belonged to him and he had a right to it. Rachel does not agree to this anymore. So we get a lot of screaming. I am glad to know, though, that after all of the screams, they really do love each other and look after each other.

One more thing, Adam named one of the kittens, Boy. Adam loves boy, and he loves Meg, Boy's mother. I will often find Adam in the garage cuddling boy, or out on the grass holding Meg. I must say, I love my little Adam.

Food

This year I decided we would eat healthier. Well, no one else in my family has agreed. So when I went grocery shopping yesterday I gave in. I bought a lot of junk food and only a few fruits and vegetables. When I came home I told John the results of my trip. To my surprise, he did not seem happy. Then he said, I did not want you to buy junk food, I just did not want to eat a lot more vegetables. I thought that would keep the food budget down. Well, I had to laugh. I responded, "John, if I neither buy junk food nor health food we would just be hungry." A few minutes later when I was putting the groceries away, John looked through what I had bought. He said, "This is what you bought?" in a very excited voice. Then with even more enthusiasm he said, "I love those! Thank you, Diane."

My Sister Has A Baby

My sister, Monika, and her son, Tommy, came to visit us last week. We had a lot of fun. I loved seeing my sister being a mother. She is so cute and dotes on her little boy all day long. Tommy is a sweet little baby. He keeps Monika on her toes. That kid eats and poops every hour of the day. But Monika is determined to do what it takes to keep little Tommy happy. Monika was usually relieved when he went to sleep, but sure enough one of my kids would wake him up 10 minutes later. Poor Mo. But we enjoyed having Monika come, and I think that while Monika didn't have the help she usually gets with Tommy, she was glad to have a cook. The one thing that Monika and I both decided was that twins would be impossible!!!! I never had much time to hold Tommy, and Monika never had much time to hold Anya. At the end of the visit Monika said, "Now you know why I am so hungry and tired all the time." I had to laugh. I have has 6 babies and thankfully one at a time.

A New Game

Ruth, Kate, and Johnny have made up the best game ever. They called it "The Lazy Game". The only rule is you have to be lazy when it is your turn. So which ever person is taking their turn the other players bring the lazy person, candy, and the nintendo ds or other requests like a book or crayons and paper. Then the lazy person gets to sit down with their feet up, play nintendo, read, or draw, and eat candy. After that person finishes a few Mario Kart races or pictures etc. the next person takes their turn being lazy. I think I would like to play that game some time.

Big Red Boots

Don't You Think Big Red Boots Are the Greatest?

They Look Real Snazzy And Cool!

And Rachel Just Loves Them!!!

Flowers

I have been working with our front flower beds quite a bit for the last two years, and this year they are finally looking really beautiful. Last year, I transplanted a lot of flowers, and we really didn't get many blooms. I also put in several rose bushes fall of 2006, and this is the first year that they are really filling out and producing well. I was worried that my vision was going to end up as a lot of dead plants. But I guess it just takes a couple of years for the flowers to establish. When the Iris's are finished blooming the daylillies in front and the daisies behind the iris's will start blooming. We will have to keep a lot of water on the roses for them to be able to endure the hot summer, but they will bloom through October if we do. Anyway, I am very pleased, and isn't it lovely to have spring at last!!
















Here are a lot of our roses.

Something From Ruth

Ruth came up to me holding some magnetics. She put two ends together with the same charge and said, "Mom, I know you can't see it, but there is an invisible force field here."

Cute

John, my husband, asked if I thought we could keep all four of our new kittens.

A Time To Sing

Today all through the Sacrament Rachel was very sweetly singing, "Row, Row, Row your boat". When we told her not to sing she would stop singing and say, "No. Stop it. I sing. I sing." Then she would continue singing. It was very sweet even though it did not happen during the most appropriate time.

The Perfect Punishment

Johnny came to John, and later to me, and told us that he knew what we should do to punish him when he is bad. Johnny said that we should make him play Zelda until he gets through to the next task. Johnny has again and again, despite our laughter, told us that it is really a good punishment because he is at a spot where he is stuck and so that would be hard for him. Of course Johnny is still asking permission to play Zelda everyday. I can imagine trying this out. Johnny would be playing for an hour and I would say, "It is time to get ready for school," and Johnny would say, "I can't, I haven't killed the boss yet, so I have not finished my punishment." Would he then skip school to make sure he was all the way punished?

Flirting Already

When we get big rain storms, the park across the street floods. A lot of the neighborhood kids come in swimsuits and splash around in the water and the mud. We have been having a lot of big thunderstorms, so the park has been very flooded. In fact, I have never seen it so badly flooded. I took all of the kids to swim there the last two afternoons. Both times there have been a lot of other kids there. Today, I did not have any other parents to talk to, so I just watched my children. To my big surprise, Ruth and Kate were flirting very thoroughly with the boys there. Kate would even flip her hair back and prance around them. Ruth started talking to a boy about a crush Kate had on a boy once. Then she started chanting, "Kate and Chance sitting in a tree." But Ruth was doing this in an "I want attention voice." Again to my surprise, the boys seemed to flirt back in a boyish flirt sort of way. One boy kept coming up to them and asking them questions like their grades and ages. I am guessing they gave the correct answers because then he asked them to have crawling races through the water. Kate started crawling and then she got up quickly, ran to the finishing line and called out in a laughing, giddy voice, "I'm the winner! I'm the winner!" Ruth said, "But you cheated." Kate replied, "It was just a joke," and the boy said, "It was funny." Then Ruth went and started talking and building things with another boy. They reminded me of my Ricks College years with all the girls panning for the boys attention. Ruth, I think, behaved more like I did, and Kate more like most of the girls I knew. One good difference was that while I think Ruth and Kate played off each other for the boys attention, they didn't get upset with each other at all. Still, I can't believe they are flirting already!!!! And, I am not looking forward to three years down the road when they start flirting for more than just attention. I guess it all starts now.

Dinner Conversations

I think 50% of our dinner time conversations are about cartoons and kid movies.

Johnny and Alyssa

John went on a feild trip with Johnny today and got to see Alyssa, one of Johnny's good friends. John snuck a few of these pictures. (Johnny may be embarrassed by them.) John said that when Johnny came onto the bus Alyssa got up from the seat she was in, sat down right next to Johnny, wrapped both of her arms around him, and then she held his hand. Johnny has always said that Alyssa is one of his best friends along with Dylan from kindergarten, and Joseph from church. Ruth and Kate have always teased Johnny that he has a girlfriend. Johnny has always said that Alyssa is only his friend. But recently, Johnny has begun saying that Alyssa is not his girlfriend, even though she is the girl that he is going to marry.

A couple of days ago, while playing Zelda, Johnny had a girl with his Zelda guy. Ruth and Kate said Johnny has a girlfriend that he is taking on his trip with him. Johnny turned red and said, "No, I am only taking her to the Temple." Then we all teased him more. His Zelda guy was really taking this girl to a Zelda temple to help his Zelda guy find out something to help Johnny win the game. But then we all started teasing Johnny about taking Alyssa to the Temple. Johnny did not deny that those were his intentions.




Since Johnny is so competitive, he would probably like Jay to see these to let him know that he is The Champ with the girls as well. And Johnny is only in kindergarten.

Kate's Testimony

Today in Fast and Testimony meeting Kate bore her testimony. I was in the mother's room with the baby at the time, so I actually got to hear the whole thing very clearly, even though I did not get to see her. Kate began, "I'd like to bear my testimony. I know the church is true." Kate then said that she is glad that she has a testimony and knows the church is true. Then Kate began, "When I was a little girl I used to say my prayers really fast, you know, so I could get into bed quickly." Then Kate said that now that she is not a little girl she realized that she should say longer prayers. Kate said that when you pray you are actually talking to Heavenly Father and isn't that neat. You are talking to a real person. She said that now she is trying to really talk to Heavenly Father when she says her prayers. I did not know that Kate felt or thought those things. I am so glad that she bore her testimony and I could hear what she is thinking and feeling.

After Sacrament Meeting I had a lot of people come up to me and tell me how wonderful Kate's testimony was. I thought that it was wonderful. I think that Kate did a good job and that she even helped the grown ups by bringing to mind what prayer really is. The comment that I most enjoyed was Sister Mickey Cessna. She said, "It was so funny. This little girl came up and with all confidence said, 'When I was a little girl..', and I looked up at her and her nose was barely sticking over the podium." I wished that I could have seen her. But I am grateful that I got to hear my Kate loud and clear without having to say, "Be quiet. I want to listen to Kate."

Rachel at Breakfast

I have been making my family eat more healthy food, just by the fact that I am only providing healthy food at most of the meals. I have received a lot of criticism for this, but I have stuck it out none the less. Yesterday I bought Lucky Charms, because I thought that if they actually ate the cereal part as well as the marshmallow part then Lucky Charms is about as healthy as Kicks. This morning Rachel ate all of her marshmallows out of her cereal and asked me for more. I said not until she ate the cereal part of her cereal. Rachel said, "I want ask Dad." So I let her ask Dad for more cereal. I think Rachel wanted to ask Dad, because she knows that Dad has been the biggest complainer when I provide healthy food, and the most complimentary when I provide junk food. I actually thought Dad would tell Rachel yes because he feels like her desire for more sugar and sweets is legitimate. But Dad said no and Rachel declared that she was done.