Seen and Heard

From Warners mouth-

1."Oh WOW! Oh WOW!" (Gasp. . .) "WOW!!!" (At all the Christmas lights in the neighborhood, he seriously gets so loud and excited).

2."Dandy, dandy dandy!!" (Ever since we made that darn gingerbread house all he wants and asks for all day long is dandy! Dandy!

3."Ball, ball, ball, ball". Every time he sees a tomatoe, every time he sees a christmas ornament that is circular, everytime he sees anything round. . . "Ball, ball, ball!" 

From Olivia's mouth-

1. "Hey mom! Guess what?"

me- "What Liv?"

Liv- "Someday I'm going to turn into an animal!"

me- "What?"

Liv "Yea"

me- "What kind of animal Liv?"

Liv, long pause,- "Hm. I don't know" 

Sometimes I really wonder what is going through that little child's creative head. 

2. The other day I was out running errands, Warner was asleep, and Olivia was inside in her jammies, sitting at our computer watching the screen saver pictures go by. She walked out to the garage where Jaron was painting base boards and said "Hey Dad, I'm all alone in there, and your alone out here, so I decided to come out here so that we wouldn't be alone anymore". She then sat and watched him for two hours, as he painted away. After a few hours he said "Liv, you better go hop in bet sweetie". Then she said, "But Dad, then you'll be all alone".  He couldn't resist, and she was still awake at 9:30 when I got home. I thought her cause worthy of staying up late.

3. This morning at 5:00am or maybe it was earlier, I don't really recall, Olivia snuck in to our bedroom quietly, walked around to Jaron's side of the bed and whispered "Hey Dad, I need a space".  So, he scooted over and let her in.  A few hours later when he was up and eating breakfast she popped out of bed and said "I need to go say goodbye to Dad before he leaves!". She quickly ran downstairs. Then, a few minutes later I see Jaron carrying her upstairs to put her back into bed, because it was still dark outside.  He went to lay her down on my side of the bed, but she said "No, I need to go on the other side, cause its more snuggly".

Merry Christmas everyone and Happy New Year. May your holiday be merry and bright!

 

My thoughts on gingerbread houses

Only embark in this activity if you either want to fight your kids on not eating hordes of candy, or give in and let them eat so much candy that there is nothing left to decorate with and they have belly aches.

And don't decide to do this activity before dinner, because I can almost guarantee they won't be wanting any dinner (I speak from experience).

The Moody One.

Today at the dinner table Liv was feeling a little moody. Probably because I had to wake her up from her nap, which would make me moody too. Well here are some things that I heard come out of her little grumpy mouth at the dinner table.

While eating, Warner was watching our screen saver on our computer. As each picture goes by he excitedly exclaims the name of whoever he recognizes in the photos. "Momma!" "Daddy!" "Lia". So, up pops a picture of Liv, and as expected, and as usual he exclaims "Lia". Olivia looks up at him from her bowl of soup which she had quietly been eating and says "Warner!", with a soft, but very firm tone to her voice, "My name is O-l-i-v-i-a. Not Leea. Say it. Say O-l-i-v-i-a". Warner- "O-ee-aa". Liv-"That's fine".

Then a few minutes more of no sound exept Warner eating his soup quite loudly go by. And finally Liv looks up and says "Warner, chew with your mouth closed! Cause when your mouth is open it makes smacking". Warner simply blinked and continued on slurping up his soup while trying to chew his toast at the same time, mouth open. She gave up and continued eating her soup but occasionally I could see her glancing up at him to shoot him an evil eye.

Ah. This made me cry.

Nightly Rituals

You know I've been nauseous and tired and haven't really felt like posting, because I really feel like I have nothing to post about. Everyday lately has just been getting by as best I can. Kids are barely fed. Dishes are barely done. House is semi-clean, ok a little less than semi clean. I'm barely presentable. No exciting trips to museums, no fun outings to parks, just plain getting by at home lately. Tonight Jaron is at basketball and darn it I just wanted to post a blog about my kids cause its been so long. So why not post about everyday, nothing out of the ordinary life, because it really is quite beautiful, even in its simplicity.

Here is some documentation of our Nightly Rituals:
1. Wrestling matches (Jaron would be right in the middle on a true ordinary night, but tonight is B-Ball)

2. Scripture read and prayers of course, and night night tuck in.

Liv likes to sleep with three fuzzy blankets on top of her normal sheet and quilt. And surrounding her are what she refers to as "Her family". Kitty, pink flamingo, dog, and other dog. She arranges them just so, and then Warner usually comes along and messes it up, wanting more wrestling, which upsets her dearly until she gets involved in smashing him, and then she's happy again.

Turn on Suzuki book 1, ask Liv if she wants to tell me anything, which of course she does ("Lizabree's dad died mom")(Lizabree is her make believe friend) and night night Liv.

Now Warner's turn.
Immediately he walks to his room and grabs on to his crib bars. Ever since Dad taught him how he likes to show off his climbing skills. He patiently waits to start climbing until he sees that I've entered the room.


I love the little proud look on his face when he gets up. "Look mom, look at me". Such a doll.
Then I shut off the light. He repeats what I say as he says a high pitched soft little prayer, and then we sing a song, or two or three, because at the end of each song he says "Gen gen". Again again. It's so hard to say no to this boy I tell you.

Ah I love these kid-lets. They have been so good to me since I have been pregnant. Letting me lay in bed a little longer than normal in the mornings with out bothering me too much, and being patient with my lack of energy. I'm so grateful for them.

The Passing of a Wonderful Man

Two weeks ago I got a phone call from my brother informing me that this most wonderful man had passed away. Not long after the phone call we made it out to Utah to join with other members of my family in celebrating and acknowledging the life of Bill Jordan Pope. I've wanted to blog about it for sometime, but haven't really had the words to say it. Here are some of my thoughts that I would like to jot down.

I didn't know that Grandpa followed a prompting to leave a Stake conference while he was Stake president (which he never did) to fly out to California to be with my mom, who went into labor the day after he arrived (six weeks early with my little sister who was born with down syndrome). What a loving and tender mercy of the Lord, to follow that prompting so that he could be there for his daughter during what would probably be one of the hardest trials her and my dad would experience.

I also loved the memory shared at the funeral of my mom's family on a boating trip, and Grandma crying about losing her wedding ring in the water. My grandpa simply said "Margaret, don't cry over something that doesn't effect your salvation, we can get you another ring". I've thought about that saying a lot since then.

My grandpa was smart. He was inventive and scientifically minded. He had the IQ of a genius and received many honors in his life, but that is not what was talked about at his funeral, nor what people will most remember him for. What he will most be remembered for is his compassionate heart, his serving hands, and his immensely nurturing and loving spirit. My grandpa adopted people into his loving arms from all walks of life. He judged no one, and treated every one like they were important to him. In fact, all of us grand kids joke that we felt like we were Grandpa's favorite, but the truth is, he made everyone feel that way. But I really know I was his favorite. ;)

I love knowing that I will see him again. I love knowing that he can't feel any pain or stress anymore. I love knowing that when times get rough he's probably there on the other side pulling strings for me and praying his heart out.

More than anything the feeling that I got when I first heard that my grandpa might not make it, was an overwhelming sense of gratitude that I am the granddaughter of Bill Jordan Pope, and that fact will influence mine and my children's lives forever.

A Tea Party for the Little Ladies

Complete with petite fours, sparkly cupcakes, party favors, eloquent fans, tea cups (found at value village for 69c), tissue paper hats, and beautiful young ladies. 

Food served: mini sandwiches, grapes, and pretzels. Games Played: Pass the Parcel, and Hulabaloo. These were some of the most eloquent little girls I have ever seen "Will you please pass the grapes Jane?" "Yes I will, Will you please pass the tea?" They were so cute. I love having a girl!