Hugs

SJ gave me the biggest welcome when I came home from Cub Scouts the other night. I got to see what it's like for Daddy when he comes home. I was a little sad my oldest did not receive me with smiles and hugs. I'm wondering is this normal?

Amazed!

I'm homeschooling my son, VJ. Today during his math lesson he asked me, "Mommy, what is 8+7? I told him to try to figure it out in his head or if not, to use the abacus. He used it. Then he looked at it and said. It's 15. Just like 5+5+5 is 15 and 3x5 is 15. OK, so here's where I am bragging (excuse me) because he just turned 6 last month and is technically in Kindergarten. I love the way his mind works and that I get to be with him to see it in action. I never grow tired of his hunger for knowledge. It's a wonderful thing. I hope my husband will let me continue to home school him after he turns 8, but if not, I am happy to have this time with him.

Reason for December

I told my children to get one of the following books to read: The Night Before Christmas or The Grinch. I wanted to read to them and get in the holiday spirit.

My son, VJ, said, "No, I am not going to get those books. I am going to get one about Jesus. He is why we have December. We should be reading about Him."

A Child's Example

We were outside playing and LC saw a spider. She may like to play with cars and plays well with boys, but when it comes to bugs she is ALL girl. My son managed to calm her down by telling her he was there to protect her and he began to assault the bug with rocks.

He is very helpful around the house. He will see me sweeping and run to get the dust pan. He says he is striving to be more like Jesus. I know I already said this, but seriously..."What did I do to deserve such a good boy?"

Scriptures

My son, VJ, has been enjoying reading. For the last few nights he has been seen in bed with his scriptures. I gotta say I am proud of his example. He is reading them. He told me today..."I love the scriptures. I love them like I love Jesus. I love them like I love Heavenly Father. I love them like I love you, Mommy."

Baby Kisses

My little one, MK, has been kissing me lately. She kisses my nose, chin, cheeks, eyes, but it is precious (at least to me it is) because she just opens her mouth. She gets slobber all over me, but I can tell she enjoys kissing me. She laughs every time.

A Jesus Movie

My children made me so happy when they wanted to watch a church movie about Christ. They sat and watch it. I enjoyed hearing their comments and questions when watching it. I have to admit one of my favorite parts of this time was when my 22-month-old looked up and saw Jesus. She excitedly exclaimed, "Jesus!" She pointed towards the movie and said it over and over again.

Ow-e's

My son had an ow-e (is this how we spell it?) on his knee. My daughter wanted to touch it and since she is in the habit of picking scabs (thanks to her older sister who taught her this) I told her, "We don't touch them we kiss them." She leaned over to kiss it. I gave her some praise and my other daughter wanting to be told she did good went over to kiss it too. My son was enjoying the attention. She leaned over to kiss it. Her face contorted into the look of disgust and she began rubbing her hand over her lips again and again while holding her look of disgust. I made sure I gave her the attention she wanted while trying to control my laughter.

Dishes

My son came over when I was doing the dishes and asked if he could help me. I said, "Of course." Then he said the sweetest thing to me. I am very proud.

"Mommy, I am going to help you do the dishes everyday. I don't want you to have to do all the dishes by yourself."

I said, "Thank you! You are being like Jesus and helping me."

"Yes, Jesus liked to help people. He liked to help his Mommy. I want to be like Jesus."

Jesus Coming

My oldest daughter asked me if I knew when Jesus was coming. My son is always asking me this too. They really want him to come. My daughter says Jesus is going to play legos with her. I imagine if he did come and visit a little child who wanted to play legos he would make the time to do it.

Toys and Books

The best part about being a stay-at-home mother right now is getting to watch my children at play. I get to write about all the funny, cute, sweet and sometimes scary (see post about the police) things they say and do. I would be sad to think of someone else enjoying them all day (I shutter as I think my oldest will be leaving me for Kindergarten soon) and getting to hear and see all the things they do.

One of my favorite things to see is my three oldest pretend play. It's fun to see them talk for their toys, cars and stuffed animals. I hope they can always remember their childhood as a fun and happy time.

Another favorite thing to watch is my son reading to his sisters at night. A few weeks ago, I had moved his bed into his sister's room and I found him reading to his 2nd little sister (our 3rd child). I am blessed to have such wonderful children. I'm grateful for the time I can have with them. The icing on the cake is to see daddy at play with them too. I think my life can't get any better than this....well, maybe if I had a maid to clean then I would have more play time.

Family Drawing

My son told me he was going to draw a picture of our family. When he was done he came over to show it to me. He pointed out each member of our family. When he got to our recent addition, he said, "See I drew her with her face fixed." I wish he had the words to describe how he feels or thinks about what is going to happen to his sister in a few weeks. I guess I don't have the adequate vocabulary to describe how I feel either.

Looking to nurse

The baby (Child4) was looking for her food and was shaking her head left to right while opening her mouth. Her sister (Child2) saw her and said, "Mommy, the baby is going like this with her head (she imitates her) and opening her mouth like this (imitates her again) and it's funny." Then she began to laugh.

"Why is she doing this?" she asks.

"She wants to eat."

"Then you better feed her some Mama's Milk before she cries."

We truly all are mothers. My little daughter who does not like to play with dolls and prefers trucks is vigilant in caring for her baby sister.

You Are Being Like Jesus

On Thursday of this past week, I was left alone with the children in the afternoon. My 18-month-old baby was stuck in the crib. I could not pick her up because I am not allowed to pick up anything heavier than the newborn baby for 6 weeks. Yikes! She was trapped, but could not get into trouble-thank goodness! She was content playing and my daughter gave her some water. I had to send her in because I knew if I went in she would want to come out. Then would start to cry and cry for Mommy.

Hooray, for Visiting Teachers! Mine came to the rescue with some KFC. Yes!!!!!! It was yummy. She was only here for an hour, but in that hour she did so much for me. She got the baby out, feed the children, and did some laundry. I was still experiencing pain when I walked around. It felt like all my inside were gonna come out, but I will spare you the rest of the gory details. So, you can see how I was in much need of rescuing. My children were going to starve, well not really, but be hungry until Daddy came home.

As she was sorting laundry, I thought to myself..."This would be a good teaching moment for my children."

So, I asked my children, "What is Sis. [insert name] doing for us?"

My son said, "Service. She is being like Jesus."

Then he went up to her and said, "You are doing service. You are being like Jesus."

She began to cry and said, "You don't know what kind of day I had. This makes my day." My 3-year-old daughter went and gave her a hug while saying, "I lub you."

I can learn so much from this 'wee little hour', but I will leave it to you to find your own meaning. All I will say is...I'm grateful my children are learning the gospel of Jesus Christ in it's fullness.

Protector

From my husband's Aunt....

She relayed a story about my son. Last year after a family reunion, a family member asked to take the baby to their house. We said it was OK and they went down the road to the house. My son and oldest daughter stayed.

Soon my son was saying, "I need to go see where my sister is at. I don't know those people and I need to see if she is OK."

"But they are family," was the reply.

"I don't know them. I need to see how she is doing."

I love that he is such a good big brother!

Love

While watching a movie about Christ, my 5-year-old son turns to me and says, "Mommy, I just love Jesus."

Service

I was cleaning house yesterday and a sweet, dear sister from my ward came over to help me clean. My daughter asked me where she was at and I told her she was cleaning their bathroom. I asked her, "Do you know what she is doing for us? What it's called when you help someone?"

She shook her head and I told her, "She is doing service for us. Who is she being like right now?"

"Jesus. I am going to go tell her she is doing service and she is being like Jesus."

"Me too. I am going to tell her too," said her brother.

Big Brother Helper

My son loves to help. Today he finished his lunch and decided he wanted to help feed the baby since I was in the middle of a phone call. He fed her everything on her plate. He loves to help around the house doing service. He really wants to be like Jesus Christ. My 5-year-old son is such a good teacher to me.

Belly Kiss Goodnight

One night last week I asked my daughter for a kiss goodnight. She said, "No, I just want to give the baby girl in your tummy a kiss." She pulled my shirt up and kiss my belly. "See, Mommy, she is happy now and she kissed me back." What a sweetie! She is excited about having a new baby in the house.

Lego Architecture

My son made this one day and asked me if I knew what it was. I saw it and thought it looked like a Temple. He said I was right, but which one? I thought it was the SLC Temple in Utah, but it is the D.C. temple. I need to find white legos.