Storytime

Up dog

Ryan brought home a joke from work the other day and was so excited to try it out on the boys. It goes like this:

The first person says: "Man, it smells like up dog in here."

Then the other person responds: "What's up dog?"

The boys thought it was so clever and funny. They tried it on each other even after they knew the punchline and they would laugh and laugh. They tried it on Grandpa and all the neighbors. It was the best joke to hit our house since either of them were born.

So, today we were in the van coming home from errands and Tyler turned to Olivia and said, "I think it smells like up dog in here." She very matter of factly responded, "Me too." I wonder what she was smelling that she was calling 'up dog'.

The pot calling the kettle black

Following tradition, Tyler got new shoes at the beginning of the school year. He got nice shoes that were a reliable brand. Tyler wore through his first pair, and his second pair and a few weeks ago, finally got his third pair of shoes during this school year.

Carter also got new shoes at the beginning of the school year. Unlike Tyler, he has kept the same pair of shoes. They are starting to look a bit worn and his shoelaces are beat up from mistreatment. A few mornings ago, he came to me with one of his shoes and said that he felt something poking his foot. He handed me the shoe and it was apparent that the shoe was starting to break down from months of wear on an eight year old foot. We concluded that it was time to get him new shoes but that he would have to wear these shoes until we could arrange a time to go shoe shopping.

Tyler, who was watching the conversation, looked at him and said, "Maybe you should take better care of your shoes."

Dreaming of a white Christmas

Olivia has been asking me when we it will be Christmas again. I have reviewed the list of birthdays and holidays to try to give her a timeline, yet she still proves to be anxious for the holidays to return.

And why shouldn't she? We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We had a lot of time together inside because it snowed almost everyday for the ten days before Christmas. We were able to spend time with our dad and our brothers playing games and building snowmen and it all came to a climax on Christmas with some great presents from Santa.

Yesterday, we woke up to snow. It was beautiful because it was not sticking to the roads but it was sticking to the lawns. It fell for most of the day.

When Olivia woke up, she excitedly announced, "Mom, it's the holidays!!!"

Then she spent the better part of the day singing, "It's a jolly, jolly Christmas. It's the best time of the year."

We only have eleven more months to go. Keep singing!!!

Courage

Tyler has been studying Martin Luther King, Jr. in school for the past week. He has come home each night willing to share everything that he has learned. He has been a very good student and has reminded us that we are very lucky to live in a time when people are more tolerant of each other.

His teacher, Ms. Albert, sends home a paper periodically to tell the parents what the kids have been learning. This week it was all about Martin Luther King, Jr., of course. She asked the kids what they had learned about fear and courage through the study of Dr. King and then she published the answers.

She asked Tyler: "What does fear have to do with courage?" Tyler wisely answered: "When you're brave and you stand up for yourself you have courage. Even if someone is laughing at you, you still feel like you have courage. You have to have lots of courage so you can not have fear, then you can lead other people to do what's right."

Audrey is eight months old!!!

Audrey waves Bye-Bye

This is one of the new tricks that Audrey has learned.

Spreading honey

Olivia has gotten into the habit of calling everybody "honey". We first noticed it when she had a friend over and I heard her calling him "honey". I thought they were playing house. She was the "mom", he was "honey", or so she told me. How cute that she had picked up on a frequently used term of endearment.

I then heard her using it in an angry tone with the same friend and I knew she wasn't just playing house anymore. As time has progressed, we have concluded that she thinks "honey" is what you call everyone. We have even started calling her "honey" instead of Olivia.

Every morning, we watch Jace for about an hour until his bus arrives so that his mom can get to work. Today when they arrived to drop him off, Anne, his mom, said, "If he calls you 'honey', just disregard it. It is a new development and we don't know where he picked it up." I just smiled and nodded. The world needs a little more "honey".

Tyler's New and Improved Smile!

Tyler ended his first round of orthodontics yesterday when he had his expander appliance taken out. We are amazed at the transformation. He is even more handsome than he was before.

BEFORE

AFTER

The faith of a child

At the beginning of the school year, Carter and Tyler decided to participate in an after school activity called DestiNation ImagiNation. It is a great creative outlet. They have been working on skits and problem solving all school year in preparation for a competition. The parents have been told that they can listen to the students' ideas but they are not to give any input. This is to be based on the children's ideas completely. Tyler is taking part in a pirate story and Carter is the "lead mouse" in his skit. They have been very excited throughout the process.

Today I discovered that the competition is on a Sunday in March. We have always taught our children that Sunday is a special day that is set apart for worship and family time. The children have always been very respectful of this standard. They have never challenged it nor has it ever been challenged by the activities that we have chosen. I was sad today when I made the discovery of the competition date.

I called Ryan and told him of the date. At first, he said that we would have to miss it. I felt differently. I was open to the idea of letting them go. After all, it wasn't like it was a sports team that would require multiple Sunday commitments. It would be a one time participation. After some discussion, Ryan suggested that we leave it up to the boys to decide.

Tonight at dinner, the conversation turned to DestiNation ImagiNation. The boys had attended today and had a lot to tell us about their participation. I told the boys that I had found out that the competition was on a Sunday and Carter's face dropped. His eyes began to tear up and he said, "That means I can't do it." Ryan said, "Well, let's look at all the options." They began to discuss what a solution could be. Carter suggested that he could talk to his teacher, Ms. Elvrum, and see if he could have a friend take over his part at the competition. Another idea was that maybe he could go to the school after church to take part with his group (which would not work with our current schedule). He then considered that he could go to the competition and miss church on that day. Then Ryan offered that he make it a matter of prayer. He reminded Carter that he had received the gift of the Holy Ghost when he was baptized and he should take advantage of finding out the answer himself. Carter nodded, but the disappointment was still evident on his face.

Tyler, who had sat quietly the whole conversation, finally spoke up and said, "If it is on a Sunday, then I can't do it." And that was the end of his participation. There was no sadness. It was just very matter-of-fact.

Carter got up from the dinner table and went into the living room. He knelt down and prayed right then to find out an answer. When he returned to the kitchen, he seemed to be in a better mood. I looked at him with a puzzled look as if to question his change of attitude. He said, "I asked the question." I looked at him and asked, "Did you get an answer?" He smiled at me and said, "Not yet."

I am so proud of these boys for their faith. It is moments like these that make me believe that all our teaching is not in vain.