Learning to Crochet

I have been waiting for this day for a long time. Yes, I know that sounds really funny. But I have been excited for Maya to be old enough to teach her things like crocheting, sewing, etc. One day when I was crocheting some dishcloths she asked if she could learn. She wasn't quite ready to handle the hook, but she did make a long chain using her fingers. She worked on the chain for at least 2 hours. She loved it, and wants to learn how to REALLY crochet. She has grand plans for the things she will create.

Grateful

This is a picture of our Christmas Advent for this year. We have 24 ornaments, and on one side of them is written an attribute that Christ has. On the other side there is a scripture reference to go along with that attribute. After we choose one for the day, read the scripture, and talk about it for a little bit, Maya so carefully takes the ornament and hangs it on a little tree. It has been really inspiring to see the tree fill up and see the words that are on those ornaments. It struck me as I was creating it that all of these attributes are things that we can possess too. We can be "Wise", "Loving", "Pure", "Peaceful", "Enduring", etc. Sometimes it really takes a lot of work, and sometimes just a little, but we CAN be these things.

I am constantly amazed at the difference that comes into my life when I make even the slightest effort to be just a little better, try just a little harder to do the things that my Heavenly Father has asked me to. We have had so many things happen in our lives lately that let us know He is aware of us, it is very humbling. We have had someone come back into our lives after being gone for many years. The way it all came about was very much a miracle, and it has lifted such a burden off of my heart. But most importantly, it lifted a burden off of my sweet little girl's heart. We have had prayers answered concerning very big things in our lives, and prayers answered concerning simple and small things. It makes me realize that it is all important to our Heavenly Father, because we are important to Him.

I know that we will have hard times ahead, that is all part of life. I hope that I can remember the lessons I have learned over the past few months, and not get discouraged when the hard times come. I hope that the feelings from this Christmas season remain with me, and with my family, for a long time to come. I hope that we can remember the times that our answers to prayers were so clear there was no doubt. I hope that we can remember that we are not expected to do it all alone, He is always there.

Memories

The last little while I have been doing a lot of reminiscing. It started when Troy came in from outside, where he had been cleaning out the shed. He told me that he had some bad news for me. Some of the boxes of books we had been storing had been gotten into by mice. They were all boxes of children's books. The same books I had read to my sweet little ones what seemed like thousands of times. I went through the boxes, salvaged the few that I could, disinfected them, and had myself a little cry. It seemed so silly, to be crying over books. All books that could easily be purchased again. But new books wouldn't have the worn edges on them. New books wouldn't have their sweet little teeth marks on them. New books wouldn't have been there with us all snuggled up and reading for hours and hours. But my memories can never be taken away, and I know that my kids have great memories of those times too.

On Sunday evening Troy asked the kids to tell us about a favorite Christmas memory. I think the boys were thinking, "Oh boy, this will be fun!" but when Maya volunteered to start, and she shared a memory that none of us knew she had, it really turned into a special time. Maya told us that her favorite Christmas memory was a time when it was dark outside and it was snowing, Alex was playing his clarinet while looking out the window at the snow, Maya was just standing there listening to Alex, and I was making them all some hot chocolate. She told us that she just really loved the way she felt at that moment. After that everyone shared some thoughts and memories, and Troy and I came away feeling like maybe we have done some things alright. After we were finished Ethan told me that his new favorite Christmas memory was going to be that night, the way we all just sat and shared our thoughts and feelings.

This all made me think that very little of our lives are documented. And so, once again, I am going to try and do a better job of documenting our daily lives. There are so many things that happen all of the time to each of us that needs to be remembered. Things that can bring back so many memories; happy times, struggling times, learning times, sorrowful times. They are all important, they make up who we are.

Are You Smarter Than Your 5th Grader?

Tonight at Ethan's school, there was an "Are You Smarter Than Your 5th Grader" night. It was a lot of fun. They had it set up in teams made up of dads, moms, and 5th graders. Ethan and Troy got to go up together and compete against each other, but I didn't get to compete against either one of them. I found out that I know NOTHING about History and Geography, and so I now have a new goal! Ethan did awesome. One of his questions was to spell 'counterfeit'. The adults were all surprised when he spelled it with no problem, and they even all applauded him. He also got the correct answer to a pretty big math story problem.

Another Game Post

This is what happens when Maya can't get anyone to play a game with her. She will get at least one of her animals (usually it is several), and play the game with them. In this case Vanilla (the cat) hadn't even made it off of 'Start', but Maya was almost to the 'Finish'. This really isn't surprising considering the way Maya plays games!

Playing Games

 One of the things we did alot over our Christmas break was play games. They didn't always turn out well, and sometimes a lot of stress was involved. I was making dinner while the kids were playing a game, and they were arguing pretty good when I grabbed the camera and surprised them by taking their picture. I love Maya's face in this first picture, because it shows how she is whenever she plays a game. She thinks she HAS to win every time, and she thinks she knows all of the rules to everything!! The second picture is the one they wanted taken to show that they really were having fun.