Spring Break

We had a great Spring Break this past week -- highlights being that Daddy took some time off (so great!) and that we went to Dallas for a few days to visit my sister Jennifer and her family (so fun!). In Dallas, the girls loved their first trip to Chuck E Cheese's -- in Abby's words, "That was sooo much fun!" -- we had fun four-wheeling and dirt-biking, "swimming" in the hot tub, and playing the Wii. Thanks for being such great hosts, Jennifer and Matt! We had a great time!
Bathing beauties

Millie and Aunt Jenny

Abby and Daddy

Waiting for a ride

An Abby-ism:

Mommy: You are such beautiful, fun, smart, kind, and precious girls!

Abby: . . . and funny!

Through the Eyes of a Child

My friend Jess did this with her daughter so I thought I'd ask my girls the same questions and see what they said. Neither of them heard the other's answers.

Millie, 7
Abby, 4

What is something mom always says to you?
M: Pick up your shoes
A: Tell the truth

What makes mom happy?
M: When I pick up my things
A: When I tell the truth

What makes mom sad?
M: When I don't pick things up
A: When I don't tell the truth

(They both seem to have a one-track mind here!)

How does your mom make you laugh?
M: By dancing funny
A: Being funny

What was your mom like as a child?
M: Good and brave
A: She played in the snow

How old is your mom?
M: 34
A: 40 (excuse me?!)

How tall is your mom?
M: 10 feet
A: 4 feet

What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
M: General Conference (unfortunately, it is not usually General Conference that I am watching on TV . . .)
A: The News

What does your mom do when you're not around?
M: Run errands
A: Play with Jane

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
M: Art, 'cause you're good at art
A: I don't know

What is your mom really good at?
M: Writing (Dad told me)
A: Studying things on the computer

What is your mom not very good at?
M: Nothing (here's hoping she thinks this for a long time to come . . .)
A: Drawing pictures

What does your mom do for her job?
M: Get the girls and me dressed and doing our hair
A: Studying things for your ladies (anything to do with Relief Society is referred to as "my ladies")

What is your mom's favorite food?
M: Mashed potatoes -- it's mine, too
A: Rice

What makes you proud of your mom?
M: You're an excellent cooker
A: She does something fun for me

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
M: Eloise (?)
A: A fire engine girl (????!)

What do you and your mom do together?
M: Spend time together in the morning before school
A: Play games like UNO

How are you and your mom the same?
M: We're in the same family
A: We like each other

How are you and your mom different?
M: We don't look the same. We don't have the same color hair or eyes and we're not the same age
A: You have blue eyes and I have brown eyes

How do you know your mom loves you?
M: You're kind to me
A: Because I'm funny and you are kind to me

What does your mom like most about your dad?
M: How he's funny -- he cracks you up!
A: Since he goes to work and tries to work hard for us

Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
M: a restaurant
A: to the playspace (the gym)

Millie turns 7!

We've had a busy week full of birthday celebrations for Miss Millie. She woke up on her birthday sooo excited (this is the girl who begins waiting with baited breath and planning for her birthday in the Fall). On the way to school that morning she said, "I like being 7!" When I asked her if it felt any different she said, "A little."

We had a family celebration on her actual birthday and then had her party this weekend -- a carnival party to be exact. It was a lot of fun albeit a little hectic (16 little people=a whole lot of craziness). They seemed to mostly just want to run around so after a few organized games, we opted for freeze tag and parachute games (with a sheet). I could have saved a lot of prep time if I'd only known. By far, the biggest hit of the party was the pie throwing contest (Daddy was a good sport to pose as the target). The kids thought it was hilarious, which it, in fact, was.

This week to celebrate Millie's birthday, I've been reading entries from her baby journal and it is amazing to see how her personality is so similar to that of when she was a baby. She has such a bright, sunny disposition. She loves to laugh and loves it when her mind is engaged. No one can ever be bored when she is around because she is a source of endless creative ideas for fun. She loves her sisters, her friends, and animals (she never gives up on trying to get us to get a pet). She is so capable, helpful (mostly), and observant, and she has such a pure, sensitive, loving heart. She is a never-ending source of joy and we feel so blessed to have her in our home. We love our Millie!

February

Much of the first part of February passed laboriously due to a sickness that laid every member of the family flat over the course of two weeks. It is crummy to be sick as a mother since we have no sick leave, benefits, or vacation packages and are on-call 24/7. Fortunately (for me, not for him), Mark was still home from work convalescing when it hit me the hardest. We are glad to be on the mend.

We had a nice Valentine's weekend. The older girls both loved making and exchanging their Valentine's at their respective schools. They then proceeded to come home and devour every last inch of candy in the first hour. Jane hovered on the edges of the candy binge trying to stick her grubby little hands into the pile whenever she could. The funniest/saddest thing was when she came to me crying as if her heart would break -- big alligator tears rolling down her cheeks -- saying, "Abby took my canny!" Upon investigation, though, it was discovered that Jane had stolen Abby's candy and claimed it as her own, whereupon Abby retrieved it and hence the ruckus. This year it seemed as if Valentine's was almost another Halloween.

Mark and I had fun attending a Valentine's concert where a Baroque music group played all of the Bach's Brandeburg Concertos (concerti?). I especially liked the 6th (if I remember correctly) because it especially featured the viola. We went to an Indian restaurant for dinner beforehand. It was so nice to get out.

Mark has been working long hours during the week, but we try to make up for that on the weekends and have been having a lot of fun. Mark has been taking the girls out on Saturdays occasionally to garage sales. They think it great fun and the people running the sales inevitably give them each a stash of free treasures (ahem, junk) which they bring home and show me rapturously and which they have yet to notice disappears in the trash throughout the following week.

On President's Day we drove about an hour to visit Brennam -- home Blue Bell ice cream, the pride of Texas. Texans rave about this ice cream and at the factory they give a tour followed by a dish of ice cream. The girls loved it and it was rather interesting to see how they make the ice cream and the ice cream sandwiches. It reminded me of the stories my Grandpa Ward used to tell about visiting his Dad's ice cream factory when he was a boy.

It's rodeo season here in Houston and while the big-time rodeo is just getting kicked off downtown, we decided to go to the smaller, more accessible Katy Rodeo with the kids this weekend. They were so excited to dress up in their cowgirl boots and hats and were mesmerized by the bull-riding in particular. Abby was brave enough to participate in the stick-horse race for little kids in the arena and had the biggest grin ever as she ran towards me (pictures of the cute spectacle were too blurry).

A Millie-sim: At FHE this past week I was talking to the girls about how special it is that we have an eternal family because we can be a family even after this life. Millie said, "Yeah, but it would still be ok if we weren't because we could still probably meet up together and hang out.

Some Jane-isms:
Jane: Mommy, I want a wings on!" (bringing me the dress up "fairy" wings) A few minutes after donning the wings, Jane comes back perplexed: "Mama, I can't fly!"

I put Jane in a new dress the other day that has a little bit of a twirly skirt. She got down, twirled around and said, "I a pincess, Mommy! I like a pincess!" This self-view explains much about what influences her rather imperious behavior these days :).

Little Miss Valentine

Abby and a friend eating their free ice cream

"I want pink!"

Oustide the Blue Bell Ice Cream Factory

Jane didn't take too kindly to sitting on the back of a dairy cow

For months now after their baths, the girls have been running around the house with their hooded towels on shouting "Super Heros" (or in Jane's case "Supah eewoes!") It's pretty hilarious and I finally got a picture with them doing it with their clothes on.

Happy Birthday, Ems!

It was my younger sister Emily's birthday yesterday. Ems is such a gracious, lovely, serene person (her sense of style always reminds me of Audrey Hepburn). She seems endlessly supportive and positive and is always willing to help in any way whether it be with photography (she is a wonderful photographer), ideas for entertaining, or just talking things through. We sure miss her and Ike and Lucy. Spokane is just too far away! Happy Birthday, Ems!

Redecorating Befores and Afters

As previously mentioned, we have been undergoing a rather large re-decorating/organizing project the past few weeks and in response to those who have expressed interest in seeing befores and afters, here are some pics. There are still some pictures to be hung and touch-ups/refinishings to do, but this will give you the general idea.

Front entry (after -- I don't have a before, but we just painted the door white and the walls beige, Shaker Beige to be exact. I love that color -- the picture doesn't do it justice.)

Study (before) -- to the left as you enter the door (supposed to be the dining room, but we needed to use the study as a toy room and so we turned this into the study).

Study (after) -- I never realized that red paint requires so many layers!

Living Room (before) -- and no, the Veggie Tales DVD is no longer one of the accessories we are using in the room.

Living Room (after)

Family Room 1 (before)

Family Room 2 (before)

Family Room 1 (after)

Family Room 2 (after)

Wet Bar (before) -- sorry for the mess! This space thoroughly puzzled me before (many Texas homes have these wet bars, but we haven't really had a use for it). I've been wanting to rip it out and make it a closet or lockers for the kids stuff, but my mom had a more economical solution for how to make it work as it is.

Breakfast bar (after). We brought our bar stools down from the attic and the girls have loved using it as a breakfast/homework/coloring space.

Breakfast nook (before) -- please excuse the laundry and garbage bag.

Breakfast nook (after) -- we were able to find a few of the accessories (like the old-fashioned washboard) at a local consignment store.

Kitchen (before)

Kitchen (after)

My Mom

I love this picture of my mom as a little girl! I think it shows her spunk (similar to the kind of spunk shown by Jane, her namesake)

I just had to post something about my wonderful mom -- the most amazing woman I know! Not only is she endlessly loving, faithful, and selfless, she is also brilliant, tenacious, and determined. Once she puts her mind to something she does it and to an extraordinary degree. She is a woman of amazing vision and would go to any lengths to help any of her seven children. She is one of my dearest friends.

My mom is extremely capable. She works miracles. In December, she directed a resoundingly successful production of Scrooge -- as in the musical! -- using the autistic kids she works with (many of whom have difficulty speaking) as the actors -- something people at the school and the parents of the children themselves never believed could happen. This month she put everything on hold to come visit for 10 days to help us fix up our house (she's something of an organizational genious). Armed with books with titles like "Use What You Have Decorating" and paint samples, she helped me transform our house into something that feels more like home. She should seriously work for a show like Design on a Dime! It has given me such a lift and was such a fun project for us to work on together (even though we were working non-stop)!

I'm grateful to have such a mother and cheerleader! Below is a poem I wrote for her last Christmas.

SHE

In answer to a child's prayer

She enters, sits, to comfort there

And sings a lullaby to soothe.

The fears of darkness soon remove

Into a forgotten place.

A teenage girl with hurting heart

Feeling shunned, alone, apart

Shares her pain in running tears.

She listens with a loving ear

And a safe embrace.

In hopes to help a girl achieve

A dream in which she scarce believes,

She works late into the night

To paint the girl's name in flashing lights

To help her win the race.

Once a smiling beauty queen,

She's sacrificed all it seems

To a world who doesn't know

How much it takes to grow

A home that is a sacred space.

Her pure faith and wisdom guide

Each son and daughter sorely tried.

She comforts, counsels, prays, and yearns

And slowly each one grows and learns

From her loving grace.