Testimony

Since I was in Idaho this last weekend, I had the chance to bear my testimony for my whole family (Idaho side). I also wanted my girls to know how strongly I love the Savior. I think they may have listened a bit in between playing with cousins and eating fruit snacks. So in order to emphasize what a testimony is, we talked about it for Family Home Evening. The girls were so sweet as they practiced bearing their own testimonies about Jesus. They aren't tarnished by the cliché phrases yet. So when Robyn said, "I know that Jesus gave people food (we talked about the loaves and fishes) and he made people not dead anymore," it was so innocent and truthful. I love hearing what they think at this young age.
We talked a bit about Moroni and how strong his testimony was. In the scriptures he says,"...because of their (the Lamanites) hatred they put to death every Nephite that will not deny the Christ. And I, Moroni, will not deny the Christ."
As always I try to make this into an example they can understand. I asked the girls what they would do in this same kind of situation.
"What would you do if someone said they were going to hit you unless you said that you didn't believe in Jesus? What would you say?"
Robyn didn't miss a beat. She said, "Please don't do that."
She is so cute. Of course that is what you would say.
It was a very special evening and I was able to see their budding testimonies. Moments like this make you proud to be a parent.

Blessed Event

We had such a great time in Idaho this weekend. I do feel badly that we didn't bless Daisy in our ward so everyone could see the amazing dress that Vicki made, but it was good to be with family. We actually went up to Idaho to see Hinckley (a nephew) be baptized. Then it just made sense to bless Daisy the next day since we were all there.
The baptism was great, but crowded. It was a stake baptism so they had children from multiple wards and that translated into 9 kids being baptized. Wow. Amazingly enough, Hinckley got to be the very first one baptized. He is getting so big (he was the first kid born after Tyler and I got married) and he is such a handsome little dude.



I shot this picture as we were waiting for them after the baptism. This is Grandpa holding Rozzie, holding Daisy (oh, and Aunt Amber being very serious).



Rozzlyn did not want to let go of her, and Daisy didn't seem to mind.
We spent a great day with family after the event, enjoying Hinckley's birthday party and doing other activities together (to be blogged later by the Stallion).
Sunday morning came after many nightmares on my part. I don't know what I was worried about but I spent the whole evening dreaming that I couldn't find the dress and fretting about the optimal time to feed the baby so that she would be full enough so that she wouldn't cry but not quite so full that she would spit all over the dress (remember, she is quite the spitter).
Well, my fears were unfounded. The dress was right where it should be (when I awakened) and I was able to feed Daisy at the right time to keep her happy. In fact, she was sleeping peacefully for the blessing.
The dress is always an adventure in itself. It is taller than I am and so ruffly.



Once the baby is in the dress, she is a handful (literally), but she is beautiful. Grandma made the dress when we had June and each girl has worn it in turn. On the slip each girl's name has been sewn on and I plan to keep this dress as an heirloom forever. I hope that years from now, there will be dozens of names on the slip (grandchildren to be specific). Here are some more pictures of my lovely little girl.



Thanks to Jessica for letting us borrow the bow and bracelet to give her the perfect touch.



Church was fun for me. Tyler's parent's ward is predominantly older couples so they don't have any nursery-age children. Therefore, Ivory had no one to tend her. There was a room stock full of toys, but no teachers. So, I got to sit and play with her for most of church and I really enjoyed myself. It is not often that we get one on one time together.



This last picture just makes me laugh. You gotta love long car rides. At one point, I had the whole car sleeping (except me of course).



Thanks Idaho family, we'll be back soon.

Merryweather

Ivory has been choosing Sleeping Beauty a lot recently when it is her turn to choose a movie. I really like the movie, so that doesn't bother me, although I personally think it should have been named The Three Good Fairies because they are featured much more than Aurora. She has a brief moment in the woods with the prince, but that is about it for her.
But like all movies that I watch over and over, I have begun to pick it apart. So, my question for all of you:

What gift do you think Merryweather was going to give to the little princess before Maleficent showed up? She ended up having to use her gift to change the curse from death to sleeping, but what was she going to bestow before that? I'm curious what you think?

I'm going to be gone to Idaho this weekend blessing Daisy with family, so I won't be blogging for a couple of days. You have plenty of time to answer, and please do...I am very curious what you think.
Have a great weekend.

One of these things is not like the other.

For kids...





Not for kids...




I have this mistaken impression that because something is a cartoon, I think it must be made for children. This is obviously not the case when there are shows out there like The Simpsons, but somehow that hasn't changed my mindset. When an animated movie comes out in theaters, I think, 'Oh, that might be fun to take the kids to'. Well, I should probably be more careful as evidenced by what happened this week.
June found Antz on the shelf and I had forgotten my parents had given it to us. She recognized that she hadn't seen it, and I remembered that it was a cute movie (I think I saw it 10 years ago) so we put it on.
Hmph...it was not for kids. The jokes were aimed at adults, and there were several bad words in it. Lame. I let the kids finish it, but then I told them that we wouldn't be watching it again. "Why?!" June asked, because she had enjoyed the story. "Honey, there are some bad words in it that we shouldn't say, or hear for that matter." I didn't expound on which ones and she didn't ask.
A few days later we were arguing playfully like we often do. June will decide something and she sticks to her guns regardless of the truth. It is usually something small like me saying, "Miss Feik is spelled F-e-i-k."

"No, it is spelled with an A."
"I'm pretty sure she spells it with an E."
"She wrote it on the board and it was an A"
"Well I saw it on a paper she sent home and I remember it was an E."
"It was A."
"It's not." (I'm goading her now for fun)
"It is!"
"It's not."
"It is, dammit!" (oh, fun's over)

Maybe I should have mentioned which words we are NOT supposed to use. Poor June. I explained very gently that we shouldn't use that word and she was very sad about the whole thing. But how was she supposed to know? At least she is aware now that there are words we don't say.
She was running around the house saying "Easy Amigos" the other day and somewhere in the middle she stopped and asked, "Can I say that, is that okay?"
So, she has learned her lesson about certain words, and I have learned mine about animated movies. They are not all for kids. I know one movie I am taking to DI.

The Sound of Snickers

Now, I am not on a diet, but anyone who has children should know what I mean when I say that I still have to sneak treats sometimes. As soon as children are old enough, they want a bite of whatever you are eating (usually even the healthy stuff), and then if they happen to like it, one bite is never enough. There are days that I get something out for myself and scarcely get a bite, what with three other hungry little mouths. Ivory is by far the worst. She asks for food all day whether or not I am eating, so if I get something out, she figures half of it should be hers to begin with. Also, if she sees my mouth moving (as in chewing) she knows what I am up to and she will ask, "What is in yous mouth?" (Yes, she says yous, not your). I have learned to eat in the pantry, behind the island, or best of all, when they are asleep.
Most of the time I don't mind sharing, but sometimes I treasure a treat by myself. Tyler recently purchased a large box of Snickers (my favorite) that he planned to take to work. I thought I might help myself before they left the house. I didn't really want to wait until everyone was in bed, so I surveyed the situation: Ivory was watching TV and I figured I could eat it behind the island. So I opened the wrapper...

I kid you not; her head whipped around. "Mom, what are yous doing?"
I was totally caught red-handed, so I quickly tucked the Snickers in a drawer where she couldn't see. Then I walked toward her showing my empty hands and said, "Nothing."
She was totally unconvinced. She looked at me for a minute, then said, "What's in yous mouth?" My goodness, but this girl sure knows the sound of candy being unwrapped. She knew something had been opened and she wanted her share.
I finally convinced her that I didn't have anything and she went back to the movie. And I was able to go back to my candy which was fortunately already unwrapped. I did feel a little more guilty than usual for not sharing. After all, that is quite a talent she has for identifying food from across the room with background noise. I will have to be much more sneaky in the future.

For All You Anti-Feet People

I know some of you are not 'foot' people. I myself don't really care one way or another. I will give Tyler a foot massage as long as his feet are clean. So I am curious...you foot despisers...what is it about feet that you don't like? Is it the size, the shape, the smell, the fact that they are in constant contact with the ground (which is known to be somewhat dirty)? And then I ask you...

...how could you not love these little pigs?



For the record, I think they are the perfect size and shape, they don't smell and they hardly ever come in contact with the ground. In fact, I find myself kissing these little toes more often than not. That might be a stretch for you anti-feet people, but think it over; all feet started this cute.

And because I am extolling the virtues of my beautiful baby, here she is in her first bath.



We have been sponging her for quite a while since she didn't seem to like the water much. Turns out I had the temperature wrong; she likes a luke-warm bath. Now she takes to the water just fine.

Hedgie Hog

'Hedgie' should really be written 'Rede' since it is a Portuguese word, meaning net. Tyler got a net of his own while he was in Brazil. It is basically a hammock. Up until now it has been one more thing cluttering the house or garage. We don't really have trees that can withstand the weight of a hammock, so we have never been able to put it up. I even thought we should give it to DI at one point. Boy am I glad that Tyler nixed that one. He came up with the idea recently to move aside the regular swings on the swing set and install the Hedgie instead.



Everyone loves it, especially Daddy and Daisy. Tyler is a sucker when it comes to cuddling. June was not much of a cuddly baby, so when we had Robyn and she cuddled right into him, I remember him looking at me and saying, "This one's mine."
In the mornings he takes Ivory out of her crib and snuggles her into our bed, and when we watch movies, he gets one of the girls to snuggle with him on the couch (luckily June snuggles now too). So the Hedgie is right up his alley. The girls get in and out except for Daisy of course who enjoys the swinging motion and the heat of Dad's body. Those two could probably spend an entire afternoon in the Hedgie (interspersed with snack breaks).



Here are a few pictures of us in the Hedgie.



June took this picture for us.



The girls really like to go in by themselves, because they can completely cover themselves like a burrito and then I swing them. It makes for lots of giggling. But I only remember the camera when Dad is in there (he tends to be a Hedgie Hog). The only sad part of this story is that we only have about a month left of good weather before the Hedgie will have to be retired for the winter, but it will give us something to look forward to next spring.