Family Home Fight

Who knew?  Really, I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction for Family Home Evening for at least 10 more years.  It was just one of those nights where you throw your hands up in the air and scream to the skies, "NEVER AGAIN!!"  And then you also want to haul off and slap your child.  I know, I know, not the best parenting.  But don't deny it, you've wanted to do it too.  I planned a very short, as usual, to the point Family Home Evening lesson about prophets.  We were showing Adelynne pictures of Joseph Smith and encouraging her, with high fives and shouts of exclamation, when she would say his name.  And then doing the same for our current prophet, Thomas S. Monson.  Apparently she didn't want to be quizzed because she declared, "I don't want to say his name!"  So we stopped quizzing and decided to end the lesson with a song.  I had chosen "We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet," but she didn't want to sing that song because she, "didn't like that song."  From there it went even more down hill:  continuous crying and tantrum throwing.  (And yes, she did have a nap today).  Bedtime arrived immediately following the prayer, which of course brought on more screams of protest.   Most evenings this kind of charade would also throw me into a tantrum, but during the closing hymn, which I could not sing because I have no voice due to a cold, I closed my eyes, took some slow, deep breaths, and said a silent prayer in my heart.  I didn't want to lose control.  With help from on high, and my wonderful, supportive husband who took over immediately when the situation began and up until this very moment, I have stayed in control.  So, although my plans for a quick, sweet Family Home Evening went down in flames, I still have not given up hope.  I know, somehow, that Family Home Evening is an inspired program from God, and that by faithfully having it weekly, our families and homes will be blessed.  AND I NEED THOSE BLESSINGS!   

Has anyone else endured a Family Home Evening Melt Down?

Dinosaur Dreams

Early Sunday morning, at some unspeakable hour, Adelynne started crying out while in her bed, "I'm cold, I'm cold!"  But Dustin and I weren't quite ready to get up.  But then seconds later she started crying, "I scary, scary, I scary!" (Which in Adelynne world means, "I'm scared!").  So Dustin graciously got up and took care of the situation.  

A while later we were all awake and in the living room.  The girls were eating some cereal and Dustin and I were sitting on the couch pretending to be awake.  Adelynne finished eating and came over to me.  She looked at me and said, "Mommy!  The dinosaur took my blanket and I was cold.  The dinosaur at the horse merry-go-round."  I asked her if she dreamt that a dinosaur had taken her blanket and if that was why she was cold and scared and she nodded yes.  Adelynne loves to talk about the dinosaurs at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, which is what she was saying when she said the dinosaur at the horse merry-go-round.  Dustin had been in charge of putting the girls to bed the night before, and when he's in charge he usually lets Adelynne watch some movie trailers.  She likes to watch the Ice Age 3 trailer with the dinosaur as well as the one with the scary dinosaur: Journey to the Center of the Earth (with Brendan Frazier-sorry if I spelled his name wrong).  Anyway, it is very possible that she had a dream about a dinosaur.   

But later in the day I was trying to get Adelynne to tell her Grandpa and Grandma Biggs about her dream when we were talking to them via i-chat.  She just gave me a blank stare like, "What are you talking about, mom?"  I guess dreams are short-lived.

Prayer

When Adelynne goes to bed every night she always requests to be sung to by Daddy and Mommy.  Dustin and I each take a turn singing a few songs to her and then encourage her to go to sleep.  When its my turn I have been singing one or two songs to her and then I tell her to say a prayer and I will sing another song to her.  She willingly complies and gets on her knees to say a prayer.  I love listening to her say a prayer.  She will usually thank Heavenly Father for the day and then list off everything she did that day, such as, play outside, sing songs in the car, play with Minnie, watch a movie on the tv, etc.  When I started teaching her to say her prayers I would tell her that she should tell Heavenly Father about her day and what she is grateful for.  One evening she was very upset and really didn't want to pray, but she reluctantly began her prayer.  As I listened to her pray I observed as her voice changed from crying to calmness.  It was a moment of personal revelation to hear her calm down as she talked to her Father in Heaven.  I was grateful to witness the change that can occur within us, even someone as young as a three year-old, as we reverently speak to God.  I've witnessed this myself in my own prayers when I am praying.  

Last night, as I was putting Adelynne to bed, I told her that if she would say her prayer I would come in and sing to her.  I walked out of her room and busied myself with some household chores.  About 15 minutes later, I was walking by her room expecting to go in and remind her to say her prayer, when I noticed that she was just getting off of her knees.  She looked up at me and smiled and exclaimed, "I said my prayer, mommy!"  I was so proud of her, and I let her know it by returning the smile and singing her five songs at her request.  Last night was just one of those payback moments that you long for as a parent.  "Yes!  My efforts are actually working!"  I just want her to always have the blessings and testimony of the power of prayer in her life.  It has always been something that I myself have struggled to gain a testimony of and be consistent at.  But watching Adelynne learn and progress in her ability to pray has strengthened my testimony of prayer.  I believe that we have a Father in Heaven who wants us to pray and share with Him our lives.  

The Giant Caterpillar by me

On our drive back from West Virginia, we made a pit stop at a gas station/convenience store.  One of those big convenience stores that have a gift shop inside filled with tons of junk that nobody really wants.  (Why?-who knows).  Well, the girls and I were wandering around looking at everything when we saw these giant toy caterpillars.  I actually was tempted to buy it because it just looked like fun, but I said to myself, "No way, that's a waste of money."  (It was priced somewhere around $16.99).  Then I had the brilliant idea that it would be a fun thing to make.  And then I shared my idea with Adelynne, hoping that she would help me keep my word.  Well I did.  And it was fun to make.  Adelynne helped pick out the colors at the fabric store, and then all of the pieces sat in a plastic bag.  Then, gratefully, my friends set up a craft night girls' night, which was the perfect opportunity for me to do some real work.  I made it in two days.  I really enjoyed making it and putting it all together, and Adelynne's love for her caterpillar has made it even more worth making.  The antennae even have wire inside them so that they can bend into different ways.  But ever since Adelynne has had her caterpillar she has slept through the night.  Before the caterpillar was around she kept waking up, multiple times during the night and telling us that she was scared.  But now she says that she has the caterpillar so she won't be scared.




The caterpillar is over 6 feet tall, and makes a very useful headrest on the back of our couch when its not being played with. I could have saved some money if I had just bought the one in the store, but I don't think I'd have as much satisfaction or joy. I'm now trying to figure out what my next project is going to be.

Drawing together

I finally got Amy laying on her stomach, coloring, on camera. I don't know if it is something that every child does when they are coloring, but mine have both done it. And actually, I think it was something that they learned from Minnie. Minnie used to lay down on her stomach to color, and I remember when Adelynne started doing the same thing to imitate her. Now Amy does it too. Minnie and Adelynne don't do it as much as they used to, but again, when Amy does it, its pretty cute.



Caption for the last picture: Yes, I know I'm cute.

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Pink Tutu by me

I was feeling crafty one afternoon, so I made the girls a tutu. I love how it turned out and I made them both try it on and pose for some pictures. Amy did not enjoy the feel of the tutu, but she at least kept it on long enough for me to snap some photos. Since I enjoyed making the tutu so much I've decided that both the girls will have Halloween costumes that involve tutu's. Stay tuned!

Drawing and Reading

Here's another moment of cuteness:



Whenever Adelynne and Minnie get the crayons out to color, Amy is right beside them coloring along, and I just think it is so cute to see someone so little trying to color like the "big" girls.  

I was peeking in on Amy and I found her on Adelynne's bed reading books.  When I recorded this she wasn't actually reading anymore, but she was playing with the way the light was shining on her hand and reflecting off of the book that she has in her lap.

Because she's cute!

Amy was just being cute, as usual, and I just snapped a few pictures of her.  She had snatched Minnie's headband and put it on herself.  She's been doing this a lot lately.  I think she just likes to copy the "big" girls.  Amy also enjoys chewing on crayons until they are liquid color in her mouth, and then spitting out the lovely colored "juice." Hence the big orange stain on her shirt.  

And once again, all she has to do is put on a silly hat and smile and I get camera happy. Darn that baby, she's so dang cute!

Camping in West Virginia

We actually did something for our holiday!  Woohoo!  Last weekend my cousin Lisa-Marie, and her husband Steven stopped by for a visit on their drive home to Virginia.  While they were here, Lisa-Marie and I planned a camping trip for Labor Day Weekend.  Since they live 12 hours away I thought camping would be a good alternative to a long drive.  So we met up in West Virginia in a small town called Cunard, just outside of Fayetteville, West Virginia.  We camped near the Kanahwa River.  This was our first family camp out (minus family reunions from the past couple of years).  It was great to be with family, I love being with family, and I am so grateful to have Lisa-Marie as close as she is; closer would be nicer.  I'm also grateful that she and Steven seem to enjoy spending time with us.  I don't know that this camp out was the best experience, or that I would drive that far again for camping, but I still enjoyed my time with the family.  

We drove ALL day Saturday.  10 hours.  It should not have taken us that long, but Dustin and I suffered from a little confusion on the directions.  But we made it.  It was after dark, so there was mild confusion from the girls, but we were still able to enjoy a campfire, cook some yummy hot dogs and s'mores of course!



Sunday morning was beautiful.  We cooked up some tasty breakfast burritos and topped them off with some more s'mores. When there's a campfire going you've got to cook the marshmallows.  Then we went for a nice long hike on one of the trails. Adelynne had to walk, so I didn't know how long we'd make it.  But to my surprise she walked at least a good two miles of the trail on her own.  I think she was excited about walking Darla (Lisa-Marie's dog).  Amy rode along on Dustin's back, but she wasn't too happy about it.  She actually wanted to do some walking herself.  We let her walk for a while and explore the plants and dirt along the way.  On our walk we saw a caterpillar, a box turtle, a butterfly-I think the same one followed us along the entire hike, and some horse-back riders.  When we came to the clearings and saw the views, it seemed as if we were on some African safari.  The green trees, the thick forestry, the lushness of it all was very picturesque.  It seems that I sometimes forget that America is beautiful!  There is so much to see hear in our own country, our own "backyard."  

As we started back, Adelynne decided that she was done walking, so she mooched a ride off of daddy, mommy, and Steven. It actually made the walk back much quicker so that we weren't continuously encouraging Adelynne along.  Amy fell asleep in the backpack on our way back.



When we got back to our tents we took a break and rested for a while, or at least I did.  And as we were all getting ready for a swim in the river, it began to rain.  It rained for probably half an hour and then stopped.  So, there is one thing I dislike worse than dirt, and that is mud. Everything was muddy and soggy.  But Dustin and I decided to take the girls to the river anyway.  I figured, what did it matter? we were wet anyway.  Our swim was more of a wade in the river, but it helped to pass the time.  It wasn't long before it began to rain again.  The rest of the day we spent in the tent or the car, waiting out the rain.  Rain is wonderful until it ruins your camping trip.  But we all stuck it out.  We ended up driving to town and eating at a pizza place for dinner since we didn't want to cook in the rain and mud.  

Monday morning was spent packing up our muddy wet things and then saying goodbye.  I'm just disappointed that our camp out didn't end so well.  But it did start out great with family and food.  Although, with the lack of campfires, we still have lots of s'mores ingredients left, so if anyone is having a campfire nearby, let me know and I'll bring the goods!