They Know

Saturday Ben threw his back out while doing yard work. The kids and I were all outside helping when Hope asked what was wrong with daddy. I looked over to see him on the ground unable to speak or move. I thought he had had a heart attack. We were all very scared. Ben is a strong man and to see him like that was disturbing and I could have sworn that my heart stopped beating for at least a second or two. The girls kept asking him questions and trying to get close to him, so I asked Noah to take them back to their rooms so I could try to help Ben.

After Ben was able to stand I went back to check on the kids. Noah had turned on his church music and moved Hope's little table into his room. They were all sitting around it making Ben get-well soon cards. Thinking about how cute and thoughtful my children are I went back to my room to listen in case Ben needed me while he was in the shower. Yes, even though he had just been in severe pain and barely able to move, he INSISTED on taking a shower the minute he could stand. I've learned over the last 48 hours that he is even more stubborn than I thought. Anyway, while I was waiting I overheard Eden tell her brother and sister that they should say a prayer. Then her tiny 3 year old voice prayed for her daddy.

 I smiled with pride and thought about how lucky they are to know where to look for peace and comfort. Noah had immediately played his church hymns for them to listen to and Eden needed no prompting to ask her Heavenly Father to help her earthly father.

Taking three kids to church by myself has not always been easy (although it is getting easier as Miss Chevious gets older), but I'm so glad that I stuck with it. So many - okay EVERY-  Sunday mornings  I dreaded wrestling with two of my three children in the congregation while trying to feel the spirit. I often wondered "why even go"? I knew they needed it though, and I am grateful for the strength I received to push through the dread and often time embarrassment of sacrament with Miss Chevious.

I am grateful that Ben and I have had family prayer every night for the last year and that we continue to do it. I am grateful that they have heard us ask Heavenly Father to bless family members who have been sick and have seen them get well and know that Heavenly Father heard their prayers. I am grateful that Hope and Noah have CDs of hymns that they listen to while falling asleep and that we sing primary songs every night before prayer. Once again, I have often wondered what good it is all doing. The singing and praying, trying unsuccessfully to get the younger children to be reverent during family prayer. "Why am I even doing this?" is something I've asked myself frequently.
Last Saturday I got my answer.

"American Day"

Hope was very excited about the 4th of July this year, only she called "American Day." For a few days before, any time we were driving she would always point out the flags and other decorations that people had in their yards and ask why we didn't have any. That is right. I do not have any 4th of July decorations. Her excitement for the holiday of which we had no plans and no decorations made me feel like one heck of a disappointment to my children. The night before the 4th Hope got so excited that as she lay in bed she told me all the things she had planned for the following day. She said she was going to make everyone a flag. True to her word, she woke up early and immediately wanted to draw.

She did make one for everyone. I guess all those afternoons "singing to the flag" in kindergarten paid off, cause that an awesome one. I am very impressed with her stars. I still can't draw a decent one.

Out of the blue, Ben decided that we should go up to the West Bountiful parade. I don't like parades. I don't think I ever have. Once in my early 20's I got pegged in the forehead by an overzealous candy thrower and that pretty much sealed the deal. I mean, that tootsie roll could've put my eye out! Anyway.
Hope insisted that she have an "American shirt" for the "American Day." So here she is looking festive in her American Day attire, and Eden in her pigtails that lasted only about an hour.

 Turns out that West Bountiful throws a decent parade with zero overzealous candy throwers. Actually, I do think there was one, but he missed me and narrowly missed Whitney who was standing behind me so I'm okay with that. :)

There were horses that had been painted like the flag and some that had stars painted on their rear (buttock?) that Hope said looked like a cutie mark, which is the little symbol on a My Little Pony. They got lots of taffy and a few of those dangerous tootsie rolls and then we went back to grandma Verla's house for lunch. We spent a few hours visiting with her and aunt Whitney and Hope gave me a preview of her teenage years with this...

 playing on aunt Whitney's phone.

That evening the girls finally got to do sparklers and Pop-Its. They were concerned about holding a stick that was on fire, but soon got the hang of it and we went through a few boxes of them.

 The people in our neighborhood put on some pretty amazing firework shows. There were fireworks on the streets in front of us and behind us. We couldn't decide which way to turn our heads. Being surrounded by fireworks is pretty cool (and a little scary given that it had been so dry prior to the 4th). After watching outside and being eaten by bugs we moved into the back bedroom to watch for a while more. It was nice sitting in the quiet dark with my little ladies and their daddy watching fireworks that were so close.
What I thought would be a disappointing American Day actually turned out quite wonderful. The only time I saw disappointment in my girls' faces was when they were told they had to go to bed. If Noah would've been here I dare say it would have been perfect a American Day.

Say What?

Hope: Does Heavenly Father get tired?
Me: No.
Hope: Does His son?
Me: Jesus? No.
Hope: Does He like to stay up like His dad?

*Another nighty night talk with Hope*
Hope: How does the Holy Ghost make you feel?
Mom: Sometimes he gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, sometimes he warns you about danger, sometimes he puts thoughts into your head.
Hope: I'm getting sweaty.
Mom: Take the blanket off.
Hope: No. I think it's the Holy Ghost. Why does the Holy Ghost make you feel warm?

Hope: Eden, you are crazy.
Mom: That's not a very nice thing to say.
Hope: I know.

Eden: Can I have a treat?
Mom: Too many treats will make you sick.
Eden: I wanna TREAT!!!
Noah: Eden, did you hear about the kid who ate too much candy? He fell off his porch.

*I have been trying to get Noah to expand his group of friends, but Noah doesn't seem to want to*
Mom: Do you have anything in common with "so-and-so"? (Name omitted to protect the innocent.)
Noah: The only thing we have in common is maps...and we're both human.

Mom: Eden, keep your hands to yourself.
Hope: Keep your face to yourself too.

By Hope.

Eden with a snare drum, Hope singing into a microphone and Noah playing the drums...with his foot???? Love her. 

Say What?

Eden has poked and squashed a piece of zucchini to smitherines, puts it back on her plate, picks up a piece of squash and says: Your turn.

When dad gets out of the car to go into the gas station Hope says: Please don't leave your family here all alone.

Noah: What do you call a job that makes nuts?
Hope: What?
Noah: A nut job.

Hope to her friend Mason: Look at this new dinosaur toy. It's from Rob. He's in my class. He looks pretty sometimes, just like you.

Hope: Where did all this stuff come from?
Dad: I don't know.
Dad starts dancing and shaking his shoulders from side to side.
Hope: Is that a clue?

 *Seahorse*

 *The First Vision* She came home with this one Sunday.

*Licked by a Horse*

Illustrated by Hope

My little Hope has been drawing up a storm. It's a good thing we recycle cause we've killed a lot of trees in the name of art. On top of being a talented young artist, she also has a very impressive imagination. For example: probably a year and a half ago I found one of her socks on the floor and picked it up to put it away when I realized there was something in it. Stuffed all the way in the toe of the sock was an upside down teacup. Then I remembered that she had been crawling around on the floor all day with the sock on her hand pretending to be a horse. She had made herself a hoof!!! At THREE!!! Impressive. Very impressive. She still loves horses. Check it out.

 

 

Okay technically these are unicorns, but I believe they are in the horse family.

 

 

* I love that this unicorn's hair is in it's eye and it has a mouth full of grass, which matches it hair.*

 

 

 

This one may get framed. I love it. While she was drawing it, she looked up and said, "Mommy, how do you spell...." and made the cutest horse sound I've ever heard. I giggled and told her how to spell "Nay."

 

The rider in this one is wearing some awesome glasses and checking out that thing on the ceiling, as she is clearly riding a horse indoors since we can see the sunshine out the window.

 

I call the following the Star Series because she gave herself big "stars" just like her teacher puts on her homework.

 

 

I love how she drew the grass in these pictures. And hey, a cow! And below a giraffe. I admit, when she showed me the picture of the cow I was smitten. That is one cute cow. And it looks like the giraffe is eating from that tree. 

 

And that concludes the star series. At the same time she drew these pictures, Hope also drew this portrait of her T-Rex dinosaur, but for some reason did not give it a star.

 

 

Looks just like it. Only skinnier. She even drew the muscle lines for the hip.

 

These are samples from Hope's school work.

 

 

I laughed so hard when I saw this one. First you need to know the back story. EVERY night, I sit in Hope's room until she falls asleep. I always have and I foresee that I always will. Last night, I pictured her being 18 and wondered how in the world would she ever go off to college, go on a mission, or anything without demanding I sit in her room until she falls asleep. If she had it her way, I would sit there all night even after she falls asleep as you can see from her picture. She even drew her pillows the exact way that we have them situated on her bed. One up like a headboard and the other flat for her cute little head. So yeah, that is me sitting in the chair looking like a sleep deprived zombie. Spot on Hope!

 

Hope and Zoe. LOVE. Also, may get framed.

 

 

This one made me laugh too. I'm not sure what that thing is on the right (kind of looks like a puppet), but I LOVE that that reindeer is turning around to look at it.

 

Last, are pictures from a book that Hope wrote last week.

 

 

This says, "I see a giraffe"

 

 

"I see a tiger"

 

 

"I like my cat"

 

The cat is white and on the right. Look closely at the way it's sitting. She has great attention to detail.

I always look forward to seeing her finished project when she starts drawing. Most of the walls in our house do not have pictures on them, but I am going to start an art gallery in the hall for my talented little artists, Hope & Noah.

 

 

 



Giraff-ES

Remember that post that I made several months ago about how Hope isn't really interested in drawing and just scribbles around the page? All that has changed. She spent about a week and a half where all she wanted to do was draw. Mostly giraffes, though she calls them "giraff-es". She has suddenly burst into a tiny creative genius.

The big guy waving his hands in the back is Alex the lion. There is also Gloria, Melman and Marty, so obviously this is a scene from Madagascar which is among her favorite movies. I'm not exaggerating when I say she would draw all day. It is the first thing she asked to do in the morning and she was still talking about things to draw while I would put her to bed.

She got better and better with each new masterpiece and surprisingly detailed. In fact, disturbingly detailed. Can someone tell me WHY my not even five year old is drawing anatomically correct animals???? Though I must admit the detail is impressive. I asked her about it after she proudly showed me the picture and she giggled and said it was "milk". Her pictures are almost always of a mommy and baby whatever so that relieved me a little, but still shocking. I didn't include any of those pictures and that is too bad because they were excellent, minus the "details".

This is one of the first pictures she drew. As you can plainly see, it is a family of giraffes. The story that accompanies this piece of art goes as follows: The daddy giraffe almost knocked into the tree because he was looking out for the dogs (who apparently can fly), but instead the dog knocked into him. She had a specific story line with each new picture.

Finally daddy went out and bought her an extra special drawing tablet just for her pictures. This is the first picture she drew in it. She loves rainbows right now and is always sure to get the order of the colors right. Little smarty pants.

Grandma Bosley, I will have you know that during her week of artistry she kept saying that she was making a book of drawings for you for when you come home. After I would tell her how much I liked one of her pieces she would say, "I think gma will like it too."

Also in Hopie news: the other day she was playing with some wiki stix and turned her dog into a pirate. I thought it was pretty funny so I had to take a picture.

When Eden saw me get the camera out she snuck into the picture and took a picture of me taking a picture. What little cuties I have. It helps to reflect on these moments during the MANY tantrums and sibling rivalry they participate in daily.

Hope's Self Portrait

Hope has been very into drawing lately. Today she drew a self portrait and after I acted so excited about it she seemed pretty pleased with herself.

She may be a little artist afterall.



Hope Says...

Hope: Should we get a reindeer and put him in the backyard?
Mom: No.
Hope: Yes! Yes! It's a GENIUS idea!!!

Hope talking to Eden before family prayer: Heany Fadder....Heany Fadder...
Dad: HeaVENLY FaTHER.
Hope: Hea...ven..ly Fa...ther.
Dad: There ya go.
Hope: I wonder what He looks like.
Dad: I don't know. I can't remember.
Hope: Did you know a jumping snake is a jumping snake?

***Right now Hope is learning about what animals/reptiles etc lay eggs and which birth babies. We started this learning adventure after she told me that one of her horses needed to lay on its eggs.***

***This weekend while out shopping Eden insisted on getting out of the stroller and so Hope hopped in. Dad and Eden had already walked off a little ways and Noah and I were trying to help Hope get in the much too small for her stroller. Once the tray was fastened in place Hope throws her arms forward and says with much charge, "After them!!!" Noah and I had a good laugh.***

Hope drew this picture while she looked at one of her toy Zebras. She gets better and better every day!

Coloring & Preschool

Eden has a new love for coloring. Surprisingly, most of the time she colors intently, holding the crayon near perfectly and leaning in close to the paper as if she is considering carefully where to put her marks. For the rest of the time she is sticking crayons in her mouth and either sucking on them or chewing them to pieces. She reminds me a lot of Noah when he was her age. He would sit for long periods (for an 18 month old) and draw or color. Looking at his art you can see how he has nurtured his creative gift over the years. It is amazing. So perhaps little miss Eden will be another artist in our family.

Hope enjoys coloring as well, but not like the other kids. She cares nothing for staying inside the lines, or even finishing the object she's coloring. She's content to scribble her crayon around the page for a minute or so, but Hopie is really more interested in following Noah around and singing songs.
She can now write her name and I am helping her with preschool activities which she is very excited about. Everyday she asks me, "Can we do preschool stuff?" Rememer that time, when you were excited to learn? You know, it's right before you get to be about 8 years old and realize that sometimes learning is difficult and not as much fun as finishing patterns and tracing lines. Below is a sample of her work.

Finger Paint

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago. I have been pretty distracted lately, so I apologize to the few of you who read this blog. Anyway, we decided to bust out the finger paints one day and this is what happened. Hope enjoyed it, but she really didn't like getting messy and would run to wash her hands every couple of minutes.

Eden thought that making a squishy colorful mess was great fun. Of course she does this many times a day with things other than finger paint.

She had stuck the purple paint in her ear and it took several days to get it out entirely. So long as she had fun, right? :) This is where she ended up shortly after though.
 

There was a funny colored ring around the tub afterwards. It reminded me of The Cat in the Hat Comes Back, when the cat leaves a pink ring in the tub after eating cake in it. 
 
Stay tuned. More posts coming!