Curls, Poems, Testimonies, and Cancelled School

Julia sometimes does sponge curlers in her hair over night after taking a bath. Last night Agnes wanted to join her. I can't decide which was cuter, her with the curls in at night or the next day with the curly hair (sorry, I forgot to get a picture). Today when I dropped her off in her primary class. We walked by the nursery room and I asked if that was her class. She said no, took me by the hand, and showed me to the main primary room. I think she has really been enjoying being a big kid now. She was cracking everyone up in sacrament meeting today. She was at the end of our row and the patient young man was waiting for our family to finish up with the water. She insisted that she hold the tray. Rebecca rested it on some hymn books so she could think that she was holding it. Then she took her time picking out the exact right cups. After she drank it she loudly said something about there being just a little bit of water in it. Then she held the cup, made sure she had our attention, and asked if she should put it in the big slot or the little slot in the tray. She kept going back and forth big spot or little spot with a huge grin on her face. We were trying to motion the young man over to come and get it from her, but he didn't want to rush her. I could tell he was really stressed out about being way behind and all the other rows waiting on him. Finally, we were able to take it from her and give it to him. She then grabbed a hymn book and started to sing in her really high voice.



Julia and Ethan both shared their testimonies in church today and we were amazed at how well they did. Ethan talked about knowing that Heavenly Father, Jesus, and all of his family members love him. Julia talked about how valuable the atonement is and how we should really try to make use of it by repenting.

Julia has been on a poem kick lately. Here are a couple of her recent ones about me and Rebecca.



"Mom,
Kind and sweet.
Mother, you helped me since I was small,
And now I am tall.
I'll thank you with all.
Mother is so kind,
She helps anyone she can find.
Her cooking is great,
So we ate.
She has kind words to all,
Whether they big or small.
She came for the best,
Altogether she is put to the test.
I'll love her forever,
She is the best mom ever.
Love,
Your daughter,
Julia"

"Mom / Dad

Clouds race by,

On an evening sky,

While the sun goes downward,

But the Earth spins onward.

And the sky is turning,

Dark, dark, blue,

And the owl goes,

Whoo, whoo, whoo,

So I’ll love you too.

From Julia"

She wrote this one today because Christian is feeling sick.

"Christian
You are as nice as can be,
You're on of the best brothers as I can see,
I'll love you forever,
You're as kind as ever,
I hope you get feeling better,
Because you're one of the best brothers ever.
Even though you're sick,
You are as strong as a mountain,
But as handsome as a fountain.

Christian, I hope you get feeling better. I love you so much. I am praying for your. Get relaxed, and stay comfortable. Lots of love from, your sister, Julia."


We were thinking that this was going to be a long week for Julia, Ethan, and Christian, getting back into the school routine. Monday was off for New Years, but then because of all of our Monday night prep, Tuesday actually went pretty smoothly. Wednesday went fairly well too. And then school was canceled both Thursday and Friday. I was surprised about that, because they usually just do indoor recess when the weather is cold, so I didn't understand what the worry really was. On Friday in our car we saw it at -17. It has been pretty cold the past few days, but today it started warming up and tomorrow it is even supposed to rain!

Happy Birthday Elliott

Elliott turned five today!!! Now that he is five and he is missing both of his front teeth, he just seems like such a big kid. He also recently got a hair cut and I think that always makes our children look older.

Given that today was Fast Sunday, Elliott chose to celebrate his birthday yesterday. We started off with cleaning the church building (I know, it doesn't sound that fun, but it was our week and we let Elliott pick whatever job he wanted and I think he did end up having a lot of fun). For breakfast Elliott picked to have lemon poppy seed muffins which were super good. Then he opened up his presents. Some of the highlights were a bag that Julia had made for him (she has really become a pro with her sewing machine) and a ball from Christian. Usually we don't make our children give each other presents, but rather kind of just consider the presents to be from everyone. Christian though had been talking to Rebecca all week saying that he wanted to spend some of his own money on a gift for Elliott. We had already purchased the ball and Christian really liked the idea of just paying for that. It was neat to see how thoughtful and concerned he was.

After that it was pretty much lunch time. Elliott picked macaroni and cheese from a box. And then just everyone playing with Elliott's new toys. That lasted all afternoon! For dinner we had pizza and Rebecca and Julia had made a really yummy chocolate cake. Elliott had no problem blowing out the five candles, perhaps because he could get that extra air through the big gap in his front teeth.

The evening ended with his choice for a movie - Kung Fu Panda.

We are so glad that Elliott is a part of our family. His personality is very unique compared to our other children and he just loves being close to us and trying to make us feel happy. He is a pretty big guy though, so sometimes his physical attention ends up hurting some, but we still appreciate the love.

Here are some pictures of him with his siblings.