Become as little children

Savannah has taught me alot lately about holding firm to your values. At the beginning of the gymnastics season she made the decision not to compete on Sundays. We told her that we were proud of her and what a good choice we thought it was. So far she has competed in 1 of the 5 meets. Her all-around score in her only attempt was high enough to qualify her for the state meet in March.

I'm so proud of Savannah. She has made a hard but good choice to keep the commandments. I know, and more importantly, she knows that she will be blessed for sticking to her conviction.

Me and My Gang

There's nothing better at the end of a long day than a snuggle with my gang.

My Normal baby

Logan is my best eater. He likes to hang out in the refrigerator. We open it up for him and let him play. He loves it. It's the best way to get him to take his medicine. That's NORMAL, right? Hanging out in the fridge.

It gets better. He plays peek-a-boo from the pantry. He was not at all put off by the cabbage we let him play with. Although he did not eat it, he was not afraid to play catch with it. NORMAL. Playing baseball with a cabbage.

Snow Day?!?!

So this is the pitiful amount of snow that we got in our "winter storm". Of coarse school was cancelled and there was a run on bread and milk at the grocery store.

Dispite the obvious lack of accumulation, we played in the "snow". The girls taught Emma-Grace how to make a snow angel. She was very intent on throwing a snowball. She threw it toward me and then she stomped on it. Poor snowball, rest in peace.

Bathing Beauties

Logan and Emma Grace are beginning to be friends. Logan is old enough now to play with his sister. They are so funny. Sometimes they will get each other laughing so hard that Emma-Grace puts her head in her hands and cackles. When this happens Logan breaks down into giggles of his own. It's pretty hilarious to witness.

The other day they were playing and Emma-Grace spread her arms out wide and told Logan it was time to hug. He ran full force toward her, picked her up, continued running for 3-4 more steps, and then took her down hard. It was the most loving football tackle I have ever seen. Even Emma-Grace, though suffering from a mild case of whiplash, thought it was impressive.

They look like twins. I call them my "two babies". When they are getting along and being cute together, Emma-Grace will tilt her head to the side and say, "Aw, two babies."

Yes, they are, my two sweet babies. Life would not be complete without them.

Ten things about your Dad

Alyssa is reading “Because of Winn-Dixie” in her 3rd grade class. In the book “the Preacher” (the dad) tells the little girl ten things about her Mamma. It was really cute.

So here are ten things about your Daddy. Just in case you ever wonder.

1- Your Daddy is a walking talking contradiction in terms. He LOVES ketchup. Puts it on everything. But would rather die than eat a tomato. Dad never orders sea food, but he loves sushi and fishing.

2- Daddy is a natural athlete. I’ve seen him walk onto the field to play against players way younger than him. He always comes out the winner. When he tries a sport for the first time, it doesn’t take long for him to figure out every aspect of the game.

3- Dad always carries a knife. I used to think it was a weird “Boy Scout” thing, but there have been numerous times that I was glad he had a knife. Nothing scary, just helpful.

4- Dad is always helpful when he can be. He’s been late from work because he was helping someone change their tire, or pulling them out of a ditch, or breaking into their locked car. (Those rowdy younger years come in helpful)

5- Daddy is easily misunderstood. Because of his super sarcastic personality, Dad is hard to read. He can come off as harsh or uncaring. Stick around a little longer and you’ll see that he is really a super compassionate man. He would give anything to a friend, or stranger for that matter, in need.

6- Daddy is dangerous with a spool of twine. He can tie all kinds of things into the back of a truck with a spool of twine. Nobody will follow you down the road for fear the precarious looking load will fall. But, don’t you worry, not one thing will fall as long as Daddy tied it there with his magic twine.

7- Dad always wears two pairs of socks. July heat? Two pairs of socks. Why? It’s just something that has stuck with him from his mission days. It’s always good, in his opinion, to have an extra set. Just in case.

8- Dad gives and expects everybody else to give 110% all the time. He gets very frustrated when he feels like someone is slacking. He gets equally frustrated with himself when he feels like he’s falling behind.

9- Dad loves the Lord. He has a firm testimony of our Savior. He tries very hard to live up to his potential.

10- Daddy loves being your Daddy. Out of all the things he does, being your Dad is, by far, his favorite. He cuts business trips short to come home to you. He turns down all kinds of extra activities because he would rather be with his kids. He has you wrapped around his heart.

It's Normal.

A few weeks ago, while we were trying to have a family dinner, Logan decided that he would “swish” his rice from side to side until every single piece of it ended up on the floor. The girls were shocked when I told them that I was not going to clean it up. At least not until it dried and I could use the vacuum. They thought that was the weirdest thing in the world. I informed them that it was not weird, it was NORMAL. It’s NORMAL for people to plant rice fields in their kitchens. Just watch your step.
I then proceeded to tell them how completely NORMAL our family is:
It’s NORMAL to play play dough at the dinner table while eating. NORMAL.
Going to the bathroom during a meal, every single meal. NORMAL.
It’s NORMAL to find colored pencils in the Honey Comb box. NORMAL.
It’s NORMAL to eat dinner in the bathtub. NORMAL.
That’s all the NORMAL things I can think of right now. I’ll add some more later. I’m quite certain we’re the most NORMAL people I know.