Early Theologians

Mackenna: "Are there two Gods?"
Me: "No. Why do you ask?"
Mackenna: "Because God prays."

Amazing conversation about the trinity ensues....Wowzers.

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Micah: "Hey, Dad, some people say that God shines. So, do you think that maybe God is the sun?"

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Did they grow a year in the week I was gone?

Things I have heard my kids say in the 9 hours I have been home from Indiana...

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Mackenna, after hearing someone say to "relax" on the TV: "Relax is not something that kids like to do."

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Micah, coming in the front door: "Mom, do you know what that pile is? That's my pile of random stuff."

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Me: "Did you go to the Dr. yesterday, Micah?"
Micah: "Oh, yeah, you mean the 'pick your nose appt'." (Referring to the ENT)

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Micah, while talking to me about a day that I didn't buy him a shirt at the mall: "...do you remember the day of our Disney World adventure when we took a break at the mall..."

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Dad, after the kids had asked me a lot what I had brought them back from my trip: "Are you happy to see your mom or just see the stuff?"
Both of them: "We like both."

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Micah: "You got two shirts for both of us; that means you got four shirts!"

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(lest you would think that I think he is a math genius or something...)
Micah, reading the sign 11:20 on something: "Look it says 'one-dee-one two zero'."

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Micah: "Jocelyn is the best baby in the whole world."
Mackenna: "That's not nice to the other babies."
Micah: "Well, Jocelyn is the best baby, but I won't tell other babies or else they would know that they weren't best."

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Micah: "This is the best popcorn in the whole world."
Mackenna: "That's not nice to the other popcorn."
(hmm...see a pattern here?)

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Micah: "You are the best mommy in the whole wide world. We have a wide earth. That means it is the widest planet. That means it is the biggest planet.
Me: "Well, the earth is not actually the biggest planet."
Micah: "Which one is? Let's look it up on the ipad."

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Mackenna: "I'm tired. Will you carry me inside?"
Micah: "Me too."
Me: "I'm tired too. Who is going to carry me inside?"
Mackenna: "We can't carry you. You are much bigger than us."
Micah: "And MUCH MUCH heavier."

My Sweet Cheeks

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Mackenna: "Micah kissed me."
Me: "Oh that's okay; you like kisses."
Mackenna, with horror and emphasis: "I don't want kisses from boys. They're diskusking."

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Mackenna, getting out of my bed after snuggling this morning, and realizing that I wasn't following her: "Mom, I want someone to come with me."
Me: "I'm coming sweetie; I'm just slow."
Mackenna: "But you're not slow when you make food."

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Mackenna, said with such energy and enthusiasm I can't even explain: "Mom, we have Sprite. Mom, you have Sprite. Sprite is GREEEAAAAT!"

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(In a conversation before I was going to go visit my sister)
Mackenna: "I miss Elliana."

Me: "I know, friends are pretty great. You know, a great thing about family, is that for a long time, Jocelyn will never move away from you."

"No, she is a part of our family....But someday, when she grows up, she'll move away and become a mommy."

"Well, hopefully she'll become a wife and then a mommy. We pray that you'll love Jesus by that point and want to do things the way he commands."

"And you'll be a grandma."

"I know, I can't wait. That's the whole reason I became a mommy was to be a grandma."

"But you'll have wrinkles."

"That's okay. Because you know what the wrinkles mean? They mean that I lived a happy life."

"No, they mean you are old."

How did she get this big?

Me, at dinner tonight: "Mackenna, you are smart, and beautiful, and funny."

Mackenna: "I want to be cool."

She then changed her mind.

"No, I don't want to be cool."

Moving on up...

Well, summer happened. It was fast, wonderful, and full of so many people that we love. More on that later...maybe??

And today we moved on to THIS...











We started the day with scrambled eggs (which they ate...thankfully), Wild Krats (which they had time to watch because they ate...thankfully), changing into the new outfits they picked out, and pictures.

We were early to school, because there has to be one day that that happens. Drop off is on the playground, which will allow me to leave Jocelyn in the car while I sign them in. I am thankful for that. Before we pulled away, we saw each of them talking to at least one child, and really not sticking together much.

We were also early for pickup, because there also has to be one time for that. We observed them sitting in circle time singing a song about fishies. Mackenna was doing the appropriate hand motions and singing along. Micah was sitting there. They both got a sticker for the day, and the teacher said it went well. In separate meal time prayers, they both thanked God for wonderful days - I guess that is all I can ask for!

I think I feel a little weirder facing tomorrow - Day Two - then I did about day 1. I have dropped them off places before for one day and had a little time to breath, but then it is usually back to the normal gearing up for a crazy day at home the next day. Today as I was realizing that Curt will go to work tomorrow and we have no groceries and the laundry isn't quite done and I was beginning to go into my Manic Monday night mode...I remembered that tomorrow will be another quiet morning at home with Jocelyn. I'm thankful for that, but also a little weirded out by it too - more perplexed than sad. I am looking forward to the routine - I think it will be good for us.

We ended the day with Tortellini and a trip for ice cream...and of course, bed!

Here's to a great practice run at this thing called school :)


Oh...and tomorrow my baby turns 11 months old. I haven't written her a monthly letter since 7 months. It is too late to "catch up" but I am determined to write something about her tomorrow...since waiting until the next month would mean than she would be 1!! So, that hopefully means two posts in two days!

Mom Week

Where is the time going? 

We had a wonderful mother's day weekend last weekend - at least I did. Jocelyn and I were able to go the beach alone on Saturday while the older kids did some mother's day stuff with dad. I stayed home with Jocelyn from church on Sunday because of a gunky nose, and that was nice in its own respect. Curt did a great job of making lunch and giving me as much down time as possible on Sunday and Monday. I have a sweet family.

They have also said some cute stuff this week too. I've been waiting until I felt in a more "eloquent" or "sappy" mood to write this stuff out. That's not going to happen, so here it goes...

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As we were getting ready for church - 
Mackenna, to Jocelyn: "She's so big."
Me: "I know, how did she get so big?"
Mackenna: "She growed."..... (sensing that I was not okay with this fact) "I don't want you to stop her."
Me: "But then she'll be as big as you."
Mackenna: "I know, she has to grow. That's what big kids do."

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When I tried to wake Micah when he fell asleep during listen books at "rest" time - 
Mackenna: "We should just leave him alone."

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Mackenna: "Can I have another one of your treats?"
Me: "No, they are mine."
Mackenna: "It's okay, I just want some of them."

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Micah, to me: "What are your favorite colors?"
(We go through a whole list, and he picks out those colors to use in his coloring picture.)
Micah: "I'm just going to try them and see if I like them."
(He tries them)
Micah: "Okay, I like them, so I can use them."

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Mackenna, praying: "Thank you for this wonderful day. Thank you for this wonderful world. Thank you for Mother's Day."

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Micah: "When will it be the next Mother's Day?"
Me: "Well, can't every day be Mother's Day?"
Micah: "No, then we won't have our next Christmas."

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Mackenna, to Daddy: "When I get bigger and Micah goes with you to work then I'll stay with mommy and we'll watch the babies."

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Daddy, to Mackenna: "Look at my two pretty girls. Do you think Jocelyn is pretty?"
Mackenna: "Yes."
Daddy: "You know, when she grows up, she's going to look up to you, and you need to be a good example for her."
Mackenna: "When I grow up, I'm going to tell her what to do."

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(Although I couldn't catch the details, I did overhear a conversation between M&M tonight about how they were going to get married and they would kiss everytime Mackenna said so.)

An Instagram "10 on 10"

A little bit of Daisy to start our day.


Me and my girls - while my son checks out the trains.


Mackenna was naming the dwarfs. This one she called "Yawny."


Love this shot. (I have found sunglasses really improve a picture of my kids...can't really tell if they are looking or not :)


This handsome guy was there with us too :)           {Photo edit by Mackenna}


A couple of different shots of one scene.


Love watching my little artist develop...and love her brother too.


It seriously is like just wearing a permanent hug.


My Marie-Wearing-Girl meets Marie!
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Another lovely shot and edit by the talented Mackenna.


It may have taken a little bit of bribing, but they had so much fun on Soarin.' Even rode it twice.


My favorite backseat view, and my kids favorite Mickey ears. A good end to a day and a getaway.


Don't worry. My "11 on 11" would have been much less exciting and "glamorous." I promise you.

Love these kids

My family never ceases to make me smile...

The other night Mackenna got up to use potty before going to sleep for real. I hugged her and told her she was the best big girl ever. She responded, "but not when I disobey." So true.

Micah must have asked me something about if he could do something at some point in the future. I must have said "I don't care." I clearly don't remember the context very well. What I do remember is what he said a few minutes later. Out of the blue he asked, "Mom, does 'I don't care' mean yes? or no?" Funny kid.

As if the differences between boys and girls weren't always clear to us, we were reminded of the difference when we were at Animal Kingdom a few weeks ago. Micah had been asking to ride the train all day (probably another story), but at this moment, we were at the Lion King show. Both kids were having a great time in the beginning. It was action packed and fun. After the monkey dancers did their thing, the mood shifted and a graceful bird dancer took center stage. We experienced two different reactions to this. Micah turned to dad and said, "I sure am looking forward to riding that train." Mackenna then calmly and quietly, in a "beautiful voice," said, "This is my favorite part."

P52 - Things that Grow

Alternate Title...."Better Late Than Never"




For this last week's theme, I wanted to highlight some of the things that are growing around my house.

While we were at Disney two weeks ago, Micah was walking down the path after leaving an animal trail. He just announced in his surprised voice, "Hey...5 plus 5 is 10!" Curt and I looked at each other with a little bit of shock. He was holding up his two hands with five fingers each, and it was clear that he was thinking through the total number of fingers showing. Curt asked him about some other doubles, like four plus four. He would hold up one hand with four fingers and another with four fingers, count them, and then tell us the answer. We were in total shock that he was just coming up with this with absolutely no prompting from us. We decided to ask him about a non-double and see what his little overdrive brain did with that one. We asked him what two plus three was. He did his two hand finger routine and announced that it was five. This next thing is what made my jaw really drop. He said, in total and complete shock, "Hey...there are two ways to make five! There is this way (holding up one hand with five fingers) and this way (holding up two hands, one with two fingers and one with three fingers.)" I about fell over. I decided to press my luck and ask him about one plus four. The same routine. Once announcing that it was also five, he said "Hey...there are three ways to make five!" I love that his brain loves figuring things like this out, and that learning can totally happen by just being with his family and exploring the world.



Mackenna showed her growth this week in her fine motor, creative, arts and crafts abilities. Nana sent us these super cool sticker mosaic craft kits. They had got them in the mail and were really excited about them. I thought they were neat, but wasn't up for tackling a project that day. A little later, I was in a different room, and I heard Mackenna talking about completing one of the pictures. I was panicked about the mess she was making and the way she had probably ruined the craft kit and had done it all "wrong" since I hadn't explained to her ANYTHING about what she was supposed to do with it. I came into the room to see that she had nearly completed the high heel mosaic picture, and it looked just like the picture on the box. She had figured it out, got it out, and done it all on her own. It made me smile...a proud and surprised smile.

>

They really are growing up - and I'm loving most every minute of it.

Twinsies

Overheard from the backseat when we were leaving a friend's house....

Mackenna: "I want to stay at E's house. I love her. I want to stay there."
Micah: "No don't stay there, then we won't be a family, then I won't have a sister."
Mackenna: "Micah, you'll have a sister."
Micah: "But I want to be with you."

Random Hearings in my House

Micah: "Can I have one of these?" (holds up a Reese's)
Me: "No, you picked a Snickers for your treat."
Micah: "But I didn't like it."
Me: "But you ate it all."
Micah: "I was just tasting it to see if I liked it. And I didn't."

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Micah: "I know why I can't pull the weed out. Because ants are in the ground pulling it down."

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Mackenna: "This strawberry is too small. I need to eat it."

(lots of other strawberry cuteness...like them eating the whole patch and her being my little helper through the whole job of cleaning them and making jam. She was a trooper - and actually helpful.)




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Mackenna: "Don't lay Jocelyn there. That is Raelyn's blanket."  (Raelyn is Mackenna's doll)
Me: "No, all of this stuff is Jocelyn's. It is okay if Raelyn uses it, but it is all Jocelyn's. Jocelyn is more important than Raelyn."
Mackenna: "No."
Me: "Your doll is more important than your sister?"
Mackenna: "No, they are both important."




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Mackenna, while picking up her room: "I don't want to do this anymore. I want to do something else.
Me: "Well, who made the mess."
Mackenna: "I did."
Me: "Well, who should clean it up then?"
Mackenna: "Daddy"


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Micah, after leaving a store where we bought nothing: "What did we buy in that store?"
Daddy: "Nothing."
Micah: "Well then, why did we go in there?"
Daddy: "Son, that is a question you will be asking women for the rest of your life."
Mommy silently shakes her head.

Be Still

This week's p52 theme was "Be Still." These images from this week immediately came to mind. Sometime in the last year, our older kids started getting into bed with us in the morning. They usually make their way individually into our room sometime after 7, and we can usually keep them with us until around 8:00. Sometimes they are restless and chatty, but many times they fall back asleep as we slowly start our morning together. I was debating changing up this routine, but the day I heard this conversation between Micah and Mackenna, I ended that debate in a hurry.
Micah: "Mackenna, Mackenna, wake up. It's light outside."
Mackenna: "Oh."
Micah: "Do you know what that means? Do you know what time it is? .... It's SNUGGLE TIME!"
And then all I heard was two pairs of feet running into my bed. Pure Sweetness.

On this particular day, they must have been really tired, because Curt and I both had gotten up and taken showers before they even moved. My sleeping babes. Still. Sweet.







And, yes, that is a boy holding his twin sister's hand. I'm so glad they have each other.

First trip to Disney in 2012

Bottom Line: We like Disney World. All of us. I have officially converted Curt to my side on this one. We sat down on a Sunday afternoon and discussed our options for where to buy family passes with some of our Christmas money. There were options that were more budget friendly than Disney, but none that we knew our kids (and us) would enjoy as much. And these were Curt's words. He has come so far! There are some perks to living in Florida, and our closeness to Disney, and the reduced prices that come with that, are some of them. So, after talking about it on Sunday, we went on Monday.

That night, Mackenna woke up coughing. Curt brought her into bed with us and then promptly went back to sleep while I laid awake as she repeatedly coughed in my ear. We moved to the lazyboy sometime around 3 am. I was worried this would cause us to cancel our plans (we hadn't told the kids yet). In the morning, I asked Mackenna how she felt, and she said "great," even before I asked the question, "Do you want to go to Disney World today?" Ha. What kind of question is that. Mackenna responded with her high pitched "yes." Micah responded with "after I watch my shows."

We reminded the kids on the way over to Disney of our new family mantra, "no crying at Disney World." They get it, and pretty much live by it. We can't wait for them to teach Jocelyn the motto too.

We left the house sometime after 8 and were in the gates by 10:30. It was probably our latest arrival at Disney World yet, but having multiple day passes helped us keep a rather low key attitude about the whole thing. Remember - even for mamas - no crying at Disney World.

We did all of our favorites, and some new things too. Dad and the older kids rode Buzz Lightyear, while Jocelyn snoozed in the stroller. We rode the racecars. We were able to do a baby swap for this one, so Micah and Dad waited in the line while Mackenna, and Jocelyn, and I hung out - and even met the White Rabbit. Then Mackenna and I were able to go back and ride later without waiting. That worked out nicely. Mackenna and Dad rode the teacups; Micah passed this time. We ate lunch and then attempted to all ride Small World. We learned that Jocelyn does NOT like the Ergo carrier at this point. She only wants to face out. And she does not want to sleep in our arms. So after screaming through line (only her, not me), we decided it was best to not subject everyone in our boat to her screaming during the ride too. She and I excused ourselves and she happily went to sleep in her stroller.











We took turns using our fast passes on Peter Pan and then decided it was snack time. Usually snack time comes during Micah and Mackenna's nap time in the stroller. Since those are things of the past, we all got to partake in snack time. They had their first Dole Whip experience. It was definitely a hit. Mackenna was happy to share with me instead of Dad since I'm still watching the amount of dairy I eat for Jocelyn's sake (but I'm thrilled to report that I'm eating much more dairy than I ever thought possible!)









We explored Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse for the first time, and then headed over to Tomorrow Land because Micah wanted to ride the airplanes. We stopped by the castle because we realized it was almost time for the parade. We got a good spot, and I took Jocelyn into the babycare center to feed her. I would have stayed and rocked her longer, but I realized that if I didn't leave, I was going to be trapped on the opposite side of the street during the parade.





How did they get so old?







He honestly was turning around to say "MICKEY!" to me in this photo. Precious.





Curt then took the kids on the airplane/rocket ride....that they insisted that they wanted to ride. Afterwards they decided that it was too fast and too high. Yay. That line is too long anyway. We all rode Buzz Lightyear together - Jocelyn's first ride. We then needed something else to do and someplace to sit for a minute, so we ended up at the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor. Funny story (at least to me). I decided to take advantage of a show and the sitting down to feed Jocelyn. I was covered, but it is still fairly obvious what I was doing. I realized after the show got started that they incorporated live video feed of audience members into the show. Oh well - surely we won't be on the screen. But one of us was - not me thankfully - but Mackenna was picked to be "Boo." It was so cute and shocking to see her up there. The show is really cute.

We ended our day with seeing a bit of the show at the castle, taking some pictures by the castle, visiting the princesses (Mackenna) and Mickey (Micah). We also had Jocelyn take a picture with the Minnie statue. We wanted to find something that we could count on being able to photographer her with each time we are there. If we go a few more times this year, it will be a cute way to document her growth. Next time, I'll have her looking at Minnie, don't worry.











Telling Cinderella that she is three. (Again, I was the least impressed with Cinderella. She doesn't live up to her much anticipated reputation.)



Since this was our first Disney trip in the "post nap" era for the twins, the level of tiredness at the end of the day was at an all time high. They seriously were asleep before we got on the monorail. This was cute and all, but then we were left at the tram station realizing that there was no way we could get two sleeping toddlers, a baby, our bags, and our collapsed stroller onto the tram. We had to walk to the car. Which wasn't that far...but at the end of the day, it feels far...because it actually kind of is. We ate at Chick-fil-A in Kissimmee, put jammies on everyone, and had them all in bed by about 8:45. Not bad. It really is crazy how much we were able to do at Disney and we weren't really even gone from our house for much more than 12 hours.



A few other random memories:
- We met Mary Poppins for the first time. Micah didn't want to hug her. Mackenna did. She was charming, as expected. Characters like that deserve way more money than the ones who get to hide behind costumes and not talk to children.
- I asked Mackenna who her favorite princesses were that day. She said all of them.
- Micah said his favorite thing that day was the Monster show. (For the record, he acted bored and asked for a snack the whole time we were there.)
- Mackenna said her favorite thing was the Rabbit in Wonderland.
- They both agreed that their other favorites were Peter Pan and Small World.
- Mackenna insisted that the next time we are there, she is going to ask Alice if the Chesire Cat is there that day. We'll see if she remembers.
- I can't believe I actually managed to go to Disney for a day and not ride Small World. Wow.