Update

It has been almost two years since my last post.  When I visited here last, the blog seemed more like a time capsule than what it should be--a chronicle of life as it happens.  I don't even know where to start!

Everett is now nine years old!  He was baptized in November of 2011.  He still loves to read and especially enjoys his visits to Fablehaven, Narnia, Camp Halfblood, and Hogwarts.  He has participated in cub scouts and soccer (though his interest in soccer seems to be waning), and this year he started playing basketball.  He is a bright boy.  I never have to help him with his homework.  (Actually turning in the assignments that he faithfully completes each day is another matter.)  Everett is very gentle and sweet with Emma and a good help at home.  He cheerfully clears our sidewalk and that of our 90 year old neighbor when it snows.  He also enjoys clowning around.

Lana, Gwyn, and Maddie have completed kindergarten, and are enjoying first grade.  I decided to keep them in the same class once again.  They interact well with each other and the kids in their class, and are most definitely individuals!  They have also played soccer.

Lana has overcome most of her eating difficulties!  She is often slow and easily distracted.  (She likes to talk.)  But she eats everything that everyone else eats, and sometimes asks for more.  I am so grateful.  She is small, but is able to attend school and eat lunch there with all the other kids.  I was also worried about how she would do in school because of how she got distracted and sometimes emotional, but she is doing great!  She stays on task and catches on quickly, especially with math.  She enjoys art, and currently loves dolphins.  She is a sensitive girl, moved easily to tears when she does something wrong and yelling when she's upset, but loving and happy the rest of the time.  Gwyn loves horses and her parents.  She often makes pictures and notes for me.  She makes friends easily.  She and Maddie both read very well for their age, barely stumbling over difficult passages in the Bible and Book of Mormon.  Maddie loves to dance and has a natural grace for it (her middle name).

Emma is a joy to me.  She is my little "ducky".  She has become a great talker, and I have just really enjoyed watching her grow.  She follows along with the rest of the kids and knows the program around here.  The only problem we've had is that she wants to say every family prayer and if it's not her turn, she just does it anyway right along with whoever else is talking.

Cary has been working hard.  Each year he has gone through the process of looking for a job.  He has been teaching at Pitt, and also led a study abroad group in France for six weeks.  Currently, he is teaching two courses and coordinating all of the French language courses at Pitt.  He is also one of Everett's basketball coaches and a great dad!

I have been adapting to our family's changing needs and growing appetites!  Cary's six weeks in France also meant six weeks on my own with the kiddos.  I was recently released from the Primary Presidency in our ward, and given the calling of Primary Music Leader.  So far I am enjoying it, and Emma loves to see what I'm preparing for the nursery kids each week.  I have grown to love all the kids in our ward, and am glad I get to keep working with them in some capacity.  I have also been one of Everett's den leaders since he started cub scouts.

We have made some big trips in the past two years, including two cross-country trips and one to France, but I'll have to write about them another time!

Did you know…

…that the correct response to “Capisce?” (cah-PEESH)  is “Caposh.”?

…that “pupcakes” are really yummy?

…that you can be in trouble or you can be in “big BAD trouble”?

...that the opposite of a “slow poke” is a “fast poke”?

…that it can be “the BEST DAY EVER!” almost every day?

…that I love being a mom?

Fish and Life Lessons

My parents went on a trip in January, and we volunteered to fish-sit for them.  My mom decided to actually bring the fish to our house (which was quite an endeavor since they need a rather large tank).

She brought the fish, and since there were four, the kids each named one.

Gwyn called hers “She She”

Maddie named hers “Susan Franklin”

Lana called hers “Sally jumps into the sky”

and Everett’s was “Charlie”.

 

The kids enjoyed watching the fish and really looked forward to feeding them.

The fish returned home to Grandma’s house after a few weeks, but the kids remember “their fish” and are happy to see them each time we visit.

On Sunday when we arrived at Grandma’s house, she informed Cary and I that “Susan Franklin” had died.  She asked us how we wanted to handle it, and we thought it would be good for the kids to know about it, and help bury the fish.

Mom told the kids what had happened, and then asked what we do with a dead fish.  Lana piped up and said “We eat it!”Lana cried right away when she actually saw the fish though.

Then she consoled herself with the idea that the fish would be “resurrected after three days”.  (We’ve been teaching them a lot about why we celebrate Easter lately, but it seems we have a little more to teach.)

Grandma has promised to buy a new fish for Maddie to name.