Where do babies come from?

Having children always livens things up. This morning Ethyn and Faith were at school and Abram was snuggling in bed with me. He brought up the subject of babies. Every once in a while he brings this subject up. I asked him if he wanted a baby (for those who are thinking it, no, we are not looking at having one). He said he wanted a baby boy for him and a baby girl for Faith. This is not something new at our house as Faith would say the exact same thing. I couldn't help but ask him where he would get his baby. He told me that him and I would have to go to the doctor and the doctor would rub soap on our (Abram and mine) tummies and when it dried there would be a baby in our tummies. How enlightened I felt. It is amazing what a 4 year old can teach you. I then asked him how the baby would get out. He said the doctor would cut a hole and pull the baby out. He was so matter of fact I decided not to argue. I wouldn't win.

Crackpot Friends

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them." "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them. SO, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path!

Night of the Notables

Last night we attended an event called 'Night of the Notables' for Ethyn. I thought y'all might like to see our public school system at work. Each of the 4th grade students picked a notable person to study for a month. They had to learn all about this personby reading books and getting info off the internet. They had a poster they had to fill in with a picture they had to draw of that person, what 3 things you should remember about them, what you may not have known about that person, what you could learn from that person, as well as a summary of their life. Last night each of the students dressed up like their notable person and brought 3 props. The students were each given space at a table to sit (128 students) while parents went around to each student. You could only ask yes or no questions to figure out who they were. Some were very easy, like with Albert Einstein, usually one of the props would say E=MC2. The top notables of the night. . .

George Washington (6), Martin Luther King Jr. (5), Abraham Lincoln (5), Amelia Earhart (5), Marie Curie (4), Albert Einstein (4), Orville Wright (4), Benjamin Franklin (4), Frederick Douglass (3), Leonardo da Vinci (3), Bill Gates (3), Tiger Woods (2), Mae Jemison (2), Helen Keller (2), Rosa Parks (2), Anne Frank (2), Susan B. Anthony (2), Neil Armstrong (2), Mother Theresa (2), Thomas Edison (2), Pocohontas (2), Laura Ingalls Wilder (2), Wilbur Wright (2), Sacagawea (2), Annie Oakley (2), Jackie Robinson (2), Andy Warhol (2), and Henry Ford (2).

As you can see the names vary from historical to recent history, well known to some I have never heard of, and I do enjoy learning about history. Ethyn picked Harry Houdini. He dressed in his church clothes minus the tie. He made a paper chain for his wardrobe to show that it was Houdini's specialty. His props were: an airplane (Houdini was a pilot, I did not know that), a poster with keys crossed out (to show he didn't need a key to pick a lock), and handcuffs. He said only 1 adult figured it out (it wasn't Heath or me because we already knew). It was very interesting to see what all these children had learned.

The other notable people (if you're interested). . .Cesar Chavez, Betsy Ross, Aunt Clara Brown, Meriwether Lewis, Harriet Tubman, Martha Washington, Dr. Suess, George H. Bush, George W. Bush, Thomas Jefferson, Princess Diana, Benus Williams, Mozart, Rembrandt, Elisabeth Cady Stanton, Jacqueline Kennedy, Jane Goodall, Beatrix Potter, Rachel Carson, R.L. Stine, Florence Nightingale, Wilma Rudolph, Bessie Coleman, Theodore Roosevelt, Cleopatra, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Davy Crockett, Queen Isabella, Kit Carson, Ruby Bridges, Sojourner Truth, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lady Bird Johnson, Francis Crick, Roger Bacon, James D. Watson, Susan Mkinney Steward, Elijah McCoy, Louis Pasteur, Alexander Graham Bell, Elizabeth Blackwell, MD and George Washington Carver.

Seals in the Night

Some of you may know this feeling, others may not. You're lying in bed at night, tired. You know you should be asleep but your thoughts are wandering from the many blessings you have in your life to the many challenges or difficulties you may be facing. You look at the clock and realized you really do need to get some sleep. There are children to get off to school in the morning. You hear the youngest crying. You crawl out of your nice warm bed and stumble throung the dark, cold house to the side of your little one. You pull him up in your lap and hold him close. He coughs and you hear that sound. . . the first time I remember that sound, I was a child. My parents took the family to the Oregon coast. This is a vacation I later recreated with my own family and children but for some reason I remember the trip as a child most. We went to this small aquarium and just inside the door and to the left was a small (for this animal) enclosure of about 3 seals. For a small amount of money you could buy some fish to feed them. It was so exciting for a girl from a small farm town in Idaho.

But last night I was far from this vacation and that bark is anything but a seal. Someone would think by now I would be a seasoned mom and know what to do and not be worried. When Ethyn was a baby I was more like that. Get the humidifier, give them Robitussin and don't worry, they'll get over it eventually. Now I always get worried. After countless rounds of pneumonia, I never know how bad it will get. It was only 6 weeks ago that he got over the last bout with pneumonia. I used to think that the older I get, as a mother, the less I would worry. Not true, I get more worried. With 3 kids it seems 1 of my children is always sick.

When my children are sick, I do the best I can to keep my children home. I don't want other moms to go through this just because I wanted to go out. If I am out and I hear other children coughing, I will gather my children and go home. I really don't like the way that sounds or how rude it comes and I don't really mean to. I know there are germs and infections out there and we can't save ourselves from every one of them, I'm not a germophob, and I don't go crazy disinfecting everthing my family comes in contact with. I am just one tired mom who would love to go through 2 months without a sick child.

Hinckley Challenge

I just wanted to write a little bit about how grateful I am to have accepted the Hinckley Challenge along with my husband. For those who don't know about this you can visit www.hinckleychallenge.com. We really don't read together the same verses or even chapters at the same time, but we do read next to each other. I commented to Heath about this and he said it's just like the Godhead, we are separate and distinct individuals, but one in purpose. He always has a way of saying things in such a way that amazes me and makes me laugh all at the same time. As we read we will often stop each other and talk about how this applies to us. I am so grateful for the love and guidance of a wonderful prophet.

Tagged

So, a friend of mine (Stacey) got tagged with this. She didn't have the heart to tag anyone else. She didn't know whether it would be a burden. I understand as I would probably do the same thing. I want to carry it forward though so I will tag a few friends, though I'm not sure I know how. . .SO, Michelle, Linda, Diann, Tamara and Ann if you read this consider yourself tagged. Surely it won't take long to answer these questions and it is so much fun to read other peoples answers.

How long have you been together? 11 1/2 years, (10 1/2 married) Wow, time flies!!!
How long did you date? 1 year, 1 month, 2 days
How old is he? Freakin' old!!!!! 33!!!!
Who eats more? Depends on what's for dinner. I usually eat more unless it's steak or ribs. He is so picky I gave up pleasing his meat and potato taste years ago.
Who said "I love you" first? Totally him. Afterwards, I was thinking 'what should I say?' He asked me what I thought about that.
Who is taller? Heath
Who sings better? Neither one of us are big singers. He can't read music. I sing more though (YW and having children does that to you)
Who is smarter? That is so not a fair question. It is totally different. He has a sem-photographic memory. I'm good with numbers, usually.
Who does the laundry? I do. Not because he can't, but because he can't do it right. (I'm just picky)
Who does the dishes? Whoever gets to it first. We have kids though. Faith empties the dishwasher. We are starting Ethyn on loading but we rarely have him do it.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Heath (I think. Is that the right side as you sit in bed? If so, Heath)
Who pays the bills? He makes the money, I spend it. Just joking, he makes the money, I make it stretch as far as possible.
Who mows the lawn? Whoever gets to it first. I do enjoy mowing the lawn but we started Ethyn into mowing last summer. The neighbor noticed and hired him to mow their lawn too.
Who cooks dinner? Again, whoever gets to it first.
Who is more stubborn? Anyone who really knows us, know that one. It's a no brainer, ME, and he would tell you that is the truth!!!
Who kissed who first? Heath asked me if he could kiss me (he knew I'd never been kissed before and knew that it was a big step).
Who asked who out? Blind date, though he did call first.
Who proposed? Heath, twice. I turned him down the first time (I was 18 and so scared).
Who is more sensitive? Me.
Who has more friends? Heath has more friends that he stays in contact with from childhood. Now, we have a lot of the same friends but I probably have more because a associate with more people.
Who has more siblings? I do, with 3. We both have 2 brothers but I have a sister too (a wonderful, awesome sister)
Who wears the pants in the relationship? No brainer, I do. And yes, he would tell you the same.
Who are you tagging? Anyone who wants to be tagged. Normally I wouldn't tag anyone but I would especially love to see the answers of Michelle, Linda, Diann, Tamara and Ann.