Lessons

This last weekend we all learned a lot together as a family- but let me back track just a bit.

Last October Abby came home from school with a goldfish. She had bought it from the 2nd grade "Trading Post" with her "Bug Bucks" (i.e. Being Unusually Good Bucks) she had earned during that month. Lucky for her we still had our old bowl from the previous venture into the world of fish, so this new fish had an instant home and immediately fell deep into that child's large heart. He was a traditional orange goldfish and was aptly named Pumpkin- it was almost Halloween so it seemed fitting. This fish became the pride and joy of the family- she fed it, all the girls watched over it with protective eyes and the duty of cleaning the bowl landed in my lap. Call me lazy if you must, but I don't really care for this task. Every time I had to clean that bowl terror spread through my bones as I was rocketed back to last spring when all three of the girls fish went belly up after my cleaning! I didn't want to do that to her again!! Alas, the days went by, the weeks swept past and turned into months until January reared it's dull and dreary head. I started to notice that sweet Pumpkin seemed to be slowing down, not moving as much and I swear at times he was swimming crooked. I tried to prep her with the possibility that he was getting old but Abby would hear nothing of the sort.

Then one afternoon two weeks ago she appeared from school with another fish- this one was named Ponyo (after the Disney movie they had just watched) and we added him to the bowl. I decided that with two fish that darn bowl was going to need a more frequent cleaning and I dreaded the thought- so we went out and brought home a filter tank- that would sustain itself for a much broader period of time, thus alleviating my work load! Naturally, with the added space this was providing, Eva and Liv each picked out a fish as well and a sucker fish was placed in to keep the algae at bay.

All this time poor pumpkin was looking worse and worse- his tail was falling off and we started to notice that his color wasn't looking so well- after research we concluded that he had fin rot which would spread to the others. It was time to have a deep hearted discussion with Abby- the time had come to say goodbye to an old and trusted friend.

This time the pain ran deep. Her poor heart was broken- he had been with her so long. In her infantile memory it had been a lifetime, she couldn't remember a time without him. She was distraught to say the least but understood that he had to go or he would make all the other fish sick as well. She put on a brave face as Paul did the deed of pulling the handle and she didn't watch as he swirled away into the abyss. Hand over her eyes she ran off in tears. I found her in the back corner of her closet with the door shut sobbing. I gently opened the door and lifted her out, placed her in my lap and we rocked together for a long time- no words, just understanding of hearts- hers was shattered and mine broke for her. The silence soon gave way to a loving discussion of life's plan, our purpose, and death. Each life on this earth was given by our Heavenly Father, we were all sent here with a purpose to fulfill, and death is not the end, it is the beginning of the next step, the next level of our existence. While we are sad to say goodbye, we are happy knowing that they are moving on, returning to our Father in heaven and the loved ones waiting to meet them with open arms, and we will see them again. Abby decided that Pumpkins life purpose was for her to learn how to love and care for something- I decided that he was here to teach her a life lesson about letting go and trusting in the lord.

Today we went out and purchased a new fish for her (with Louisa of course)- Star. Shining bright in the memory of a loved one. Oh, and she wouldn't leave with out a Snail too- I guess we are fish people now- who knew right?

This post dedicated
in Loving Memory
to

Pumpkin

October 15 2010- January 30th 2011

N is for...

Let me give you a slice of my everyday life for a moment. Each and every day- multiple times a day- hundreds of times a day- from the moment she opens her eyes in the morning until the second she shuts her lids in the evening- Eva will ask me if she can be my puppy. She LOVES to pretend being a puppy, but not just any puppy- MY puppy. Sometimes she will ask Paul if she can be his puppy, but mostly I have the duty of being her owner, caretaker and companion. At times it comes in handy because MY puppies must be obedient at ALL times, they go to bed when they are told, brush their teeth when asked and most importantly they eat the food given to them at meal times- without arguing or crying. That, as everyone knows, is NOT proper puppy behavior!!! I am happy that her puppy pretend has not ventured into the realm of needing to take off her clothes. It hasn't yet occurred to her innocent mind that animals don't wear clothes like little girls and for that I am truly happy.

So you can see why today, after picking her up from preschool, and starting in on her lunch I was not surprised to hear the familiar request lofting up from behind me "Mommy, can I be your puppy?" I turned around to give my usual response of "Yes Eva, you can be my puppy" when I was greeted with this:


How could we possibly have lived this long without "N" week at preschool?! Really, "Noses" have enlivened our lives and broadened our imaginative horizons!!!

She must have been asking Mrs. Sherrie if she could be her puppy too!

Satisfying

This weekend we had no plans, no work and nowhere to be. In an effort to keep ourselves from going insane, Paul and I decided to pull out our home projects wish list - dust it off and pick two things that we could accomplish in one day. It was determined that we would divide and conquer two items on the list that have been there since the day we moved in. Not huge items, but small things - finishing touches, the icing, the gravy shall we say.

Project #1 by Paul's expert hands: Crown molding on our undressed kitchen cabinets. We have pretty basic cabinetry- it serves it's purpose and we have no complaints except to say that they look a little naked. (One day we will refinish them, but that is NOT a one day project my friends)

Ahhh- now that is better!Plus this gave me an excuse to clean all my dust traps I have on display up there, bonus item on the list done!

Project #2 by me (Bree, in case you were confused!): Painting the exterior lights.

Naturally I forgot to take the before picture- the excitement was just too strong to break for such things! I will just explain that they were, in a previous life, brass but had aged and rusted to the point that there really wasn't much of a finish to be had. I didn't even have to sand them. You have that picture in your mind- OK, now the new(ish) lights:
SOOO much better! A sleek satin black. Now my eyes can relax every time I pull into the driveway or when I have to answer the door. My cornia's are very pleased!

Not to bad for one day projects right?!! I will just continue to pat myself and Paul on the back for a job well done. In fact we took ourselves out to dinner that night just to celebrate our own sense of self satisfaction!! Way to go team Braul!!

The Dress

Abby and I had a photo shoot on Sunday afternoon- what! -how else are we going to pass the hours when she has a new BEAUTIFUL white dress for her baptism, and a darling smile just begging to be preserved for generations to come! My friend Tina (who is a talented photographer herself) let me borrow one of her backdrops that went so perfectly with the dress. I find it so hard to take portraits this time of year with it being so grey, dreary, gloomy and freezing outside- so THANKS Tina! Not to mention that Lime Green just so happens to be Abby's new favorite color- PERFECTION!!

...and so I give you Abby- the pictures speak more than I can say- I just LOVE her!

Great to be Eight!

My New Years Eve Baby has finally reached her 8th birthday!!! She didn't think it would ever come and she is excited to say the least. This is a monumental birthday and with it comes big responsibility. She has now reached the age of accountability and with that comes big choices. Her first choice she wished to make was to have her ears pierced. Now I am of the persuasion that when the girls ask to have them pierced then I would let them. Paul however is of different thinking, this being that they should wait until they are 12. So she set about persuading him that at the age of 8 she was old enough to take care of them and responsible enough to not lose every pair of ear rings she has- and she won the battle (being that she has him wrapped around her finger!) And so, amid the frigid temps, drifting snow and sheets of ice that were the roads, we made our way to the mall to begin her celebration. Now it must be told that while Paul did finally give his approval to the action he did then begin to fill her mind with horror stories and tales of blood shooting out her ears and passing out because of the excruciating pain that would envelop her (all to try and have her change her mind). Non of this swayed her but as we walked into the shop her nerves were jumping out of her skin!! I don't think I have ever seen her so excited and soooo nervous at the same time!! But she climbed up in that chair, clutched the teddy bear they gave her tight and went for it!!Oh, and these two- they looked on in complete amazement of her bravery!
They look great on her!! She didn't even cry, she was so brave! We followed up by having lunch in the food court and shopping for some new shoes. She declared it the best day ever! When we got home that evening she ran in and showed Paul and he declared "You really look like an 8 year old now"!! I don't think her grin could have been any wider!!

Happy Birthday Abby- good things really do come to those who wait!!

Pageantry and Tradition

And the month begins. This week I feel very busy, lists have been made (I'm not even a listy kind of person), my calendar is marked up and we will see if I can make it through this week! My month of holiday festivities officially started last Thursday when we attended Olivia's theatrical debut in her Kindergarten Devotional.
Those lucky little ones get to do the Christmas themed one each year and Livvy was so excited. I was surprised at her confidence on stage, she is a pretty shy little girl, but she jumped right up and delivered her line clear and precise without any hesitation. She really wanted to be an Angel and play the musical instruments (like Abby did when she participated) but she was assigned the part of a stable girl who swept it out in preparation for the savior's arrival- they sang the song "A Stable Fit For a King". It was cute and she did a wonderful job!

Next we had the Ward Christmas Breakfast on Saturday- and we even made it in time to actually sit and have some food this year!!! High fives all around for that accomplishment!!

The girls had been preparing for their meeting with Santa all week. They wrote down their wish list and took it with them that morning. This was to help them discuss what they really wanted without anything being forgotten or lost in translation. That darling Santa had them place each list in his sack to take back to the north pole- he didn't want to make any mistakes on Christmas Eve!!
Up next? I get to help Abby's class build and decorate Gingerbread houses and then I will be at Liv's school helping with the Teddy Bear Hug Service Project they do every year to benefit a Homeless shelter in Ogden- I look forward to both!!

Honestly...

These two can entertain us for hours!!!! (Abby and her friend Louisa)
One day I found them taping up their faces and they had us all laughing uncontrollably
Then the next day they are standing in the sun and giving all the friends a sparkly shirt reflection dance show (because they always seem to be wearing the same things, I don't know if the girls have the same taste in clothes or if it is their mothers!)

This picture really doesn't do it justice- the ENTIRE room- walls, ceiling, floor- was covered in sequin shimmers!! All were oohing and awing at the display for quite some time and the hip shake dance was the finishing touch.

I am sure they would come by invitation to your next party, but there will be a small fee of sugar and craft supplies- at least that is what they charge me for this one of a kind entertainment.

Christmas break should get very interesting...