Thanksgiving! We attended a potluck at church and discovered that there is such a thing as too much pie. (We brought nine and took home six.)
Saturday I and the kids went down to San Antonio to hang out with my brother and his family who were there for the vacation. We walked downtown through an awesome fountain park (stopped and played), had lunch on the Riverwalk (so cool) and toured the Alamo. The Alamo has gotten a lot more interesting since I was there last fifteen years or so ago. We walked back and spent a couple of hours at a super cool playground near the awesome fountain park, then walked back to their rental house and had dinner. It was really great to see them and hang out. Bobo had a great time with his cousin who was born the day after he was. Nut Brown also had a pretty good time, although he was getting tired of the younger kids by the end of it. Rosebud gets along well with my nieces too, so a lot of fun was had by all.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Monday, November 25, 2019
25 November 2019
Bobo and Rosebud are currently sleeping in 'hammocks' made out of quilts looped up on the bottom of the upper bunk. They are both on the bottom bunk inside their cozy cubbies. For an extra dose of cuteness, they have even had me make 'hammocks' inside their hammocks out of smaller blankets for them to tuck their favorite small stuffed animals in. The whole thing is extremely adorable.
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
20 November 2019
Tonight putting the kids in bed, Rosebud says to me, "Mom, I have a question." She has a specific way of saying 'question' that I can't translate into English phonetics. It's kind of like "kes-shun". She has a question every night, and it's usually related to something that just happened that evening and covers every topic from science to fantasy to imaginary friends.
The following is not an exact transcription, because it was a long conversation, so I may put more adult words into her mouth than she actually used.
Rosebud: Mom, I can never feel God when I pray, so he must not be real, because I can never feel him in my body.
Mom: It takes practice to learn how to feel him, Miss B. But whether or not you feel him doesn't mean that he's not there. He is always there.
At this point, Bobo leaned over the divider and said: Rosebud, one time we had missionaries over at our house and they said that after you pray you have to listen in order to feel God.
Mom: Yes, you have to listen with your heart and your mind. It takes practice!
Rosebud: But I don't feel him in my mind!
Mom: Can I tell you about how God answered my prayers this morning? (She nods yes) This morning I prayed on the bus on my way to work and told God that I really needed to know that what I was doing was right. Really really really needed to know. Then I stopped and I listened hard with my mind and my heart, but I didn't hear anything. Then I got out my scriptures to read, and the verse on the page when I opened it said, "Judge not that ye be not judged" and I knew right away that it was the answer from God. I could feel it in my heart. So today God answered by the scriptures, so I had to be listening to the scriptures to hear God talking to me. It takes practice.
Mom: Okay, time for prayers. I'll say prayers tonight. (Rosebud does not like saying prayers and always asks me to say them at bedtime.)
Rosebud: That's right. No, I have to say prayers because I don't know how to listen!
And then she did pray, and I had a happy feeling in my heart listening to her. After she had prayed, she seemed very happy and cheerful and settled, so I would like to think that she was feeling the same happy feeling from the Spirit that I was.
I went around to tuck Bobo in, and the following conversation ensued:
Mom: Don't forget to say your prayers tonight, okay? (one of the sadnesses in my life is that Bobo has decided to keep his prayers between himself and God. He prays so sweetly and tenderly when he is genuinely talking to God.)
Bobo: I already said my prayers, Mom. And I listened hard but I didn't hear anything.
Mom: Sometimes it is hard to hear. Tonight when Rosebud was praying, I had a very quiet happy feeling in my heart, and I know that was the Spirit rejoicing in Rosebud's prayer. But it was a very quiet feeling.
Bobo: I think maybe I do feel a little better about making friends. That's what I was praying about.
The following is not an exact transcription, because it was a long conversation, so I may put more adult words into her mouth than she actually used.
Rosebud: Mom, I can never feel God when I pray, so he must not be real, because I can never feel him in my body.
Mom: It takes practice to learn how to feel him, Miss B. But whether or not you feel him doesn't mean that he's not there. He is always there.
At this point, Bobo leaned over the divider and said: Rosebud, one time we had missionaries over at our house and they said that after you pray you have to listen in order to feel God.
Mom: Yes, you have to listen with your heart and your mind. It takes practice!
Rosebud: But I don't feel him in my mind!
Mom: Can I tell you about how God answered my prayers this morning? (She nods yes) This morning I prayed on the bus on my way to work and told God that I really needed to know that what I was doing was right. Really really really needed to know. Then I stopped and I listened hard with my mind and my heart, but I didn't hear anything. Then I got out my scriptures to read, and the verse on the page when I opened it said, "Judge not that ye be not judged" and I knew right away that it was the answer from God. I could feel it in my heart. So today God answered by the scriptures, so I had to be listening to the scriptures to hear God talking to me. It takes practice.
Mom: Okay, time for prayers. I'll say prayers tonight. (Rosebud does not like saying prayers and always asks me to say them at bedtime.)
Rosebud: That's right. No, I have to say prayers because I don't know how to listen!
And then she did pray, and I had a happy feeling in my heart listening to her. After she had prayed, she seemed very happy and cheerful and settled, so I would like to think that she was feeling the same happy feeling from the Spirit that I was.
I went around to tuck Bobo in, and the following conversation ensued:
Mom: Don't forget to say your prayers tonight, okay? (one of the sadnesses in my life is that Bobo has decided to keep his prayers between himself and God. He prays so sweetly and tenderly when he is genuinely talking to God.)
Bobo: I already said my prayers, Mom. And I listened hard but I didn't hear anything.
Mom: Sometimes it is hard to hear. Tonight when Rosebud was praying, I had a very quiet happy feeling in my heart, and I know that was the Spirit rejoicing in Rosebud's prayer. But it was a very quiet feeling.
Bobo: I think maybe I do feel a little better about making friends. That's what I was praying about.
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
19 November 2019
Yesterday we went to a skate park near our neighborhood to check it out. It was small but very very fun. Besides our roller blades we took the scooters, and we all had so much fun! Mr. Brown has a lot of experience with roller blading and he coached the older three kids (and me a little bit) through learning how to navigate some of the twists and turns and jumps and things. Nut Brown was especially good at it, just as he is with most things related to body movement. It was great to watch him. I also was impressed with how often Rose Pink kept getting up and trying again, even though it was not as intuitive to her. Bobo just raced around and around, and then I realized that he was jumping up on things and skating along the benches. Rosebud skated around and sang the whole time, such a cheerful noise. After awhile the littles gave up skates for scooters which was also joyful.
Today I had to go to work, but Mr. Brown took them back after homework was done, and as Rosebud scootered along with Mr. Brown she looked up at him and said, "I'm just so happy!"
Today I had to go to work, but Mr. Brown took them back after homework was done, and as Rosebud scootered along with Mr. Brown she looked up at him and said, "I'm just so happy!"
Monday, November 4, 2019
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