puckettville

Matt got the brilliant idea the other day, to make a town with roads for Simeon. He decided to get everyone involved. It became a family project. He wanted Genesis to draw the roads, but soon she was frustrated and we figured out that by having a girl do the design meant having lots of buildings and meadows for animals and flowers, and a river. Which isn't really conducive for a "car driving" board. There was no more room for the roads. What is most important to boys are the roads. Having a big enough road in proportion to the cars so you could fit two lanes, having a parking lot with enough room to "back out", etc, etc. So we ended up compromising. We made the parking lot and roads a little bit bigger and then filled in with the grasses and houses and river. I think everybody was happy with the end result. It's kinda big and a pain to store and drag out every 5 minutes, but worth it. The kids really like it. I even find Glory in there by herself, playing.

The kids are being monsters attacking Puckettville in this picture. Too bad we couldn't fit their faces AND the board in the same picture, but I was already in the closet trying to take it.

glasses and therapy

We finally got Brooklyn in to see somebody about her school struggles. We discovered that her eye muscles are not strong enough to do all the things she needs them to do for school work. So she has glasses to help and she has vision therapy where she does exercises to help strengthen her eyes muscles. So her "daydreaming" and her "ADD" tendencies are probably a result of her overworked eye muscles. The doctor said if there are any other learning disabilities, they should come to light during the therapy. It will be a long road for us, but at least there is a path now. And she looks pretty cute in her glasses, too!

jesus knows bowser

Tonight's conversation with Simeon went like this:

S: Jesus Christ is Aw-aw-aw-awesome!

Me: Yes He is.

S: Yeah, He died for us.

(Wow, his nursery leaders have done a good job!)

Me: Yes He did! You're right. Do you know why He died for us?

Glory: Because He loves us so much.

Me: You're right. He loves us so much that He knew we would want to live with Heavenly Father again. He died for us so we could live with Heavenly Father again.

S: Yeah and now He's with Bowser (a character from Mario Brothers Video Game). Bowser has a castle.

Aaaannnnd.....we're done with the spiritual stuff.

happy b-day/lost and found

Happy Birthday to Brooklyn! She is 10! How did that happen?? She had a friend over to spend the night a few weekends ago and then on Saturday(the 25th) Matt and the kids went to the Puyallup Fair. I was horribly sick for several days, so I wasn't able to go. Matt bravely took all four munchkins to the fair......by himself! What a brave man!! They got up early to beat the rush and they made a lunch, packed the stroller and water and they were off!! I was peacefully enjoying my rest when I got a phone call several hours later.

Matt: "We lost Glory."

Deb: "What??!!"

M: "Simeon had to go potty, so I took him and when we came out, the girls told me they couldn't find Glory. She just walked off!"

D: "Ok."

M: "What should I do???? I don't even know what she's wearing!"

I was surprisingly calm and so was Matt!! He freaked out a little bit and when he was reporting to the police, got all kinds of info wrong, but she was safely found. Actually, after reporting to the police and feeling like an awful dad, Matt went back to the spot they last saw her and they were going to search. All of a sudden, Glory walks calmly toward them, like she's just enjoying a day at the fair. Of course when the girls ran up to her and started giving her hugs, she lost it. She had said a prayer when she realized she was lost. They immediately left with Glory holding onto the stroller with Matt's hand on top and Simeon buckled in the stroller, Brooklyn holding onto the other side of the stroller and Genesis holding Brooklyn's hand. Luckily they had already done all they had planned to do. Matt told me he's never going to the fair again by himself with all four kids. I don't see why. :0) What a crazy experience! It gladdened my heart that she had the peace of mind and the knowledge to say a prayer! How blessed we are! That evening at dinner, during "Best and Worst", everyone said their worst part of the day was when Glory got lost at the fair (even Simeon).

pictures

We took family pictures yesterday and Genesis wanted me to post some of the goofier ones. They are the most fun, after all!

Genesis was very rowdy in this pose!

This was one of the test shots, but Matt thinks this is how I normally look....like I want to punch somebody. Well, if people weren't stupid all the time, they wouldn't need punching!

a geek and a monologue

Genesis' class had a skit at school and she was a "geek". She was the only one that took the extra effort to get a "costume" and she was so proud of herself. I was proud of her too. First, for having the guts to act the geek part at the risk of "not being cool" and second, for going the extra mile and putting thought into her part. She was excited and wanted to take a picture. I think she did good!

The kids were assigned chores while I ran an errand and Brooklyn apparently got ahold of the camera and decided to video her thoughts on the subject. It is rather humorous, if you can understand what she says. Maybe it's just humorous to me, but I thought I'd share.

Ok, Matt informed me that it's not funny. So apparently I'm the only one that thinks so. The highlights of the "monologue" are when Brooklyn says "....now on to my mom's (laundry). I don't know why I have to do it, I mean, she can do her own laundry, can't she?" Also, when she says, "I'm almost done (with chores) so I'm not crying". And at the end, she says, "Bye, fans!" She is a character!

Did you know that Simeon hates toothpaste? He can't even stand the smell. We were reading books and Glory sat down with a toothbrush in her mouth and he told her to go away because he didn't like the smell.

Did you know that Matt has worked hard and lost almost 50 pounds?!? Yay Matt! We are proud of you and you look GOOD!

Did you know I'm having a really hard time keeping up with housework? I'm too busy!

Did you know Brooklyn did a really good job on writing a paper for school?

Did you know Genesis is not even 12 and already looks like a teenager? (with the attitude to match!)

new addition to our family

NO, it's not what you think!! Genesis has been begging me to post these pictures. So I finally have some time to do it. It's challenging to keep up with this stuff when you have coupons to clip and organize, a house to clean and organize, clothes to wash and fold, kids to entertain and take care of, school parent group to (sort of) run, plants to water, an acre of grass to mow, a rental to clean, school shopping to do, dentist/doctor appointments to go to, canning.......I'm positive there is more, but you get the general idea! Anyway, this is our newest addition to our family. We decided it was time for Gen to have some more responsibility and get a pet. She has been begging us for a pet for awhile, but when we found her petting a rat from a nest in our dump pile.....we decided it was time. :0) Genesis is definitely a pet lover and we thought it would be better to have a cat, than to have wild rats being secretly taken care of. Her name is Ziggy and she is about 4 or 5 months old. In these pictures she is about 2 or 3. She is an indoor cat and everybody loves her! (Even Matt! sshh! don't tell!)

Well, that's all the time I have right now.....gotta run!