It may be dry somewhere else, but there's a puddle right here.

Rubber boots are all you need to get permission to jump in a puddle. It's a small price to pay for such a fine privilege. Did you know that some people walk around puddles? Senseless! What's the point in having puddles if your not going to stand in them, or better yet, jump in them? That's what life is all about. Muddy puddles are special because you can see the puddle fly. And others know when you've found a good mud puddle because a little piece goes with you. Of course you'll need to change your clothes after a good puddle, but it's a small price to pay for such a privilege. I think I've said that before. Well we should all live up to our privileges. So go find a good puddle today.

Mechanic's Helper

The van had vacuum tube problems. While Sherwin and I were figuring out what and how and everything else our little mechanic's helper was getting a cherry nose. White Cocoa came along and found the blanket to be cozy and settled right in.
"Do you have any left over lunch PT?"
Way to put up with a cat PT!

Jumping jellybean

Sherwin DavenportOk, he doesn't jump yet, but it makes him feel more like an equal. He can turn left and right and look you in the knee. He is determined to eat, walk and talk like everyone else. He'd like to forgo diapers too, but there I put my foot down.

Fun Lovin and Lovin Fun

I love a good laugh.

I love my sister,

together we laugh and laugh.

If you find the fun you find me.

I am Three!

What a day! I am three, I helped make my cake, I turned into a princess, there were presents and I had a lot of fun with my family.

Little Mother

Her nursery leaders love her. Today they exclaimed over her helpfulness and how cute she was being a little mother all day. I thought she was cute too.
This morning on the way to church she asked for "mormon music", I put in the cd she wanted, Janeen Brady LDS songs. I was surprised when she started singing along on the songs. First was "I'm a Mormon" followed by "Grandma and Grandpa are going away on a mission" and finally "When I grow up."
She talked about them, some of her comments were;
Mama the boys are Mormons because Papa is a Mormon too.
Nana and Grandpa are on a mission, they will come to our house and come home and then they will go on a mission again.
Mama, I will be a mother and I will have babies of my very own and I will love them, one two and three boys and Parley and girls too. They will be so wonderful. I will love them and squeeze them.

Gleaning?

Hazelnuts? Filberts? Cobnuts?

Whatever you want to call them, they are our favorite nut.

A friends orchard was harvested early this year

which left many nuts on the trees that are now falling to the ground.

As a family we gleaned the orchard to set by nuts for the coming winter.

Lunch

It was a busy morning, we spent some time playing tea party, pretend shopping, and dancing. I had some work that needed to be done and it was lunch time. With baby asleep I was taking full advantage of that time to work. I was interrupted with a "mama, is it lunch time?" I replied with a yes, I will make you a sandwich in a minute response before becoming engrossed in my work. The next thing I knew she was there again with the bread out of the refrigerator. "mama, will you open this? I am going to make you a sandwich, you and me." I of course was charmed and opened the bread and watched to see what she would do next. She laid four pieces of bread out and moved her stool to be by the cupboard with the chocolate peanut butter. She struggled but managed to get it down. The jam in the refrigerator was too high and she came and requested help. I obliged and found her a knife as well as loosened the lids on the jars and then sat down to take pictures.
I was treated to a chocolate peanut butter and lemon curd sandwich. The spreading was not even but it tasted wonderful.
I love having a little girl like this in my home.

Harvest

Darian helped Wade harvest his carrots. They are both so proud of the contributions their gardens make. I am proud of the work they put into their gardens.

Service with a smile

For the Church Welfare anniversary our stake is collecting food for the area food bank. We went as a family on our route. I showed the boys how to do the first few houses. Then it was Darian's turn. He was scared. I had to take over on his first try. Wade got impatient and took off to do the next house on his own. Darian had to buck up and do it after that. Elowyn got a bag and started chasing after the boys. She came to me, "make my bag alive". I wasn't sure what she wanted, but I figured it out. She wanted it fluffed up full of air so it would float, and so she could get cans in it. That was her next request. She saw the boys getting cans and she wanted in on the action. Julie and Parley were there to attract more business. Eventually we were doing three houses at a time. Julie drove the van with Parley. Wade and Darian worked alone. Elowyn and I worked as a team. She would ring the doorbell then knock on the door then stand in the little window beside the door. When people came to the door with a cat or a little child she would ask me what their name was. Then when we left she would tell me she was going to do a cart wheel which consisted of leaning over, putting her hands on the ground and raising one foot in the air. We all made a pretty good haul.

My Friends Can Moo Can You?

All creatures are worth talking to. My little Lady likes to ask the cows many things, always begining with a "hello". Then approach until she is nose to nose and then jumping back because it was a little too close but getting right back in there to cheer up that cow with conversation.
Little Lady is always a good hostess.

My other hand

With school starting I have really been missing my other hand. The hand that is always there to help or hold.
All summer I wake to the sounds of Wade reading as he quietly waits for Elowyn to wake so that he can change her diaper and get her dressed for the day. He then took her upstairs and played with her so I could get another hour of sleep before Parley woke. Wade made breakfast most mornings, sometimes he was a bit messy, but he was in charge of cleaning up dishes. Wade would hold Parley and rock him when I had to work with Darian or Elowyn, sometimes taking both Parley and Elowyn. Wade has been responsible all summer for a 20x4 foot garden of his own but he also took on Elowyn's garden and helping her weed each day. Wade is as patient as a saint with his older brother Darian, playing with him and trying to understand him as well as defending him. Wade has been near by all summer asking if he could get me a drink or if I needed him to do an extra job. This was never done with the feel of brown nosing, but with what felt like real concern for my comfort and well being. Wade has also been overlooked all summer, he is usually overlooked by everyone, teachers, parents, friends. He is almost always taken for granted. The squeaky wheels get greased and I am so worn out from the emotional grease I often not only have none left but I snap at the only dependable wheel I have. Now that school has started Wade is still dining all of that in the mornings as well as his regular jobs and homework but I miss him while he is at school. I often find myself stretched and I wish for my other hand to be home.
Wade is sensitive, smart, kind, good, and happy. He is a blessing in my life.

The day after

Elowyn is back to normal today. Her pediatrician agrees that it was most likely heat exhaustion. We took her to Dairy Queen to keep her hydrated. God is a God of miracles. This experience renewed our love for her. (the terrible twos have an effect on people). Her brothers also had faith promoting experiences during the ordeal. All is well.

She is at home and asleep now

Elowyn came down with a fever unlike any we knew. Her arms were cold but her chest was burning up. She got to 103. Julie cooled her down a bit and got her to drink so we thought it might be over. The fear was that it was heat exhaustion. So when she threw up and her temperature went back up she went to the emergency room. I got there soon after. They asked questions. Took measurements. Then they put us in a room. Then it was Tylenol up the bottom. Thermometer up the bottom. Ibuprofen down the throat. Then wait. Then check eyes ears and throat Then measure again. Then an IV which I thought was terrible and would be the worst. She could never look at a nurse without suspicious fear for the rest of our stay. Then wait. She was getting normal, but a blood test showed high white blood cells. So chest x-rays. Julie took the other kids home. Then the worst came. Test for meningitis by taking spinal fluid. They gave her a drug that made her loopy so she couldn't register pain or any other input correctly. I held her hand and tried to hide my tears while they poked her. When she came back around 20 minutes later she said in a pleasant in charge voice "let's put this away and go home now. ". The test was negative. So finally antibiotics. Then peel off all the sticky sensors. Peel off the IV. Then put on a gown and go. When we got outside Elowyn pleasantly talked about how it was dark and how we should find the truck so we could drive home to "Bonnie Jean"(think of Brigadoon). She said on the drive home that we went to the doctor and they made her better so now we go find Mama. I'm the one who wants to cry about it all. Blood lab work is still pending, but the worst case should just be more antibiotics.

Babies

"Mama, do you want to lay down with the babies?"
"oh, yes!"
We love our babies.

Ghost

I see a ghost. A big one there and a little one over there. I'm scared. Come see my ghost. Can you come find them? Let's find a ghost.

The wind in the bushes, or a brother in a flag, can appear to the imagination as ghosts traveling through the bushes.

When your smiling...

It's fun when you can finally cajole a baby to smile. It really increases the depth of the conversations you can have.

Berries

The blackberries are just starting to ripen. If you look you will notice my little princess has a full little red bucket. The whole family joined me in my daily walk through the fields picking berries every now and then. The sun was out, we worked up a little glow, and enjoyed a snack. Later I received a surprise, a plant pot full of berries collected with love. I ate them with sliced nectarines covered with milk. They were delicious.

Blessing Day

My baby boy was blessed today. Got his name right and everything.
There was a strong feeling of who this little person was. He is special.

He is not going through clothes as fast as he did at first, buy he does still seem to have a vendetta against clothing and cloth. Sometimes it is just easier to be without those constrictive add ons.

What was it?

Somebody saw a spider? Or was it a mouse? Tell me when it is gone.

What a climber. Ever wonder how footprints ended up on the ceiling, I have and now I know.

Evening ritual

Usually he sleeps enough through the evenings to let us get the other kids of to bed. Then it is his time. This usually goes on till midnight. Hopefully we can move that forward an hour or two. I suppose he has something on his mind he wants to share.

Parley has been here for a month

He feels like he's been here for a while, and he is part of the family.  He still keeps his inner most thoughts to himself, unless we're talking about the thoughts in his gut.  We like him.

Fear of growth must be replaced by faith.

October of 1995. Elder Richard G. Scott gave a talk on trusting in the Lord. I find it comforting that the Lord would lead me to this talk tonight. There are many wonderful nuggets in the talk, but this was a particularly bright piece.

When you face adversity, you can be led to ask many questions. Some serve a useful purpose; others do not. To ask, Why does this have to happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this, now? What have I done to cause this? will lead you into blind alleys. It really does no good to ask questions that reflect opposition to the will of God. Rather ask, What am I to do? What am I to learn from this experience? What am I to change? Whom am I to help? How can I remember my many blessings in times of trial? Willing sacrifice of deeply held personal desires in favor of the will of God is very hard to do. Yet, when you pray with real conviction, "Please let me know Thy will" and "May Thy will be done," you are in the strongest position to receive the maximum help from your loving Father.
This life is an experience in profound trust—trust in Jesus Christ, trust in His teachings, trust in our capacity as led by the Holy Spirit to obey those teachings for happiness now and for a purposeful, supremely happy eternal existence. To trust means to obey willingly without knowing the end from the beginning (see Prov. 3:5–7). To produce fruit, your trust in the Lord must be more powerful and enduring than your confidence in your own personal feelings and experience.
To exercise faith is to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing with you and that He can accomplish it for your eternal good even though you cannot understand how He can possibly do it. We are like infants in our understanding of eternal matters and their impact on us here in mortality. Yet at times we act as if we knew it all. When you pass through trials for His purposes, as you trust Him, exercise faith in Him, He will help you. That support will generally come step by step, a portion at a time. While you are passing through each phase, the pain and difficulty that comes from being enlarged will continue. If all matters were immediately resolved at your first petition, you could not grow. Your Father in Heaven and His Beloved Son love you perfectly. They would not require you to experience a moment more of difficulty than is absolutely needed for your personal benefit or for that of those you love.

Sherwin

5 hrs old

Parley had his nap and more to eat. Now he is looking around. He likes his mama. He likes papa too, just not as much.

The blur

The blur you see is not your eyes inability to focus. The blur is Wade testing our new "jumpoline". The trampoline has a little counter on it that the boys like to rack up. They report, " we got up to 6000 in 70 minutes". They were really proud that they broke 10000. We have only had the thing for a day.

Elowyn loves to show her skills. She liked the exercise video that came with it. The fancy dancing moves are fun. Of course it is also fun to just jump like the boys. The trouble for the boys is that she is to light to activate the counter so her jumps don't add to their accomplishment. I saw Darian doing 50 extra jumps to make up for the ones Elowyn did. Wade was trying to figure out how that worked because Darian's extra fifty were then not counted if they were used to count Elowyn's. "Let's just add 50", he said, but Darian jumped on.

Yeast

We put ingredients in the breadmaker this morning. There is a little widget on the lid that holds the yeast so that it can be dropped in latter. Once Julie and Elowyn peaked in right when the yeast was supposed to drop, so it didn't drop. Luckily that was pizza dough so it didn't bake into a rock.
So today Elowyn was peaking in. I told her to close the lid to keep the yeast in. She said,"Easter? Easter basket?". Learning a language is full of fun misunderstandings.

Moving up in the Forest

I think I may harbor a few hard feelings towards "Blues Clues" for their song about "you can do anything that you want to do". My little one sings it with an "I" in place of the "you" and often argues with me when an answer is "no". She knows that she can do anything she has seen someone else do, even climbing a rock wall that is 7 feet high.
Today she ran off leading a friend to a dangerous area. When retrieved she just stated "I just runned away", very matter of factly. The boys do it all the time.

Even a doll has to eat

Lunch was a little late and we were all ready for a nap.
Convincing my little one that she wanted to eat was a difficult task. Neither Mama or Papa could find the magic combination, but someone did. The best friend a little girl could have, Raggedy Ann, did what no one else could do. They shared two sandwiches and a container of oranges.
Listening to the conversation shared between the two of them was precious. I wish I had jotted it down.
Raggey is showing signs of a child's love and needs the work of a loving seamstress to keep up her constitution.

Budding Artist

Whether she is talented for a two year old I can not say, but she truly loves to paint and create. Thought is put into most strokes, taking a moment to appraise what has been done and what she wants to do next.
My favorite part is the dancing you can not see, when something looks particularly nice.

Crafting a Memory

Creativity ran wild and 10 eggs ended up looking a whole lot more colorful than they ever had before.
We had dipping, masking and even some marbling. There were those who also wanted to add waxing, but it never happened.

Believe in olive fingers

Wearing them is part of eating them.

Worker

Even a good show could not keep her from helping. As soon as she heard the hammers, she dropped everything calling for help to put on her "worker" apron. My little worker hammered (sometimes with a hammer in each hand), drew lines and measured. She climbed ladders, found ladybugs hibernating and ran errands. It is hard to find such willing and good workers as this one.

Abundance

I just got rid of six dozen. We ate 1 dozen for breakfast and still there are fifteen dozen in the fridge with an average of about a dozen more every night. Easter will find us ready and prepared.

On a more spiritual note, the van died. I was headed to RS activity and I was prompted to take my phone (which I often leave home). On the fifteen minute drive the van started to lurch and behave very oddly. I was able to call home for the last stretch as I pulled into the parking lot and the van gave up. When help arrived, towing two fighting boys and a needy and tired little girl, we were able to bring the vehicle to life for a short period before it died again. With a short prayer for direction we started the van and lurched our way almost home when we received inspiration to continue to our nearby mechanic. Even after hours he was there and willing to take on the challenge the next day. We found much to be thankful for in our small adventure.

Birthday Celebration

It is just like Sherwin to want the candles on his cake to be binary.

Gifts

As I wrapped gifts in anticipation of Papa's birthday, my little Lady became excited with the thought of making and giving gifts. I let her use the scraps of paper. She cut and created talking all the while.

This is for Nana on a mission.
I make this.
This is for Grandpa when he comes home.
I cut.
I make this for Grandpa.

I am very afraid of the combination of my little girl with scissors, only because of the fascination she has shown for cutting hair. It required a lot of patience and holding back to allow this burst of creativity but I am so glad I did. I feel blessed to have witnessed the desire to give in one so young.

Storytime

A father who shares his love for Dr. Seuss. A daughter who loves stories and books. A mother who really appreciated the short break.

Whether the weather

The activity was scheduled for Monday night. Tin foil dinners. The rain will not stop us. It only dampened our spirits a little.

Between conference

Our young pioneers went on a trek to their fort. I appreciate their care for their sister.

Cookies from Visiting Teachers

Elowyn's response was, "My Tummy. I feel so sick. I need a yellow cookie."

Don't you wish you could use pan lids as shoes?