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.