A prayer

Okay, I know I just did an funny Emma thing last night, but this is too funny!  I'm sitting here looking at blogs while Emma and Matthew are "playing."  Well, really Emma is trying to keep Matthew away from her blocks.  She was getting a little bugged and all of a sudden I heard this:

"Heavenly Father, thank you for this day.  Please help baby not to take my blocks.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I am totally laughing!  I guess her prayer worked though because he is no longer next to her trying to get her blocks.  He has now crawled a little away and is playing with another toy.  Oh the faith of a child!  :)

What do too many bideos do?

A conversation in the car today:

Emma:  "Mommy can I watch a bideo?" (video)

Me:  "Not right now sweetheart."

Emma:  "Yeah, cause it will rot my brain!"

Me:  (trying not to burst out laughing) "Yeah sweetheart, too many videos will rot our brains!"

I vow to have more fun!

I  just spent about an hour looking through random blogs of people I have never met.  I feel humbled as I read of other's trials.  I feel as though I too easily forget all of the amazing blessings in my life.  I don't take the time to laugh, especially with my children.  I seem to always be too tired, too busy or just plain too bugged.  What a sad thing to realize about one's self.  

My vow from here on out is to laugh more.  To let Emma be a child, do childish things, and to play with her and Matthew more.  I vow to give more of myself to being a mother and a wife, to throw the schedule out the window and do something spontaneous and to be crazy with my kids more often.  I vow to have more FUN!

Cute little Emma

Here are some cute things that Emma said yesterday:

Emma has a pair of red sparkly shoes.  While picking up a different pair of shoes and referring to the red ones she said, "These are kind of like my Dorky (Dorothy) shoes!  Yeah, like my red Dorky shoes."  Then later while looking at Halloween costumes she said, "I want the Dorky costume!"  I couldn't help but laugh.

Then, as we were finishing dinner, Emma started pretending there was a monster in our house.  I stood up from the table so I could go feed Matthew and Emma informed me that the monster was going to get me.  I let her know that our house was safe and that I would be okay because monsters aren't real.  She said, "I'm going to fast and pray for you!"  Then she ran over to the couch (where we say our nighttime prayers) bowed her head and said a prayer.  She ran back to me and said, "I fasted and prayed for you mommy, so you'll be safe!"  I was trying so hard not to laugh because it was just so funny, but at the same time, so sweet.  She is absolutely precious.

Also, we were at the store yesterday, and we had a serious power struggle over her going potty.  I am sad to say that I did not behave very well and was not very kind to her.  As we went back to do our shopping, I was fuming.  I finally calmed down a little and explained to her that I didn't want her to have an accident and that she needed to tell me right away if she needed to go potty.  She looked up at me so innocently and told me she would.  I looked into her sweet little eyes and felt ashamed at how I had acted.  I then told her I was sorry that I had not acted nicely.  With her sweet little forgiving spirit, she looked at me and lovingly said "that's okay mommy...I love you too."  What a good example she is to me to be able to just forgive and show so much love after I had been so wretched.  It's no wonder the Lord tells us to "become as a little child,"  they are so pure and perfect.  Hopefully I will learn from this experience!

Superman!

For anyone who doesn't already know, I think Daniel is absolutely wonderful! 

Matthew has been sick all week and thus has been clingy and fussy much of the time.  Saturday came this week and there was laundry and cleaning to do, and a fussy baby to hold.  Without being asked, Daniel went to work.

He started by  getting the laundry going, after which he began to organize our closet.  This was followed by cleaning/organizing our laundry room.  He cleaned off several shelves and set up our little can rotation system for me so that I would have more room to keep our food storage items near the kitchen.

After attacking the laundry room, he went to work on the garage.  He helped me move the sewing machine my mom is lending me to the basement.  He also did a fair amount of organizing out in the garage as well.  It is looking so much better out there.

Besides each of these other tasks, he also made breakfast, washed dishes, kept the laundry going, (including folding, which is one of my least favorite chores) entertained and fed Emma, went grocery shopping with me and finished the day by vacuuming the whole house before the kids went to bed.  

All I can figure is that those people in  Hollywood must be mistaken, because Superman lives right here in my house!

A day at the Zoo!

Emma, Matthew and I went to Hogle Zoo last Friday with some of my family.  Emma had a wonderful time.  She loved the animals and most of all the carousel.  Matthew did very well and wasn't fussy until the very end.  His favorite part was a strap on Melissa stroller.  He played with it most of the time, at least it kept him happy.  I guess he isn't way excited about the zoo yet. 

It was nice for both me and the kids to get out, and we all had a nice time despite the bees that kept trying to attack us at lunch time!

Emma on the carousel!  She was so excited about the elephants this time.  She kept asking to see them and then was so excited to ride the elephant on the carousel.  

Here is Emma showing us how long her arms can go.  They aren't quite as long as an ape yet!

Here is a picture of most of the children in the group standing in front of the giraffes.  Emma is on the far right and Matthew is in the back seat of Melissa's stroller, playing with the strap of course.

Here is a close up of Matthew.  You can see his little hand grasping the strap that kept him occupied the entire time.  I love his expression in this picture.  It is so typical of how he often looks!

"He saved me!"

Emma had an experience a couple of days ago that I thought was interesting, and since I use this as a journal, I am going to post it here.

About a week ago, Emma went to Chuck-E-Cheese (a pizza/game place in Orem) with Jan, Jenn,  Seth and his kids.  After eating, Emma wanted to go on a large play set.  It was basically a bunch of tunnels that went all different ways with very few exits.  Emma went inside and after a couple of minutes, Jenn noticed that Emma had not come out.  Jenn went to make sure that Emma was okay.  The play set had little windows in several different spots and Jenn saw Emma looking out of one and crying.  Emma had become lost.  She could not find the way out and she was very scared and didn't know what to do.  Jenn asked Ethan (Seth's oldest son) to go in and help Emma.  He disappeared into the play place and after a few minutes emerged again with a very frightened little Emma.  She was very grateful to him and later told me, "he saved me."  I just thought that was so precious.

I have thought about Emma's little experience several times since then.  It occurs to me that this can be applied to our lives.  Doesn't each one of us know the heart ache of seeing our child lost, hurting or afraid just as Emma was?  Likewise, can't you just see our Father in Heaven looking down on us, just as Jenn looked at Emma?  Can't you just see His heart breaking for those who are alone and crying just as Emma was?  Can't you imagine His perfect love reaching out to each of those children?  Can't we all imagine the emotion He might feel as a parent at watching one of His children who is fortunate enough to know the way showing another of His precious children how to find the way?  Can't we all imagine His absolute happiness as one of us who knows the way brings another to His ever waiting embrace just as Ethan brought Emma to fill Jenn's worried arms?  Can we imagine the tears of joy that might fall from His eyes as one of His little ones who was once lost looks into His eyes and with so much relief exclaims, "he saved me"?  Mostly can't we all imagine ourselves looking into His eyes and speaking of our Savior, with the utmost humility and gratitude, and saying the words, "He saved me"?  Each of us needs to be saved at times in our lives by the Savior in order to return safely home.  Don't our brothers and sisters who don't know Him deserve to be saved every bit as much as we do?

Unfortunately, this is something that I struggle with.  I have never been very bold, but after pondering on this experience, I want to do better.  I want to reach out in whatever way the Lord needs me and help those around me to see and to feel and to know of His perfect love that for some reason I have been so blessed to enjoy in my life.  I hope anyone who reads this will feel His love and know that He is always waiting with outstretched arms.  There are days in my life that I know He is there waiting to encircle me in the arms of His love and that is what makes it possible for me to make it through.  I pray that I can be used as an instrument in His hands to help others know who it is that can save them.

I didn't really mean for this to be a testimony meeting, but as I said above, I use this as a journal, so sometimes it does get a little bit more serious.  :)

Ethan and Emma ~ "He saved me!"