One more comment from Audrey

Melinda likes to watch movies in the morning. Audrey usually hangs out with her for a while, then gets bored and comes to wake me up (I am not a morning person!). This morning I asked her what movie Melinda was watching, and she said:

"The one with the jungle bear, and the jungle boy who is wearing jungle panties!"

Now that's a great way to start the day!

Family move accomplished!

Wow, we did it! With the abundant help of family and friends we succeeded in moving the family down to Long Beach! I am so blessed by my amazing family, whose help and support during this move was priceless. It took us 9 hours to plow down I-5, eat at In-n-Out, and get gas. Our kitty cat is adjusting slowly but surely, and I can hardly keep the kids out of the pool. I'll post more, including pictures, when my internet really gets up and running. For now, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers!

Some thoughts from Audrey

Here's a couple of things that Audrey has said lately that charmed my socks off:

"Mommy, I can hear your heart beeping!"

(you have to be halfway familiar with Dora the Explorer to appreciate this one) After I told Audrey that she is "Adorabibble" she said: "and Daddy is "a Diego-bibble".

What a cutie!

I Caught You!

Melinda is my reluctant reader. In fact, this summer she decided to set the stage for her first year homeschooling by making "I hate reading" her mantra for a solid week. The first thing I did, of course, was make sure that she was reading every single day. I went through all of our 'young reader' books and organized them from easiest to hardest. Wanting to build her confidence, I purposely did not ask her to read anything that was even slightly difficult for her. She started reading easy books to Audrey every day. At first there was some sighing and grumbling, but after a few days she was doing it willingly. Today I found her in her room laying on the floor reading a book all by herself and of her own accord! Boy, do I wish I had a picture! From the looks of it, however, there will be plenty more opportunities to catch her reading. There's a big smile on my face today!

Ready or Not...

We're moving! One week left, and we're out of here (ready or not). It's finally started to sink in these last couple of days: I'm not packing for a vacation, I'm packing to move. Weird--it's actually happening. After spending the last year with Chris out of town a good 3 weeks/month, it will be a nice change to have him home every night.

So much to do, so little time!

A Glimpse of Heaven

I love how kids understand God. My Audrey, especially, seems to have some incredible insights.

Yesterday I was making a pie crust and had one of my feet propped up on a step-stool. Audrey climbed up on the step-stool and asked me if she could sit on my leg. I told her no, that it might make me lose my balance and fall. She informed me that if I did, she would save my life. When I asked her how she would do that, this is what she replied: "When you start to fall, I will hold your hand. That's what God does. He holds your hand and saves your life. And everything is okay."

That brought tears to my eyes. Oh, to have the insight of a child! The lines between the physical world and the spiritual are drawn in our minds, and the spiritual is often set aside so that we may more easily accomplish mundane daily tasks. I think that's one of the reasons I love the preschool/kindergarten age so much. The child is old enough to communicate, and young enough to be uninhibited by the limitations of the physical world. They provide a rare glimpse, for an adult, into heaven.

My 88th book on 8/8/08

Okay, I get a kick out of random number pattern occurrences, and this mono-numeric coincidence has me thrilled. I just finished reading my 88th book for this year. Today. On 8/8/08. I just don't know how you get any cooler numbers than that.

It was unplanned, but thankfully noticed. And before you think I'm wonder-woman for reading that many books, (or start worrying for the safety and well-being of my children that MUST be neglected if all this reading is going on,) please realize that most of these books are historical junior fiction. Many of them have been books I've pre-read for school purposes. In fact, if I took all the junior fiction out, my count would only be around 25. But I figure that many books sold as adult fiction contain less valuable, educational, edifying information than these junior fiction books contain, and are often written more poorly. Besides, how can A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle or Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield not "count"? They do, I say. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. And enjoying my beautiful row of 8's while I'm at it.