Sophia

Give Me Four
Sophia is hilarious.
We’ve already established this.

The other day as we were going through papers in the attic,
we came across the seatbelt that was diamond sawed from her middle finger.
Have I mentioned the girl is our most clutzy?
Yes, she got a seatbelt stuck around her finger like a ring.
The girls were talking about how lucky she was
because they didn’t saw her finger off.
Sophia then held up her hand while bending down her middle finger.
And she said,
“I know, I am really lucky,
if they would have cut my middle finger off,
the rest of my life,
I would have to say,
give me four.”
Then my older less innocent daughter added:
“And you wouldn’t be able to flip anybody off either.”
I don’t think that would have been a problem.
Sophia is not just hilarious, but 100% kind and loving.
She wouldn’t flip off a bird.
And, yes, that is my best attempt at a pun.
And the reason, I am so impressed with
Sophia’s witty humor.
She gets that from her dad’s side of the family.

Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me #’s 4-6
From the book Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me
by Cynthia Copeland Lewis
#4
It’s more fun to color outside the lines.
(I think that the human hands would be in the outside the line category.)

#5
If you’re going to draw on the wall,
do it behind the couch.
(My Abigail would be the one to figure something like this out.
She is not only super smart, but super sneaky.)

#6
If the flowers you draw don’t look like anyone elses, that’s good.
(I want all my girls to know that they are uniquely beautiful and so are their ideas.
I hope they NEVER try to be like anybody else, even when the color.)

Happy coloring everyone.

Fight or Flight

Fight or flight…what do you think? Clowns creep me out. I would definitely never fight a clown. And that is how I am starting this post so that I can use one of the limited pictures from my third back up computer.
LG and I have been discussing this theory of fight or flight lately. As I accused him of using fake sicknesses as a way of avoiding stuff…”that would be a flight technique”, I told him.
For the most part, I didn’t marry a fighter. He avoids contention at all costs, which is a good thing and a bad thing. But, I just love LeGrand. He makes me laugh. He is learning to put up his dukes (as my Grandma Dorothy would say) a little more, which is a good thing because he is an attorney by trade, and for all of my therapy to work, someone needs to put me in my place at times.
Anyhow, back to the fight or flight. LeGrand was explaining this theory to the girls at dinner last night. He had learned in a legal education class that mentally ill people can immediately and easily switch into a fight or flight mode, whereas normally healthy people only do so when in extreme situations. LG questioned the girls after his explanation, “If a big black bear were coming at you, what would you do?” “Run away, or stay and fight it.”
Abigail and Bella didn’t hesitate to say they would run as fast as they can.

Sophia on the other hand is always our imaginative one. She said, “I would throw gummy worms at the bear.”

We all decided unanimously that we need to keep Sophia’s hair blonde the rest of her life, no matter how much peroxide it will take.
Where does she come up with this stuff?

Meet Piggy Piggy.

My kids crack me up.

Here is an overheard conversation today.
Abigail questioned me, “Mom, if we got a pig, do you think it would eat bacon?”
Sophia almost under her breathe, “That’s just wrong.”
Why is that so funny to me?
Maybe it’s the fact that Sophia knows that bacon is from a slaughtered pig.
Or maybe because she so matter of factly protested.
Either way, I am still laughing.

Better Than Awesomeness
I am not sure which one of the girls came up with the word.
I am not even totally certain if I know what it means.
But I think this picture captures it.
Awesomility.
You know.
It’s when you know you’re awesome, but you are humble about it.
So, you hide from the paparazzi.
Feel free to use it in every day conversation.
We haven’t copyrighted it.

Yes, there is a Santa Claus
After a recent depressing blog post,
I received an outpouring of love.
It was truly a miracle.
A Christmas miracle.
I had tried not to talk about our deplorable situation.
I didn’t want to be needy.
Or ungrateful.
I also didn’t want to make my husband feel bad.
Because he has been busting his tail.
But when one is building his own business straight out of college,
it is rough. Really rough.
And even rougher when you have a family to support.
This has been the worst fiscal year of our lives.
And that says a lot.
Because you all know we were in law school with three kids.
And we lived on less than $18,000 a year.
For those who aren’t Mormon.
You gotta know that Mormons keep a supply of food for emergencies.
Months back, we lived on that food for the first time in our married lives.
After months of living like this, I finally fell apart on my blog.
I threw it out there.
And I only threw a small portion
of the load that I had been carrying.
As to not make anyone feel bad.
Especially my husband.
Who I honor, respect, and admire.
Shortly after I threw it out there,
Miracles started to happen.
(LG sarcastically remarked that I should have begged on the blog earlier,
like when the kids needed shoes for school.)
I can’t even think about some of them without crying.
For instance,
A friend I haven’t spoken to in years called and asked what she could buy my girls for Christmas.
She had read the blog and felt inspired.
I am deeply grateful for all of the little miracles in 2009.
God has been good to us.
But one miracle in particular,
deserves a special mention.
A special mention
because
I met the wife of Santa Claus
when she found my blog years ago.
I would have never known Santa Claus without the blog.
Did you know that Santa really lives in Nevada?
Last week I got an e-mail from him.
The message line.
Yes, Abigail, Sophia, Bella, Caroline..there is a Santa Claus.
Along with it there was a notice to pick up a trampoline at our local Wal-Mart.
Santa’s wife had read my blog.
She notified her kind and generous husband of a Christmas need.
It wasn’t really a need, but a want.
A want on the Christmas list.
A want that some down and destitute parents could have never fulfilled.
And they would have never asked for help.
Because it was just a want.
And their kids had what they needed.
And the kids had become very aware that the basic necessities of life were blessing enough.
They could ask Santa for some amazing gift,
but he probably would be too busy helping some even more destitute kids in Africa.
But guess what?
Santa wasn’t too busy.
And on one day of the year,
nothing was too much to want.
Because on one day of the year.
Miracles happen.
And some precious little girls in Knoxville, TN got a trampoline.
Even when their parents had told them repeatedly
that Santa had kids to feed in Africa.
And would probably be too busy.
And one very little blogger.
with a very small readership.
Got her Christmas miracle too.
Santa Claus read her blog.
And on Christmas Day,
he made her husband smile.
Really smile.
And that is all she wanted.
And she had wanted that for a very long time.
Ever since last Christmas.
But she thought Santa was too busy in Africa.
But, Santa was in Nevada.
And he not only read my blog.
But he made miracles happen at my house.
That is so like him.
I heard this song on the radio the evening of Christmas.
I bawled my eyes out.
That evening my prayer went something like this:
Give Santa a halo for me, will ya?
Oh, and send his wife a big fat kiss.

Mom’s Search For Meaning

I spend about 83.2% of my time looking for stuff.

And, no, this is NO exaggeration.

There are things that just have to be found: the best deal at the stores, shoes, pacifiers, whatever it is that is causing that stench under the back seat of my minivan. (and boy that’s a squeeze for these hips that have birthed four children). Ticks. (We’ve got a lot of those in the South) Where is that darn coupon? I filed it right here! Oh, and the library books…oh those library books. They never go away, except when they are due and can’t be renewed.

The list goes on. Which can of tomato soup is the oldest? Where in the world is that bill that needs to be paid. (He didn’t follow the system of what basket it goes in…you ladies know what I am talking about.) “Oh, yes, kids, I know exactly where that missing game piece is.”

There are the more complex things to look for. The homework that somehow didn’t make it back in the backpack. The bra with just the right amount of padding for a ten year old. The stuff at the pharmacy that will magically cure my husband of his snore before he goes to Scout Camp.

The other night brought a fun challenge. “Mom, do you remember that paper that my teacher sent home on the first day of school? It has my log in and password for the website on it. I need it. My teacher says it will be a pain to look up my number. He can look it up if you can’t find the paper, but it will be a pain.” (Um, what about me here? Seriously? Are you kidding me? That was what? 5, 6 weeks ago?) “Yes honey, I would love to spend the next 1/2 hour searching. It’s my favorite thing to do. You know I love to find things.” Lucky for me I keep most papers that look remotely important. Unlucky for me, we had put this paper in the girls keepsake tote not my pile to be filed. There went another hour to tack onto my fake time clock. Man, if I could just punch in and out. I would ask for minimum wage. No one could afford to pay me a higher salary.

Then there are the most important Mom searches. The ones with meaning. Are those lying eyes? What does that smirk on his face mean? Is that a tear rolling down my daughter’s cheek? Or is that not a tear when there should be one? Where is she hiding and why is she hiding? Why is this one crying and the other one hiding?

How about the searches we like to avoid? Am I doing a good enough job here? Have I got through to my children in the areas of the utmost importance? Do they know I love them? Do they know they are of infinite worth? Do they know that they can accomplish their goals? Do they have goals? Do they believe in what is right? Have I been a good example? Do my kids know I would do anything for them? That I will always be here for them? Will they tell me when they are in trouble?

I love it when the searches are for fun random items. Just this week, I have looked for light sabers at least 20 times. They needed them to read their library books before bed.

Trust me when I say we can do this all night.

Once in a lifetime, as a mother, you find the best find ever. The other night it came out of Sophia’s journal. It would have been so much sweeter if I hadn’t just got onto the girls about keeping track of their “own crap” (in my exact words). It may not have meant as much if my frustration hadn’t mounted.

If you can’t read the photo, it says:
“My hero is: mommy. Because: she can find anything.”

Needless to say, I think I will be spending that 83.2% of my time with a smile on my face and love in my heart. I’m a hero now. It makes my searching so much more enjoyable.

Now, I am off to find the baby. Where did I leave her?
Oh, and the cat. Can’t lock up without her inside.

I think I named her perfectly.

The name Sophia means wise. My 2nd daughter seemed wise to me from the moment I laid eyes on her. She is so innocent, she exudes wisdom without even trying.

Here is one of her recent stories. I found it jotted down on a folded up piece of paper. She loves to draw and write. I hope she grows up to be a famous author/illustrator. Or a non-famous one. Either way she’ll be o.k. with it. Keep reading and you will see why.

On the top fold of this little homemade book it has the book’s title: “The Small Prisus.” That’s “The Small Princess” for those of you that don’t speak childrenese. O.k. I admit it, maybe her wisdom could be spread to the spelling department someday. (Oh I better not forget to spellcheck this post)

Here is the story:

“Once upon a time there was a prisus (at least she misspells consistently) in a
far away kingdom Pompae. (She got the place from The Magic Treehouse, I am sure) She had a small kingdom.”

And the last line….the clencher.

“She was o.k. with that.”

Don’t you wish we could all be so wise?

It’s all how you look at it.

Caroline is 4 weeks already. I can’t believe it.

Here was my mommy conversation with my 7 year old the other day.

Sophia: “Mom, Caroline is so so smart.”

Me: “I know, all my girls are smart. Why do you think she is smart?”

Sophia: “Oh it’s so easy. She already learned how to cross her eyes. It took me forever to learn how to do that.”

All of my older girls have been in heaven for the past week while Uncle Jordan’s family has been visiting. There is a younger kid around for each of them to have one to themselves at all times.