Lucy's Latest

It's been a while since I've updated about each of the kids. I thought I'd post some of the Easter outfit pictures with a little journaling on how they are doing.

I love this picture of Lucy and Graham. They are quite a pair, these two. Graham drives Lucy absolutely crazy most of the time. She has very little patience for his questions and his funny quirks. Occasionally, Lucy will allow him to play Barbies with her. He pulls out his super heroes or whatever and plays along. A few minutes in, Graham always wants to be a different person or change characters. He does this when they are playing anything. It ticks her off, big time. I'll hear her frustrated voice say something like, "Okay, Graham. But this is the LAST TIME!" or "No, Graham! You can't be the dog! You have to be the brother!" She'll tell him that he can't play anymore and he'll beg and beg for another chance. Lucy will usually give him one, but within 5 minutes, he's at it again.

Lucy is still taking her music class each week. It's called "Let's Play Music". A friend of mine teaches it. This friend used to live just a couple blocks away, but then she moved about 30 minutes from us now. Lucy hates Thursdays because that means we have to make the drive out for class. She's learning a lot, but she's ready for it to be over for the summer.

She started taking a gymnastics class in January and she loves it. She does really well, too! I was so impressed this past week as I watched her climb to the very top of the rope. She made it look so easy! They get to work on a trampoline, learn maneuvers on the double bars, and do different techniques on the balance beam.

We just signed her up for soccer, too. We tried it a couple years ago and the shin guards proved to be just too darn uncomfortable. So, before I signed her up, she wanted to wear the shin guards around a bit to see if they would bother her. She said they weren't great, but she still wanted to do it. We'll keep you posted.

Lucy still doesn't love school, but she tolerates it. She is doing very well and I'm always so proud after I talk to her teacher. She loves earning "blue tickets" so she can get prizes on Fridays. Her Dad walks her to school most mornings and the boys and I get her after school. It's always interesting to hear her run-down of how the day went as we walk home.

Lucy is struggling a little with an over-active conscience. She is trying to make good choices and figure out what exactly that means. Tonight she asked if I would lay with her a while and as I was getting up to leave after a bit, she said the sweetest thing, "You know how we read in the scriptures that we can't always pray for Heavenly Father to take our problems away? Well, can I pray that he'll help me listen to my teacher instead of talking to Gavin?" Lately, when I pick her up from school, she always says, "I didn't listen to Mrs. Miller again." She really wants her teacher to put her in a desk away from the other kids so she won't "accidentally cheat" or talk when she's not supposed to.

Lucy loves her cereal in the morning. She usually eats two bowls of "Dad's Cereal" (Honey Bunches of Oats), or Honey Nut Cheerios. She hates it when I make PBJ for her packed lunch. She usually has saltine crackers (her request) and some turkey pepperoni with carrots or apples. Lucy loves to have a snack after school and watch a little TV after homework. Wizards of Waverly Place or Good Luck Charlie are among her favorites. If I make her choose one that Graham will like, too, she usually picks Max and Ruby or Phineas and Ferb. She and Graham love to get foot rides up to bed from Dad. We always do a book after scriptures and prayer. Jason reads to Lucy, while I read to Graham. She and Jason just finished, Ramona the Pest.

Lucy's big thing now is money. Loves it. Wants more of it. She's planning a trip with her friend, Lana, to the American Girl Doll Store. They went back in October and they are hoping to go again the beginning of June. She's always asking me if she can do a bake sale or sale some of her old toys (I always say no..surprise, surprise). She is always singing a line from the "Dream" song on Tangled. Flynn Rider says something like, "On an island that I own, I'm well rested and alone.....surrounded by enormous piles of money." Although, she sings, "unarrested and alone". She knows it's wrong, but doesn't change her version.

Sweet Lucy gets up every Fast Sunday and bears her testimony to our ward at church. It's always heart felt and well thought out. She also insists on coming to ward choir with me. She sits by me each week at practice and does a great job. She has a beautiful voice and really enjoys singing. The ward members are very impressed with little Lucy.

I love my Lucy Goosy. I am so grateful for the lessons I learn from her. She tests me and keeps me on my toes a lot. Being the oldest isn't easy. Jason and I don't know what we're doing and hopefully we aren't messing her up too much. She's such a good kid that wants to do the right things. I feel very blessed to be her Mom.

P.S. Thanks so much, Grandma, for the adorable dress. She loved it!!

Easter Weekend

April has been a cRaZy month. Lots to update and journal about. I decided to start with the more recent stuff and hopefully work my way back to the other things later. We'll see......

Easter weekend was fabulous! We made a trip to the Visitor's Center at the Los Angeles Temple. The kids enjoyed this little table where they could digitally color and draw. My favorite part was the big computer screen that showed where all the temples in the world are. You could touch the city on the map and see a picture of the temple there. Graham said, "It's like a big Ipod!"



You'll have to turn your head for this one. I can't get it flipped. Anyways, we met a nice sister missionary from Morgan, UT that took our family picture. Such a beautiful scene. We really enjoyed sharing bits of our testimonies with the kids.

These flowers are out in front of the temple. The kids and I play the "favorite game" a lot. Whenever I ask what their favorite flower is, Graham always says, "the bird ones!" They really do look like little birds poking out. I'm pretty sure they are called Birds of Paradise. He was excited to see so many in one place.

The flowers were amazing! Here's Lucy showing them off. We probably should have rethought the skull and crossbones shirt she's wearing, but what the hey.

That afternoon we came home and dyed some Easter eggs. We just did the old school 5 color set. Jason managed and supervised the project.
Cheeser Benny wanted in on some camera action.

Here's the kids with their Easter morning surprises. We had a little egg hunt in our house. Some of the eggs had numbers on them. After things settled down we used those eggs to talk about the events leading up to the Savior's resurrection. Each numbered egg had a small item and a scripture to read. It went much better than last year. Graham and Lucy were much more attentive this time around.

The Easter Bunny wasn't even really mentioned this year much. Saturday night, Lucy asked me if Dad and I were the ones that gave the Easter gifts. I said, "Well, what do you think?" She was a little disappointed the next day and at school on Monday she had to bite her tongue when her friend talked about the Easter Bunny leaving footprints in her room. She said, "I just REALLY wanted to tell her!" I was proud of her for leaving it alone. Come December I'm hoping she'll avoid asking me anything. I still want her to believe in Santa!

Ben-O thought he hit the jackpot with his Craisins and Gerber bites.

The rest of the day was very nice. Beautiful lessons on the Savior at church. We had a wonderful meal at our friends, the Jarvis', that evening. I am so grateful for my testimony of the Savior. I know that it is because of his death and resurrection that my family can live eternally forever. I know that it is because of Him that I can have peace and happiness in this life. What a tremendous blessing that is!

I hope you all had a great weekend, too!

Jog-a-thon

Lucy's school had a jog-a-thon last week to raise some dough. She brought home a packet the week before and wanted to go door to door asking people to donate cash. Am I the only one that hates that? My child was determined to earn $50 so she could earn a Bulldogs t-shirt to wear on Fridays like everyone else. Lucky for her, Jaime (my cousin/Lucy's new best friend) was staying with us and took some pity on her. A friend from the ward heard her talking about it to me and chipped in another 10 bucks. I had planned on giving $20, which I think is more than reasonable. She came up $15 short. As you can see from the pictures, her softie/guilt-driven mother ended up paying $35 instead.

Waffle-makers

Grambo helping his Daddy (he is ticked when he finds out J made them without him)

Every week Jason makes us a big batch of homemade waffles for the kids to have for breakfast each day. Graham especially LOVES them and is not a happy camper when we're out and Jason's not around to make more. You might be thinking, "Maggie, why don't you make some for the little guy?" To this I say, "I don't do waffles". I'm spoiled. I "don't do" a lot of things: waffles, homemade syrup, mop floors, scrub toilets. I'll stop there so I don't embarrass myself. This is not to say that on occasion I don't cowboy up and take care of business. Yes, I have made waffles, scrubbed toilets, and such. I just have a husband that loves me and takes very good care of his lady. I'm seriously going to miss that man at the end of the summer when he deploys. Sigh........we'll save those worries for a different post.

Signing Time w/ Ben-O

If you listen close, you'll here his gorilla/cave man grunts that we hear most of the day. I was so surprised this morning when I started asking him the different signs and he knew quite a few.

My Parenting Woes....

Okay, so I’m reading this book called, Christ-like Parenting. I’ve really enjoyed it. The book focuses mostly on parenting teenagers, but the overall focus is very helpful and motivating. It talks a lot about parenting as Christ would (you probably caught that from the title). Kids need to know what is expected of them and they need consequences, but they don’t need those expectations and consequences screamed at them on a regular basis. This is where I struggle. I have felt prompted that I need to take these words to heart and try to overcome my tendency to yell and lose my patience so quickly. My problem…..it’s much easier to practice Christ-like parenting when you are in fact, Christ-like. Darn. I’m working on it.

I’m wishing there were more practical scenarios in the book that would help me know what to do in certain situations. For example, what should I do when I’ve told my 4 year old child to take the pile of toys upstairs to his bedroom and he, plain and simply, does not listen. As I’m typing this, I know what the problem is. I’ve trained said child to only pay attention and listen when I’ve gone through the motions of asking sweetly and have quickly transitioned into the “Do it or Die” mode. After I’ve screamed my instructions, he’s quick to say, “Okay!”. (He uses a tone that seems to say, “Wow, Mom. What’s the deal? It’s not like you’ve asked me twelve times already."). The kid then jumps on board the obedience train right away. I’ve got some work to do.

I’m hoping to fall off the wagon less and less. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Love Will Keep Us Together.....

Our Valentines Day was fabulous! We had a great time celebrating at the Ray house. The kids came downstairs that morning and were surprised to see the gifts we got for them.
My Mom and Dad always got us books for Valentines Day, so we started the same tradition a few years ago. My choices were a hit! Lucy got The Kiss That Missed and a book from the Magic Treehouse series. Graham got a Dinosaur Dictionary and That’s Good, That’s Bad (a book about a kid with crazy adventures in a zoo). The bigger excitement came when they realized they each got a whole box of their favorite sugar cereal (we usually only have Honey Nut Cheerios and Life).

Gotta show you a picture of the pom-poms I made. Beth and Jason made some for me to hang at Christmas and I decided it would be fun to do different ones for each holiday. Shades of green are next.

Being the incredibly creative mother that I am, I cut Lucy's PBJ into a heart. I know, I'm great. She's so lucky to have me.

As you can see, Lucy got Cookie Crisp and Graham got Trix. I forgot to get something for Ben, so Jason put a bow on one of his Gerber Yogurts.

Later that morning, the boys and I came out from the gym and found the inside of my van full of at least 200 cut out hearts. They were everywhere! Jason left a sweet note and a dozen roses, too. It was such a nice surprise.

That afternoon, Lucy spoiled me with handmade Valentines and she even shared her candy from school with me (she knows how much I love the sweet stuff).

Jason and I waited to have dinner after the kids were in bed. He grilled us some steaks and we ate and watched Runaway Bride (the movie we were watching when we first held hands). J bought a ton of different kinds of candy and put them in little bowls so I could make my own penny candy sack.

It was a fabulous day! I’m mad that I failed to go stock up on conversation hearts. Probably too late by now. Lucy’s in bed…..maybe I’ll go check out her stash from school.