Love this Girl......

The Setting: Our dinner table.  Three oldest kids sit on a bench on one side, Ellia (2.5) sits at one end, Miranda (11 months) sits at the other end, and Grant and I sit on the other side.  Grant sits between me and Ellia.

We were doing our family devotional after dinner last night and Grant quoted something I had said earlier, then added, "What she said is so right."

Annika (5): "Who said that?"

Grant: "The pretty lady sitting next to me."

Ellia piped in: "You mean me?"

Just In Case You Thought My Kids Were Perfect....

In the past 24 hours, she has:

• smeared petroleum jelly all over her legs, arms, and hair during nap time
• drawn on her cheeks and palms with an ink pen (while I was running on the treadmill)
• stripped down to her birthday suit and covered her bottom, legs, and hands with Miranda's prescription diaper cream (while I was nursing the baby).....oh yeah, just remembered there's some on the floor too. Guess I need to clean that up sometime.  
• drawn with black marker on the bonus room wall (and a couple of kitchen toys)
• dumped out 8 or 9 (25 piece) puzzles in a heap on the floor, decided she couldn't put them back together, and left them there (while I was in the shower and big brother was supposed to be babysitting)
• shocked me with the statement, "Mommy, you look so beautiful.....I don't like you." (when I had come downstairs all ready for church on Sunday)

Life with a 2 year old.  

There's just nothing like it.

The Mini-Vacation Continues.....on to Crabtree Falls

Since we were planning on staying the night around the Staunton area, we wanted something fun and different to do on the way home on Friday.  Knowing that we would be traveling in the Blue Ridge Mountain area, we thought some hiking would be fun.

We had already booked a hotel in Staunton when we found out about Crabtree Falls and decided that would be our destination. 

 Crabtree Falls features a series of five major cascades and a number of smaller ones that fall a total distance of 1,200 feet. It's the highest vertical-drop cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi. 

We thought that sounded pretty awesome. 

So then I found some cabins for rent just down the road from the trailhead.....and we were able to book one and cancel our hotel.  I mean, who wouldn't rather stay in a place like this? 

I can't even describe how excited the kids were about this cabin.  They wanted to stay for a week.  And quite frankly, if we had the time, Grant and I would have loved that as well.

This is the kind of camping I'll do at this stage of life. 

Yes, I'm fully aware this is not camping.

And I'm perfectly fine with that. 

Cute girl.  See the big mess on her right leg?  That's where she knelt down to look at the broilers at Polyface Farm when I wasn't looking and when she got up, I saw she had been kneeling in a pile of cow manure.   Nice.

The furniture on the deck was so comfortable - and the swing was very popular with the girls.

The loft had no doors.....one double bed at that end.....

And a double futon at this end.  Along with a free standing toilet and sink.  I didn't discover the nice little screens they had for some privacy (hidden under the bed) until we were doing our last sweep of the cabin to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything. 

The ladder/staircase was pretty steep.....the kids thought it was great fun. 

(Do you see the spots on Marissa's pants?  Cow manure also. Just thought you'd like to know.)

We had a nice little kitchen, living room, and dining area - and the door at the back leads to the bedroom and bathroom. 

We spend most of our time outside, though.  The weather was perfect camping weather and we had this awesome fire pit....so we ate outside, built the fire, and had some read-aloud time (The Last Battle, Chronicles of Narnia) before it got too dark and then we ate s'mores. 

My studly man......sharpening some sticks to use for roasting marshmallows. 

The flash he used to take this photo was so stinkin' bright! 

Friday morning - we're on our way to hike!

This humongous tree was outside our cabin. 

Us.  ♥

The girls thought the waterfall was a little loud.  So silly. 

Corban was a great hiker - I don't think he even got tired. 

There were several spots to stop on the hike to see the different parts of the Falls. 

At one look-out deck we spotted this little guy.....non-venomous, but we kept our distance anyways.

Another area.....this is looking down.

We made it to the top - 1.7 miles of strenuous climbing.  Grant carried Ellia nearly the entire way (much to her chagrin). 

Funny story:

At one point, after Grant had explained carefully to Ellia (age 2) why she wasn't allowed to walk on the trail because it was so slippery, steep, and difficult and she could never keep up.....and that in a year or two, when she's older, she'll be allowed to walk more on such hikes - she turned to him and seriously remarked,

"Daddy, I three now.  I had my birthday last night."

I think she really thought she would convince him to let her walk after such a statement. 

You couldn't see much of the Falls from the top, but you could see this...... 

(it was hard to believe how high we had climbed!) 

And this.

How 'bout a close up of that pretty flower?  

Another stop-off point to look at more of the Falls. 

On our way down....which was harder in a way because we were all tired, hungry, and more susceptible to slipping on muddy spots and the rocky terrain.  We made much faster time, though. 

This was a little cave area that you could walk though.....the kids really thought it was cool.

The bridge over the river next to the parking lot.

Another shot of the bridge.

And on the side of the parking lot, there stood this lone telephone booth. 

We thought it was so funny.  You don't see many pay phones anymore.  We figured we'd better take a picture next to it so the kids could remember that they've seen one. 

Actually, it is probably used out there, as there is no cell phone service due to the mountains. 

But we still thought it was funny.

Maybe we were just tired.

Of 2-Year-Olds and Clothes

Ellia has become quite opinionated about what she wears.
It's almost funny, but not really.
It can be incredibly frustrating to try to get a two-year old dressed when she critiques each clothing item you
bring out and says, "Nope, not that one".

We had settled on a darling outfit today, a purple flowery casual dress with matching leggings.  She wore it all morning, completely happy.
As I was putting her in a diaper for nap time, she decided it was time to change clothes.

Unlike all of my other kids at this age, she loves jeans.I had to fight tooth and nail to get jeans on either of the older girls until they were at least 4.  Not Ellia.  She adores denim.

So anyways, she had laid out a pair of jeans and a light pink turtleneck to change into.

Me: "No, Ellie, you don't need to change now."
Ellie: "But Mom, it's so cute!"
Me: "You really want to wear this outfit?"
Ellie: "Yes, I like it.".
Me: "Okay, okay."

We proceed to change her...


Ellie (looking down and admiring herself): "See, it's so cute!"

Then she realizes that she's wearing a turtleneck, which apparently she doesn't like.


Ellie: "Mom, I don't like it. I take it off.  It's not that cute."  

Must be Slacking.....

My three dancing Princesses.  Marissa (5) dressed them all up and they were thoroughly enjoying dancing together.  Melted my heart in a really big way.  

See that one in the middle?

That's Annika.  She's turning 4 in a month.

We started up our home school this week and she is doing work from the Abeka K-4 program.  

She loves doing workbooks and feeling big like her siblings.  

She loves to color (and does it remarkably well for her age) and is currently practicing sounds of letters, especially short vowel sounds.  

After our first day of school was complete, she came to me with a look of total dismay.

"Mom!"  she exclaimed loudly.  "You forgot to teach me how to read!!" 

I giggled and tried to explain that learning how to read is a process, you don't learn in just a day, that practicing the sounds of the letters is the beginning stages of reading, etc etc.....but she was not satisfied.  

Every day since, she's insistent on getting her "reading" time and is still expectant that she'll be reading books independently immediately.  

Oh, how fast they grow up.  

Conversation with a 3-year Old

Annika:  "Mom, I wish I were a grown-up just like you.  And I wish I was your mom!"

Me: "Well, God made me to be your mom....but someday you'll have children of your own, the Lord willing."

Annika:  "And I"m going to name her Flowy, if my husband agrees."

Funnies from a 5-year old

We're installing some new shelves for better organization in the master closet this weekend.

I was putting together one of the shelves by myself when Marissa (5) came strolling into the room.

"Well, look at that!" she quipped in amazement.  "Mom is actually learning how to work."

Ha.  Ha.  Ha.

Thanks a lot, kid.

Another quick one.....

A few days ago while we were just hanging out, Marissa randomly breaks the silence with, "Eating a sandwich is a lot easier than cleaning a room."


We were neither eating nor cleaning, so I have no idea why she said that.  It just made me laugh.

Kids Say the Darndest Things....

We got a really nice snow on Christmas night and the next day.  Ended up with 8-10 inches.  That's pretty unusual around here.....and this area hadn't had snow on Christmas since 1948! 

This was taken early Sunday morning.....it continued to snow all day and into Monday....amazing!

Today it was finally warm enough for the snow to pack well and Corban (7), Marissa (5) and I were making a little snow family in the front yard.

I was working on the snow mama's face when the following conversation occurred.

Corban: "Mom, can you make two snowballs?"

Me: "No, I'm busy right now."

A minute passes.  Corban is standing near me, doing nothing.

Corban: "Mom, can you make two snowballs?"

Me: "Why?  You can make snowballs just fine."

Corban: "To put right here and here. (he points to two places on the upper chest of the snowwoman. Bosom area. You get the idea.)  Last year when we made the snow family we did that."

Me: Stunned silence.  I had not participated in the building of the snow family last year and was unaware of such doings.

I thought for a moment, then made two snowballs and placed them in the proper places on the snow mama's chest and started trying to make it look discreet. 

Marissa: "What are those?"

Corban: "You know......those things on women that grow really large and are all swollen-looking."

(Ahem. Apparently he's been looking at other women, because the description "really large" wouldn't be used by anyone in reference to me. Except for possibly the first 2 weeks after having a baby.  TMI, I know. Sorry.)

Marissa:  "You mean those things with n*pples on them that babies drink milk out of?"

Corban: "Yeah, those".

I managed to conceal my laughing.....just barely.

A Special Birthday Card

My 6.5 year old son gave this to me on my birthday. Brought tears to my eyes.

It Tastes Like What??

What is it with kids and eating boogers? Seriously!

We were in the car driving today and Annika (2.5) piped up,

"Mommy, I not eating a boogie".

Me: "Good! We don't eat boogies! That's gross!"

Marissa (4.5): "Why?"

Me: "Because they taste nasty and it's just not a good thing to do!"

Marissa: "No they don't. I think they're good."

Me: "Why, what do your boogies taste like?"

Marissa: "M & M's."

Well, how do you argue with that? If my boogies tasted like M&M's, I'd be eating them too. :)

What did you say was for dinner?

Last night at dinner, we were eating a chicken noodle casserole and green bean casserole (recipes forthcoming sometime in the next month as I get the time) and the following was said:

Marissa: "Mom, I'm going to eat this but it's not my favorite."

Corban: "It's not my favorite either, but at least it's better than paper."

(as if eating paper is a regular occurrence around our house.)

Me (a bit sarcastically, I'll admit): "Thanks a lot, Corban."

Corban: "Well, it's a LOT better than paper, actually."

More Funnies

Last night as we were driving home from church and I was reminding the kids of the bedtime routine to be carried out immediately upon returning home, Corban (6) said,

"I wish I could make the rules in our house."

"Oh yeah?" I replied. "What kind of rules would you make?"

"I could play Starcraft (a computer video game) every day, I could play in the backyard whenever I wanted, I would cuddle with Mommy when I went to sleep and I would stay up to watch the Olympics with Mom and Dad every night. As late as I wanted!" he exclaimed.

As I giggled, he went on. "And I would eat my favorite foods EVERY day! Like salmon and pizza!"

Funnies from the Kiddos

Marissa (4) has a little Dalmation Webkinz named Penny. Yesterday we were at Target and Corban (6) begged to go look at the Webkinz they had in stock. After I asked why several times, he finally confessed,

"I want to find a husband for Penny so she can have puppies."

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Sometimes when Marissa is angry at Annika, she'll yell at her, "You Little Girl" as if it's an insult. We're trying to correct this.

In the meantime, last night I overheard Marissa and Corban arguing in the bathroom as they were supposed to be brushing their teeth.

Marissa was upset and called Corban, "You Little Boy" in an angry tone.

He retorted, "I am NOT little, I'm big!"

Without a second's thought, she replied emphatically, "PEOPLE are little; GOD is big. He is MUCH more powerful and big than you. So Yes, you ARE little."

Guess we're teaching them something right!

Quips from the Kids

No new recipes floating around....we've been incredibly blessed to receive meals from friends for the past week, so I haven't been cooking at all! Now I'm back to the old grind....hahaha......just in time for Grant's parents to arrive in a couple of days.

Just thought I'd write down a couple of funny things the girls have said in the past week. Last Friday, I was driving with the kids to Grant's work to meet him for a potluck lunch (holiday party) and Ellia was screaming inconsolably. Marissa (4) sits next to her and was desperately trying to calm her with the pacifier, and it just wasn't working. She hollered over the noise,

"Mom, I think you need to milk the baby!!!"

The next story needs a little history explained.

During the last few months of my pregnancy, Annika (2) became obsessed with getting piggyback rides. Once she asked me for one, and I replied, "No, I can't. Mommy doesn't feel well." She nodded understandingly and stated, "Oh, baby in the belly. Ok, I get piggyback ride from Daddy!"
Well, a few days ago, we were sitting at the table finishing up dinner and she said,

"Hey Mommy. Baby in the belly?"

I replied, "Annika, you know I don't have a baby in my belly anymore. We have little Ellia right here."

"Ok, Mommy give me piggyback ride!"

Clever girl. I forgot to give her the piggyback ride, though. I really did forget.

The Logic of a 3.5 year old

The other night, we were having salmon for dinner. Salmon is Corban's absolute favorite, except for burgers and fries. Marissa, on the other hand, won't eat salmon regardless of what there is for dessert to tempt her. Grant attempted to sway her opinion by connecting salmon with her favorite color.

Grant: "You know, Marissa, salmon is PINK! It's delicious!"

Marissa replied (very sweetly): "You know, when chicken is pink, you shouldn't eat it because it will make you very sick."

She had a point...irrelevant to her dinner in front of her, but a point nonetheless!

On Creation....from a First Grader

Corban has been studying Creation in his Bible lessons for school.
Today as we were talking about the creation of Man, he noticed a picture in his book of Adam and Eve with several animals, including a lion.

Corban: "Why didn't the lions eat Adam and Eve?"

Me: "Before there was sin in the world, I think the animals and the people got along just fine, the lions didn't want to eat Adam and Eve. The Bible isn't really clear about all that."

Corban (very seriously): "Maybe the animals just liked naked people."

Conversation with a 5.5 year old

A few nights ago, as Grant and I were putting Corban to bed, one of us made some comment about his little Army men set up in battle around his room.

"Boys sure are different than girls!"

Corban: "Why are boys different from girls?"

Me: "Because God made them that way.....they have different strengths and abilities."

Grant: "Yeah, there are some things that Mommy does SO much better than I do."

Me: "And you know there are many things that Daddy does that I could never do."

Corban (with a little smirk): "And there are some things that Mommy and Daddy neither ONE can do, that I can do."

We got a good laugh out of that one. He's not wrong, by the way.

Comment from a 3.5 year old

Being of a fair complexion, I have pale eyelashes that make mascara my make-up item of necessity. I never leave home without it!

This morning at breakfast, I hadn't showered or put on make-up for the day yet.

Marissa looked over at me and remarked,

"Mommy, your eyes look different without any ketchup on them."

Indeed.

Conversation with a 3 year old

Marissa (3.5) has become increasingly observant about other people lately and isn't shy to speak her mind, as children rarely are. I have had to clarify for her recently that just because a woman has a plump belly, that doesn't mean she's pregnant. She should always ask mommy or daddy very quietly if she's wondering about that. And no, it isn't nice to say (out loud) that people are fat. Why? Well, because it hurts their feelings, similar to if you said they were ugly.

So the other day, just a couple of days after such a conversation, we had spent a little time around a lady who is, shall we say, a bit overweight.

In the car after we left (thank God), I heard Marissa piping up from the back of the van,

"Why is her bottom bigger?"

Shaking my head as if to remove cobwebs from my ears, I replied, "What did you say?"

She repeated louder. "Why is her bottom bigger?"

Oh my. "Bigger than what?" I asked, both anticipating and dreading the answer.

"Bigger than YOURS!" I heard back. Duh.

Oh my indeed. I stifled back a giggle and went into an explanation on how people are different, not everyone is the same size, some people have more weight on them than others, and we should never make comments about the size of someone's bottom, or anything else for that matter.

She exclaimed, "Well, I didn't say she was FAT!"

No, she didn't.

Where Should the Kitty Sleep?

Marissa(3) has a new favorite pastime....pretending she's a cat.

We don't own a cat and never will, due to extreme allergies on my part, and in general, the kids seem to prefer dogs anyways, but Marissa is definitely drawn to cats, both stuffed and real.

She and Corban(5) love to play their own version of "House", (which I can't exactly figure out, by the way, but they both know precisely what to do) in which often times Marissa is being a cat, while Corban is either a dog chasing her or her owner. Sometimes both. Like I said, it's a little hard to figure out.

All that to say, Marissa is frequently crawling around the house meowing, rubbing up against me, pawing at me, and so on. It's really quite pesky, for lack of a better word.

So today, when she was supposed to be getting down for a nap, I went in to her room to close her blinds and saw this.

Apparently she's decided that the storage section of her toddler train bed (hand-me-down from Corban) makes a lovely "Kitty Bed" and is very "comfortable", especially with her blanket and a little pillow. She just curled up in there and meowed. That's the reason her face looks so funny in the above picture....she's meowing.

She wanted to remain in there for the duration of her naptime......but mean old mommy insisted that she get on the mattress instead. Can't have her getting a crick in her neck, you know.

But I have to admit, she's pretty darn cute!