I love my kids...

Another funny thing happened that I just had to share. Jamie was on the way home, and I'd told the girls that I'd like for them to clean their room before their dad got here. Lily got started right away cleaning the bathroom, and then when she was done she moved to her room to work on it. With exception to Lily, the girls drag out the chore of cleaning their room on every occasion. It's always a struggle to get them to do it. One day I got so fed up with the mess that I emptied their room. I removed everything but their beds. But that's a post for another day. One of the ways I motivate them to clean is to give them a quarter for each chore. They all have a piggy bank, and love to get to put money into it. So, eventually all the girls made their way to the room today, and started to clean it up for their quarter. I happened to be walking past, and they had a mess of their shoes in the hallway. So, I tell Rosalie to tackle the shoes. It should have only taken her 5 minutes, so I walked away expecting her to do it. I never went back to double check. They ended up getting the room cleaned (so they told me), we ate dinner, and then I told Lily to get me my change jar so they could get their quarters. Rosalie came with her hand out, and I asked, "You got the shoes put up like I asked you to, right?" Her response is the reason I'm writing this post. Rosalie said, "Well, my heart...my heart told me to play." Jamie and I looked at each other, and I ask, "What?" She says again, "My heart told me to play to me. But I didn't want to. But my heart told me to play." To make sure that I fully understood her, I ask, "So, you didn't pick up the shoes? You played while your sisters cleaned?" With her eyes wide open, she says, "I'll do it right now." And off she went to go pick up the shoes. She returned within minutes. She'd said she had cleaned up the shoes, and I ask, "What about your bed? If you didn't help with the room, did you make your bed like I'd asked?" She said, "I will! Right now...right NOW!" And she ran off to do that too.

Oh, that child makes me laugh so much. She expresses her feelings a lot by how her heart "feels." If you hurt her feelings, the response you can expect is "You made my heart melt" or "My heart is breaking." We do a lot of talking with our kids, so when something is on their mind they don't really have a problem explaining to us what's bugging them. I like having that relationship with them, and also like the way they are able to express themselves.

Our most recent happenings...

I've been taking it easy this week. I had to have my wisdom teeth out. I've been avoiding it as long as I can, but it caught up with me. I'm recovering just fine. I'm ready to get off the pain medication. I don't take medicine, so if I am on it you can bet I'm hurting. I'm getting off of it just as soon as I can tolerate the pain.

We took the kids to the Sciport in Shreveport last Sunday. We got to see everything that the museum had to offer, plus the kids got to go to the IMAX for the first time. They really had a lot of fun. I'm not a big fan of science museums for my own reasons, but they do offer an opportunity for the kids to enjoy the hands-on displays. I just wanted to share a few pictures from our day.

This is Lily at the "Head on a platter" exhibit. You can tell she really got into it.

Rosalie and Iris enjoying the view from a tree house.

The girls playing the big piano together.

Okay...these next two pictures are so funny. Jamie brought a fan into the travel trailer to get the air moving. The girls were walking past it, and letting the breeze from the fan catch their dresses or shirts, and then they started sticking their face in the fan. They were cracking up in laughter. It doesn't take much to entertain us. I (of course) couldn't resist snapping a couple of pictures of the girls getting blown away.

And finally, it's official...we're not just crawling anymore, but now have added climbing and cruising. Levi figured out that he can walk without holding onto something. He's been taking steps for a while, but just one or two at a time, and then drop to the floor to crawl. I'd left the kids a few times at my parents house when I'd had my dentist appointments recently. My dad has been devoted to getting Levi to walk, and because of my folks, he's finally doing it all on his own. It's so sweet. He'll walk across the room to whoever and ready for a big hug for his accomplishment. I used to sit him on the couch to keep him contained, but that's no longer an option for me because he's now realized that he can climb too.