These pictures don't do it justice, but we had severe weather come through Missouri last Sunday. There's pretty much nothing that gets me more excited than a midwest storm! I shouldn't be so happy about them, considering they produce tornadoes that do unbelievable damage, but I just want to scream "bring it!!" at the sky when it goes crazy with lightning, thunder, rain, hail and damaging winds. My kids feel very differently, because they hate storms. I was happy that they were willing to run outside with me during this last storm and play in the rain. We danced, screamed and cheered as the thunder rolled! Logan was still wearing his adorable church suit, but I didn't even care.
Well, hard as we tried, we are horrible care-takers for birds. When the tiniest bird named Moby died, I called a nature center and was told a couple things:
1. never give the birds any liquid. Oops.
2. never take the nest out of the tree. Oops.
The tiny birds had seemed so thirsty, so we kept giving them water through a syringe. This apparently fills up their lungs, drowning them. Also, the mama bird may only come back to the nest sparingly, but they are not actually abandoned and should not be taken out of the tree. I knew the other birds would not live much longer, but my sweet Brynlie kept taking care of the birds. When Tweety and Hulk died also, she turned into a mess of tears and was completely heart-broken. She had literally loved them to death. Ryan had been on a 6-day business trip (ugh), but made it home in time for the early-morning bird funeral in our backyard. Ryan had tears in his eyes as he spoke to the kids about eternal life. Then he offered a prayer for the cute little birds before burying them by our detached garage. Brynlie could hardly contain herself enough to get on the bus and go to school. The whole experience made me realize our kids could really benefit from having a pet, so I made the final decision that we are getting a dog. I can't believe I've actually pulled the trigger, but I researched them all week long, we've gone to play with them on a couple occasions this week, and we are anxiously looking forward to picking out our new little puppy. We won't be able to bring the puppy home until it is at least 8 weeks old, which is a good thing because I need time to wrap my brain around the idea. Our kids are ecstatic! While driving home from the dog breeder, all four kids told me and Ryan that a dog will make them happy, but another baby would make them even happier. Haha, I told them not to hold their breathe for that one.
My favorite 5-almost-6-year-old still has a hard time staying dry at night. He has been potty-trained for 3 years, but struggles while sleeping. He is very embarrassed about this, especially after some of his friends teased him recently. He's dedicated himself to staying dry from now on, and has been doing a much better job. After he stayed dry for 4 nights in a row, I took him to Freddy's for lunch and ice cream. We took these pictures of ourselves during our lunch date. I'm going to miss hanging out with my little buddy when he's busy with school. I'm used to him going everywhere with me.
While talking about Logan, I have to mention that he is brilliant. Not only is he reading like a champ (even scriptures!) but he loves to do math problems. While driving in the car, he will say, "ask me times!" or "ask me minuses!" He mastered adding quite a while ago, so his brother taught him subtraction and multiplication. I can say, "what is 5 times 4?" and he can give me the correct answer. This kid is going to be so bored in Kindergarten! Almost makes me wonder if I should have sent him to school last year instead of keeping him home. He would have been the absolute youngest in his grade and wasn't socially ready, but he may struggle in a classroom where some of the kids won't know the whole alphabet yet.
I love being reminded of Brynlie's love for me every morning when I pull a paper out of this jar. A few days ago the paper said, "the way you look at Daddy." It make me happy that my kids can see the love I feel for my Ryan.
After much begging and prodding, Brynlie was allowed to get her first pair of high heels. She was beyond excited to wear them to church yesterday with a new dress. She is looking so much more grown up, especially since she wears contacts most days now. Isn't she so beautiful?
I took pictures of Logan and Lindsey after church yesterday also. What a good-looking bunch of kids I made!
I broke our dryer a few weeks ago, and Ryan has tried to fix it several times. I think it's finally fixed for good, but I spent many hours in a laundromat one day, doing NINE loads of laundry. $25 later, I grabbed my still-damp clothes out of the crappy dryers and took them to my neighbor's house to dry. I've never been so grateful for a washer and dryer at my house! And for the record, I'm super proud of Ryan for fixing the dryer. My man doing home-repair is just about the sexiest thing ever.
While at lunch with some ward friends this week, I realized that a church investigator who had come to an activity recently was offended with the questions I asked her. Here I had thought the conversation we had was positive and amazing, but she walked away thinking I was super pushy and annoying. I'm the worst missionary ever! Oh geez, I've sure felt like a shmutz since then. It was a good lesson for me, though, because I need to let the Spirit teach others rather than trying to convince them. I have a lot to learn before serving a mission with Ryan someday. Hopefully I become a help rather than a hindrance!
Now it's Memorial Day, and we have plans to swim and BBQ at a friend's house. I'm grateful I blog so I can sit down periodically and be reminded that I live a very charmed life.
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