Courtney's Talk...Again

The Primary Presidency has their hands full with the little Sunbeam class. It's mostly girls (the two boys in the class aren't very active) and they all LOVE attention. During their first week in Junior Primary each little girl asked if she could talk in the microphone. And they haven't had any problems giving talks, prayers or doing the article of faith. It's been cute to watch.

This week Courtney was asked to give another talk. When she told me she had a talk she asked if she could sing another song, but I vetoed that and came up with a little, simple talk she could remember. Her topic was "I came to earth as part of a family." We showed a photo of our family and Courtney told who was in her family. Then we showed photos of the Pack and Oman sides and she told who they were. Then she bore her testimony. It was cute and simple.

We have this week off, so it will be nice ;)

Ethan's Letters

Ethan's 1st grade teacher has been having them write about their families. It's cute because they have Valentine's Day on their minds, so Ethan's notes are always about how much he loves his family. Here is what he brought home today for our family.


"I have four people in my famule. I lik my Dad he plays legos with me. I like him he is nise. From Ethan to Dad I like Courtney. She is nise. From Ethan to: Courtney."


"To: Mom From: Ethan I like my mom. Win evre I git home she givs me a kis an a hug. My mom lets me go to my frens haws. I like my mom."

Like I say: Cute kid!

Courtney Monkey!

When I hear Courtney yell "Mommy, HELP!" I have to admit that I don't run to her aid as fast as I did once. For the first couple HUNDRED times, I would sprint to where she was to see what the emergency was and how I could help her out of it. But after the first couple hundred false alarms (meaning that she wasn't in danger at all, just wanted someone to get her something) I have slowed down quite a bit.

This morning she was helping me clean and suddenly said, "I want to wear a dress." She went into her room and I didn't think anything of it. After a while I heard her familiar yell, "Mommy, HELP!" I said, "I'll be there in a minute" and kept on cleaning. A few minutes later she yelled, "Mommy, really, I need HHHEEELLLLPPP!" I went into her room to see this:

Yes, she used her closet shelves as a ladder to get to a Church dress she wanted to wear. I asked if she could hold on a minute so I could grab the camera and she happily said, "Sure Mommy." After the picture was taken and she was down, I explained to her that a) she shouldn't cry wolf any more because I didn't know she really did need my help and b) she isn't to ever climb the closet again.

But, she was having a girly day and wanted to wear a nice dress. She keeps me on my toes.

It's raining!

It is raining. Ethan absolutely loves the rain and checks Bryan's weather station every day hoping there will be rain in the forecast. Today he was rewarded. The main reason he loves rain is because he loves to have indoor recess at school. There are some days when he thinks doing art projects is a lot more fun than running around. I can't blame him. We all need a change of pace at times.

At the bus stop it was sprinkling, but none of the kids cared. They still played line tag and talked about how fun it will be to have indoor recess today. The clouds look pretty dark so we may just have a down pour. Ethan will be happy!

It's all about the shoes!

Courtney has always loved shoes, since she was a baby. She has been struggling with napping lately (she still needs one!) and the other day I decided to try a trick that worked when she was a baby. She had been crying for over an hour that she didn't want to nep. She kept coming out to tell me "something" and then going back in her room. Finally, I told her it was time for her to sleep and then I put shoes on her. It did the trick. There is something about her having shoes on that gives her comfort and lets her settle down. She slept for over 2 hours!

Last Wednesday we went to dance class and she was really struggling. She kept telling me she was tired and that "I just can't handle this right now." I suspected that her shoes may have been too tight so I asked her teacher to let me try some a size bigger. We put them on her and she was in HEAVEN. She had no problems dancing after that. Apparently it was all about the shoes.

How long will it last?

Our morning routine is pretty simple. Ethan and Courtney wake up REALLY EARLY. While they eat breakfast, I make Ethan's lunch and get his backpack ready for school (hang it on the door, etc.). Ethan then practices the piano followed by Courtney practicing the piano (she doesn't do anything but open books, bang the keys and then close the books, but she's in the habit now). We then read scriptures, Ethan brushes his teeth, put on shoes and then proceeds to check the clock every minute until it is 8:15 and he can go outside to wait for the bus. Courtney always insists that we go outside with him so she can play with the big kids. They all put their backpacks in a line (including Courtney) so they have their place saved. Oh, our house is the bus stop so it makes for a wild morning. When the bus rounds the corner, every kid at the stop yells "BUS!!" and dashes for their backpacks. They then file onto the bus. Courtney calmly walks to where her backpack was left on the sidewalk and puts it on her back.

Now here's the part I'm wondering how long will last. When Ethan gets on the bus, he always gets a window seat facing our house and proceeds to wave and blow kisses to Courtney and me as we watch the bus drive away. It's really sweet and really makes my day and I know it makes Courtney feel special. But I'm wondering how long he will stay in his sweet mode where he doesn't care if his friends know he loves his mom. But I'll take it as long as I can get it!! He's such a great kid.

Musical Smarties!

My kids are a lot like me in that they can hear a song twice and know the words. It's really funny sometimes because it takes people by surprise. Courtney listens to her CD of the Primary program songs each night over and over again (it's on repeat) and it's only been 1 month and she can sing most of the songs all the way through.

I have been helping the Young Women learn a song to sing for Ward Conference in a few weeks. Tonight I went to Mutual to help them practice. I went early and then Bryan brought the kids up when it was time for opening exercises. After they had opening exercises, Bryan and all the young men left and the kids stayed with me while we ran through the song a few more times. When I looked over at Ethan and Courtney, both of them were singing right along...and kept singing all the way home. It was cute!