In One Ear Not Out the Other

Sometimes, as a mother, it feels like all of the preparation and hard work I put into teaching my child goes in one ear and out the other (please excuse the cliché). However, every once in a while, Elle surprises me by remembering and expressing her feelings on things that I have worked hard to teach her. Today was one of those days.

She started out by drawing me pictures in her notebook. She showed me all sorts of drawings. Then, after a while, she told me that she was drawing the Holy Ghost. Although it was merely scribbles, it touched my heart to know that she was really listening to the things I am teaching her.

Then, this evening, while I was putting her to bed, she surprised me yet again. She looked at my tummy and told me that she was going to put mud on her baby brother’s eyes so that he would be able to see. I was very surprised to find that she remembered the story I told her of Jesus and how he made the blind man see. It was a very sweet moment for me.

I also wanted to mention one more moment that happened earlier this week. Elle picked up my scriptures, and told me that she was going to read them to me. She opened them up, and said, “And it came to pass, that Heavenly Father created things for me.” I could not believe that she picked up on the, “And it came to pass,” part in all of our scripture readings. It showed me that she is somewhat listening when we read the scriptures.

I really am glad to know that Elle is learning from the many things I am teaching her. It makes all of my hard work and preparation feel worth it. So next time I am teaching her something new—and it seems as though she is not listening—I will remember that some things go in one ear and not out the other.

Elle Loves To...

Elle absolutely loves bubbles. She is constantly outside blowing them. Unfortunately, she also loves to dress herself. She goes in her bedroom, shuts the door, and surprises me with her outfit for the day. Sometimes her clothes are on backwards; sometimes one sleeve is not fully on (like in these pictures); and sometimes she wears pants with her skirts (again like in these pictures). But there is one thing I can almost always guarantee: her clothes never match. As a mother, it is hard to not change her, and just let her wear what she deems nice. We have gone shopping and to the movies in some of her creations. At times I just cringe; but when she is so proud of her dressing abilities, I just can’t help but let her wear what she thinks is cute.

Lion's Tail

As I have mentioned before, Elle is obsessed with The Lion King. She is constantly pretending to be one of the lions from the movie. Her usual is Nala (the girl lion). However, in order to pretend to be a lion, one MUST have a tail; and, therefore, Elle created her very own pink lion’s tail. She stuffs this scarf in her underwear, and then proceeds to dance around the house just like Nala from Disney on Ice. It’s a little crazy and silly, but very creative.

Movie Day

Johnny really wanted to take Elle to a movie ever since he found out how much she loved the theater. So today, we took Elle to see Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. She absolutely loved it, and cannot quit talking about the movie or the entire experience as a whole. It really was a fun, family day at the movies.

The Instigator

Yes, Elle was the instigator in this situation. She decided that getting muddy was the thing to do at the end of the day; and somehow she was able to convince her father, who is always against big messes (I like to refer to him as Mr. Clean) to create the mud puddle for her. And not only was she able to convince her father to let her play in the mud, but she also convinced the other children on our block to join in on the fun. We soon had a quite the little throng of messy, muddy children.

4th of July

Our 4th of July this year was full of fun as well as the all-American spirit. We participated in all of the festivities that truly helped us to celebrate America’s birthday.

We started out our day by going to our local 4th of July parade. Elle thought this was wonderful, and loved every minute of it. Her favorite part of the parade, was collecting the candy of course. She ate way too much, and still has a lot left over. Then, after the parade, we headed to the park for BBQ, games, and lots of fun. Her favorite part at the park was the jump house, which she deemed, “the lion game.” We did it three times, and she would have gone more, if we had time. On account of being obsessed with The Lion King, the jump house was definitely the highlight of the day.

We all have had a wonderful 4th of July so far, and we are glad that we can participate in the celebration of our nation’s freedom.

It's Official

Johnny, Elle, and I are moving back to Idaho! Johnny got accepted into the MBA program at Boise State University. We are moving in one month, and we could not be more excited. We are very thankful and grateful for this opportunity; and we are excited to embark upon a new adventure.