By way of updating

I'm well overdue an update on the ol' blog, here. There has just been so much going on that it's been hard to find a free minute. So here it goes. Almost immediately after the company left a few weeks ago, we decided to move ahead with things and make the move to our new house. Within about 2-3 weeks, we had the entire upstairs painted, (which included stripping wallpaper in some places), new carpet was laid in two rooms and hardwoods refinished in three others. There has been much cleaning, updating/remodling, and of course the unpacking to do. (In addition to our already busy lives...) But fortunately we have really great families who, when we say, "Come! We're going to work your fingers to the bone this weekend, and by the end of things you'll be exhausted and sore. Oh, and you won't get paid for this. Just do it out of the goodness of your heart!", they answer with a resounding, "We'll be there!" How lucky are we? We couldn't have done it without all their help. We've just had so many folks who were willing to pitch in and help make this move much smoother and easier.



And we're finally feeling settled in. We all really love it here. It's an older home with lots of character to it and more space than we had before. The backyard is fenced in and there are lots of trees and greenery around that make it seem really homey. We have really nice neighbors, so all in all we're pleased as punch to be settled in and can start making this a home.



We also had a new addition to the big bunch of us: our niece, Ally, was born on July 20th. What a cutie is she?

Of course the kids have been up to their usual antics throughout the move. When you have kids, I think its just the way of the world, that if you are cleaning up one thing, they will be making a mess somewhere else. During one cleaning episode I came into the living room to find two rolls of paper towels and one roll of toilet paper completely undone and covering a large portion of the living room floor. To my question of "What in the world is this?", Elise responded, "Because the floor was hot lava and we couldn't walk on it." How can you argue with that logic? There have been a few other incidents, such as the time they were helping clean the bathroom. It went well for a little bit, they were cleaning their little hearts out and being entertained all at the same time, until eventually they moved on to the non-traditional cleaning products like hair gel, lotion, and vaseline. And then there was the time I heard Cory, somewhat loudly, asking who had painted the basement floor. He was not happy and I had no idea what had happened. It turns out the kids had decided to paint a piece of pegboard they found, not realizing that the paint was dripping down through the holes. An honest mistake, for sure.

And then there's the part where I lost the diamond out of my engagement ring. I was pretty devastated about it. I'm a very sentimental gal, so I took it pretty hard. I just looked down at my hand during the day and their was my ring--minus the diamond--with the prongs all jutting out in wierd ways. I don't remember doing that. There's no telling what happened and where on earth that diamond is. The whole ring would have been much easier to find, but just the diamond? I just get overwhelmed with the different possibilities of where it could have fallen. Cory was very understanding and sweet about it, but I still hate it--especially with our anniversary coming up this week. Somehow that makes it seem more sad.

So that's our week, in a nutshell. It's been an extremely busy few weeks, but we're still here, still happy, and that's about all you can ask for. :)

And even more pictures

Everyone says that Ian is like a clone of Cory. I guess you can be the judge. I'm pretty sure they have the same mischevious smile. I certainly know where Ian gets his rambunctiousness from. ;) They sure are cute, though.
The pink ladies....this was Sunday afternoon at the photo session. We all look cute in our pink outfits. Jentrie was such a good sport to put up with all of us and we all love her. What a sweetheart she is.
Merry Grace tried to feed me an apple from Grammy & Papa's tree. It was pretty sour, but she thought it was funny.

More Vacationing

Nothing like a Sunday morning picture, just for the record. What a challenge it can be to get everyone dressed and ready like they need to be. Obviously, Merry Grace would rather be somewhere else. We did manage to get 12 people to church with 5 minutes to spare. I think that's a record!
After church on Sunday, we took a few family pictures. Here's our crowd, even the sleeping baby. Aren't we a cute family?
Here's everyone: (l-r) Logan, Grandma, Adam, Mama, Daddy, Me (holding Merry Grace), Cory, Ethan, and Jentrie. Down in front are Ian and Elise.
This is a picture of the cutest, silliest baby ever. Can you even stand how cute she is?
We took a few more pictures on Sunday afternoon. Here is one of the four sibs--being goofy. Imagine that....

Pictures of Family

Ethan and his girlfriend, Jentrie, came out to visit us this past week. They came in on Wednesday morning and we crammed every bit of family time into the next few days. Elise and Ian immediately fell in love with Jentrie and become her instant best friends. We mostly just relaxed and got acquainted on Wednesday, then played games and made fondue that night.


Thursday found us at the lake, enjoying the perfect weather conditions. The water was nice, the temperature was perfect, and the companionship the best. We swam, picnicked, canoed, and paddle boated. That evening we all went up to Mama & Daddy's for the rest of the weekend.

Friday saw us down the river, not so perfect weather, but enjoyable nonetheless. My Uncle Maury and cousin Hannah came along with all of us, as well as Grandma Jarrell and Aunt Verna. It was overcast and cool--even sprinkling a time or two. But it can be marked down in the long list of Jarrell River trips as a success. On Saturday, we went to a nearby park for a picnic and some frisbee/baseball. We also found our way to the river where we waded around and skipped rocks. Each night was spent playing games--Balderdash, Apples to Apples, Mormon Rook, Sequence, or others. We also had our fill of Leatherby's chocolate syrup, provided by Ethan. We could be found with a bowl of ice cream at almost any time of day.

These are a sampling of pictures from the trip. At the top is Elise and her new BFF's. Clockwise is Ian in Jentrie's sunglasses. I'm thinking that's his gangsta pose. ;) Grandma and Jentrie posed as Mormon Rook champions. (I came in dead last, if anyone was wondering....) And lastly, Elise looks ready to fight for her honor. Hi-ya!!!!!

mischeviousness

The other day we went to a nearby lake with some of Cory's family. We had a nice time, and after a few hours, headed home. We'd been on the road about 5 minutes when Ian says, "Hey! Why are my feet yellow?" At first we just kind of ignored it at "kid chatter" and then Elise says, "Ewww, Ian!!! Your feet are yellow. That's gross!" Upon asking a few questions we discovered it was the bottoms of his feet that were yellow, and said, "Well, you must've stepped in something." At this point, Elise goes, "Hey!!! My feet are yellow too!" So we're like, "Maybe it was the sand." And Cory & I start looking at our feet. Nothing. We start getting puzzled and are thinking, "How weird is that? I wonder what it could be?" But with nothing more alarming happening we just let it go. When we got home, though, and looked at their feet, they were, indeed, very yellow. The entire bottoms of their feet were bold yellow. At least a week later, I was driving the kids somewhere and this conversation about yellow feet starts back up. Apparently, Ian and Elise have yellow feet again. I was just starting to think there was some weird fungus or something going around when Ian says, "Yeah, why do my feet have yellow marker on them?" And suddenly all the pieces fit. I asked them if that is what happend to their feet after the lake, and of course it was. I'm not surprised they colored their feet with yellow marker. No matter how many time we say to only draw on paper, it falls on deaf ears. But I was surprised that they pulled it off without giving it away. Aren't they a little young for that? =) But at least now I can breathe easy, knowing that we do not have some strange disease, and that we aren't afflicted with anything worse than mischevious kids.

Food Habits

The other day I bought a cantaloupe from a produce stand down the road. It was so juicy and sweet--one of the best I've ever had. Ian, typically my more adventurous eater, loved it. Merry Grace took a lick and that was it for her, while Elise gamely took a bite, then put the rest on MG's plate. =) I was relating this story to Cory when he got home and in summation said, "Elise is kind of a picky eater, but I used to be, too, when I was little, and I've turned out okay." We had sort of a laugh over that, because while I'm not exactly a picky eater, you might call me a food snob of sorts. I like my food how I like it. =)

I was thinking about this again this morning while I fixed pancakes. As a child, my dad would always eat his pancakes with butter and sugar sprinkled on top. Of course, being the picky eater that I was, thought this was strange and disgusting. (Just keep in mind we are talking about straight sugar. Hard to believe it could have been that bad, isn't it?) So fast forward to my life as an adult. Guess what--I prefer my pancakes with butter and sprinkled with white sugar. Who would've thought? I love the crunch of the sugar and the taste of the butter (slightly salty) and the sweet sugar is so good.

But it just reminded me how funny our food habits are. I think about the many things I hated as a kid--green beans (I thought they were so horrible I had to smother them in ketchup to choke them down), italian salad dressing, squash, cantaloupe, hot dogs (couldn't bear them, and on the rare occasions when I would roast one over the fire and attempt it, I could never eat the last bite. The "end" was so gross to me. =)....and the list goes on. Most of those things and many others are things I love now and eat frequently. Thank goodness our palates develop and change and we grow up and realize those horrible things our parents made us eat, really aren't so horrible after all.

Red Letter Day

I thought this event deserved its own post. I made it through a trip to Wal-Mart without taking any of my children to the bathroom, even once! This is definitely a red-letter day in our family. =)

The Water Buckets

Emmy, Elise, & Kyleigh were standing under the water buckets to see if they could get wet. I think they miscalculated a bit. However, this is the way I would like to do them. They are too cold for me. =)

The Dive

You have to watch this closely, but notice that Ian totally dives headfirst into the pool.

Spoons

Here is the ending of a round of spoons. Cory's cousin Tony ended up across the table going for one. Unfortunately, Neal came out the winner. But as you can see below, the spoon was the loser. =)




Here's the crazy bunch playing spoons. The adults would stay up every night playing spoons. This is actually a fairly mild round.

Jumping off the Dock

Uncle Jacob stood here forever helping Ian get back up on the dock to jump off. I bet Ian jumped off 50 times!

The Water Slide

Cory and Jacob make a run down the water slide. It's killer!!! I tried it last year, but that time was enough. These guys are either braver or crazier. =)

Cheetah Girls

The "Cheetah Girls" thing comes from a disney channel original movie of the same name. The girls love the movie, but they love being the real cheetah girls even more.

We got the Beat

All week the girls did these "hand jives". Who knew there were so many, but they seem to know them all!

Going Home

Going Home is never the fun part. It's always sad to realize that vacation is coming to an end for another year. I'm pretty sure these faces are the proof.

But like any good vacation, there is always the aftermath. A few miles down the road from camp and the kids had crashed. They were so tired. But it also means they had a great time!

Vacation Stuff

Each day, we planned a craft for the kids. Friday was my day and we did tie-dye t-shirts. They turned out really well, even if it was a lot of work.
Each night, those who had the energy stayed up and played spoons. It is violent and vicious and competitive--so players beware!
Here are Cory's parents with all 13 of their granchildren (there is also one on the way next month.)

The Water Park

Here Cory and Elise are taking a break from swimming. It had been chilly and overcast most of the day, but finally warmed up and turned out to be a really nice day for the water park.
Merry Grace tried on my hat. The water really was too cold for her to do much more than wade around in, but she had fun anyway.
Elise enjoys standing under the buckets that fill up with water and spill over on you. BRRRRR!!!!
Cory and Uncle Neal took turns pretending to be "sharks" and chased after the little swimmers. They would swim from the edge to this island, screaming and shrieking, but loving to be chased the whole time.
Ian jumping off the edge. He and Elise were like little fish out there. Thank goodness for water wings. =)

More Vacation

One of the highlights of the week was the sandy soil all around for the kids to play in. They built sand castles, dug holes, and had all sorts of imaginations out there.
This is one cute baby. What more can I say?
Ian liked the handicapped shower stall in the bath house, mainly because he like washing off with the "telephone." =)
Every time Elise wrapped up in a towel after swimming in the lake, she would take off running, yelling, "Superwoman." Here she is with Katie and Emmy.
Because there were so many of us at camp, we didn't have to cook every day. We ended up having to cook one day plus one meal. Here is Cory doing perfectly browned grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast.

More Vacation

Here is Elise at the lake. You can only imagine what happened next. =)
Here are four of the girls, posing for the camera. =) Kyleigh, Emmy, Katie, & Elise
Vacation was a great time to catch up on some sleep. Lucky for Merry Grace, Cory was willing to put the baby down for a nap. ;)
I brought glow bracelets for the kids each night. It was so cute to see them running around camp, glowing up a storm.
Merry Grace enjoyed everything, too. She really liked digging in the sand, especially since the water was a little chilly.

Vacation

Last week we went on vacation with Cory's family. It's at a campground complete with cabins, bathhouse, and mess hall. We spend the week at the lake, the nearby water park, doing crafts, and just being together. It is lots of fun for everyone. This is Elise walking down the dock. We walked down there our first night at camp. It is so relaxing an peaceful.
Here are most of the kids from camp. After we grown-ups tired of chasing kids down the dock, preventing them from falling in, and a couple of almost heart attacks from a few near-misses, we corralled the kids here for a picture. =)
Sarah, Elise, and Katie--Elise with her cousins from the bayou. Being with family is what this vacation is all about.
What a mess this baby is!!! She's too adorable. She loved the independence of camp and being able to chase after the big kids. She really didn't realize that she was a little bitty thing.
We went to the lake every day. It was beautiful weather, even a little cool for summer. But not too cool for the kids to jump right and and get down to the fun!

From our house

Here are some pictures from around our house this week. This first one is of Ian. This is why boys are great. He helped me with some cleaning around the house--like spraying out the trashcans, cleaning the dustpan off, and other dirty jobs. But he was so helpful and had a blast in the process. After he would clean out one thing he would come back and say, "Mommy, I need something else to wash!"

Here are Elise and Ian with there bargain bubble guns. They work really well and they had soooooo much fun. Merry Grace thought it was pretty neat, too.
This is a new sign Elise has on her bedroom door. She made it all by herself. I'm pretty sure it's directed at either Ian or I, but I'm not sure which. It's so cute and funny. And doesn't she have nice handwriting? =)
Here is my dress-up queen. If she finds an item of clothing around, she must have it on. Here she is in a pair of Elise's panties, over her shorts. And she is so pleased with herself. Yesterday for a while she wore a bathing suit over her entire outfit. It makes her happy and I think she can pull it off. =)

Samuel was a...prophet-ary?

Here is a video of Ian singing the verse from Book of Mormon stories called, "Samuel was a Lamanite." I've included the translation below, since that makes it even cuter. =)



Samuel was a Prophet-ary
with Samuel was a on the city wall.
Arrows could not hit him
For of God was he.
In the God, In the land,
Righteously!

The trouble with boys

Poor Ian. He's such a challenge. He's the most loving little guy I've ever seen--he's sweet and snuggly. But he gets a twinkle in his eye sometimes that means trouble is on the way. Not that he's meaning to be "bad". He's just curious and mischevious--and that's a combination that spells trouble.

This week's episodes have pretty near done me in. The first incident occured at a store. Merry Grace was standing in the back of the buggy while Ian walked along beside me. At one point he climbed up on the side of the buggy, his little feet planted on the bars underneath, while he held onto the side. The next thing I knew it was like Newton's apple was falling all over again, as gravity took over. The buggy toppled over with Ian still hanging on. He was falling backwards, the buggy coming with him and Merry Grace still inside. I tried to stop it, but there was nothing I could do. The laws of physics had taken over. Ian landed square on his back, the buggy on top of him and Merry Grace, miraculously, still sitting inside the buggy. There were a few harried moments as we tried to sort everything out, but somehow everyone was okay. Of course it took another 15 minutes for my legs to stop shaking, but all in all we were fine.

The next incident also happened in a store. Cory and Elise had gone to Home Depot, while Ian, Merry Grace and I picked up some things from Wal-Mart. Ian had grabbed a gorilla balloon near the enterance and was having a blast slinging, dragging, throwing and punching it up and down the aisles. (Those little yellow weights at the bottom really add to the fun...) So at one point he had run down to the end of the aisle and I called him back, as we were going to head to another part of the store. He came running at full speed and at the last minute I realize he was going to collide with the buggy. It was like watching a train wreck. I saw it coming but was powerless to stop it. He did, indeed, hit the buggy head on--with such force the he was thrown back onto the ground. Once again, besides a bump or two, he was fine.

Those, in conjunction with another episode or two, have left me shaking in my boots at the thought of what that kid will do next. He really wears me out!!! But just today he was talking about how he had gotten footprints on the windshield by walking up it and I mentioned that the footprints were frustrating for me to see around while I was driving. On his own, he went out there with baby wipes and cleaned off the windshield. And that is why I love this kid.

Sharing is Caring

The other night I fixed corn on the cob for supper. The kids devoured it, even Merry Grace who I thought was going to gnaw through the cob. After we ate, we went outside to play and Merry Grace carried her cob out with her to munch on. Ever the one to share, she gave Max a little snack while she took a break. This is pretty typical. Whatever food she is eating, she will usually pass off a few bites to her four-legged buddy. This time it just seemed she was doing it somewhat unknowingly.
But why let it go to waste? A few doggy kisses on your corn never hurt anyone. =)

The Garden

This spring I planted my garden, as I've done to varying degrees each year. Its ranged from a tomato plant in a pot on the porch to a nicely tilled bed of weeds, to a full-fledged garden. This season's attempt appears the most promising yet. I've diligently tilled, planted, weeded, and watered my little garden and the beginnings of vegetables have appeared. There are quite a few green tomatoes, six or seven baby crookneck squashes, and sevearl othere veggies well on their way. I even have a row of herbs, which has been fun. Last night I was making fajitas and the kids and I went out the garden and gathered an herb cocktail to season the chicken and peppers. There are still many months to go. I can only hope it pans out as well as it appears right now.

Is this what you thought it would be like?

With Mother's Day being this past weekend, the topic of motherhood has been on my mind quite a bit. Ian has this lovely habit of stripping down completely nude when he needs to poopy. So he sits on the toilet, naked as a jaybird, and while he does his business he stuffs as much toilet paper as he can down the toilet. Unfortunately, this is not a single event, but a pattern. If the job is a quick one, we can avoid a clogged pipe. If not, well, you can imagine what happens. So on Saturday, I responded to the call of "MOOOOOOOMMY, I'm dooooooone." When I got to the bathroom, there was my little boy in nothing but his birthday suit, sitting on a virtual mountain of TP. Since we have had the conversation about why this isn't a good idea multiple times and had had several incidents where I was sure he had learned his lesson, I was extremely frustrated to find all the toilet paper on the roll filling up the toilet. Becuase playing in the toilet isn't high on my list of fun things to do, I quickly lifted Ian off the toilet and had him do the dirty work. Apparently, stuffing the toilet full is more fun than cleaning it out, so at one point I was holding Ian's arms, using them as, sort of, salad tongs, (sorry for the visual) to lift the paper out of the toilet and drop it into the trash can. Mama (who was down for the weekend) walked by in the midst of all this and said, "When you dreamed of being a Mother, is this what you imagined you'd be doing?" We had a good laugh over it, but it got me to thinking.

I had lots of lofty goals and ideals about what motherhood was going to be like for me. I pictured happy, lovely, healthy children; a clean house; peaceful, nutritious, enthralling dinners; enriching conversations with my husband, and educational moments with my children. I never imagined the many daily tasks for which there would be no obvious reward. Humanity will never praise me for having my three-year-old clean out the toilet by himself. Most days have some combination of sick or dirty children, at least one or two disagreements among the siblings, meals are often hot dogs (with ketchup being the vegetable of choice), the laundry (dirty and clean) piles up, as do the dishes. And if Cory and I have time at the end of the day to watch one episode of "The Newlywed Game" then we feel that we've had quality time together. =) As I type this, Ian is hard at work spitting down the air conditioning vents while Merry Grace looks on, and Elise is holed up in her room because Ian was aggravating her. No one is going to applaud most of the things that fill up my day.

Even having said that, I wouldn't trade this job for anything else in the world. The hugs from my kids, the ability to be there for all their milestones (even the ones that involve poop and other fun stuff), the thrill of seeing them grow and develop into these amazing little people. When they "get" something that I've been trying to explain to them or when they finally accomplish something they've been working on--it's wonderful and beautiful and fulfilling. Being able to rejoice with them in their many triumphs--for their triumphs are mine as well--is what makes me so humbled to be able to be a mom. Their mom. I love them with a ferocity I could never have imagined, in all my dreams of being a mother. It is the hardest, most demanding, challenging, all-encompassing job I've ever considered. There are days I need a pep talk and days I wonder what in the heck I'm doing. But even in all that, I can't imagine any place I'd rather be than wrapped up in a tight hug from one of my babies.

The Not-So-Happy Birthday Song

New Look

So I guess several of you have seen the new look, based on the comments. It's only been 2 1/2 years with the same layout, so I thought I would update. Heaven forbid, I should rush into things. =) Unfortunately, I'm not a computer whiz and formatting and HTML is right over my head. So there are some layout things I would play around with, were I to know how to do it. As it is, this is the best I can do. I didn't want to change it unless I found something I really loved. When I found this, I felt like it was my old format, only better! So there you go. I have two funny videos from Elise's birthday I want to post, as soon as they are finished uploading to google videos. We doing good, just busy. Take care, everyone!

Bathroom Humor...

...as only a boy can do. The other day at Wal-Mart, Ian and I were in the garden section, looking for vegetables for the garden. One minute I'm debating tomatoes, whether to go with Early Girls or Big Boys, the next minute I see Ian peeing down a drainage grate, next to the vegetable stand. I couldn't believe it! I should've known, though--that boy can & will pee any time, any place!

The next story is from the camping trip he and Cory went on this weekend. Apparently he was quite intrigued by the port-a-johns. Not only were there lots of them, but there were different colors. At first he would pee in the woods, but once he made a trip to the port-a-john, it was all over. He LOVED it! He kept wanting to try out the different colored ones, like there might be something different about them. I suspect someday that will change....

Another week

My goodness! Has another week come and gone already? I feel that I am on a wild circus ride. Life these days is busy, busy, busy. My calling is by far the most demanding I have ever experienced. A lot of that is due to the sheer number of sisters involved. There are just sooooooo many people. There are so many meetings, so many tasks to remember to see about, so many needs to be met. It can be a little--ok, quite--daunting and overwhelming. That being said, I can see Heavenly Father's hand in almost everything I do. I can literally feel myself being lifted up when I am tired, to be able to take care of what needs to be taken care of. Somehow I am able to meet demands that I never thought I could. I never want to lose that feeling. Speaking of all things Relief Society (these days I wonder if there is anything else), we had a fun activity last night. This month the YW have been paired up with RS sisters, with the RS being secret sisters to the YW. It has been super fun and I feel like it was a wonderful bonding activity for all involved. Last night was the culmination with everyone finding out who was who. Really fun.

Our AC messed up again. If any of you have followed my life at all, I am beginning to wonder if a broken AC is just the curse of my life. In running back over the years in my mind, we are approaching the 8th summer that Cory and I have been married. I can only recall one summer without any AC problems and I'm sure if I could remember things more clearly, there must have been something to happen that year. Could we possibly have had one summer without AC trouble? Anyway, it was 85 degrees in the house today--with windows open and fans blowing. Hopefully we will be on to cooler times soon. =) Thankfully it is only April.

We've had a field trip for Elise, her spring festival, t-ball games, piano lessons, RS meetings, and a few other odds and ends since I last wrote. But we're doing well. We're all reasonably healthy, definitely happy, and just hanging on for dear life. If you follow the link for "Barnett Bunch Pictures" on the side of the blog, you can find the latest pictures of the family. The last two albums are the most up-to-date.

Easter, better late than never

Easter completely snuck up on me this year. It's not like we didn't talk about it or think about or send things to Elise's school for the holiday. I guess I really thought the Easter bunny was going to deliver the stuff this year. Usually we do our big celebration on Saturday morning so we have more time, so we can spend Sunday doing more of the spiritual stuff, and so we can cut down on the sugar rush that the primary presidency has to deal with by getting the chocolate in on Saturday. But this year, all of a sudden it was Saturday evening and we still hadn't even gotten so much a a few pieces of candy. Cory went out for an emergency run that night, but after he got home I realized I had left a few important things off his list....like plastic eggs for one. Every year we hide eggs throughout the house or in the yard so that the kids can have an easter egg hunt provided by the Easter bunny, first thing in the morning. A little hard to do without eggs, though. But it was already late and we were scrambling, so we just went with what we had. Elise woke up early and walked into the living room where I was and sort of looked around, a little puzzled. Finally she asked, "Did the Easter Bunny hide our eggs?" Boy did I feel rotten. I tried to explain it away, and she accepted it, but she was obviously disappointed and I was feeling like a loser. =) So we just did things "better late than never". Monday afternoon brought a letter from the Easter Bunny, apologizing to the kids for leaving their eggs at the wrong house & asking their permission to leave eggs for them that night. The kids were really excited, left lettuce and water out for the Easter Bunny, hunted their eggs the next morning and just had a ball. So all was well and all was forgiven.

Bursting with *pride*

I went in last week for Elise's parent/teacher conference. Elise got fabulous comments from her teacher, so indulge me in a little "my child is the most wonderful person in the world" moment. =) Elise's reading, writing, and mathematical ability are well into the first grade range. Some of her strengths are vocabulary--using, understanding and being able to spell lots of words. She's also very good at sounding out words that she doesn't know how to spell. Patterns, sorting, and organization are other things she excels at. She's a great independent worker and is a good friend who is able to play and work with everyone in the class. She has super neat handwriting and her teachers use her work very often as examples to show the rest of the class what to do. She's just an all-around good kid who her teacher and classmates love.

Of course, I wasn't at all surprised to hear the good comments from her teacher. I see those kinds of things in Elise at home too. She's a wonderful big sister, often helping wash, dress, or play with Merry Grace. Ian, of course, adores her as well, and partly at least because she is good to include him in what she does and teach him things, too. She's so sweet and tenderhearted and sometimes prays that she will "always be a peacemaker". She's just a joy to have in our home and our family is happier when she is around. We are so blessed to have her as part of our family.