Time with Daddy

Lately, Wes hasn't traveled as much so he is spending a lot of time with his girlies. Just this week, they went to the park twice and a trip to the store because they informed us we were out of Dora snacks. The girls love spending time with Wes and Wes does too. He is the greatest daddy and husband.

This past Sunday, he had to get the girls ready by himself for church. I had to go early because we were having a big breakfast before services and I was helping. He got the girls ready, up to church, fed breakfast, played games with them and did everything that usually takes two of us to do. He didn't ask me to help with anything because he knew I was working.

Its been nice having him home. We really love him and like to have him around.

Phone Pics

I was going through my phone last night and found some cute pictures of the girls.

Washing dishes

Monkey and Dinosaur

Posing with monkey and dinosaur

 Yes, the girls are posing with their friends in the bathroom on the toilet. We must spend a lot of time in the bathroom.

Can you tell Gracie fixed her own hair and then found my phone?

Sleeping in momma's bed

 When Wes has to travel, we have a slumber party in momma's bed. One night, the cat came in too and tried to sleep on top of Lizzie. Lizzie did not appreciate that. The girls love slumber party (and I do too).

Lizzie

 At lunch one day, the girls had grapes. Both girls had to put them in their cheeks and wanted me to take a picture.

Gracie

Its been a fun and busy summer. One more week left before we go back to school. The big kids go back this week. This time next year, we will be starting kindergarten!

Barbies

Lately, the girls have been playing Barbie. So far, they have made Grandma and Wes play with them. It is their favorite thing to do. They will play for hours with them. The girls take after their aunt and myself. My sister and I loved Barbie as kids and would play with them forever. We had a screened in porch and every summer that's where we spent a lot of our time with our Barbie pool, Barbie car and a doll house my dad made.

Barbie in a toilet paper roll

This cracked me up the other day. Fairy Barbie in a toilet paper roll on the back of the toilet. I asked Gracie why she did it. She told me she didn't want Barbie to fall into the toilet and she figured she wouldn't fall off this way. Amazing how their minds work.

Conversations with Lizzie and Gracie

We have had some interesting conversations with the girls lately. I thought I would record a few.

My sweeties

Gracie - "I didn't nap momma instead I prayed to God."
Me - "What did you pray about?"
Gracie - "All the things I want God to give me for my birthday."

Me - "How did you get that sweater, it was up in your closet? Did you get a step stool?" (why would you need a sweater when it's 102 degrees outside, I don't know.)
Gracie- "No, I was on my tippy toes."
Me - "You aren't that tall."
Gracie - "I can when I want to be."

Me - " Did you have a good time at Grandma and Papa's"
Lizzie - "Yes"
Me - "Did you give them trouble going to sleep at night like you do for mommy and daddy"
Lizzie - "No, well maybe just a little bit of trouble but not that much." (very matter of fact)

Lizzie - "Mommy, make Molly (our dog) lick Gracie."
Me - "I can't make Molly lick anybody."
Lizzie - "Well, it hurts Gracie's feelings. She always licks me and not Gracie"

Some other things that make me smile about the girls.

• The way they automatically hold hands
• When they say to each other "we're friends, right?"
• How they play sweetly together
• They watch out for each other everywhere we are

We still have challenges but four is a fun age.

Parent's Anniversary

Today is my parents anniversary, they have been married for 45 years. My parents taught me what marriage should look like. It's not perfect, sometimes its hard and it takes a lot of work. My parents taught me how to love and led by example. They don't always agree but they showed me its OK to disagree. You should always fight fair and communication with each other. 

My sweet parents

When I think of my parents, I think of love and acceptance. That's always what they gave each other and their children. They took my sister and I to church and taught us by example what Jesus meant by giving to the naked, the hungry, the sick, and whoever else was in need. My mom is a retired teacher. She was the kind of teacher who loved every child, even the worst kid in the class. She tended to love them the most because she knew they needed it. Looking back, I see all the little things my parents did to teach me how to be a good person.

They took us on vacation and taught us to learn about the world and not just our own backyard. My sister and I were exposed to so many things. Both my parents are teachers by nature and logical. One of my favorite stories to tell on my dad, a retired Geo-physicist, is when my sister and I would ask questions like why is the sky blue, his response was always scientific in nature. We got responses like "its the reflection of the sun light on particles" not "because God made it that way".

I consider myself very lucky to have the parents I do. I hope that I'm half the parents they are to Lizzie and Gracie. Love you mom and dad.