Tidbits

On Monday I finally bought the kids some summer clothes.  I always have the most fun buying for Ashley because there are so many cute things out there.  I am excited for her to wear some of the little knit dresses.  We were very blessed:  in total, I probably bought 10-15 pieces of clothing for each child, plus church shoes, and I spent a little over 100 dollars.  Success!


I told Ashley that we would have a girls' day out, so I took her up to the Quad Cities with me to do our summer shopping.  She was thrilled.  Everett and William went to play at a friend's house (incidentally one with all boys), and Ashley giggled with excitement off and on during the 45-minute drive to our first store.  "It's just the girls, and the girls are only on this side of the car!" she exclaimed.  Later, she would announce another similarity. Ashley's one request was that we go to a restaurant for lunch.  That girl is just like her mother--we both love eating out.  So, we stopped at Panera on the way home and split a sandwich and a smoothie.  I don't know if she or I had more fun.  It was a wonderful morning.


Next on my list: cutting off the kids' old jeans so they can have some play shorts.  I always think their jeans will last until the next child needs them, but no such luck.  We have about a six-to-eight month time limit before holes start magically appearing in the knees.  I've even tried patching them from the inside when I notice the knees are wearing thin, but I must not do it right because after a few washings the patch gets wrinkly and the pants look odd.  Surprisingly, Walmart and Gap jeans seem to have the same lifespan.


Has anyone read about the tornadoes down south?  Scary times.  We live in Iowa and haven't had a tornado scare yet.  Everett and I watched some tornado footage this morning.  I explained the devastating damage.  We talked about tornado safety.  I explained to him that even if we lost our house like many of those people did, we would still have a wonderful life because we have each other and Heavenly Father.  Everett accepted this without question and without any fear.  I love the simple, unguarded faith of small children.  I hope that my children don't think the world is a safe place because nothing bad happens--I want them to understand how to be happy even if something bad happens, and that their family and their faith are the most important things they have.  (I hope the way we discuss the facts of these events promotes acceptance but not fear.)  It is a lot to manage and we work on it in small steps, but explaining all of this to them always increases my own faith.


Everett wrote (dictated to me) and colored another story yesterday.  I love getting a glimpse into his creative little mind.  His stories usually revolve around monsters or robots, and this was no exception.


My house is a complete disaster but the kids have been happy.  Does this mean I win or lose?