First Talk

Mikayla gave her first talk in primary last week.  She thought it was "the coolest thing" because she got a sticker telling her that she was to give a talk on the atonement in primary.  We've learned about the atonement in sharing time, then talked about it again in family home evening so that she could understand it better.  When it came time to write her talk she told us exactly what to say with only promptings such as "then what happened?"  I was totally impressed.  We went through her talk once together, practicing on the stool with her play microphone, and the second time around she had it pretty much memorized.  Her memory is amazing!

The day of her talk she wasn't nervous at all and said almost the whole thing by herself.  On the way home I told her she did a great job and she said, "I know!  I think we should have a candlelight celebration dinner because I did so good!"  And that's exactly what we did.

Here's her talk:

"When we come to Earth our bodies are clean and pure.  When we are older we sometimes do sins and it isn't pure any more.  If we make a mistake we should repent and ask Heavenly Father to forgive us.  We can repent because of the atonement (pronounced 'retonement' by Mikayla).  The atonement is when Jesus felt all the bad things we've done.  He prayed for us to be forgiven.  Mean people made Jesus die on the cross, but he was resurrected.  Because of Jesus Christ we can all live with Heavenly Father again."

This and That

Here's a picture update of the last few weeks...

Daxton doing what he does best.  Playing outside, eating, and looking cute.

Rainy day fun.

I chopped Maylee's mullet and gave her a "bob" in hopes that her hair will grow in thicker.

Early morning cuddles.

The girls are obsessed with playing Sleeping Queens right now. Mikayla made a sign that said the name of the game for our game night.

Getting ready for a family hike that still hasn't happened yet.

These girls play together and fight together SO well.

Daxton and Maylee speak the same language.  "Dirt."

Spelling, spelling, and more spelling for this little lady.  Add a little arts and crafts into the mix and she's in heaven.

The kids are at a really fun stage right now.  Mikayla is into learning as much as possible and is especially loving writing and learning to spell.  She is into all things fairy and sparkly.  Maylee has turned into a total ham.  Between her awesome facial expressions and funny comments she keeps us laughing.  She is the best little Momma to her dollies.  Daxton is an independent dude and his little world revolves around being outside playing with sticks and dirt.  It's a happy {crazy} life!

Things I Love

I'm not gonna lie.  This stage of life is tough for me.  I feel like I'm in a constant whirlwind of snotty noses, messes, tantrums, and tears all day long.  Sometimes it's hard to remember this is just a stage, a hard one at times, but also a very fun one!  There are days when I am grateful we just survived, there are other days where I feel like shouting hallelujah because we didn't just survive, we THRIVED.  Although the day-to-day can be rough at times, there are things that are so amazing about this stage and I wanted to remember some of my favorites, as I know this really is "just a stage" and it will pass quickly!

Some of the things I love right now...

Cuddles.  My absolute favorite.  That moment when Daxton will lay his head on my shoulder for a split second or when Maylee wakes up from a nap groggy and says, "Wanna cuddle me Momma?"

When I step into the kitchen everyone comes running and asks to help me make dinner or bake something yummy.  As I was buckling Maylee into her car seat after church yesterday she said, "Wanna go my kitchen and make cookie doughs at my house."  Melted my heart.  Awesome memories are made when everyone sits on the counter and helps me cook.

The best prayers!  No matter how terrible or boring our day is Mikayla almost always says, "Thank you that we could do things fun" and "thank you that I could love my Mom."  Maylee says thank you for everyone in the family each night, multiple times, and never fails to say thank you for her doll, Syrup.  In her blessings on food Maylee lists every single thing on her plate.

Fun sayings.  What other time of life can you get away with saying things like "I'm incest (obsessed) with dollies." (Mikayla) Or "I wanna watch da Frozen boobie (movie)!" (Maylee)

Hand holding.  Complete trust.

Reading.  We could read books together all day long (and sometimes we do!).  Daxton is even starting to love pointing things out in books, too!  I'm not very good at sitting down and knowing how to play toys very well, but reading-that I can do!  There aren't many other times when all the kids will sit together on my lap without fighting (most of the time, anyway).

The small things make me a hero in their eyes.  A piece of dessert, going to the dollar store, Costco pizza for lunch, a park trip, art projects, building forts, jumping on the trampoline.

Daxton's four tooth and twisted tongue smile.  Can't get enough of it!

The girls be bopping into our room each morning, arms full of their dolls and blankies, and crawl in bed with us for cuddles.

Daxton and Dustin boxing.  Daxton laughs so hard!

Early bedtimes for the kids.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it!  I also love hearing the girls chat and giggle together before they fall asleep.  I hope they will always be best friends.

My kids still think I'm the coolest Mom around (haha!), even though Mikayla cast a magic spell on me the other day that I could "have some style."

They believe in magic.  How cool is that?  There truly are some things in this world that are "magical" and they help me remember that.

Playing house.  I love when the girls take care of their babies.  Maylee will swaddle her baby, pat her back and walk around bouncing her baby up and down with such tender love you would almost think she was caring for a real baby.  In those moments, I see the amazing mom she will be someday.

Daxton could spend all day outside with a stick in his hand playing.  Talk about simple pleasures and being content with what you have.

Dirt, water and mud.  The kids could play in it all day long and most of the time, I love it.  It entertains them for forever and makes for some of the best memories!

There is never a dull moment.  Coolest dress-up outfits ever, make-believe, building towers, racing cars, forts, and art projects fill our days.

The kids are interacting more and more with us.  We are playing games as a family, working together and having fun together in a new way.  They love it and we love it.

Curious minds.  They ask questions about everything.  You can't help but fill your mind with wonder as you are realizing how wondrous the world seems through their eyes.

Singing and dancing.  We have more random song and dance routines around here than you could imagine.

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are gourmet food.  All the kids love it and I get more praise for that than anything else I cook.  Simple pleasures.

Amazing outfit combinations.  They create some pretty spectacular outfits and I love how their outfits show glimpses of their little personalities.

Daxton will run as fast as he can up to you and collapse against your legs, holding on to your legs for dear life.  When he has something someone else wants he can run away from you faster than you'd think he could.  He's like a little football player pushing people aside to get them out of his way as he makes off like a bandit with his treasure.

My kids want to be with me.  Often, this makes me crazy as I can't seem to get away for even a minute, but I know someday they won't want to be with me all the time.  

They help me see life in a new light.  

They want to walk in my shoes.  Literally and figuratively.  I have some big shoes to fill.