Jill sings

I think it's Molly's eye, but definitely Jill's voice. By the way, yesterday she sang through her whole reading lesson too. Sighhhhhhhhh.

Purse-onal Problem

It's not like the world is coming to an end, but it's time for me to finish a longstanding relationship of 8+ years. I have to get rid of my purse and get a new one. Years ago, I bought this bag without much thought or analysis, but it has been a perfect fit. I am pretty organized and so was it.

See:

It has a pocket for my sunglasses (probably originally intended to be a phone pocket for a gigantic, so-8-years-ago cell)
And it has a pocket for my gum too, very important for good oral hygiene.
Just inside it has a great section for my checkbook, calculator, coupons, and receipts It also has a handy spot for my DL and pen.
Turn it around and you can see that my perfect purse has a small handle for easy grabbing, as well as a strap for wearing over the shoulder. (I need a bag to be hands free, as my hands are often needed for other things like juggling babies and 1,700 lbs of groceries.)
There is also a wallet on the back so I can always easily find my cash or cards.
At this point you might be asking, "Why would you want to get rid of such an awesome accessory?" It's time to get down and dirty. Things are just falling apart between us. And it's more than a little duct tape could fix (I know, I've tried!)
The inner sanctum of my purse is basically ripping to shreds, and things are starting to get lost in there. This used to be the perfect place for a water bottle and a snack; or even a good place to hold a shopping list. But now it is more like quicksand...if something gets in you just don't know if it will ever get back out again.
So now, dear readers, I need your help. I'm not sure how to start over...where should I look for a replacement? Is there any hope that I can have handbag-happiness again?

Window to the Soul

Our computer can make movies. Molly and Jill entertain themselves for hours making very, very silly movies (They have made nearly 300). This one is a particular favorite of mine.

(You might want to watch with the sound off because Elliot was basically having meltdown in the background. Notice how Molly is completely in her own world...the crying doesn't bother her, she's too busy being a beautiful ballerina!)

Two Quilts

I've recently made two baby boy quilts of totally different style and color. Which one do you like better?

Baby A's quilt?

Or baby C's quilt?

Happy Birthday Party

Because of the move our birthday celebrations were a little delayed (the actual birthdays were had in March, April and May respectively). We had a combined party for Elliot, Jill, and Molly. It works nice that way, because then you can invited families instead of just one sibling, and then nobody feels left out. We had to invite all of our old friends, so they could have a chance to come see our new house. We had to invite all our new friends, so they would like us more. So we invited a lot of kids, about 50 to be exact. And about 3o of them came! Thank heavens for the big open basement.

Molly and Dave blew up all the balloons (don't worry, I let them use the bike pump!) and decorated the basement.
A homeschool friend, Eric, did a ventriloquist puppet show for the kids.Here you can see many of the friends we invited.
I had the kids make little sock puppets, and after Eric was done, I let them use some of our old moving boxes to do their own puppet shows.
We are lucky to have so many cute friends.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Elliot, this expression is just so him.
During the party, Dave was attacked by many small children who wanted a free ride! Good thing he's so strong.
I made yummy 3,5,7 sugar cookies for the grownups,
and gave ice cream sandwiches to the kids (no bowls or spoons required).
I hope everyone had a fun time. I know my kids did. And now I am off the hook for another two years!

Big Girl

Anna wants to be big (like the other kids). I can't say that I'm against the idea, at least, not as far as diapers go.
She thinks she has to remove all of her clothes to sit on the potty. And she gets up and down and up and down about a hundred times--it's so funny to watch! I don't have my hopes up or anything though...we're just playing around for now.

Sad-Happy Day

Today Dave is in upstate New York for the funeral of his Grandpa Killian. This is the first of our grandparents to die. Dave was very close to his Grandpa; it has been very emotional to say goodbye. Dave and his Grandpa communicated quite regularly through phone calls and email. Grandpa Killian's death was very sudden and surprising. One day he went to the hospital with a bad stomach-ache and 4 days later he had passed on.
We had been praying everyday for him while he was in the hospital and when he died, I told the kids. I said it was a sad-happy day. Sad because grandpa had died. I asked them if they could think of any reasons why it was happy. Molly said "Well at least his stomach doesn't hurt anymore." I was so proud of her for being so thoughtful. Elliot said "Because we still have Grandma." True, we are all very grateful for Grandma Killian.
I told the kids that it was a happy day, because of our faith in God and his eternal plan for us. We believe that there is life beyond death, where families are central, just like they are here. We believe that through ordinances performed in temples, families can be sealed together forever. Grandpa Killian believed it too. He and his wife were the first and only (besides their posterity) members of their families to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
(This picture is them visiting with one of their missionaries, nearly 40 years after their baptism.) They were sealed in the temple, and later both of their children were also married in the temple. But for Grandpa Killian, that was not enough. He spent tremendous amounts of time and energy searching for his kindred dead. He built a huge database of names and then sent them to a temple to have their ordinance work done by proxy. To me, this is one of the great principles of my religion. We believe that all people have the same opportunity for God's choicest blessings. Members of the church worldwide are busy doing temple work for people who have already died and never had a chance to hear the gospel preached or enter a temple in their life time.
Right now it is hard for those of us that are left. We will miss him so much. But we know that he is in a happier place, surrounded by other family members. I like to think that there is a long line of people waiting to shake his hand and thank him for the blessings he bestowed upon them while he was alive. That's why it's still a happy day, too.
We love you Grandpa Killian!