Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Totally great to Be Eight


 Lizzy is 8!  My baby is 8?  She is truly one of most hilarious people in this world.  She is quiet to those who don't know her well.  Those who know her well have a rare opportunity to see randomness like you've never seen before.  Aaron says she gets it from me, and I do admit I am a total weirdo when I feel comfortable.  Lizzy and I are often random together.  Yesterday, for some strange reason, when brought Lizzy home from Activity Days, I looked at the clock and said, "Daddy's gonna be home soon!"  Just then we looked and Aaron pulled around the corner in his little white truck.  We then flapped one of our arms like a chicken and kept saying, "Soon, Soon, Soon!"  No reason for any of it, we are just random.  Aaron seems to like it though! :)  We have made up our own hand clapping routine called, "Giggle" to the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (I know, not very original, but still very weird).  She was baptized exactly one month from her birthday.  For her birthday she had a ton of family and a few friends come to Bangor to the Ranch to fly kites.  Unfortunately it wasn't a perfect day for flying kites but the beauty made up for it.  Bangor is so beautiful in the spring.  As soon as I find Lizzy's baptism pictures, I will post those too.









Families are Forever!

Families are Forever!
What a great blessing

I sure do love my family!

I sure do love my family!

Our 3 little ones!

Our 3 little ones!
We have been so blessed!!!

My parenting plan!!

I have been thinking a lot lately of what I need to teach my kids to help them become independant physically, spiritually and mentally so when they turn 18 they will be able to survive on their own. The last 9 years has flown by so quickly I can't believe it. Nine more years and my first child will be old enough to be on his own. That is a real wake up call for a mother who hasn't prepared her children for those important days. I realize that I have gone on way to long without a list of what needs to be learned and done by what age so that my kids will not be horrified when they get out into the world alone. So, I've come up with a list of most everything I can think of that would be important for my kids to know and learn and what ages they should be capable. Of course, every child is different and is capable of different things at different ages. Some learn things faster and are more motivated. Others would like to just live in the home cave for the rest of their lives and have no motivation to do any of it. So, I am including my fairly flexible plan. But if you let too many years slip by, you may need to up the work to fit everything in. I got most of my ideas from a very experienced LDS author (Merilee Boyack) who has raised several children successfully! So, hopefully you find this as helpful as I do!