8 Years Ago Right Now....

I had been a mother for 6 hours.

Dollly - just minutes old.

Little Miss Dolly had finally made her long-awaited arrival into our lives. She became one of my most influential teachers and has continued to change my life every single day ever since.

Not even 24 hours old here.

I remember being amazed at how heavy she felt on my chest after she was born. I think it was because I'd never worked so hard to do anything before. That and being more thankful than I'd ever been to have something to eat! Having a baby makes you very hungry.

Now over 70,000 hours later, I have 5 very influential teachers that change my life daily. But Dolly introduces me to the most uncharted territories.

Mid December 2012.

This was the most recent picture I have of her - on my computer at least. There might be something more recent on the camera, but this picture pretty much sums Dolly up right now. B-O-O-K-S. Or anything in print. She can get distracted going from one place to another that's less than 10 feet away if there's anything that can be read between the two spots. I'm not joking.

Dolly loves to read, and reads very well. She loves horses, but also admires many other animals too. She has a very tender heart and is easily upset by unkindness. She is more upset by thinking she has offended someone else. Her greatest flaw is probably her absent-mindedness. This is intensified exponentially if there is anything written within a 3 foot area surrounding her. And she is quickly growing up and becoming more and more independent. She helps me a lot, and I especially love it when she finds things that need to be done and does them on her own.

The rest of the pictures here, were taken at my littlest sister's wedding back in September last year. I was going to post just one of them, but then I couldn't choose between them so I included all three.

Happy Birthday, Dolly! I love you so much!

Denial? or Pre-Baby Panic?

Dear Baby,

I just checked the calendar. You may consider arriving anytime AFTER the next 18 (EIGHTEEN) days. You do not have to come then, but you can start thinking about it around that time. I still have a list of things to do before you arrive - oh, and those Braxton Hicks contractions the other day when I was grocery shopping... let's leave them as a one time thing, shall we? Excellent!

At least wait until I put the last couple items in my hospital bag - I haven't decided what skirt might fit me after you're born for our trip home. And I need to put the infant car seat back together again too - I'm not done scrubbing it down yet. Oh, the other main thing you should wait for is... your name. You don't want us to just rush and come up with the first one that will 'work' now do you? I'll let you know when we've found something Daddy and I are both happy with.

The rest of the stuff, like your siblings' overnight bag and tiding the house, and finally getting ahead of the dishes and getting the vans vacuumed out... you don't have to wait for those ALL to be done, but it would be nice if some of them were taken care of before you came.

You may think I'm just over-reacting, but your big sister decided to come 8 days before her due date, and I still haven't fully recovered from the shock of not being ready before she was. Actually, if you tried coming early like PC and Ricka, you may end up SHARING a birthday with Daddy or Dolly (I think you'll appreciate your own day more as you grow up). The days just keep whizzing by faster and faster. Just the other day, we had 30 (THIRTY!!) days left, and somehow I blinked and here we are at eighteen.

At least wait for your name. I think that's what I'm most anxious about. And I'd like to be a bit more rested before you come. I tried the 'have a baby after only 3 hours of sleep' thing last time. It was not a good idea.

Other than that, we all (well, most of us) can't wait to meet you! As I mentioned earlier, I need to get some sleep before you come, and it's rather late again. Try not to kick me in the ribs too hard tonight.

Love,
~ Mama

3 Years of School Pictures (Grades K-2)

I finally got all of the portraits scanned, so now I can start posting them. This post will just be the school pictures. I did post Dolly's Kindergarten picture here (Update: it's here too for comparison purposes.), but her class picture for that year was sent home later in the year and I never got around to posting it - until now. The rest of the pictures are from last year's (as in 2011-12) pictures and the current school pictures. They haven't done class or spring pictures for this year yet, so those may or may not get posted later. It all depends on how busy life gets around here in the next few months.

2010-2011:

"Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths."
Psalm 25:4


Dolly's Kindergarten Picture.


Dolly's Kindergarten Class.

2011-2012:

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."
Matthew 11:29


PC's Kindergarten Pictures (Left: Fall, Right: Spring).


PC's Kindergarten Class.



Dolly - Grade 1 (Left: Fall, Right: Spring).


Dolly's Grade 1 Class.

2012-2013:

"And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."
John 6:45


Emma's Kindergarten Picture.



PC - Grade 1.



Dolly - Grade 2.

The Little Things They Say (6) - Quotes from 2010/2012

And these are the rest of the quotes that would have made it into my last 'things they say' post if it hadn't already been too long. With the exception of the last two, they're all from 2010.

January - 2010:

(January of 2010 - Emma and Dolly Matching. These dresses fit Emma and Ricka now.)

- On the way home from meeting, I overheard the kids discussing the story of the gingerbread man. Emma demonstrated by saying in a sing-songy voice, "You can't get me! I'm ah jimama-ma-man!"


Summer of 2010:

(July of 2010 - PC and Butler at Deer Lake)

- PC: Mommy, I need to take a bath! I'm nice and dirty EVERYWHERE!

- As Emma walked by and a distinct odor followed I asked: Emma, do you stink?
Emma: Maybe,.
Me: Emma! Do you stink? Yes, or no!
Emma: Maybe.
Me: Do you have a poopy diaper?
Emma: Yes. I telled the truth!

(Still July of 2010 - Dolly and Emma at Granny's b-day party)

- "Emma!!!" Dolly screamed as Emma ran away with one of Dolly's bracelets, "Give that back! You're a PIRATE!!!!"


November 2012:

(November of 2012 - Emma, Dolly, PC, Butler and Ricka posing with our first completed 1000 piece family jigsaw puzzle.)

- At Sunday School in the front row: The children were asked if they had a hymn they'd like to sing. Butler raised his hand and was called on. "Butler! what song would you like to sing?" Beaming from ear to ear and in a loud clear 3yr old's voice Butler answered, "Taco bells - how they ring!"


December 2012:

(December of 2012 - Butler giving GG, our very old dog, a big hug.)

- Emma was given a 40 piece jigsaw puzzle for her 5th birthday. It was a picture of the nursery song 'Mary had a Little Lamb'. Butler loves to do puzzles, and whenever he gets the chance to do Emma's puzzle (usually when she's at school) he tells me how much he likes the 'Mary-Hannah Little Lamb' puzzle.

- On the way home one Sunday evening, the kids were talking about their Sunday school classes and what the others were learning in their classes. Somehow the subject of the Exodus came up and they answered various questions Sir and I quizzed them on about it. When we got to the part where the Red Sea was parted, PC asked, "Daddy, is the Red Sea still there?" "Yes, it's still there. It's a long ways away from here, but you could go to that part of the world and see it." Sir answered. "Will it go apart if you whack it?" PC seriously continued. With remarkably controlled composure, Sir answered, "No, probably not." before we moved on to whether or not whacking was actually involved at that particular time.