Van Rides.

Today we went on a bit of a road trip.  Just a bit.  Started in Phoenix.  On the day that they got the most rain in the history of Phoenix.  Flooding.  But we avoided it, for which I am so thankful.  Last time we visited Phoenix overnight it was 67 freezin' degrees and we were there to swim in a freezin' outdoor pool.  I'm thinking that Phoenix and I are not friends.  Anyways.

The van ride was a bit crazy.  The kids were way more excited and FEISTY than they should have been and much more than they normally are.  At one point, I turned around to see Jadelyn licking her sunglasses.  Why?  Nobody knows.  Then, I turned around later and found Isaac with his snorkel gear on like that is a totally normal way to go down the road.  Right?  And THEN I turned around another time to see Jadelyn, with a UN-lidded waterbottle up to her head sticking straight out, and her eyes were all crossed looking at it.  I mean.  WHERE did this kid come from?  HOW did she end up in my family?  I asked her.  She shrugged and then suggested that maybe she came from the "crazy farm".  I think I need to stop turning around while we're driving. 

Earlier, Ruby asked, out of the clear blue, if Uncle William's family is breaking the rules.  What rule, pray tell?  Well, she wanted to know if they were breaking the law when they get out of their seats and use a potty seat in the car.  This was followed by much conversation.  About how if we raced across America, their family would kick our tail.  And about how we could call the police and have them pulled over to give us a fair chance.  And on and on and on, and then Isaac busts out talking about the ceiling of the van.  I died laughing.  As in I could hardly breathe.  I started to cry.  Isaac was mad about me laughing at him.  (He continued later, after I regained some composure, talking about some contraption on the top of a van for using for some purpose about pottying and where the poop and pee would go.)  I mean, HOW AM I EVEN RELATED TO THEM??!?!?!?  Then, I'm so tickled I texted Shelley about it.  About how our family was talking about her family and I was dying laughing and it was hilarious and she would need to trust me and it was about their family pottying in the van.  And I got a reply.  That the recipient didn't recognize this number but laughter is good for the soul.  I thought Shelley was pulling my leg.  So I texted back something about, "Is this not Shelley?  Are you not joking?" and I got a response that they weren't joking and it wasn't Shelley and "Peace".  Of all the texts to send to a wrong number, I send a text about pottying in the van.  Not a text like, "where you at?" or "what're you up to?" or "are you almost here?"  Nope.  Not me.  I text strangers about pottying in the van.  Maybe I DO belong in this family after all.  Ai yai yai.

Wowzers...

Two sweet days in a row! I'm blessed.

Isaac was over-the-top sweet today. Going out of his way to do anything nice for his sisters, specifically Ruby, who was tired today. Because she was tired, Isaac got her new sippy cup for her. And when it was time to pick up, he made sure that she only had to carry light things. And held her hand as she went down the step into the hallway. Too bad I somehow got terrible at taking pictures of sweet things.

This week's Sabbath School lesson is about the Triumphal Entry and how we can worship Jesus, too, when we praise Him. An activity we're doing this week are "Thank You, Jesus" papers. Today, Ruby wanted to praise Jesus for "Isaac helping me down the step with toys. Help me go up the step, too. There's something else I'm thankful for, too. He only gave me light toys to carry." Isaac wanted to praise Jesus "that I helped Ruby go down the step and up the step. For helping me think that I could put my hands by the fire to warm them." And use mittens. Jadelyn, with help from Mommy, decided to praise Jesus for the nice walk with Daddy tonight. OH! And Jadelyn decided to sweep the floor for me today, but tuckered out soon in the process. =P Love the sweetness. Love it. Got to give out lots of stickers today! =)

Today is my little brother Mark's 30th birthday. How did HE get so OLD?!?!?! =O Anyways, I guess that means I'm about ancient. =P It's also the kid's Great-Grandpa Link's birthday. We were talking this tonight, and Isaac wanted to know who was older, Grandpa Link or Mark. I told him Grandpa Link was older. Then they wanted to know how much older Grandpa Link was. I told them that Grandpa Link was 55 years older than Mark. Ruby's eyes were HUGE. Then Isaac piped in out of nowhere, "I thought Uncle Darby was older!" =) That kid is still so random. =)

Sweetness...and Sadness...and CRAZINESS!

So, all 3 kids earned 7 stickers this week, thus earning them a prize. Ruby and Isaac wanted to buy something with their birthday money, so off to Wal-Mart we went. Ruby was going after sunglasses, and Isaac - he was going after spending his money. Isaac picked, of all things, a sippy cup. One of those items I had finally ridded my cupboards of. AHHHH!!!! Ruby saw that, and decided later that's what she wanted, too. Then, David took the kids to pick out Ruby's sippy cup, and Ruby decided that she would buy Jadelyn one for her prize, too. David said he almost cried. Ruby told him that she would have $1 when she was done buying those dreaded sippy cups because she had $5, her cup cost $2 and Jadelyn's cup cost $2. David was so proud. Both of her math and her sharing skills. Now they are drinking so much water I'm afraid of how wet their beds will be in the morning. =O

Sick chicken died. Finally. Poor chicken. When they got to the door of the chicken shed, David asked the kids if the chicken was dead. And Isaac answered, ever matter-of-factly, "yes, it's dead. It's head is down." Then, while David was burying the chicken, the kids were all standing around saying "it's sad. It's so sad. It's sad." Or at least the girls were. Then Jadelyn asked if the chicken was going to come back alive. And Ruby told her "no". Animals won't come back alive. Only humans come back alive when Jesus comes again. David told them that there will probably be chickens and other animals in heaven, but not that exact chicken. And Isaac asks if we can ride the chickens in heaven. THAT KID!!! =P (Side note: By the time they got back inside, they weren't so bothered anymore. In fact, David had to remind them to tell me about the chicken.)

Went to visit Mr. Tom and Ms. Tina tonight. They are the sweetest neighbors EVER. And don't fire us from coming to visit even though at times Hickory gets into their stuff and drags it over here. Ms. Tina teared up a couple times about the flowers David brought her. And then gave us some Jiffy-Pop popcorn - saying it was for when the kids were in bed and David and I were alone. Mr. Tom said at some point during our visit that our kids mind better than any kids he has EVER seen. Was a nice thing to hear when so often I feel like I'm failing. Or at least beating my head against a figurative wall. =)

David's now singing a song about "I like sleeping." "In my bed." "On my head". I think I should head that direction now. Craziness continues to abound.

Garden of Eden?

Last night, we were out picking berries. By "we", I mean mostly David and I...and Jadelyn helped quite a bit. Ruby and Isaac probably helped some, too, but they were pretty busy tunneling under the blackberries, and running down the "aisle" between the blackberries and raspberries - giggling and crashing like crazies on the ground (staining up their clothes good in the process, I might add. Mostly Ruby. We talked about that today. Because I have problems with things like that. =P) Anyways, there are these HUGE beetle things that buzz at our heads and such as we pick the berries. They like to eat the berries, those beetles do. Good thing they share - like 4 or 5 of those nasty boogers on a berry. 'Cause if they went around sucking juices out of more berries instead of sharing, I would REALLY dislike them. (Side note...a positive thing about the beetles is that they are so big that they create wind when flying away from the berries. And when it's hot, that breeze is nice. You wanna take some beetles home with you to cut down on your air-conditioning bills now, don'tcha? =D) Anyways, this was David's first experience with the beetles. I'm quite sure he screamed (high-pitched and everything) when some came at him. He said he couldn't handle being in the army, 'cause it was stressful enough with the beetles attacking him. Or something like that. And he wasn't impressed with the sun shining in his eyes, either. =P Well, we were working along, when all the sudden, my complaining husband commented that it was peaceful looking for berries - in the evening, and with the giggling kids, it was like "the Garden of Eden". Huh. With buzzing beetles divebombing our heads and giggling children added? That guy is crazy.

Oh! Another random Isaac note. I think it was at lunch yesterday, and Ruby was telling me how she can't marry Isaac because they're brother and sister, and it's against the "law". She wanted to know why. Ever tried to explain genetics and such in 4-year-old language that won't present itself wrongly in a public setting later when they feel like sharing their grand knowledge? =P Anyways, then they were talking about if they wanted kids. And out of the blue, Isaac starts talking about sprinklers that we saw at Dollar General the other day. It looks like a bug, and the water squirts out of it's floppy hands. The kid is so random. And I love him. Still. =)