overheard, Jonathan edition

Jonathan, picking strawberries at my MIL's house: "I think I like it a lot better when someone else picks the strawberries and we just eat them."

Jonathan, coming in from the backyard: "Rachel, were you calling my name?"
Rachel: "No Johnny, it must've been the Holy Ghost."
Jonathan: "Couldn't have been him, it was a mean voice."

After helping Rachel clean up her room: "Mom, I think I know what missionaries do when they're little. They learn the Gospel a lot and learn how to help people a lot too. Then they can be a missionary when they grow up!"

a few photos and updates

MOST IMPORTANTLY: The first watermelons of spring have arrived!!! This is truly exciting, as watermelon has the ability to single-handedly sustain me through the dastardly heat of Arizona summers. Really, the heat is criminal; it makes me downright cranky. We'll eat 3-4 of these heaven-sent melons a week until they are all gone and the cool returns.



We continue to homeschool and it has been one of the best experiences ever for our family. Someday I'll write a whole post about it, because I can't do it justice here.



One of the kids favorite things about homeschool is making their own lunches. They all get aprons on and come up with something to eat, and as far as they can, make it themselves. This day, they made quesadillas, washed and cut fruit, and even managed to get some veggies on the plate too. I was impressed.



Jakie can crawl and LOVES it. He squeals with joy each time I set him down and he moves himself. It is darn cute.



He is so much fun to watch and play with.



Seriously, he could not be any cuter.



After much wiggling and Dad and some pliers, Jonathan has lost 2 teeth.



Not to be outdone, Adam lost a tooth as well. Well, it was yanked out by the same Dad with the same pliers. I don't know if that counts as "losing" it but the toothfairy was convinced and left $$ all the same.



Adam and Jonathan have this thing they do. They both start acting silly, making faces,



silly noises,



and before you know it, they have dissolved into laughter that just keeps going



and going



and going. They are so funny. They can keep each other laughing forever.



And Jakie just stares, wondering what in the world is going on.



Someday Johnny might not be happy that I have this picture. But, I can't help it. He sleeps with a stuffed Batman, a chicken and a duck. I love this age of innocence and discovery. We were talking about a friend who is getting baptized this next weekend and I said "Isn't that amazing guys? Parker will have all his sins washed away when he is baptized." Jonathan looked at me and wistfully said "I can't wait until I get baptized Mom." Family is the best thing EVER.

articles of faith

The kids are memorizing the Articles of Faith for Primary. Here is Rachel's version of the 2nd:

"We believe that Adam will be punished for his own sins and not for Johnny's transgressions."

Does that mean she understands it? Hmmmm...

overheard

Adam: "Johnny, I'm going to climb on the roof and throw your Transformer over the fence and a car is going to run over it."

Jonathan: "Adam, don't be a neanderthal."

poor girl

Rachel "Mom, my hair is as long as Morgan's (our babysitter, with shoulder-length hair)
Mom "Ummm, I'm not so sure that it is honey."
Rachel, more urgently, "Mom, it IS longer! I know it is!"
Mom "Honey, Morgan's hair is almost past her shoulders. Yours is just below your ears."
Rachel, in total exasperation, "MOM. I'm talking about the hair on my ARMS."

Hmmmm...scratch the college fund and just start saving for laser hair removal. But I get it before she does- I've definitely suffered longer.

giving

A young, disheveled girl approached me tonight in the parking lot of the grocery store and asked me if I had $1 that I could give her. She needed to get to some far-off destination and was all out of gas. I didn't have $1, but I saw a gas station across the street and said that if she could meet me there I would give her some gas. The kids peppered me with questions about her as we got in the car and waited at the light- "Mom, do you know that girl?" "Why doesn't she have money for gas?" "Where does she need to go?" "Where is her mom and dad?" - none of which I could answer, but I had those same questions too.

Her battered car really seemed to be on it's last leg as it pulled in behind mine and she waited while I filled my car with her hand over her face. She looked weary. I introduced myself and we chatted briefly as I filled her tank, and then it was over. I got in my car and we started to pull away. In the rear-view mirror, I noticed that she had gotten out of her car and was headed in to the convenience store. "Where is she going?" asked Rachel. I fought the momentary urge to turn around and see if she went inside to purchase something with her non-existent money. "Maybe she needs to use the bathroom honey. I'm not sure."

As I drove home, I started to doubt whether or not she had really been in need of my generosity. The more I mulled it over, the growing doubt threatened to change the spirit in which I had given her my gift. If she hadn't really needed it, my gift was somehow worth less to me than if she was truly in need. Down the road I drove as the thoughts rolled around in my head- Had she been telling me the truth? Had I been taken advantage of? There is no way to really know.

I remembered back to other instances in which I had given things to people in need. I remember my mom taking me to Carl's Jr in Selma and buying a meal for a man in that parking lot when I was very young. That was the first time I can remember doing anything like that, but it shaped my perception that if you can give, you should.

I tried to live by that and give when I could. I remember a homeless man grabbing me around the wrist and saying something vulgar to me as I passed him a grocery bag of food through the window in Houston. He fiddled with my car door for a second before I could drive off. I was shaken and frightened.

I also remembered going through the drive-thru and purchasing a meal that I was not really interested in eating. I distinctly felt that I would find someone who would need that meal, so I drove around looking for a little bit- but no one appeared. I began to munch absent-mindedly on the fries as I headed home. 15 minutes later I missed my exit and as I got off the freeway to turn around I saw a homeless man, with a "Vietnam Vet" sign around his neck, sitting in a wheelchair. He had no legs. My stomach fell into my shoes and I started to sob. I had forgotten, so quickly, the prompting I had felt! As I rolled down the window and the tears rolled down my cheeks, all I could say was "I'm so sorry I ate your fries." He said "It doesn't matter to me lady, thanks" and then I had to drive on, filled with remorse.

Being someone who loves to give gifts, it really matters to me how the gift is received. I know I can't always control that, even less so with people that I only meet for a few moments. I can't get over the thought that I want what I give to be really appreciated and valued- like it is to me. I know that in all the giving I've done to needy people, I've probably been taken a time or two. If I had seen that young woman buy something in the store tonight, would I have had regret for the gas I offered? I think so. What would I do if I knew that man was going to grab and frighten me? Would that have changed his need? Would I have kept my gift?

"For behold, if a man being ^aevil giveth a gift, he doeth it ^bgrudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God." Moroni 7:8

Why is it that my "giving" is all tied up in the "receiving"?

overheard

Adam, practicing the first Article of Faith that is trying to memorize: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost."

Jonathan, sitting next to him: "And, Legos."

Adam: "Yeah, and Legos"