Happy Halloween!

Brandon (age 4), Emily (age 6 1/2), Nathan (age 2)

Even baby Gad/Issachar/Hogarth (gestational age 8 mos.) participated!

Our Cup Runneth Over

Emily was feeling down at the end of dinnertime tonight and was saying some self-pitying remarks. I held out my arms and she came and hugged me, a little weepy. I said she looked tired. She explained that she couldn’t sleep last night for a while. I suggested we have Family Home Evening on Tuesday this week so she and Brandon could go to bed early. Then she said a little more cheerfully, “No, I want to give the lesson, because it makes me feel better.” I said okay and asked what she wanted to give the lesson on. She decided to give the lesson on Thankfulness. She thought about it while the kids got their PJs on, and then said she wanted a plate and a cup, and water, and said she wanted us to say things we’re thankful for and put some water in the cup until it overflowed, and we’d say that our cup overflows with blessings. So we did this. We used a little scoop to add the water, and we each said something and added just that much water to the cup, and then slid the plate (a baby plate that would hold overflowing water!) to the next person. We did this as we ate our treat of brownies I had made (to save time). It was a brief but wonderful FHE, all planned by Emily! I am so impressed with her. At the end she explained about our cups overflowing with blessings (and sang a line from a version of "The Lord is My Shepherd" that has the words of Psalm 23). I had mentioned something before dinner to her about how Heavenly Father wants us to be thankful for what he’s given us, because she’d said she hated her life. I guess she took it to heart.

This topic has been on my mind lately. I always go into General Conference with questions in mind, so I can look for the answers in what the speakers say. One of my questions was how to handle having four kids--especially with one of them being a newborn. The answer came repeatedly—be thankful for what I have! That really does make my burdens feel lighter and help me take adversity in perspective.

All about Mom and Dad

Emily filled these out at a recent Primary Carnival at church.

Just desserts

Brandon got a cupcake in a bag to take home from preschool today for someone's birthday. I told him he could eat it at home after lunch. It was really hard for him to resist eating it before we got home. He snuck a couple licks outside the preschool. Then, after he got out of the car at home, he ran behind a tree while I was getting Nathan out and scarfed down what he could before he got caught. By the time I reached him, his hands were COVERED in yellow frosting, and his face, shirt, and shorts all bore evidence of cupcake consumption. The top of the cupake had fallen off in the dirt (but he'd licked off all the frosting already, so it was no big loss, I guess). I picked up the cupcake top and told him that's what he gets when he disobeys--he lost part of his cupcake. I told him not to touch anything and we went inside. Brandon started whining, "There's paper in my tummy," and pointing to his tummy, where yellow frosting was smudged on his shirt. I told him it's frosting and he could change his shirt at home. But he kept repeating the exact same thing and pointing to his tummy. Then in the elevator, he touched my elbow and, despite my good intentions, my elbow touched my white shirt. The next time he whined, "There's paper in my tummy!" and pointed to the yellow splotches on his shirt, in my irritation over my shirt getting messy, I snapped at him, "It's not paper, it's frosting!" He broke into tears, and after that I realized he was not talking about his messy shirt. In his rush to finish the cupcake before getting caught, he had ingested the cupcake paper! There really was paper in his tummy, and that just didn't sit right in his mind! I had a little more sympathy for him at that point (well, at least I acted like it), and told him it wouldn't make him sick and it "would just come out in his poopoo." (He could use a little extra fiber anyhow!) He was not comforted. Of course I had to throw in that if he had obeyed me and had waited to eat the cupcake at the table at home, he would not have been in a hurry and accidentally eaten the paper!

Homesick for the Farm

Our kids had a blast at their Grandma and Grandpa Finlayson's house this year. We spent almost six weeks there--longer than we'd ever stayed before. These weeks were a kid's dream. The first thing Emily mentions to people about the summer is picking berries. Brandon talks about helping Grandpa in the barn and riding with him on the tractor. There was also lots of playing with cousins, almost daily swimming in a big kiddie pool, a Fourth of July picnic and parade, trips to their really nice library children's room and devouring the books afterward (particularly Emily), treasure hunt picnics set up by Grandma, baking cookies, eating berry pies and other yummy stuff Grandma would bake, picking flowers to put in their rooms, riding a horse, playing mini golf, having a bonfire and making s'mores, and going to two different fairs we went to complete with fair food and carnival rides, not to mention lots of TLC from Grandma and Grandpa the entire trip. And if that weren't enough, Grandma and Grandpa Winterton came to town and we went swimming with them at their hotel two days in a row, went out to eat multiple times, got ice cream, and went to a hands-on children's museum that was a blast for the kids. So, this summer was heaven for our three little kids. Not to mention the exciting airplane rides.

We got back over a month and a half ago. Every day, Brandon still asks if we can go to Grandma and Grandpa's house. He frequently dictates email to me to send to them saying he wants to go to their house. Today his teacher told me that at the end of every class after they talk about the calendar, she'll say "See you Wednesday" or whatever the next preschool day is, and she said that every single time, Brandon says that he won't be there that day, because he's going to Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Great Day for Emily

Emily had a field trip to the Botanical Gardens today. She also got to see the "Enchanted Forest" across the way, where they have animals in cages to see. Mom and Dad W., you will remember both places. After that, they went to Araha Park, right by the ocean, to play and have lunch. Sadly for Emily, once she got back on the bus after that, she noticed that her pink castle zipper pull with her name on it had fallen off her backpack. She loved that thing. She was very sad when I picked her up from school. She told her teacher that Santa had given it to her (which I love, because most children Emily's age believe in Santa, and her teacher had no idea that Emily really knew it was her parents. And by the way, Emily blurted out to Brandon the other day that Santa was really us, but he is not a quick enough listener, so he is still a believer! Whew!) So this evening after dinner and baths, Emily and I drove over to Araha Park to look for her castle zipper pull. I suggested we stay a prayer for help finding it, but told her that sometimes Heavenly Father lets us lose things to learn something, like maybe that some things aren't as important as others. She said, "I know." She said the prayer in the car when we arrived at the park. It went something like this: "Heavenly Father, my castle decoration is very special to me. Please help me to find it so my parents won't have to spend money to buy another one." At the park, Emily remembered exactly where they had been and where they had walked. First we checked where they had lunch, and then she led the way where they had walked, and lo and behold, there was the zipper pull face-down in the dirt. Amazing! She suggested we say a "thank-you" prayer. I said "okay" and folded my arms, and she said, "Let's go over in the grass so we can kneel." So we did, and she said the prayer again. I was very happy for her. Proud, too.

Afterward, as I'd had in mind to do, I took her to Baskin Robbins. I told her not to tell Brandon so he wouldn't feel bad. (This is an idea I got from Paul. His mom had seven kids, and when she was out and about with one of them alone, she'd take him to get McDonald's or some special treat and tell him not to tell his siblings. As a result, each kid always thought they were the favorite!) Emily got some very purple and pink Cotton Candy ice cream and I got Peanut Butter and Chocolate. We got home close to her bedtime. Before she went to bed, Paul asked her what the best part of her day was--a special thing he does with Emily every evening to help her be positive about the day she'd had. She said it was getting ice cream with mom. He asked if that was even better than going to the Botanical Gardens, and she said yes. Even better than finding the zipper pull? Wow.

Found a New House

As many of you know, we have been looking for a new house here in Okinawa, for two reasons: (1) As civilians, we're allowed to live on base for a maximum of five years, and the end of that time period is approaching this December; (2) We want a new house! We can't wait to have another bedroom and a yard! The Dept. of Defense will pay for movers to move us off base, since the move is required.

Our fourth child is due to arrive about a month after we move. The timing is pretty good (although just a little close to the due date for my comfort), because it would have gotten a little hard to fit everyone in here, especially since, so far, our kids haven't been good room-sharers. We hope Brandon and Nathan will be able to share a room soon. They welcome the idea! Last night Nathan was still up right after I put Brandon to bed, and he went back to his room, opened the door, and climbed in bed with him. Before I shooed him out, I grabbed my camera and took a picture of them. Nathan was very perplexed about the little orange light he saw on the camera in the dark before I took the picture, as you can see!

So, we've been looking for a house for a few months, and finally found one in August! It has several characteristics we haven't enjoyed in a house before: (1) Single house, not in an apartment building; (2) Four bedrooms; (3) Laundry room; (4) Yard; (5) Garage (let alone any parking right by the house; (6) Two stories. It also has a dishwasher, which is not all that common in Okinawa, but something that I wasn't too willing to live without. It is a brand new house, still being built. It's due to be finished at the end of October. I'm pretty excited!

Another School Year

School began this month for Emily and Brandon. Emily is in first grade at Killin Elementary, just behind our building. I put her in a first-second grade "Multi-age" classroom. She is enjoying it. I am really amazed at the skills she's learning. It seems to be a big step above her kindergarten class, but one she is totally ready for. She's already doing things like 2-digit addition and subtraction and using editing marks to edit her own writing. Also, yesterday she asked me how to spell "balcony," and then she stopped and said, "Never mind, I'll just spell it phonetically."

Everyone in our family was sick for the first week of school except for Emily. What a blessing for her. She told Paul that she was excited and scared to start school again.

Brandon is in a four year-old class at Kuwae Preschool that he goes to three mornings per week. He seems to love it just like his class there last year. He has another great teacher, Mrs. Lavallee, and is always excited to go to preschool, and comes out of preschool happy every time. Brandon seems like such a big boy now. One thing I love about Brandon is how he will dig in and work hard at things. He likes to help around the house and learn to do things on his own. He isn't afraid to scrub hard or to lift heavy things.

Nathan stays with me. At first he wanted to join Brandon on the playground at his preschool, but he knows the routine now. Nathan is a full-blown two year-old in the sense that he has a greater desire to choose things for himself, such as what he'll wear and where he'll go. It's fun and difficult. You know. ;)