Mommy notes

*Christina had a really nice YW mtg. last week. They introduced the Virtue value. One of the achievements within the virtue value is prayerfully reading the Book of Mormon. Christina's leaders showed the girls a necklace made of sterling silver chain & "ruby" crystals (see Proverbs 3:10...). The girls will earn a ruby for each book in the Book of Mormon they read, & in December when they complete the Book of Mormon reading chart, each girl will make one of these necklaces for herself. The YW leaders invited the moms to participate in the BoM reading challenge, but only the girls will make these necklaces. I'm taking this on...I'd have loved to do something like this with my own mom. I also want Christina to know that reading the B of M is truly a lifelong worthwhile study. No matter how many times you read it, you'll always find something applicable, learn something new, and be reminded of true doctrine. I'm thankful that Christina is taking this challenge on & has such great support from her YW friends & leaders.

* Thomas gave a kid the bird on Tuesday at recess. He doesn't even know what it means, although he does know it represents a bad word. We talked about reacting to situations and recognizing triggers that push his self-control to the breaking point. He deeply regretted what he did. I'm glad someone called him out on it right away. I told Thomas that kids are going to be cruel. Kids are going to be mean. You can count on someone not liking you, quite possibly all of your life. You can't control that, however, you can and have to control how you behave and react to every word and action that comes your way. You are accountable for your behavior. You can't control who loves you and treats you with respect, but you can and should find a way to think kind thoughts about everyone, even those who offend you. They don't need to be your best friends, especially if they constantly bring others down, but harboring ill will isn't just not nice, it hurts you; it's never a good thing. I told Thomas that behavior like giving the bird is completely out of character for him, and that was obvious by how upset he was at HIS own behavior, not just at the boy who offended him. On Wednesday there were a couple things that took place at school that were hard for Thomas to deal with. This time he didn't let the situations get the best of him. He had no regrets, and I helped him recognize the difference in how he felt Wed. as opposed to Tues. I told him how proud I was that he was true to himself today. We stopped by Barnes & Noble on the way home and Thomas used his birthday money from Grandma Ann to buy The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do-it-Yourself Book. Good day.

* Grace is reading The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs. To hear her talk about it is hilarious. She finds a way to insert "sassafras springs" into each sentence. She took her book to school to read aloud to her class. Spring has sprung and Grace is back on her bike. She loves belting out HER song, "Amazing Grace." She loves to sport her striped sunglasses to school (thanks, Aunt Sara!). Grace went on a field trip to the zoo and rather than track down a brown bag for lunch, she found a blue & yellow polka dot gift bag. She's fun as ever.

* Caroline: "Mom, if carrots are good for your eyes, what's good for your ears?" Do YOU have an answer for that? I don't. I told Caroline that I just couldn't let her go to Kindergarten next year. I want to spend another year at home with her. She said, "OK." "Really?!!!," I asked, although I knew her reply was too good to be true. Just to be sure, I asked, "You really want to stay home with me?" Caroline didn't miss a beat and said, "For ten days." She gave a start date of sometime in the end of August, which quite possibly could be 10 days before school starts. I can't win! :)

* Stunt man, Wesley: He does a stop, drop and roll stunt...don't know where that came from, but it keeps us laughing! He's so easy to adore. Last night after putting the kids to bed (Thomas & Nina were at church with Wayne), I heard Wesley laughing hysterically from the gut, just like he does during tickle torture. I went in his room fully expecting to send the girls back to bed. No one was there, and Wesley, while awake, seemed to snap out of a day dream. I felt terrible for interrupting. I asked him if grandma was playing cars with him, and I helped him snuggle back in his blankets and put his head on his pillow. Happy Dreams:)