LINK TO OUR JOURNEY TO JILLIANA

LINK TO OUR JOURNEY TO JILLIANA
CLICK ON JILLIANA'S PHOTO TO FOLLOW OUR JOURNEY TO CHINA

Monday, May 31, 2010

Lily gets something she really wanted

Today we went to the mall down here at the beach.  Did I mention that this has been just a girls weekend?  Daddy stayed home because of prior commitments.  So I have been solo except for Kami, who has been staying with us at night because of a soccer tournament and a party at a friends down in San Diego.   She didn't have anything to do today so she came shopping with us at the mall.  This is the same mall that we frequented when we lived down here in our motor home while our house was getting remodeled.  And while those times were hard living in a motor home with two three year olds, those times now bring back fond memories.  The girls love the mall because it has a Merry-Go-Round and a Pat and Oscars.  They were excited to show the Merry-Go-Round to Lily.  After the Merry-Go-Round (I forgot my camera so Kami used her IPhone for all of the pictures) we found a deal at the Disney store and bought some summer jammies.  It is always interesting to see if they are going to pick the same or different.  Today everyone chose something different.  As we were walking we saw a baby getting her ears pierced, so we stopped to watch.  Lily has been talking about wanting to get hers done.  Emma had hers done when she was three, so Lily is always watching Emma put her earrings in and I always ask her if she wants hers done?  And she always says yes.  And then I tell her that it hurts a little does she still want it done?  And she always shakes her head yes.  So when we were there watching I asked her these same questions and she said yes so we decided that it would be a part of her birthday present.  Her birthday is June 5.
Lily on the Merry-Go-Round


A very excited Lily!





Choosing the earrings.


























Here she is getting the marks made where the earrings will be placed.

She even smiles while they are doing it.  We always have both ears done at the same time.
Checking the ears
A very happy little girl
Mommy showing her her earrings

Putting on the sticker that says she got her ears pierced.

The cheering section was excited as well.  Especially when they also got suckers.  Meilynn is not interested at all in getting her ears pierced and that is just fine with me.





Sunday, May 30, 2010

Strawberry Fields


I just love the beach!  There is no other time that I feel closer to God except maybe at Lake Mead.  It is my outdoor church.  How can you not believe, when you see all that he has created?

I love the vibrant life here.  There is always something to do exciting or different and the air is so fresh.  You are never alone.  People are out doing things.  It makes you want to go out and be active.  Where we go to the beach it does not feel like a big city at all.  In fact we picked these strawberries and could see the Ocean while we picked them.  I know I am lucky!  I know I am blessed.  Just look at these three little miracles.

Today was their first time picking strawberries.  On days like this I want to homeschool them forever!  I want to be the one to see each little step of their learning.   At this point I  plan on homeschooling Lily next year and if we had not already signed the girls up for Kindergarten at their preschool I would be doing that also.  As it is I plan to homeschool them a little in the afternoons and then I will make my decision about the next year when it comes.  Today they learned about strawberries and where they come from first hand.  They got to touch the leaves, see the buds, see the new green berries and see the ones that had been eaten by bugs.  They got to taste a berry that they picked with their own hands.

Looking for just the right ones.
"I will help you"
My berry pickers
Meilynn
Lily....that is the Ocean behind her
Emma

and Emma picked these for me.  She always does the sweetest little things for me.


Speaking of Emma, I have a cute little thing that she did.  We are at our family beach house.  Lily was playing on the stairs, walking on the wood that is on the outside of the carpet.  Here was our little conversation.

Me:  "Lily, please don't walk on that wood, it will scratch it"
Emma (mind you Emma answered and not Lily)  "OK, Mommy"
Me: "Emma, why did you answer?"
Emma: "Because Mommy, sometimes I do that".

You have to love her honesty.  She is my one that does not have a devious bone in her body.  I can always get at the bottom of something by asking her.  She doesn't even know how to tell an untruth.

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!

Field trip to the apple farm and a little reflection

This week the girls also went on a field trip to an apple farm not far from us.  It is in Oak Glen.  Here is a picture of the girls petting a newborn baby chick.

Lily petting a lamb

Listening to a prairie story
Hearing about what it is like to live in a one room house.

Stepping over so that they can plant their corn
Waiting outside the little store while Mommy buys an apple pie.

  It always amazes me how Lily just goes along with what we are doing and just accepts it.  How strange it must be when you think about it all.  She must wonder what this is all about.  She must wonder why I have taken her to this place and what it all means.  She just goes along with the flow.  I think she trusts us.  She is very loving and always says she loves us and gives us many kisses. It is like she has been starved for this affection and just can't get enough of it.  We had heard that some children have a hard time with the touching and kissing, but she loves it.

Graduation etc.

What busy times!  It was nice to have my daughter Meghan and her husband Nick here for all of the events last week.  We had Meilynn's birthday Graduation for Kami (my oldest),  Graduation dinner, a wedding shower for my niece, Graduation reception for Kami, field trips etc.  Here is a picture of Meghan making cookies for Kami's Graduation reception.

Kami gave Lily her first taste of cookie batter.

Meilynn's cousins dropped by with a present for her birthday.

When I talk to Meghan on the phone she always tells me about what Nick is making for dinner.  They share this task.  A couple of times she has mentioned his shrimp risotto, and I get jealous.  So.... since they were staying a week for all of the activities, I asked him if he would make it for us.  My daughter is certainly lucky to have such a good cook for a husband.  It was wonderful.  Thanks Nick for the great dinner.
Ok,  I didn't snap the greatest picture, but there was a lot of competition on the crossword puzzle going on.

Also a lot of this going on!  There is nothing like a Daddy to sit on

Kami decided that she wanted her Graduation Dinner to just be adults.  We had a wonderful dinner with Grandpa and his special friend Kate.

And my parents, Grandma Jeanie and Grandpa Buddy

Also pictured Kami, Nick, Meghan, me and Mike.  We ate at one of Kami's favorite little Thai restaurants.  Also, a favorite of the girls.  Meilynn also chose this place for her birthday lunch.  While we were at dinner, my sister Julie, took the girls to dinner and then brought them to the graduation.


Meghan helping Kami get her hat on right
Kami, the tallest one.

We are so proud of all of our daughters and what they have accomplished.  It is such a pleasure to watch them make their own way in the World.

Kami got her Masters in Counseling and a new chapter in her life is about to begin.  We feel confident that she will do well with whatever she decides to do.  Congratulations Kami, my first baby.

Monday, May 24, 2010

Lily talking about her birthday!


Here is a short clip of Lily talking about her birthday.  Make sure to scroll down and see who just turned 5!
Click on a video below to watch it:
Lily talking about her birthday
Video Length 1:36
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Beauty or Beast Manners


We have a book that has manners using the Disney Princesses.  The one about eating with your hands and, talking with your mouth full etc. is demonstrated by Beauty and the Beast.  The Beast of course is using all of the bad table manners and Beauty is using all of the good table manners.  The girls really seem to get this and love telling each other who is eating like Beauty and who is eating like the Beast.  I caught this little interaction between the girls.  You can see how well Lily is understanding what is going on in this short clip.  I am sorry you cannot hear it all from the soccer game playing in the background, but Mike and my oldest daughter were watching "The Champions League"  They are into the fantasy soccer in Europe.

You will see Meilynn telling Lily that she is the Beast and that she and Emma are Beauty.   But the amazing thing to me is when Lily says to Emma, "Don't eat with your hands, that is the Beast!"  And you see my little instigator (Meilynn) telling Emma to eat the jello and make it liquid and to spit it out.A lesson on manners
Click on a video below to watch it:
Untitled
Video Length 1:03
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