"..... with the power of an oxen!"

: ) ... minus the zilching

today kyler crushed his size 3 oz dixie cup in one hand as he walked to the garbage can to throw it away. he smiles at me and says, "i can crush lettuce, too." : )

it was only kyler and hayden left outside and i couldn't help but laugh. hayden asked why i was laughing. if you tell them they're funny they get annoying trying to be, so i said i just liked being with them so much it made me smile... and sometimes laugh.

the choice to be grateful

well... not to be cliche or anything, but...

will is my best friend : )

he is smart AND wise, funny, a hard worker, worthily holds the Priesthood, supports me, listens to me, teaches me, is patient with me, and strives to make me happy. he willingly helps around the house, knows what i like, and has been the best weekly grocery shopping date for the last 4 (give or take : ) years.

we're excited to spend our first christmas with just us. not because we want to be away from our family, but because we're embracing the opportunity to begin our own family traditions and enjoy the simplicity of a small christmas with just our family.

though it's small and simple, we have everything we need, and i'm aiming to focus on our many, many blessings. how excellent that the Ensign's First Presidency Message this month is about gratitude! i really appreciate that it is titled "the choice to be grateful." boy, it's a choice all right! : ) while are always things i can spout off that i'm grateful for, there are more blessings that might not be realized readily... thank you President Eyring for the reminder!

http://lds.org/ensign/2011/12/the-choice-to-be-grateful?lang=eng

check it out!

i am especially grateful right now for the opportunity we have to think about and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. i am also grateful for my knowledge and testimony of Him - to know that through Him we will all, too, be resurrected and live eternally, happily with our families in the presence of our loving Heavenly Father.

any hardship, heartache, or trial we may have can and will be made right through Him. if it's not ok, it's not the end. thanks, mom : )

violet red

for some reason, THE color of crayon to get at preschool is violet red. too bad they can't figure out for themselves when they've got it or not : )

sometimes they each get their own little cup with fat (for little fingers) crayons that are only in the main rainbow colors + brown and black. think like a beautiful box of crayola markers (ok, before they added pink and grey to the box). it's not really that much of a hassle to distribute, because each of the cups is a different color, and they all have a color of the day, so they match. sometimes i get tired of those little cups, or i think it might be nice for them to be able to use other colors aside from the big 8, so i just set out the baskets of regular sized crayons that come in just about every color.

once the skinny crayon baskets have come out, they start digging frantically and shouting, "hey! i have violet red!" they make sure their friends know, and then get on with their coloring. sometimes they like some validation so they'll ask me if "that says violet red." they hold it very carefully so i can read the part that says CRAYOLA or ROSEART. i usually say something like, well let me see and twist it a little so i really can read it. sometimes i can give them the confirmation they want and say, yep, you have violet red! but usually i say, nope, that just says red. they're a little disappointed, but it colors the same as it did before they asked so they usually just move on.

thanks a lot crayola, because sometimes i tell them that that have red violet. there is no difference to a 4 year old!

what else aids in their confusion? the fact that we also have violet blue and blue violet out there!

so the odds of getting a crayon with violet somewhere in the name is higher than you might think. it has lead to questions such as:

is this violet green? is this violet pink? is this violet purple? and so on.....

i'm not sure how many of them say violet. i think it's usually biolet. regardless, they REALLY want violet red. i'd rather hear about violet red than some other things we could get stuck on. i think i'm pretty lucky.

now that you know the violet red background, here is a short story:

one day they had scrambled for their crayons and while the boys are already coloring, my two girls have this discussion (not exactly the same words...this happened a few weeks ago): hey kylie do you have violet red? yeah. me too. let's see if they're the same. ok. do you have a r first? yeah. then a o? yeah. then a s? yeah then a e? yeah. then a a? yeah. then a r? yeah. then a t? yeah! we both have violet red!!!! (beside themselves with joy)

i just about died. that was one of my favorite moments. the thrill of a roseart crayon... : ) i can't stand coloring with roseart ones.

just this week carson has also adopted a love for orchid. he gets a look like he's getting an ice cream cone when i tell him he has orchid.

i hope this lasts until may : )