kids' quotes for the past week

After leaving the orthodontist with Sam, he says "I don't get why they do that....it's silly!"
Me: "you think everything is silly"
Sam: "not true. Sidewalks aren't silly. And gophers, they are not silly."
Then I'm busting out loud laughing in the parking lot.

Conversations from the back of the van:
Kal: "I doubt that! Hey Mom, wanna know how I know what 'doubt' means?"
Me: "yes Kal, how do you know what doubt means?"
Kal: "Jesus walked through the wall and John said 'It's Jesus!' and Thomas said "I doubt that!"
I. love. my. Kalen.

Kalen quotes for the day:
"Dad, you are hilarious to me!"
 "I'm funny too!"
"Mom, I like you!"

Watching Alvin and the chipmunks last night and Dave yells "Alvin!!!" you know how he does. Zeke points up to the TV and says"Daddy!" b/c he hears Kurtis holler at Kalen! all the time.

Isabel hates sleeping in a room by herself. While getting ready for bed one night she snaps at Daddy as he's trying to hurry her along.  "This is all your fault!  You gave me another brother!  If you had given me a sister then I would have someone to share a room with and I wouldn't be scared at night!  But no!  You had to give me another brother!!!!"  I had to hide in the kitchen to keep her from seeing me laugh.

Food for thought

While at  WalMart yesterday with all the kids, we passed the women's section with their bikinis on all display.  Kal asked "What are those for?"  I replied "Those are bathing suits for women.  But are they modest?"  Izzy and Sam quickly responded "no, they aren't."  Sam continued "But Mom, you have a top part just like that in white at home."  I smiled and said "No, Sam, what I have at home is a bra."
Just think about that for a minute folks.  What your girls think of as a swimsuit, my 9 year old mistook for an undergarment!

Grandpa was right

When I was growing up if we went anywhere with Grandpa Snapp, it seemed like he would always run into someone he knew.  Inevitably we would be stuck there for 20 minutes while he talked to this random person about the weather, the date, and what happened on the Price Is Right.  I seemed to think, as a kid, that Grandpa knew everyone!  Truly, he knew everybody.  But something happened today that made me pause and think a little bit.
While at Walmart, esp. in the morning when they only have one lane open, a few people started getting in line behind me at the checkout counter.  Now usually as I pile my 4th gallon of milk and 15 lunchables on the belt, I start to get the dirty looks...you know, from the people who can't be bothered to wait 10 minutes on the woman with the toddler in tow and several boxes of Fudge Rounds.  But today as the lady behind me smiled, I found myself saying "I'm sorry.  I have 4 kids so I get a lot at the store."  She said "oh honey, I'm just smiling at your little boy.  You have 4 kids?  Oh, I get it; you're justifying all the lunchables."  She proceeded to grin and start a pleasant conversation with me.  "How old are you kids?  I'm having my grandson over this weekend.  That's why I'm buying junk food that I wouldn't normally buy and I never bought for my own kids.  Grandkids are wonderful to spoil."  On and on and on.  Even the cashier began to smile and giggle at responses or waved to Zeke as he said thank you for his chips.  As I walked away, I had a huge smile on my face, Zeke was happy and putting everything in the van, I'm thinking "Wow, I wish every encounter I had with people was like that."
And it continued!
Next we went to Hobby Lobby and sure enough as I buying some fabric that I probably shouldn't have bought, I start a conversation with the woman in front of me.  She has a granddaughter the same age as Zeke and isn't it a fun age?!  It was so uplifting to feel like there were just nice people to chat with.  Not grumpy people rushing to get everywhere. 
And here comes my epiphany!  Grandpa didn't know everybody in the world but he treated everyone he came in contact with as if he did know them!  He treated each person at the store, on the sidewalk or at the auction as if they were a close personal friend.  That was kind of a generational thing and what  a sweet thing to inherit.  Imagine if we treated everyone this way instead of being in a hurry, giving a dirty look, or acting entitled when someone forces us to slow down in our daily lives.  Oh, it was such a great morning for me. Such an amazing way to look back at my Grandpa and see his truly amazing gestures that I took for granted all these years.  Maybe it's just my imagination but I have a feeling that Grandpa is looking over me today and smiling, saying "that's my girl!"

and more Kalen-isms....he really is a funny kid

Missionaries are the top conversation in our house as we've fed four of them in the last two days and Sis. Puddicombe went home to Canada yesterday.
This morning I ask Kal "where would you like to serve a mission?"
Kal: "where the GI Joes live?" 
Me: "That's the army.  You want to go into the army?"
 Kal: "Yep, that's what I want to do!" 
Heaven help me!

made a cake for dessert tonight:
Kal: "what's that smell?" Me: "it's cake"
Kal: "Cake! Who's birthday is it?" Me: "No one. We're feeding the missionaries."
Kal: "Is it the missionaries' birthday?"
Me: "No, it's just for dessert after dinner."
Kal: "Can we eat it now?" M: "No, we're eating it AFTER dinner."
Kal: "Is it Daddy's birthday? Sam's? Zeke's?"

Kalen-ism for the day

Today while buckling Kal into his booster seat, I leaned over and kissed him. But he moved his head and I kissed his eye.  He wipes off my kiss and proceeds to tell me "You kissed my eye!" I reply "I'm sorry.  I just wanted to give you love."  Without pausing he says "Well, that was awkward!"

what's round on the ends and high in the middle?

O-hi-O!
Now, granted I am Ohio-born and bred.  I've never lived in another state.  I have visited other states and I can see the appeal of some places....to visit.  So some of you might find my opinion biased and that's okay....it's MY blog!
I love Ohio's weather.  I love the winter.  I love sweaters that cover your tush and boots, mittens and toboggans (the hat---not the sled).  I like watching the snow fall from the comfort of a warm living room.  I like sledding down hills and making snow angels.  I even don't mind ice now that we have a garage to park our cars.
I love the spring with rain and pretty flowers.  I love mid-March when those daffodils pop up out of the ground (sometimes still covered in snow).  I love thunderstorms, I really do.  I love the fresh smell after a rain when it feels like the whole world got a much needed shower.  I love rain boots and hoodies.  I love wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of capris.  I love wearing flip flops in the rain.
I love the summer where it's so hot that you HAVE to eat ice cream to survive!  I love shorts and t-shirts.  I love ponytails b/c it's too hot to wear your hair down.  I love late evening bike rides and porch swings.  I love not having to wear shoes!
I love the fall!  First off, it's my birthday!  I love the changing leaves and jumping in leaf piles.  I love soccer games and wearing ball hats.  I get to wear hoodies again.  I love that anticipation of school.  I love it not getting dark until 9pm.  I love bonfires and s'mores.
Yes, Ohio, I love you.  I understand you.  In a lot of ways, I'm just like you.  We can be cold when we aren't appreciated.  But we can also be sunshine, rainbows, spring rain, and pretty falling leaves.  Don't let the haters get you down. Chances are they are move ins who don't appreciate your complexity.  And let's be honest, who doesn't like the unexpected from time to time!

Izzy's baptism and some cute conversations

Isabel turned 8 years old last Sunday which meant she was old enough to be baptized.  We really try to talk to the kids and help them understand that baptism is a choice and it is a BIG event.  We were so excited to invite anyone and everyone she knows and although Izzy is pretty timid, I think she liked the attention and the idea of her special day.
She wore the same dress she wore as flower girl in Uncle Joe's wedding a few years back and she borrowed a dress from another little girl at church to actually be baptized in.  It is an adorable dress and I'm so thankful that they let us borrow it.  Kera Butler,  a sweet gal at church, did Izzy's hair so it stayed up the whole time and she wore her Elsa shoes that she got for her birthday.  We took a few pictures beforehand.

We were very excited with family and friends that came to her special day.  Sis. Floyd and Sis. Allison each participated in our portion of the program and I sang a song.  Later in the evening, Izzy was singing my song over and over and kept telling me "I really like that song Mom."  We had every single member of my family there which was monumental!  Kurtis' parents and two of his brothers with their families were there.  It was really just perfect.

Some cute comments that were made after the baptism.  We were discussing how many missionaries were at Izzy's day.  She had 8 there and I also had 8 at my baptism.  Kalen says "I'm only having 2 missionaries at my baptism and those are......the GIRLS!"  Apparently, he likes our Sister Missionaries.
At dinner, Aiden (age 4yo) is sitting next to me.  He is one of my music students and he says "You know what kid liked your song today?  I'm that kid!"  It was so sweet and made my day!