Homemade Happiness

We enjoyed a family dinner after the church meeting where mom and dad spoke in Sacrament Meeting about their mission to Washington. It was sure nice to be together again in their home. The sisters each brought a soup and mom made buns. It was a delicious meal and great company.




We got to have the Michel children over quite a bit this month. Leslie had twin boys that needed extra care in the NICU in Calgary for weeks before they could bring them home. During that time, we had some of the older kids come to our house after school before Dustin got off work. It was fun to have them around. Anna was so cute with my girls playing dolls. Spencer and Josh had all sorts of fun playing sports and goofing around too. We are so grateful the baby boys are ok and will come home when they are strong enough.







Hakon is such a wonderful dad. He is very good at taking time to teach our children the gospel and all sorts of other things. Here he is reading from the animated scripture stories before Brooklyn goes to bed.




We love impromptu story time when grandma stops by for a visit. This reminds me "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." (Alma 37:6)
Claire sometimes drags me over to the Edwards old yard to play on their swing set and slide. She is just so pleased with herself, ready to go down on her own with Brooklyn's shoes on the wrong feet. Oh sweet childhood! The kids have also been enjoying the sandbox again!


Brooklyn had another little accident. She slipped on the kitchen floor and hit her eye brown on the corner of the bench leg. Poor little thing. Doesn't she have the saddest face on?











Mom hosted a girls party for these little girls. They had a great time with Grandma. They are so lucky to have her. At the end they read lots of books together.

 Here Rylan is, so proud of himself for helping Hakon put the sides on the new trailer they built. Soon it will be ready to take camping!
 Claire and Brooklyn got out on the cement pad riding the tricycle and bicycle.





 Me and Spencer during breakfast and family scripture study time. It's nice that Spencer can take turns reading too.

• Today Rylan dressed up his stuffed dog in a t-shirt and short and cap and said he was a soccer dog. Rylan recently figured out how the light comes on and off in the refrigerator with the door opening and closing. He is always trying to figure out how things work. While waiting for his sisters to get out of the van at the library today he was examining a van tire. When we met up with him he said, "This is so interesting!!" pointing to the tire. His mind seems to be very mechanical. I've seen him grow so much in his ability to not get upset when I leave him with a babysitter, a friends house, or at the Parent Link centre while I was in my Love and Logic course recently. Sometimes he gets a little apprehensive, but he has been able to transition without clinging to me or crying or getting upset. It is a relief, and so much nicer to leave that way. He has grown so much in his ability to talk to other adults, give talks and prayers in primary, and speak what he is thinking. He is also learning how to read. It is incredible to see how far he is coming just by reading the books Spencer brings home for homework, or trying to read words on the fridge or signs, or in the Book of Mormon. He is really coming a long way! He will be ready for Kindergarten in the fall. I'm happy for him to have grown so much this year.
• Brooklyn has called President Monson "Heavenly Monson" in her prayers for months now. It is so adorable. Today Rylan reasoned that it was fine that she said that because President Monson says the things Heavenly Father wants us to hear. Brooklyn has her own room now and is sleeping incredibly well through the nights! She has gone to sleep by herself a few times too. This is huge progress and is making our evenings much better! She loves to pretend she is the mom or the grandma, etc. Sometimes she plays make-believe by herself, and sometimes she recruits others to join in. She plays with her dolls more now too and likes to look at books and color. That girl will stand up for herself. If I ever get stern with her she will say (sometimes with hands on hips), "You can't be mean to me!" of "My dad said you have to be nice to me!" If I laugh and hug her she usually does too and the mood lightens right up and I can get her to comply. This week Anna and Josh Michel are coming to our house for a few hours after school every day. When they arrived today, Brooklyn told Anna (age 8) that she had missed her and was so happy to see her. It is so fun to see them being girly together. I see Anna having a very good influence on her. 
• Spencer is doing very well in school. He is zooming through the reading levels and spelling words. I think I might need to find ways to challenge him more, but I also see he really benefits from outside play after school so I let him spend most of his time after school doing that. He does so much better if he gets a good night of sleep. I bet he could sleep 12-13 hours every night if he got to bed early enough. He has so much life in him! I love that he is so willing to be active and have a good time with family and friends. He has been very obedient and just good the last few months. He can understand better how to deal with his younger siblings and has been thinking of others before himself more. He is much more interested in singing lately and has been singing along well with the hymns at church and when we sing at home. I love seeing him grow!
• Claire is our little laugher. She laughs so much! Almost every time she cries, she goes straight to laughing after without a regular calm period in between. She loves to run with her arms sticking out behind her then fall forward onto a couch or chair. It's hard to believe she will be 2 years old in July. She is the same age the others were when they had a new baby sibling. I am feeling a new sense of freedom as the kids are getting older and easier in many ways. I am really enjoying them lately, although I do get a yearning to have a newborn again sometimes. I'm glad I still get to rock and sing to Claire at naps and bedtime. She is absolutely in love with books these days. She says "book" often and loves me to read to her anytime of the day. She is also in love with puppies and says "puppy" so often when looking out the window, in a book, or a show. Sometimes she dances along to music or started doing a sweet little "ooo" to sing along. It just melts my heart.