Lub

We had just dropped Jolie off at school today and were driving home. I let Cora borrow my chapstick for a minute, and when I took it away she got really mad at me. She started angrily crying, and I tried to put on music for her. She didn't like that, so I turned it off. Then I tried to hold her hand, and she got mad and hit me away. I said, "I love you." And she stormily retorted, "No! I no not lub you!" Whaa??! That little brat!

All About Me - By Jolie, age 6

Jolie had a birthday spotlight at school the Tuesday following her birthday. It was so fun to see how well she's doing in school and how much she adores her teacher and classmates. I especially loved the answers she gave to the prompts in her All About Me book.  I thought it'd be fun to record them and gain a glimpse into her precious little thoughts. Here you go.

All About Me

By Jolie, age 6

This is me. I have blue eyes, caramel hair, and I am 46 inches tall. I am special because I am a child of God.

This is my family. I have five people in my family.

My favorite food is Ramen noodle soup. My favorite dessert is cake.

My favorite color is pink.

This is my house. My favorite thing to do at my house is play with my friends.

My favorite vacation was when I went to the place with coconut trees (Las Vegas, last March).

My favorite animal is a bunny.  And a giraffe.

My favorite things to play with are my dolls: Lucy, Ginger, Baby Waa and Grace.

My favorite thing at school is Teacher!!

This girl.  I sure love her.  xx

Tea for Two

Oh my goodness. Where do I even begin? Today was my Jolie Girl's 6th birthday. Six. Bittersweet, I know. It was a busy but relaxing and practically perfect day. 

Her day began with some breakfast in bed courtesy of her daddy, followed by a pre-party gift (a fancy new dress for her party). We had several things to get done this morning (frost the cake, decorate the clubhouse, etc), but it actually wasn't too hectic. I was actively trying to breathe and relax, and I think that helped. I genuinely love throwing parties but tend to get all sorts of stressed and anxious about them; I'm trying to nix that latter part.

^^ James was an ornery cuss all morning but actually did great once the party was underway. Little punk.

^^ The frosted cake. It was easy and quick and turned out beautifully, I think.

We had the most delightful tea party at eleven with a few of her close friends. It was a Dolly & Me tea party. The little girls all came in fancy dresses and accompanied by their favorite dolly. Jolie of course brought Lucy, her American Girl doll from Santa who honestly inspired this whole theme. 

The girls and their dolls each received a pretty "pearl" necklace when they arrived. Then we read a couple of darling little tea party books (Fancy Nancy and Madeline).  

After that, we practiced walking gracefully while balancing pretty pink plates on our heads, sang I'm a Little Tea Pot, and "Queen Julianne" taught the ladies how to properly curtsy. It was so cute.  

The girls were then seated at the (humbly speaking) adorably decorated table, to be served along with their dollies. It was delightful. James refused to dress up (dang kid, ha) but still served as the little ladies' waiter, bringing out each course as I called for it. The girls were charmed and polite and just ate it up (see what I did there). We served pink "tea" (actually white chocolate hot cocoa with raspberry syrup), little tea sandwiches (baguette slices topped with Vache Qui Rit cheese and a half cherry tomato), fresh strawberries, cake balls (courtesy of Aunt Ashley), and dipped strawberry wafers. Then, because they hadn't consumed enough sugar already, we sliced and served the cake. 

After the ladies were all done eating, Jolie opened her gifts. She was given such generous and lovely gifts. She (and Lucy) were thrilled with all of the new pretties. When each girl's parents had come to get them, Jolie sent them home with their very own tea cup + pitcher set and a fork + spoon pair of teeny silverware for their dollies. 

The party was a hit, but the day was not done. Once we had cleaned up the clubhouse (which went quickly, thanks to some help) and dropped the party remnants off at home, we headed for the mall.

And my little girl got her ears pierced.

She was so, SO excited. Because it is Valentine's Day weekend, the shop workers were dressed up as royalty (one the Queen of Hearts and the other as Elsa-ish). Jolie was in heaven.

I made them take a good while getting her marks straight (you can't really scooch over the hole once it's in!). Jolie chose some beautiful crystal butterfly earrings. Then they prepped the guns (each girl used one so Jo would have only one jolt of pain, not two). And then...  BAM! Done and done.

She cried. And looked so betrayed and hurt. It was heartbreaking. But it only lasted about a minute. By the time she had picked out her suckers, she was ok. And by the time we left the store, she was skipping. That's my girl. (It should also be noted that she has since mentioned several times how very happy she is to have her ears pierced. And she claims they don't even hurt at all anymore. Let's hope that lasts. Stay clean, little holes.)

Jolie was so happy, all day. She absolutely loved her birthday and all the things in it. I love how very feminine she is; it's so much fun. She reminds me of myself as a little girl (just much more beautiful... Thanks for the gene contributions, Daddy!). She really is an amazing girl. I'm so, so glad she's mine. 

Happy birthday, Jolie Girl. I love you.

Our Family Lineup

My sister Dena lives in Mexico- like, legit Mexico (not New Mexico, which confuses my kids), and we haven't been down there since her wedding. We also are well overdue on a visit to see my dad, Tori, and my grandparents, so... a spring break road trip it is! Because we're going to be leaving the country for said vacay, we needed to get passports for the whole fam. This grown up business has been intimidating to me, but like laundry- it must be done. So we have an appointment this afternoon with the passport peeps, and we're doing our best to take care of business and prepare for the trip.

As part of the passport process, we needed to get appropriate photos of the five of us. We could have gone somewhere to have them taken, but the average cost was $15 a pop, so I thought I'd try to save a bajillion bucks and do it myself.  I bought a big, white posterboard, borrowed an SD card from Derek's work, borrowed a DSLR (aka fancy pants) camera from my neighbor, and set up shop in Cora's room where the lighting was best.  The rules for the photos were many.  Besides the size and positioning specifications, we were not to smile, not wear jewelry/glasses, have nothing in our hair ponytail-wise, and more. Yikes.

After several outtakes and a bit of Photoshop editing (brightness/contrast), these were the photos we came up with. I thought they deserved a blog post. We'll call them our 2016 family photos, a la mugshot.

Heavenly Father's Plan -- A Talk

My sweet boy James volunteered to give a talk in Primary this coming Sunday. Apparently he won Rock, Paper, Scissors. Ha. And last night, he and I worked on it together. I figured since he is now a whopping 8 1/2 years old, he probably doesn't need me to just write something for him but instead should learn how to write one himself.  This is, as any parent knows, much more work and time intensive, but I hoped it would be worth it. ((Spoiler alert: It was.))

His topic was: Heavenly Father has a Plan for Us.  And the scripture given was Moses 1:39 -- "For behold, this is my work and my glory -- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."

Derek and I explained the general Plan of Salvation to him. I used visual aids and explained what he had already learned but may have forgotten. Derek delved into the difference between immortality (to live forever) and eternal life (to live forever with God). He also broke down the concepts of this goal being God's work and glory, and what each of those meant (the kid's only eight, after all).  Then I made James do the work.

First we brainstormed. I had him make a bubble chart and had him write any of the words that came to mind from all that we had discussed. He wrote things like: veil/birth, Jesus, earth, plan, people, spirit, Heavenly. Then we made an outline. I wrote Plan of Salvation = Plan of Happiness and then listed the three questions.  He told me things to write underneath each one, and I jotted down quick, incomplete thoughts.  After that, I told him that I would write out anything he said, and he dictated what the actual talk would say, looking at his notes for guidance.  I did help a little (i.e. He really wanted to end with: "And then you live happily ever after... or sad ever after, depending on your choice." Lol.  Maybe I should have let him, but I told him we should end on a more uplifting thought, to empower people instead of depress them.  Haha.  So funny.)  Anyway, here is what he ultimately came up with. I'm so proud.

Heavenly Father’s Plan

Talk by James Anderson, age 8 ½

Heavenly Father has a Plan of Salvation for us. It is also known as the Great Plan of Happiness because it is His plan for us to be happy for eternity. The Plan of Salvation can be explained with three questions and answers.

#1. Where did I come from?

Before we were born, we were spirits in Heaven. This is sometimes called the Premortal Life. We were very happy. We lived with Jesus. Satan came up with a very bad idea. His idea was, “I’ll make them be good.” Jesus had a better idea. He said, “I’ll give them a choice.” Jesus won. So we went through the veil (or were born) and came to Earth.

#2. Why am I here?

We are here on Earth to get a body and to choose good from evil. Life is a test to show that we’re worthy to live with Heavenly Father again.

#3. Where will I go after I die?

When we die, our bodies stay on Earth and go to the grave. But our spirits go to the Spirit World in Heaven. When Jesus Christ comes again, we will all be resurrected. Anything that was hurt or damaged will get better. After our resurrection, we will be judged by God. This final judgement will decide if we go to Outer Darkness, the Telestial Kingdom, the Terrestial Kingdom, or the Celestial Kingdom – which is the best because Heavenly Father lives there.

Heavenly Father wants us to return to Him. He wants us to be happy. He sent Jesus Christ to us to make all of this possible. He calls this His work and His glory. He is working hard for us. We should work hard too.

In the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.