Uplifting Article

This article is so sweet. Follow the link:
More Real Life

In a Day's Play

Happy Birthday to Someone Special!

Rhya Statements to Remember

**Note: The pictures are just for viewing pleasure. They have nothing to do with the content of the post.

R: Daddy, why is there only one sun? I think there should be seven.

D: Why? If there were seven suns we'd burn up.

R: But then we wouldn't have to share it with the people on the other side of the world

Our poor old nanny goat died a few days ago. When I came in from doing chores after finding her lifeless, I said, "Girls, I just found something sad in the barn. Marci died last night."

Rhya (without much emotion): "Oh, did she have a hangy down thing on her neck?"

Me: "What do you mean? A HANGY down thing? Like what?"

Rhya: "Like what old people have. Cause the goat was old. So didn't she have a hangy down thing?"

Me: "OH!! No, only old people get those. Goats just have thin necks. She was old but didn't have a hangy down thing...and by the way, we don't have to tell old people when they have hangy down things. It might make them feel bad. We might both get it when we're old. It just happens sometimes."

*Gracious. She's already boisterously commented on a lady's big bottom at Fleet Farm (who was walking RIGHT in front of us) and asked new moms why their tummy is still big after the baby comes out. What next? 

The other day Nate dug out a snow fort. We'd been outside for quite a while, so Rhya commented that her feet were getting cold. Nate urged her to stay out a little bit longer, cause the fort was almost done. He said that it'd be warmer inside the fort. 

Rhya asked, "Oh, so we can take our hats and mittens off?" 

Nate responded, "No, it'll still be chilly and there will still be snow. It'll just be a little bit warmer than outside"

After they had climbed in and sat there for a while Rhya said, "My feet are still cold. I think we should bring a heater out here."

Nate answered, "We can't because there are no outlets"

Rhya pointed to the snow wall and said, "Yeah, but you could put an outlet right HERE!"

* Who do you think has been watching her daddy install outlets in the basement? She evidently thinks they can go anywhere!

Stuck INSIDE

When one is stuck inside in the middle of winter, projects are GREAT, especially when it means turning a cold, unfinished basement into a warm, completed one!
So far it's not very warm yet, but Nate has two bedrooms rooms framed as well as a bathroom. He had lots of help for the messy concrete plumbing part:

What else can be done in the middle of a snowstorm? Oh yes, pretend it's SUMMER!!

This was 100% Rhya's idea. Brielle was very happy to go along with it, and even completed her outfit with a winter hat. The laughing and giggling coming from the girls' bedroom was heartwarming.

What do two girls do multiple times per day in the middle of winter? Spend hours and hours reading books.

Most of the time it's Brielle who sits by the bookshelf in the little white chair or on the floor and flips through every single book on the shelf. She just loses herself in them. Sometimes Rhya takes it upon herself to perform a storytime.

When the books and swimming suits and rough-housing and ahem-fighting wear off sometimes it's time for a satisfying snack. Fresh baked bread with warm butter hits the spot.

We have a rug in the kitchen that covers up a bare spot in the linoleum (another future project). It has proven to be the perfect 'snack' rug. Whenever I announce that it's snack time the girls race over to the rug and wait expectantly (and very excitedly, with shrieks of anticipation).

When bedtime rolls around it is SO HARD to hit the hay. Sometimes a flat out refusal results in falling asleep sitting up:

We DO leave the house, on a very rare occasion. Our Sunday highlight was a birthday party for 'The Travis' They both turned 23 five days apart from each other. Mark and Marilyn cooked up a fun bash:

The girls' relationship this winter has changed significantly. There are trying moments and super duper sweet moments. My sleep fighting Brielle was screeching away as I was trying to rock her one day. She started crying out for Rhya. I asked, "Oh, you want RHYA to rock you?" "YEEESSS" she wailed. Rhya grasped the opportunity to perform a very grown up task and rocked her to sleep in under 5 minutes. Brielle laid right down and they put their arms around each other. After Brielle had been sleeping for quite some time I suggested that we lay her in her bed. Rhya looked down at her sleeping sis and said, "Nah, I better hold her longer. She's not super sound asleep yet."

What could it be?

Holiday Highlight

Auntie Jen came home for the holidays! It was a fairly last minute surprise, but we have been soaking up lots of our free time with her.

Rhya was VERY pleased to sleep with Auntie Jen when she spent the night at our house.
We were together at Gpa Mark and Gma Mo's New Year's Eve, and Kylie, Karena, and Rhya all slept in the same room with Auntie Jen. They logged about six hours of sleep. Thank goodness for an easygoing auntie that doesn't mind sleep deprivation.
HAPPY 2014!