Voted Kindest Heart

Second grade awards day has come and gone. I am very proud of Vivian's academic achievements. We all know she's extremely bright. But the best award she got that day came from her classmates.

Vivian was voted "Kindest Heart" by her friends. I got so choked up I thought I was going to cry. She has always been kind to others. I see that as a mother. But when other 8 year olds think your child has a kind heart, well, it makes you so proud!

Fun to Be Five!

It's hard to believe Maggie is 5.

Tonight she graduated from her preschool. Probably before you know it, she'll be graduating from high school.

But she's never leaving home (or so she says). She might move next door and have a house with stairs.

The ceremony was well attended. Grandpa was a special guest. Vivian and Maggie both dressed in their "fancy clothes".

The kids sang two songs (with hand motions).

Mommy's Personal Assistant

Today our youngest daughter, Maggie, has decided to be my personal assistant! (And I need one!) She started by offering to go to the grocery store and cross the items off the list for me. How thoughtful!

Of course, first she had to get dressed. She came in wearing a black, red, white and pink hoodie with brown pants and pink flip flops. Very stylish. Maggie insisted she brushed her hair even though it looked like she just woke up. But who cares? She looked great and off we went!

On the way to the grocery, Maggie asked if we would be folding the laundry today. If we were, we should get it all done today so we don't have to do it tomorrow. Good advice.

When we got home she helped me unload the groceries, take the dogs out, vaccum the floors (she came across a very dusty baby sock! that's been under the bed a while.)

I can't think of a cuter person to have as a helper for the day. Now we're about to play a rousing game of Connect Four.

Today when I picked Vivian up from school she was all smiles. Usually she's happy when I pick her up, but today she had a huge smile on her face. She had finally done it! Vivian's teacher rewards her students' good behavior each week with "money" to spend in the class store. Vivian has had her eye on a Barbie doll that cost $6.

Each week Vivian earns about sixty cents for good behavior. So you can imagine how long it takes to save up for a $6 Barbie. She glowed as she told me how she was called to the store to make her purchase. Her teacher was so excited! "You did it!," she exclaimed. (Her teacher is a parents dream, she is such a cheerleader for her students.)

Vivian is a saver. I hope this is a trait she carries with her through her life. She opened a savings account two summers ago to save for a horse. She has $113 to date. The Barbie made her realize how delightful it is to follow through and make small sacrifices to get the bigger reward.

We could all learn from her frugality. (I'm not sure if "frugality" is a word, but you know what I mean.) If Americans saved for things they truly needed and wanted maybe our country wouldn't be burdening our children with trillions in debt.

The Bible speaks of debt. In Proverbs 22:26-27 "Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched under you." Now most of us need to have a mortgage or maybe even a car loan, but overall we have no idea what it is like to sacrifice, instant gratification has become common in our culture. Maybe we should all begin to be like Vivian and be patient so that when we can achieve our big reward we will be as grateful as she is!

Our Dog Hunny - Book Eater

Our dog, Hunny, loves books. She loves to eat them. I come home after work and find yet another library book chewed to bits.

Hunny is the dog on the right, a 13 year old mutt. We love her, lucky for her, but have spent a small fortune on replacing library books.

Last week, Hunny made the news at Vivian's school. She's famous. The librarian had a segment on the school news about how Vivian's dog chewed her library books. The books were about cats! The last book of mine she destroyed, yep, cats too! I see a pattern here.

The added bonus...tomorrow...she'll poo and you guessed it...she'll poo a book!