My Midwife Spins Wool...Isn't She Cool!

I have loved living in a small town where you really get to know the people that cross your path in life. For example, my midwife delivered my child but she also became my friend. She's a wonderful woman and I've enjoyed many meaningful conversations with her. I recently invited her to show our home preschool how she spins wool into yarn and knits socks and sweaters. Her visit was wonderful and the kids really enjoyed it.

Gail brought wool from a sheep that had just been sheared. She even brought the children a photo of the sheep the wool had come from. She let them cart (or comb) the wool. Then she showed them how to spin it. She let them each take a turn working the foot pedals. She also brought her knitting needles and showed them a sock she was making. Notice the socks she has on her feet; they are the prettiest socks I have ever seen. And she made them!

Gail took this cute photo of Collin holding three pieces of wool, each in a different stage of the process. You can see the sheared wool that is still curly and has been dyed green. You can also see the carted wool and finally the spun wool (which is hanging around his neck). Hopefully Gail and I continue to find excuses to get together. Gail, thanks again for coming and sharing your talent with us!

Earthworms for Earth Day

It isn't every day that you are awakened by an excited little boy dangling a huge worm in front of your face. That was me this morning, because Collin is now the proud owner of an Earthworm habitat. At Mom's School we've been learning about all sorts of invertebrates, and on Tuesday Angie helped the boys make a worm farm. We even painted with worms at school. We dipped the cute little guys in paint and watched them inch their way along. So fun. Since then Collin has spent hours looking at his little night crawlers.

This worm investigation was a perfect way to end the reading of Collin's first chapter book, How to Eat Fried Worms. We read a little bit every day after lunch and some more at bedtime with Dad. When we were finished, Merritt even surprised Collin with a gummy worm sandwich for lunch. You've got to love Dads. They think of stuff that Moms wouldn't.

Speaking of Merritt...he received three staples to the crown of his head on Monday night. Be sure to share your love and sympathy. Alternatively, you can help convince him to get out of the construction business. That would help too. And I guess I deserve some sympathy too, seeing that I've now had mastitis twice in the last two weeks. I pray that it stays away.

Today at school we celebrated Earth Day. Collin made this adorable garbage monster. We did a litter walk along the bike trail near our home (otherwise known as the "miracle forest"). We also made our own "landfill" and buried small pieces of plastic, paper and aluminum, as well as discarded fruit and dead leaves. We'll dig it up in a few months to see what has happened to our garbage.

Just for fun, here is a cute picture of Owen wearing his fire truck shirt that says "Mommy's Little Hero". I just took this today. He's almost eight weeks old! I swear you can literally watch him grow.

Easter Sunday

Two Approaches to Coloring Eggs

Luke keeps surprising me. He's so different than his brother. For example, on Friday night our family colored the traditional Easter eggs. Collin carefully colored every egg and gently placed them into the egg carton. Then he wouldn't let people eat them because they were too pretty.

Luke colored one egg...then decided to break it and peel it and eat it and smash it into the table so as to make the biggest mess possible. Strangely, he then tried to pick up the broken and half-eaten egg pieces and put them back into the carton. This is not just because he's two. Collin was nothing like this at two. Go figure.

The happy ending to this story is that we managed to keep forty-three eggs from breaking. This was enough for the Easter bunny to hide for a Sunday morning egg hunt before church. Happy Easter!

All Smiles

It's official. Owen is smiling! So fun!

Another reason to hate Barney the purple dinosaur...

I've been feeling surprisingly confident with this whole mother of three boys thing, until last Thursday. I was trying to get Luke down for a nap and Owen needed to nurse. I get out some meaningful "work" for Collin to do during quiet time. I feed Owen and lay down with Luke to wait until he falls asleep.

Being the exhausted new mother that I am, I accidentally put myself to sleep in the process of getting Luke down. I wake up about fifteen minutes later to find Collin crying at Luke's bedroom door with the phone in his hand...and a police officer yelling from my living room, "Hello! Is anyone home?!"

The officer begins to explain to me that multiple 911 phone calls were just sent from this address. He asks to check on each of the children and looks around my house. I try to assure the officer that everything is fine, and that I'm really not neglecting my children. (How humiliating!)

Collin is crying in the bathroom because he's afraid he's in trouble. I try to comfort him because I'm very curious how in the world he even knew how to dial 911. I apologize to the officer and promise to talk to my child about the definition of "emergency" and the purpose of the phone number 911.

As soon as the officer leaves, Collin confesses that he had turned on the TV and was watching Barney when a little girl explained how to dial "116". He said he was curious what would happen so he tried it. He said he called two or three times because he thought it would "be funny". But when the police officer pulled up in front of the house he began to worry he was in trouble. So he wouldn't answer the door. He started to cry. And that's when he came to get me in Luke's bedroom.

I've never cared much for Barney. His voice is dorky and his songs always get stuck in my head. And now I have one more reason to hate that infamous purple dinosaur. Ironically, the next day we were walking in our neighborhood and happened upon a garage sale. Collin found a stuffed Barney and had the audacity to ask me to buy if for him. Of course, the answer was a big N-O.

On a lighter note, Luke learned how to ride a bike! He is so excited about it. His favorite book has long been Duck on a Bike by David Shannon. Now, he can finally ride his own little tricycle around the block...all by himself!

Today in church Luke also did something really cute. We were waiting for our turn to take the sacrament bread and water. I always whisper in my kids' ears as they eat and drink, "This is special bread/water to help you remember...Jesus loves you." Well, today Luke grabbed my face with his two little hands and whispered in my ear, "Mom, Jesus bread. Jesus loves you." He did it to his dad, too. I think that is what I've heard some people refer to as...pay day. Thanks Luke. I needed that.

We Bless You

Merritt gave a name and a priesthood blessing to our son last Sunday at church. It was a very special blessing. Merritt's mother, sister, uncle, cousin and friends were there with us. We are very grateful for the love and support of family. We missed those who were not there. Here are some sweet photos of Owen all dressed in white.