Spelling is Fun

Topher and I played Scrabble this week. Instead of spelling words (he understands the concept, but his execution of it is appropriate for a three-year-old), we had to either say the name or the sound of the letter we were placing on the board. It actually went pretty well.

One thing that bothered Topher? He's pretty sure his name is spelled TOER (he thinks E and F are the same letter and he knows the F sound is in the middle of his name) and I simply didn't agree.

Nifty

Our YM/YW activity last night was about indexing the recently released 1950 census. Part of the fun included a 1950s costume contest. We were joining virtually, so I hadn't given the costumes much thought until the night before. That's when I remembered a box in my basement of my Grandma Miriam's clothes that I had inherited when she moved out of her house.

Yesterday morning I brought the box up and started pulling out clothes. We found three dresses that had a major 70s vibe, a knee-length black dress, some Easter bonnets and purses that belonged to my aunts, a bag of wigs (?), some shawls, a few pairs of elbow-length gloves, fur collars (real, I think), velvet collars and cuffs, a few hats, and one amazing black skirt suit. Phoebe tried on the skirt suit and it fit well enough to wear for the activity.

Topher and Sophie tried on a few things as well.

Peter wore this awesome shirt that Uncle Jordan and Aunt Leah brought home from their honeymoon more than four years ago. And I attempted to give his hair some lift. Mousse and ratting were both employed to achieve this look.

And I happened to find this shirt for Cooper at Target yesterday afternoon. Did you know that the plastic flamingo lawn ornament was created in 1957?

I, as one of the YW leaders, dressed up with a scarf and a high ponytail.

We were the only ones to join the activity virtually, so none of us thought we were in the running for a prize from the contest. That's why we were so surprised that Phoebe won first place! I guess it paid to wear something from the actual decade (or close to it) that we were celebrating.

Phoebe, in costume, with hair, purse, and shoes.

Goodies on a Great Day

We all wore church clothes on Easter Sunday, but I didn't get a fancy Easter picture of all of us. I did get a few pictures of the kids coming down the stairs after they had changed out of church clothes. That's when they saw the adorable Easter baskets Bryan's mom sent. Sophie named this the "best Easter ever" and the other kids all agreed.

I also managed to take pictures of Easter dinner, including the delicious carrot cake that Cooper made. I smoothed the honey-sweetened frosting after I took the picture, and it was prettier after that.

Thank you Shari for the amazing baskets and wonderful treats!

When You're the Best of Friends

On Saturday night, before we recorded the talk and scripture, Phoebe was busy drawing. Topher looked at the character she had created and said, "Oh! That's Michael, he's my best friend." Then he helped choose colors for Michael's clothes and carried the picture in a protective plastic sleeve for most of the rest of the evening.

Michael also joined us for church on Sunday.

It's good to have friends, even when they're flat and made of paper.

Easter Contributions

Sophie and Topher provided the talk and scripture for Easter Sunday. This was Topher's first time doing the scripture. He was happy to record a movie, he was less enthusiastic about getting into his church clothes on Saturday night. Sophie nailed her talk on the third take, which was awesome.

The Good News

Timber!

Last Saturday Peter and Cooper helped me remove a hazard from our front yard. We had three extremely thorny bushes that had grown so large they were reaching out over the sidewalk. I had already decided I wanted to get rid of them, but I wasn't sure how to go about it. The thorns were strong enough to go through gloves and the soles of shoes, so we had to be careful. In the end, I used a new pair of loppers and gingerly maneuvered as I snipped. Once the branches fell, Peter used a long grabbing tool to pick them up and put them in a trash bag. Cooper manned the rake and the broom to gather any sharp bits that flew off. That makes the whole project sound organized and orderly, but it was mostly chaos. I'm happy with the final result. We'll dig the bushes out soon, which will be easier now that they have no thorns.

I forgot to take a before shot, so I found this one from way back in February. They had grown a lot more since then.

Here's one after I trimmed them all back, right before I decided to chop them down as much as I could.

In progress.

The final (so far) result. I'm thrilled to have those awful prickly parts gone.

Glisten

We spent most of Monday afternoon in the backyard. At one point Sophie asked for my phone. I handed it to her and she walked off, phone in one hand and a spray bottle of water in the other. Yesterday I found the results of her creativity in my Google Photos. I think they look pretty cool.

The Demon on the Shoulder

Phoebe was inspired this week by a video she watched and wrote this poem to express those feelings. I think both the poem and the poet are amazing.

The Demon on the Shoulder

A poem 

To all the people who struggle with negative self-thoughts. 

The Demon on the Shoulder is a pesky thing indeed,

It creeps right in, unwanted, as intrusive as a weed.

No one cares.  It whispers. They’re all laughing behind your back.

You thought they loved you? Think again. 

Go try and talk to them, they’ll only complain.

But you don’t have to listen,

 to that ugly little gremlin.

Instead, try and hear that Still Small voice.

Good job! You’ve done it! I knew you could.

You deserve to be loved, you deserve a choice!

Now I won’t lie, it won’t be easy.

And if you listen to the demon, you’ll always feel quite queasy.

But with a bit of strength, hope, and faith,

You’ll get right through.

Just like we always knew. 

You are loved.

Because you are you.

Church View