November

11/18

Today, Hannah asked Jesus to be her Savior. :)

Me: I don't want to do my work today. I have to write 15 pages by Sunday.  
Abby: Just write four pages a day.  
Me: Okay, I'll write four pages today. After school, check to see if I did it.  
Abby: If you do, we'll give you hugs.  
Hannah: And kisses and a back massage!  
Abby: If you don't do it, we'll say, "It's okay, you tried your hardest," and only give a hug. Hannah: For now, you can have a kiss.

When Hannah's upset, sometimes she'll say, "Poo!" Tonight, she was apparently really mad, because she let loose, "Poo, poo! Pee pee! Toot toot! Diarrhea!"

Abby: I wonder, when I grow up, what will I be? Will I still be like me? Hannah: I wonder, when I grow up, will I always be the third smallest person in my class?

Hannah thinks it's not fair that Obama is still president. "He already did it. He should let Romney have a turn."

Hannah was asking a million "whys" and we decided we can't know the answer to every why. Her parting comments were, "Why, why, why? Why does Mommy's bottom stick out so far?"

Talking politics with a six-year-old: Hannah: Is Obama still the president? Me: For now he is. Tomorrow is voting day, so tomorrow we might have a new president. Hannah: I hope it's Mitt Romney. He sounds like he'd be a better president. (Pause. She screws up her face.) Obama likes to eat chili.

I saw an old friend at the store. I hadn't seen his daughter since she was tiny. Now that she's three years old, we were able to have a lovely conversation at Walgreens. Me: How old are you now? Her: Three! She begins mumbling something, and her dad tells her to speak up. Her: Okay. When I have to go poop, I go poo poo in the big potty! Me: Good for you! How about your parents? Her: Yes, they go poo poo in the big potty, too. :)

October

A sweet compliment from Abby: Wow, Mom. You're really good at pouring cereal.

The battle cry of our house is, "That's not fair!" As evidenced by: Abby: I had a nice dream last night. Hannah: That's not fair!!!

We heard a verse about when Jesus comes to take us into the sky. This prompted the following conversation: Hannah: What happens if He comes while you're in the car? You start to go up, and then, BAM, you hit your head on the roof and get stuck. Abby: You're like, "Hold on, Jesus! Let me open the door!" Laughter. Pause. Hannah: What happens if Jesus comes when I'm going potty?

 

Hannah: Mom! Truth or dare? Me: Truth. Hannah: Who. . . in the grocery store. . . do you have a crush on? ???????

Abby: Hannah, truth or dare! Hannah: Truth! Abby: What's the worst thing you've ever done? Pause Hannah: One time, I tooted in your bed, and pretended I didn't.

Hannah has a friend over, and they just cleaned all the furniture with baby wipes. They've announced that they might like to be maids when they grow up.

Hannah wants to know how fast you can drive on the free-drive-way.

Papa poses with the grandkids on Halloween

September

Went to see Abby run the jog-a-thon at school today. Her class walked out triumphantly holding their name banner. The MC, straining to see the name on the banner, loudly announced, "Welcome, Mr. K's Moo Moo Cows!" Pause. "I'm sorry, that's Boom Boom Pows!"

Had "Laps for Learning" (Jogathon) at the girls' school today. Hannah ran the max of 40 laps, so she got to go to the podium and be announced into the mic. (She's in first grade, and her teacher's name is Mrs. Hill.) MC: What's your name? H: Hannah! MC: Who's your teacher? H: Mrs. Romo! (Her kinder teacher.) MC tries to send her on, but Hannah grabs the mic, confused. H: I mean, Mrs. Hendry! (Another kinder teacher.) MC tries to send her away, but Hannah's panicking and tries to grab the mic again. The MC goes to the next person. Hannah comes to me and says, "Great! Now they'll all think I'm in kindergarten!"

I was watching a fourth grade crossing guard at school. She was taking her job very seriously. However, her mother was crouched behind her, attempting to put a bandaid on the child's heel. The crossing guard was trying to stand at attention while simultaneously kicking her mom off. The mother had the child's sock pulled down and was administering first aid right at the crosswalk. I love mothers!!

After seeing pictures of the conjoined twins with two heads and one body (Brittany and Abby), Hannah remarked, "They are lucky because they can look both ways at the same time!"

I just got carded for buying children's allergy medicine. Hmmmm.

Abby was talking about something that had taken place in the 1980s. We told her that we remembered it. She looked startled, "YOU were alive in the 80s?!?!" It must be that we look so young.

We were listening to 121's new worship CD in the car. One song sings, "Oh, shout," several times. Hannah sang along, then stopped and said, "Wait, Mom. Isn't 'oh shout' a bad word?" :) (She must be thinking of 'oh, shoot'. She doesn't know the really bad one.) I can just see her using it in school and being misunderstood. The things we learn from our Jesus music.

While doing Hannah's homework, I asked, "What words begin with the 'w' sound?" In rapid fire, she responded, "Why, where, when, who, Walmart."

Abby: Mom, do you like Kelli? (My sister-in-law) Me: Yes. Abby: Don't you wish you could sit and talk with her for hours? Me: Yes. Abby: Then I guess you better set up a playdate with my cousins!

Hannah snuggled up to me, looked in my eyes, and said, "Let's smooch!"

 

August

We spent half of August in Cambodia.  For more on our time there, please visit Journey Towards Justice.

Mike is making me post this, but I don't want to. He made me re-write the story five times until it was right. (Seriously. He's on the couch behind me, cracking up.)
The girls and I went out today, and around dinner time, we headed home with take-out. As we rode through town in our tuk-tuk, we passed by a widow begging on the side of the road. I see this all the time here, but this one was particularly heart-wrenching. Her head was shaved, and she looked so sad. We were stopped at a light, and she held her bowl out to me. Everything in me wanted to give her some money. However. . . my lap was filled with one bag of pizza and one bag of ice cream. She looked at my food, held out her bowl, and I couldn't move. I couldn't reach my money because of the two giant bags of pizza and ice cream in my lap. As the tuk-tuk pulled away, I was sure I had lost my salvation.
'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger, and did not help you?' Mt 25:44

The girls made up a new song. It's called, "When I Eat Cheese Pizza, it Makes Me Toot."

A bit awkward relaxing in the living room while the housekeeper irons your laundry three feet away. I'm sure I could get used to it, however.

While riding in a tuk-tuk, Abby held Hannah close and said, "I'll protect you. They love your hair so much here, they might try to kidnap you and make a wig out of it."

Is your husband having trouble listening? Take him to Cambodia, where several hair salons advertise, "We clean ear holes."

We ate tarantulas in Cambodia!

 
While we were stuck in LA while trying to fly home, Hannah started crying. "I just want to be in America!" We told her, "California IS in America." She said, "No, Texas is America!!"

Still waiting for our flight home. Just noticed that we have seats in different places on the plane. One in row 12, one in 15, and two in 33. This should be interesting. They are offering a $300 voucher for anyone who gives up a seat. Would be so tempting if we had not been traveling for 30 hours already. I think we're at our limit.

Abby had her 9-year-old pictures taken yesterday. When we saw the proofs, Mike complemented her on how beautiful she looked. I was surprised when she complained that it had been a huge waste of time. She finished (with attitude), "I smiled for all those pictures, because I thought Mom was going to buy them all. Then she was saying she didn't want a bunch of them. Why did I waste my time smiling, if she wasn't going to buy them??"

The girls surprised me today by cleaning the bathroom. . . with glitter shower gel. The counter, sink, floors, and cupboards are so sparkly!

The girls tried to distract me today while we were cleaning their rooms. They had me lay down and gave me a full body massage. It bought them 15 minutes.

Hannah was very excited as she stepped off the bus today. "Mom! Today, I found out the name of my bully!"

Hannah had me watch a Lysol commercial with her. "Mom, this works gooder than bleach. Do we have it? It kills 99% of germs. It even cleans the mirrors!"

Abby got a stuffed penguin for her birthday. Now she has two, and Hannah has none. Hannah thinks Abby should share. Here's our conversation while Hannah is holding the coveted penguin.
Me: Why don't you ask for a penguin for Christmas?
Hannah: I don't always get what I ask for at Christmas.
Me: Ask Mom and Dad for it at Christmas.
Hannah: How about I keep this one and Abby asks for it at Christmas?

Hannah and a friend were playing at the park.
Hannah: Come climb this tree with me!
Friend: No, I'm afraid of heights.
Hannah: That's okay. At least you're not afraid of lows!

Hannah: (in a panic) MOM! There's a SPIDER in the hall!!!
Me: Hannah, you ate a spider! Kill it!
Two minutes later, she calmly says, "It's dead."

July

We were blessed to spend the summer in Cambodia.  For more on our time there, please visit Journey Towards Justice

Some people here believe that if you touch a white person, it will bring you luck. Hannah's as white as they come, so she often gets touched on the arm or cheek. The other day, after someone touched her, I said, "Do you think they'll be lucky now?" Hannah replied, "No. Well, actually, they are kind of lucky, because I'm here to tell them about Jesus!"

It's rainy season here, and we were trying to guess when the storm would come. Hannah won with, "According to my calculations, it will rain tomorrow or sooner or later."

Went to a pool today. Among the rules that interested me were these:
* Due to the danger of being strucked by lightning, all swimmers must leave the pool during a thunderstorm.
* No weapons or explosives in the pool.
* All spitting, spouting, blowing of noses, and releasing of any bodily waste is strictly prohibited.
Good to know!

The girls were in the bathroom together. I heard Hannah scream and start crying. Abby gushed, "Hannah! I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Perhaps I should mention that in Cambodia, toilet paper is not generally used. In every bathroom, there is a hose and squirter right by the toilet to freshen up with. When I walked in the bathroom, Hannah was dripping wet, and Abby was holding the hose.

 I saw a convenience store today that made me feel right at home. It was called 6-Eleven.

Trying to prepare a presentation on good parenting while my children are fighting and yelling at each other is a bit difficult.

Disturbing experience with a squatty potty. Pretty sure Abby will never look at me the same again.

At a hair salon, I saw several color boxes advertising "Green Blonde Hair!" The picture even looked like green blond hair. Interesting. I'll throw Hannah in a chlorinated pool a couple dozen times, and she'll be all the rage!