My Bella

Last night she looked at me and said, "You are Pooh and I am Tigger." I admit it took me a minute to decipher what she was saying, I've been hearing a lot about Deepin' Duty and other princesses lately, so I wasn't following, but when I got it she then added that Gran was Piglet. When Pa walked into the room he volunteered to be Eeyore, but she picked up her nearby Winnie the Pooh book, flipped through it, then pointing to Rabbit, declared that to be Pa's new character. She hopped a good bit and had lots of carroty interactions with Rabbit too.

Today I was asking the kids what they wanted for lunch. Did they want turkey? Anna said, "I'm sick of turkey." Ethan added, "I don't really like turkey." (Really??) Rose, "No, I want peanut butter and jelly." And the whole time Bella is loudly declaring, "I like turkey. I like turkey!" Just in case you're wondering, we had arugula, green leaf salad with Chicken. And she didn't eat it. She did attempt to pick out some of the cheese and chicken :)

She can be a picky eater, but she still drinks copious amounts of chocolate milk. She also likes tea, her second choice beverage, as well as apple juice. She's also starting to eat sticky things, which she previously often avoided because she hates to have messy fingers. Now she eats them more often she just has to have her hands washed frequently while doing so. Apples are a new passion as well. She's been eating at least one a day lately - one day it was three! Every time I turned around she was eating another one!

She loves characters, still plays with her little plastic Lilo a lot, along with the doll house family, Little Peoples characters, her Mega Bloks princesses, and even Polly Pockets and Barbies. She even wore her first couple of princess dresses and watched Cinderella in the past couple of weeks.

Bella is such a cuddler. She is full of energy and often doesn't sit still when I need her to, but I love that she still loves to snuggle. She also still loves to sing. I just taught her "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah". I just had to hear her say that word. So cute. I really do think she may have perfect pitch.

And Bella Gracie is still a big helper. A couple of nights ago she "helped" Brian take apart her toddler bed for storage. She said to me, "Look at me, Mommy, I helpin' Daddy." I had to take her picture, so as she helped Brian carry one side of the frame down the hall (she was holding her end up!) she said, "Take a picture, Mommy!" And I had to take one of her carrying the headboard too.

I love that she's talking more and more. Finally. Her sweet little "you welcome"s and "I love you, too"s make my day.

Will Work For Food

What do you do when you see someone holding that sign?

My daddy, a preacher, always offered to buy them something to eat, sharing the gospel while they ate, if they accepted. I remember standing in a San Antonio square on vacation with my mom and six younger siblings one time while he carried this out. He also picked up hitchhikers when he was alone. To him the captive audience was more than worth the risk.

But what about me, a mom in a minivan?

Usually we have bottled water in the van to offer from the window. We've also gone through a drive-thru to come back with food. It never feels like enough. I always feel unprepared.

Now I know that it could be a racket. That they could be a criminal. But what if they aren't? What if they just have no where to go and no one who loves them? Either way, don't they just need Jesus?

I saw a woman with a sign today. I didn't see her until I was passing her. She was facing the other way. The kids didn't see her, they would have insisted that I help. I wanted to help. But I was supposed to be at choir rehearsal soon and didn't have much to offer. I wished I could really get out of the car and find out what her story was and really help her. Would that be safe? Are we always called to do what's safe?

This idea is at least a step in the right direction. Blessings bags pre-filled with food and toiletries. Kept in the car for such a time as this. And I'm going to be sure to include the gospel as well. Because even if I can't find out everything that they need, I can give them what they need most of all.

^{Matthew 5:42} Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Bella loves spiders

We frequently hear her renditions of the "Tinky tinky pider going up the wahger 'pout". And this is the perfect season for a love of spiders. So far she's accumulated spider pants, shirt, socks, and purse, as well as a Ty beanie baby spider. She was thrilled today while sitting on the potty beside an open window, to watch a spider glide up it's thread and back out the window. Every book that has a spider in it is all about the spider. When she wants a picture drawn in her sketchbook, it's a spider. When she draws her own picture, it's a spider. Obsessed, do you think?

Of course, I love catering to my children's delights (thus the socks, purse, etc...), so I'm plotting a spider costume for Halloween, we printed these out today and adhered them to popsicle sticks, and I found so many other fabulous links that I thought I'd share them here.

And just for the record, she has a few other favorite songs too. Although she seems to have finally gotten tired of "Zaccheus", "Jesus Loves Me" is always sung with much enthusiasm. And the cutest is hearing her voice down the hall singing, "Walking on sunshine, oh-oh, walking on sunshine, oh-oh, walking on sunshine, oh-oh, and don't it feel good - WOO!"

• I'm thinking this could make a really cute t-shirt.
• I love this crocheted set, but I'm not that talented. I was thinking that maybe a few stuffed felt pieces in addition to her new stuffed spider might work.
• These look more doable. Finger puppets and a felt board set.
  

Want to Remember 9/11?

We'll also be taking cookies to the firehouse. That's our way of remembering each year to thank those who serve us.

How to Make the World a Better Place

After studying whales and watching videos about the challenges they face in a polluted world, I concluded by saying, "So we need to think about what we can do to make the world better."

Anna replied, "The best thing is that we don't need to think about it. We can pray and we can KNOW what we can do, because the Holy Father will tell us what to do."

Photo Shoot and Ethan's (very Late) 10 year pics

What I will do to win a fabulous mattress

Go to We Are That Family to see the object of my hopes and dreams. :) I seriously have very little hope of winning - there are some mattresses in desperate condition out there(actually my girls have one of those too), but I tried anyway for Brian because all of the angles you can adjust that bed to would probably mean that he would always be able to sleep in bed, maybe even comfortably. And maybe actually wake up in less pain. Like we'd hoped this one would. And did I mention that it massages?!