"Mom, I just love my new Marriott"

Last night Anamarie found lots of fun "treasures" in my office closet. Some she liked more than others, but her favorite was a black zipped case with writing on the front. She brought it over to me and asked "mom what does this say?" I said, "It says Marriott". About 2 minutes later, she asked again, "what's that say?", I repeated "Marriott". We repeated this about 5 more times, until the word stuck in her mind. This morning when she awoke, she told me, "Mom, I just love my new Marriott". She has played with the contents of her new "Marriott" all morning; scissors, tape, stapler, notepad, pen, ruler, highlighter, & more. These items enabled her to make snowflakes, letters to her friends to come play today, and a letter to her little brother telling him to be nice. The simple joys for a child.

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How William eats with a spoon.

The other day I caught William eating Brett's leftover cheerios with a spoon. So I thought he was totally ready for this next big step in his simple life. So, this morning, I presented to him his first bowl of Cheerios (in a suction bottom bowl, so it wouldn't spill) and a SPOON. As you can see, he didn't like the spoon too much, but loved the hand fulls of Cheerios.

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I know what Kangaroos smell like :)

Anamarie informed me today that she knows what Kangaroos smell like. I was quite humored by this comment, but I always give her the benefit of the doubt. I happened to be curling her hair and spraying hairspray when she told me this. So, I asked her, "Anamarie, tell me what Kangaroos smell like?", she said, "it smell like that" (pointing to the bottle of Aussie hairspray). She said, "see, it's right there on the bottle. It says Kangaroo spray". LOL. I didn't even notice the kangaroo on the hairspray bottle, but apparently, that's what kangaroos smell like.

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"Our Value is set and cannot be Diminished"

Maddy received this present from her Grandparent's Kim & Janise for her 13th birthday. She unwrapped her present and found an Egyptian pound on a chain with an "M" charm for her name. She loved this present so much that she wore it for her birthday during her night out with mom & dad. It wasn't until today, that I discovered an even deeper meaning to this this necklace. There was a little piece of paper folded so small inside a tiny woven box that shared a story that Janise wrote about while visiting the Maadi, Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Cairo, Egypt. Here's the story: (click image below to enlarge)

Thank you, Kim & Janise for this gift that has such great meaning.
We love you!!

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She almost caught a Leprechaun :(

This morning, Anamarie could not contain herself, she just had find out if  there was a trapped leprechaun. She ran downstairs and noticed the gold was missing, and hoping it had fallen inside with the green guy. However, as she got a little closer she saw something inside the box...a letter. She didn't cry, she didn't laugh, she was incredibly "ticked off" to say the least. The letter was very nice though. He told her that it was the best trap he's ever seen. He even gave her a clue as to how she could catch him next year; with a four leaf clover.

Here's Anamarie with her "ticked off" look immediately after discovering her leprechaun got away...
...with the gold too.

Here she is saying "don't take a picture of me MOM! Geez"

The letter from the Leprechaun.

At least, Mr. Rumple said "thank you" :)

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I am thankful for Family~Maddy

I am so happy that I could come to this earth into such a wonderful family! We may be crazy sometimes, (or a lot) but overall we are just dandy! ;) My parents are so amazing and thoughtful of me and others, I am so glad that I can have such wonderful parents, brothers and sisters, and Grandparents that support me and encourage me to do things I never thought I could! My Family will be with me forever, and I am so happy that they are!

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"Watch Mom, I can Karate!!"

We all know Brett is Mr. Tough guy, but he has just learned that he can threaten his older sister (Anamarie) with his sweet karate moves, just to be tough. She believes that he is some overnight Karate Master, and he uses his "arm cross", then his "karate chop", with a "kick" and a keeee-aaaahh, to scare her away; thanks to Jaden Smith. Of course he's not hitting her, but he threatens her from a distance, which still gives him great gratification.

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---> We're Gonna Catch a Leprechaun!!

After I picked up Anamarie from school today, she kept telling me how she wanted to make a leprechaun trap. So, with a little imagination, and lots of crafts, we made the perfect trap. Anamarie and I decided to get real gold dollars so that we would surely catch him. Anamarie made the glitter walkway, the green ladder, and the "FREE GOLD" sign, and I just helped her put it all together. The trick to the trap is once he steps on the top he will fall right in, but Anamarie wanted to make sure he landed on something soft, so she put lots of padding in the bottom of the box. So what's up with the long green polka dot ribbon, you ask?? Well, we're gonna make him work for his gold by climbing a 4 foot ribbon. She knows she's gonna catch him, so we will see what we find in the box tomorrow morning ;)

 

Wanna see if she caught the Leprechaun? Click here >>

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I am thankful for Personal Progress! ~Maddy

From the Day I turned 12 I have been working on this wonderful book! It is for the young youth girls to grow closer and become more Christ like, and I must say It takes a long time! But every time i finish each value experience, or project I feel so great inside! I am so grateful for my leaders and parents for supporting me in everything! If it weren't for them I wouldn't have very much desire to do It! Thanks guys! Love ya

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Brett Can Make His Bed!

It's fascinating how quickly Brett learns how to do something. I showed him how to make his bed, and the next morning he jumped out of bed and made it all my his little self, and then came to show me how smart he was.

Here he is sitting on his "made by Brett" bed saying "ta-daaa"

now he's saying "oh ya, I'm awesome!" I hear these words about 20 times a day. His confidence is amazing!!

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