Saturday, May 23, 2009

Silver Falls Weekend

We spent last weekend with my family at Silver Falls. It was too much fun. I didn't want to go home, and neither did Lizzy! She loved staying in the little "house" (cabin) and couldn't get enough of all her aunties.

South Falls
Hiking with Daddy (She was a little out of it.)

Best friends!


Helping Amy pack up the car:

Friday, May 22, 2009

Rainy Day!

The weather has been gorgeous this week, but a couple of weeks ago we had a lot of rain. We decided to take advantage of that and went on a family puddle jumping walk. We got Lizzy all decked out in her rain gear, complete with galoshes, and let her splash away. She was a little uncertain at first, but warmed up to the idea quickly. We all had such a blast.




Because of all the floating wood chips, you can't really tell, but this water was surprisingly deep.




We all ended up soaked. It was so worth it! Best Family Home Evening ever!

All tuckered out after a good play:

Somebody asked me recently what it means to have a "broken heart and a contrite spirit." I didn't have a great answer. I sort of get it, but not really.
I've been really grumpy recently, feeling impatient and snappish. I was especially grumpy this morning, because I had put off doing the dishes for awhile, and had managed to accumulate a huge mess in the kitchen. Lizzy had not slept as long as I thought she needed to, and was consequently a little whiny. I was starting to find her irritating. As I was trying to sort things out in the kitchen she pushed a chair up behind me, climbed up onto it, and reached for a pair of scissors that were on the counter. Annoyed as much as I was concerned, I snatched them from her, and in the process I managed to smack her in the head with my elbow. She rubbed her now sore eye and clung to me and said in a small voice, "I help Mommy." My heart broke, and I realized I had not even been trying to be kind to my little girl. All she wanted was to spend time with me and help me, and I was acting like she was in my way. So we pulled her chair up to the sink and I gave her a sponge. She had a great time helping me wash dishes, and I did not mind how much water she splashed on the floor (it needed mopped anyway). I realized that it's actually not hard to be kind to someone you love so much if you remember to do it. My mood also improved a ton, and now I would say I'm having a great day. Lizzy is such a fun person and taking the time to listen and pay attention to her brings me a lot of happiness. She constantly makes me laugh. I'm grateful for life lessons taught by a 20-month-old.