A Child's Prayer

I was sitting here at the computer, checking my e-mail, and I looked over and saw the sweetest thing. Arianna was kneeling on the floor, saying a prayer all by herself. I quietly got Jeremy's attention so he could see, too.
When she finished her prayer, we asked her what she was praying about, and she told us she was asking Heavenly Father to help her feel better (she was feeling kind of sensitive and over-emotional). We told her we were happy to see her praying, and that it was a great thing to do when you're not feeling good.
Then she climbed up on Jeremy's lap and asked him if he would say a prayer for her, too. He started folding his arms to say one, and she said, "No, not like that... With your hands on my head.", and she took his hands and put them on her head, "So I will feel better." Jeremy proceeded to give her a Father's Blessing.
What a sweet moment!

Green Bean Telephone

Tonight during dinner, Arianna's imagination was going full-speed. First there was something about Rainbow Brite being inside of her green bean, and then she started pretending a green bean was a phone. She shoved it right up against her ear, and had some long conversations (mostly with Winnie the Pooh and Rainbow Brite). Messy, yes, but oh so fun! Kids are awesome! Now time to go get her bath started... :)

Meet Ike - May 2009

In May Joanne adopted this awesome tortoise. She named him Ikaika, or "Ike" for short. He's a really neat little guy. We even had the pleasure of having him stay at our house for a week while Joanne went out of town during the summer. It was cool seeing what a strong personality he has, and watching him change his behavior toward us as he got to be more comfortable with us. The only not fun part was when I was feeding him one time, and he misjudged the distance to the carrot I was holding, and latched on to my finger instead. Ouch! Tortoises don't have teeth, but man that beak of his is really sharp! (I had a nice blood blister to prove it.) Poor Ike was just as startled as I was, since he hung on to my finger as it (of it's own accord, mind you) tried to escape his clutches, and he thus was sent sliding about a foot across the kitchen floor.

That was a while ago, though, and we have since both recovered from the incident (thankfully he wasn't hurt or traumatized by his ride across the kitchen floor). :) And, I still say he's a very cool little dude. (I just don't offer him any SMALL carrot pieces anymore.)

For the longest time after our "tortoise-sitting" week, Arianna would ask Joanne "Where's Ike?" or "Do you have Ike with you?" anytime she came over. We haven't seen him in a while...maybe we'll have to make a visit to him one of these days soon. :)

Arianna Quote

Tonight we went out shopping as a family, and while we were driving we passed the City of Westland buildings, where they have a big display of Christmas lights and decorations. We pointed them out to Arianna, and she got really excited, and said, "Wow, that's really fun! I want to have a big huge party there someday!" :)

Arianna's Little Friends

I posted the other day about the awesome friends Arianna has. Well, I thought maybe I should post something now about the friends she plays with EVERY day...

I love watching her and the stories and scenarios she comes up with while playing with her "friends". Her imagination blows me away - I didn't know she would have such complex interactions with her toys at this age!!

(Notice the apple in the picture above? After she had all of the little friends gathered around the table, she went digging around in the box of Christmas decorations we brought upstairs last night, because she apparently remembered having seen this little apple. A perfect little snack for her friends! She informed me that they were having a party, incase you were curious.)

Rainbow Brite

A couple of weeks ago, I introduced Arianna to the magical world of Rainbow Brite. I looked it up on youtube and found "The Beginning of Rainbowland" (divided into like four segments). It was actually really fun watching it with her, and she loved it! I used to LOVE Rainbow Brite when I was a little girl!

Do these images bring back the memories

for you like they do for me?

So, while looking for some images to include here, I discovered that Hallmark has released a NEW Rainbow Brite. Seriously??

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this. I don't know if they're just producing merchandise, or if there's going to be some kind of show, too... (they have a little video clip on the website here.) I guess if the message is still focused around spreading color and happiness, it'll be better than a bunch of other shows that are out there now, right?? Still, some of me feels a little bothered by the modernization and tween-appealing look... Arianna and I will stick with the classic.

Anyway, I intended to write a small post about how it was fun to introduce Arianna to Rainbow Brite. I don't know what this has turned into, but I have the feeling it's kind of lame and at least slightly embarrassing.

Mushu

Yesterday Joanne came to visit, and brought Mushu along with her! Mushu is the sweet little kitty she found in September. She was out running in her neighborhood and heard a kitten crying, and found a little ball of fluff, all alone. The neighbors said he'd been out there crying all morning. Poor little guy! Being the awesome person she is, Joanne brought him home and became his mama. He had only barely opened his eyes, and couldn't push up onto his legs yet (just creeped along), so we (and the Vet) estimated he was about 3 weeks old. Joanne (and Lesley, her mom) taught him how to drink kitty formula from a bottle, and did all the things for him that a mommy cat would.

Mushu the day after Joanne adopted him:

See how tiny he was?

Now he's about 10 weeks old:

He's a really sweet little kitty. Yesterday was the first time we'd seen him since he was about 5 weeks old. He's grown so much!! Arianna had fun playing with him (even though we had to keep reminding her to be gentle). Maya was very excited to see him again, and wanted ever so much to play with him, but Mushu was a little too scared. By the end of the visit, though, he did warm up to the point that Joanne could sit right next to Maya with Mushu in her arms. Who knows? Maybe they'll be really good friends in the future (I'm sure Maya would love that!).

Thanks, Joanne, for sharing sweet Mushu with us!