Valentine poem from Emma . . .

This is the poem that Emma learned at school and memorized to recite to Eric and I on Valentine's Day.  Love, love, loved it!  She was smiling so wide she could barely get all the words out.
  

I love you more than applesauce,

than peaches and a plum,

than chocolate hearts and cherry tarts

and berry bubblegum.

I love you more than lemonade

and seven-layer cakes,

than lollipops and candy drops

and thick vanilla shakes.

I love you more than marzipan,

than marmalade on toast,

oh I love pies of any size,

but I love YOU the most.

Emma must love us a whole lot, because that child lives to go to the candy store with Grammy or out to her favorite frozen yogurt place.  If given the choice between sweet treats or money, she'd take the sweets.  Once she figures out she can use the money to buy sweets, I'll have to change my bribery tactics!

Driveway moments . . .

I was on my way to pick Emma up from a church activity tonight when I started listening to NPR.  It seems I have no time at home to ever listen to it these days, so I take full advantage when on the road.  My favorite program, Fresh Air, was on and the book critic was reviewing a new novel.  The book she was discussing is called I Think I Love You, by Allison Pearson.  I guess the author wrote a previous book that met with much success and this is her second to hit the shelves.  The new novel is about a 13-year old girl living in Wales in 1974 who has a crush on David Cassidy, you know the one, from Partridge Family fame.  Story sounds a bit lame, but it was the following quote from the book that made me put the truck in park, turn the lights off and listen for the few minutes I had before I went in to find Emma.

"You chose the kind of friends you wanted because you hoped you could be like them and not you. To improve your image, you made yourself more stupid and less kind. As the months passed, the trade-off for belonging started to feel too great. The shutting down of some vital part of yourself, just so you [would] ... not have to sit on your own at lunch. ... Now among friends, you were often lonelier than you had been before."




With junior high and Katy on my mind this week, this quote just really stood out.  It sums up what I want her to know about choosing friends in the coming years.  Staying true to yourself is the best way to make a difference in this wildly compromised world we live in!  Katy will be a leader, not a follower, and for that I am grateful.  

 A kind of blurry shot taken on 7th-grade orientation night a few weeks ago.  Those are very fluffy earmuffs Katy is sporting!  Does she look as nervous as she was?  She was fine until we parked the car in front of the school . . . Once inside and settled in the gym, Katy looked around and started seeing people she knew--kids from her GATE class that attended other schools, two girls from the Ballet Idaho days,  her barn pal Lily and finally the familiar faces from the 6th grade class at Adams.


It was an exciting night!  We learned about the school sponsored clubs, met teachers, checked out classrooms, tasted warm chocolate chip cookies baked by the Young Living/Home Ec instructor, and even got a quick, funny lesson about appropriate clothing for junior high.  I think Katy left the building with more confidence than when she entered it.  Over the next few days, she asked Eric and I a lot of questions about our junior high experiences.  What electives did we take?  Did we get involved in student council?  What do you have to do to be class president?  When can I take Spanish? The questions just kept coming.  I could hear the wheels turning in that girl's brain.  She was making a plan, setting goals and preparing herself for that whirlwind we call junior high!  
I can't wait to see how it all turns out!


   

Love is in the air . . .

xoxoxoxo Two of my favorite valentines xoxoxoxo


Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!
We love and miss you all.
Eric, Rhonda, Katy & Emma