New plans

Out of the blue, Nathan just said to me, "When I grow up, I'm going to be in the army, like Jeff." (Keep in mind, in Nathan's 5 years of life, he has only met Jeff a handful of times and most of those times were not in recent memory.)

Then he said, "Do you want to know why?" I said, "Yes." He said, "So I can fight for freedom for other people."

Thanks for a positive example even from far away, Jeffrey.

Just stopping by...

Tonight we had Family Home Evening at my grandma's house. Grandma lives in a retirement community and the people there come together for something fun on Monday nights. Once or twice a year, Chris performs for this group of people. This was one of those nights. We were there to support and watch. The kids were amazingly well-behaved and Chris sounded quite nice. (But, I almost always think he sounds nice!)

In between two songs, Beth said to me, "Can I say 'hi' to Daddy?" I said, "Sure. Run fast." So she ran up to the front where Chris gave her a quick hug and kiss then started to prepare his next song. Beth came back and said, "Mom, I didn't say 'hi'!" I could see a meltdown coming on, so I said, "Well, go back!" This time I told Chris that Beth was coming to say hi. Beth walked up, stood next to Chris and said, "Hi." Then she came back by me completely satisfied with life.

Beautiful...*cough*...world

On Sunday, we took a beautiful drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon. There wasn't much to do, since we weren't there to ski, so we mostly stayed in the car. It was pleasant and we listened to the first 5 chapters of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which proved a good time for all. I'll just post a couple photos.

Wow, no?

I love the contrast of the blue sky with the white snow.

Pretty cool image of the bright, cheerful sunshine!

Typically, one of my favorite parts of a canyon drive is the beautiful view of the valley on the way home.

This was our view on Sunday:

We live in that. Oh, ick. Please, please let it snow to clean out the air!

Oh, Nathan

As we were coming into the house after church on Sunday, Nathan said, "Mom, can we watch something? Can I choose a movie?"

I was frustrated and said, "Nathan, that's all you ever say to me. You wake up in the morning and ask, 'Can I watch something?' You ask me during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You even asked me at church while I was playing the piano during primary."

Nathan said, "It's not all I ever say to you. I say other things to you. Sometimes I say, 'Can I have a snack?'"

And then tonight I asked Nathan to help me pick up some toys. He said, "Anything for you, Mom." He's a delightful kid.

Howard

A stray cat started hanging around recently. My mom is severely allergic to cats, so he can't stay. My husband is also allergic to animal hair. And on top of all of that, I can't handle the responsibility of pet ownership. We just don't want one. But look at this face:

This little kitty has brought out a sweet, nurturing side in Nathan. Nathan adores the cat and takes good care of it. He could spend all of his time outside playing with it and he would be in heaven. Ammon also loves the cat. Both boys rush outside everytime the cat is visible. It is very cold and snowy right now, but who cares when there is a cat to hold! They have made Howard a nice cardboard home....Howard liked it before the house was buried in snow.

Sarah does not like animals. She is TERRIFIED of almost all animals. She has been since she was a newborn. If the cat comes near her, she screams as if poor little Howard is a wild, ferocious, hungry, little-girl-eating lion. It's ridiculous, but sincere. Sarah doesn't want to be left out of the cat fun, so she stands at the window and shouts out directions to the boys. "Pick up the cat!" "He likes it when you pet him behind his ears!" Sarah doesn't want to be the only one left inside, so she has convinced Beth to also be afraid of cats. Beth has no opinion on the matter. She just plays with her stuffed animals and the cat together with the window in between.

Naming the cat has been quite an issue. I call him Howard because that is the name Nathan gave him first. Nathan loves him most, so we should just let it be. But not everyone agrees. The arguing over the name has been loud and passionate. We alternately call him Spots, Furry, Cheeto, or any of another number of cat names. Personally, I'm sticking with Howard. Not that he needs a name, because he's not our cat and we're not keeping him.