Preparing for the future

Nathan asked me how old you have to be to get married.

I said, "Well, I think the law says you need to be at least 18. That's still too young for people to get married. I expect you to go on a mission, which means you'll be at least 21 or 22 before you can even think about getting married."

Nathan: "Oh! I'm already thinking about marrying Alyssa!" (Alyssa is his 15-year-old cousin, that he has had a crush on for at least four years.)

In fact, I remember a time when Nathan was about 3 or 4. We were leaving Alyssa's house and I asked Nathan to get in his car seat. He refused because he wanted to stand close to the car window where he could see Alyssa. He said, "I just can't stop looking at her!"

Parenting Advice

My children have set up a "Psychiatrist Station" (Lucy/Charlie Brown style). They take turns solving each others' deepest problems. Beth took a turn to be the psychiatrist. She asked me to come tell her my problems.

"What seems to be your problem?"
"Well, whenever I ask my kids to do something, they say 'no.'"
"Hmm. When they say 'no,' you should pinch them with this." *Holds up staple remover.*

I find him entertaining

As Chris pulled some buttermilk biscuits out of the oven, I said, "I don't think those have been in long enough. They look pretty white." Chris said, "They look brown to me."

Nathan piped up and said, "Well, your eyes are brown."

Nathan's logic. I love it. He makes me laugh every single day.

Nathan "Shakespeare" Woods

After watching a show about meerkats, Nathan announced to me that he would like his new nickname to be Shakespeare. I didn't watch the show with him and don't understand the connection. I told him that Shakespeare was the name of a famous writer. "WHAT?! It's a real name? And a real person?"

Nathan's so adorable.

Coincidentally, earlier today Nathan wrote an intriguing tale. I'm not sure it's as tragic as the tales told by his nicknamesake, but it's a start. Enjoy.

"The Guy Asked His Friend a Question" by Nathan

This is how our story starts. So, this guy went over to his friend's house to ask him something. So, this guy got to his friend's house fine. So, the thing that the guy wanted to ask his friend is if he was a prince once. He asked him if he was a prince and he was like, "No."

And then his friend looked around and then he saw a sword. And he looked back at him, then he looked back at the sword, then back at him, and he was like, "Then why do you have a sword?"

And then the guy's friend was like, "Okay. I was once a prince but I retired."

And then the guy's friend was like, "Okay. Listen to what this man has to say."

If you want to be a prince, you should know
That you have to be born by a queen, and so.

The end.

Boys make me smile

Ammon...he's a normal 10-year-old boy. I love it.

He finally picked up a Harry Potter book to read on his own! This is the most exciting thing in the world to me. It's the fourth one and he has been reading constantly. Then all of a sudden, he stopped. He wasn't reading at all for a couple days. At first I thought he just needed a break. Then I started to ask him about it and he avoided my questions, making up strange excuses. I finally got to the root of the problem. He had come to a chapter titled "Yule Ball." He knew Harry was going on his first date with a girl and they would go to a dance. He couldn't stand the idea of reading about that horrible, disgusting, mushy mess.

It took him a few days to work up the courage, but he has now learned how not to treat a girl on a date. (Who says Harry Potter isn't educational?)

Yesterday, during his primary lesson, they studied the temptations of Jesus Christ. As part of the lesson, the teacher asked the children to think about what things they were tempted with and then figure out a plan to resist those specific temptations in the future. Ammon decided he might be tempted to play video games with a "mature" rating. He thought he might one day be tempted to try a "hot drink" (i.e. coffee or tea). And he thinks he will be tempted to not ever get married.

He's figured out a plan to resist the temptations with the video games and the Word of Wisdom, but how will he ever learn not to think girls are disgusting? It's a mystery.

Good luck to him.