Lydia's Literary Masterpiece: The Princess Who Wouldn't Get Married

As I mentioned in Saturday's post, Lydia spent part of the day working on a book that she made for her friend, Jenna.

The Princess Who Wouldn't Get Married

 

Ouns A Pon a time there was a princess who wouldn't  get married.   Her name was Janne.  She lived in a tawr (tower).  She didn't like it at all.

Oun (one) day she came a pon (upon)  a prince.  She loved the prince so much that she cud (could) kiss him.

{I love that she had to label the prince.}

Then a dragin came. Aan ete (And ate) the prince.

{I love the prince inside the dragon's stomach.}

But the princess wouldn't give up and she fawnd (found)...a Prince!  And thay livd happule evere aftr.

{Lydia said this is a picture of their wedding.}

Saturday Relaxation

After doing a little Black Friday shopping, we settled in for another relaxing day on Saturday.  David did a little more shopping...

Rebekah played Scrabble Slam with Grandma...

And Lydia decided to write a book...

It's called "The Princess Who Wouldn't Get Married."  I'll post the full story a little later.

After some afternoon naps, we settled in to watch the latest Narnia movie: Prince Caspian.  I was so proud of the girls for understanding all the symbolism in the movie.

We hadn't gotten any good family shots, so after the movie, we gathered around GG for some pictures.

4 generations

After GG went home, the girls got in their PJ's and we played another game of Jenga!!

Bekah thinking through her next move...

David being very careful...

And Mom knocking the whole thing down.  Ha ha!

The end to another really relaxing day!

Thanksgiving games and entertainment

Thanksgiving was a low-key affair.  I didn't even take that many photos.  The family gathered around and ate our big Thanksgiving meal...and then we gathered around and played the girls' new game, Jenga.

The girls were amazingly good.

Everyone watched in anticipation as Bekah took her turn.  Even Sam was up on the couch watching.

Here, Bekah is getting a little worked up...afraid that Mom is going to knock over the tower.

And Lydia is giving Jack a thumbs up for a good move...

...and then a sly look when he joked that she'd knock over the tower...

...which she promptly did!

It was awesome!!

So round after round we played...

Josh, Jason's brother who was visiting, tried his hand at it too, while Lydia enjoyed her root beer.

Lydia seems to be REALLY enjoying her root beer.  I guess it's the lack of carbonated beverages at our house.

Then it was Lydia's turn again.  Very steady hands this time!!

Here are a couple of videos of the fun.

After Jenga, Lydia had a wardrobe change and decided to entertain us with her recorder skills.

Not to be outdone, Bekah demonstrated her recorder skills as well. 

Bekah's in "Recorder Karate" in school.  She's learning songs on the recorder, and for each song, she earns a "karate belt" that goes on her recorder.  Right now, she's learning "Hot Cross Buns" for her white belt.

See?  I told you.  Very low key holiday!  But truly relaxing and enjoyable.

They made their own Picasso

Tour pranks

On the last show of a tour, there are usually a few pranks.

And this tour was no exception.  David posted some pics of some tour pranks from the Sanctus Real/Leeland/The Afters tour and I wanted to share:

Here, Sanctus decided to rain down some of their confetti on Leeland.

And since they were in Arkansas for their last show, they thought they'd show some love for Razorback country and Leeland wore hog noses through their whole set. 

The Afters played their entire set without realizing that Sanctus Real had plastered a Justin Bieber poster on the front of their piano.

I have to admit, this one is my favorite.

And during one of the songs, a band mate flew his toy helicopter out over the band and the crowd with a video camera attached to it.  (If I can figure out how to grab the code for the video, I'll post it.)

Lydia's Mod Squad Style

The girls and I were checking out the selection at Goodwill when Lydia spied this little number.

"Mommy, do you like this dress?"

"No, I don't."

A look of utter shock crossed her face.  She absolutely loved it!!  Why didn't I absolutely love it?

So I took a look at the size and the price, and put it in my cart to let her try it on.

I mean, just look how happy she is... 

...and it only cost me $3.50!

Wellcome home Daddy!

While I was reading to the girls tonight, Lydia decided to make a "welcome home" card for David.

As she was adding the finishing touches to the inside of the card, I said,

"You really love your daddy, don't you?" 

She nodded and kept coloring.

Then I asked,

"What is it about Daddy that you love the most?"

Without missing a beat, she said,

"His shocking looks."

Then she added,

"Daddy is very handsome."

So much like her father...

I had just enjoyed a long conversation with David on the phone.

While I was busy with that, the girls were occupying themselves.  I could hear them giggling and roughhousing.  They finally put on a movie.

When I got off the phone, I went into the kitchen and found this.

A broken thermometer.  (Click to enlarge it to see the cracked screen.)

I called Lydia into the living room and asked her if there was anything she needed to tell me.  She was honest and told me that she broke the thermometer.

So I asked her, "How did you break it?"

Her reply?

"I put it in the microwave."

GASP!  WHAT?

The MICROWAVE!

I think the panic that spread across my face at what could have happened completely registered with Lydia.

I dealt with the situation and sat the girls down and explained a few things about the microwave and metal.  They completely understood the disaster we avoided this afternoon.

When I called David and told him what she'd done, he laughed.

He laughed.

Because this is SO HIM AS A CHILD!!

Because he thinks her reason is genius:

She wanted to know how high the temperature would get on the thermometer in the microwave!

If only we had Lydia's money troubles

On our shopping trip to Target to buy things for the Operation Christmas Child boxes, Lydia asked if she could buy some AAA batteries for one of her toys. 

David told her that was fine, but that she would owe Mommy $6 from her piggy bank when she got home.  She agreed and we bought the batteries.

When we got home, Lydia opened her piggy bank and said, "I don't have six dollars!"

David got onto her and said, "Lydia, if you didn't have the money, you shouldn't have had Mommy and Daddy buy you something.  You still owe Mommy and Daddy $6."

Then Lydia said, "Well, I don't have six dollars.  I have ten dollars and I have twenty dollars, but I don't have six dollars!"

A laughing David said, "Oh, great!"

Ha ha!  So she didn't have exactly six dollars.  That girl is too funny!

David's Temperament Profile

I took a temperament test some time ago and convinced David to take the same.  I found the results of David today and wanted to share them.  I think it is so dead on!

He is an Idealist.


Idealists are enthusiastic, they trust their intuition, yearn for romance, seek their true self, prize meaningful relationships, and dream of attaining wisdom.


Idealists pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic.


Idealists tend to be giving, trusting, spiritual, and they are focused on personal journeys and human potentials.


Idealists make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.


Idealists™, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self--always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.


Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.


Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.


Idealists are rare, making up no more than 25 to 30 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.


The type of Idealist that David is - Teacher. I find it interesting that the "Provider Guardian" (my type) is mentioned here as well:


The Idealists called Teachers are abstract in their thought and speech, cooperative in their style of achieving goals, and directive and extraverted in their interpersonal relations. Learning in the young has to be beckoned forth, teased out from its hiding place, or, as suggested by the word "education," it has to be "educed." by an individual with educative capabilities. Such a one is the eNFj, thus rightly called the educative mentor or Teacher for short. The Teacher is especially capable of educing or calling forth those inner potentials each learner possesses. Even as children the Teachers may attract a gathering of other children ready to follow their lead in play or work. And they lead without seeming to do so.


Teachers expect the very best of those around them, and this expectation, usually expressed as enthusiastic encouragement, motivates action in others and the desire to live up to their expectations. Teachers have the charming characteristic of taking for granted that their expectations will be met, their implicit commands obeyed, never doubting that people will want to do what they suggest. And, more often than not, people do, because this type has extraordinary charisma.


The Teachers are found in no more than 2 or 3 percent of the population. They like to have things settled and arranged. They prefer to plan both work and social engagements ahead of time and tend to be absolutely reliable in honoring these commitments. At the same time, Teachers are very much at home in complex situations which require the juggling of much data with little pre-planning. An experienced Teacher group leader can dream up, effortlessly, and almost endlessly, activities for groups to engage in, and stimulating roles for members of the group to play. In some Teachers, inspired by the responsiveness of their students or followers, this can amount to genius which other types find hard to emulate. Such ability to preside without planning reminds us somewhat of a Provider, but the latter acts more as a master of ceremonies than as a leader of groups. Providers are natural hosts and hostesses, making sure that each guest is well looked after at social gatherings, or that the right things are expressed on traditional occasions, such as weddings, funerals, graduations, and the like. In much the same way, Teachers value harmonious human relations about all else, can handle people with charm and concern, and are usually popular wherever they are. But Teachers are not so much social as educational leaders, interested primarily in the personal growth and development of others, and less in attending to their social needs.

Operation Christmas Child

We asked the girls what kind of project they wanted to do to help others for Christmas this year.

They said they wanted to do something for kids in other countries.  Their first thought was that they could send some of the Halloween candy to children in Haiti.  Then David and I suggested Operation Christmas Child.  Once we explained it, the girls were thrilled with the idea and jumped in with both feet.

In case you aren't familiar, Operation Christmas Child is a ministry where people give by packing shoeboxes with fun gifts for children in needy countries.  Samaritan's Purse then ships the packages all over the world  and distributes them based on the label we place on top, indicating if the gift is for a boy or girl, and the child's age.

Here's Lydia with all the goodies she chose for her little girl.

She's got stuffed animals, markers, journal, slinky, candy, tattoos, lipgloss, a doll, toothbrush/toothpaste, hairbrush, a ring and a bouncy ball.

Here's Bekah with her box. 

She's got a teddy bear, a purse, a mini-backpack, some pens, a journal, lipgloss, socks, candy, hair clips, a doll, a hairbrush, bouncy ball, toothbrush/toothpaste, and some temporary tattoos. 

The girls had so much fun picking out items for the little girls.  We totally raided the dollar bin at Target!  =)

And here are their boxes, all wrapped and ready to go! 

Seasonal artwork

Rebekah painted this water color of Indian corn in art class, and I promised I would scan it in and share it...since we aren't able to keep all of the pieces of art the girls create.

This is a fun way to save the art and share it.

Madly in Love

Yesterday, during lunch, Rebekah told me about a little boy she likes in her class.  She said she couldn't keep herself from looking at him all the time.

Lydia said, "Just like I can't help looking at Daddy?"

Then she added, "I'm madly in love with that guy!"