Do You Know a Yelta?

I have two yelta's in my family.

What is a yelta, you ask?

Someone whose regular speaking voice is extra loud, almost like they are shouting.  

My sister Meridith came up with this phrase by combining the words "yelling" and "talking."

I've noticed lately that Sawyer has become a yelta.  When he was at his pre-Kindergarten screening and did the hearing test, he missed some beeps.  Remember the hearing test where you put on the headphones and raised your hand when you heard the beeps?  That is the test where he missed some.  Our family doctor said she is not concerned though, and she will reassess him in a year.  But I really wonder if that is why he has become a yelta.  Or maybe it is because he has two talkative sisters?

Do you know a yelta, or have one in your family?

Sibling Love

I kept Payton home from school today because of her foot injury.  This morning she was so worried that Sawyer and Sage would have troubles getting to their classroom because she wasn't there to walk them to class like she usually does.  She kept telling me, "Mom, you have to walk them to class.  You're going to have to get out of the car and make sure they get there alright."  

I thought it was so sweet.  What a great big sister, looking out for her younger siblings like that.  

Then later in the afternoon, it came time to pick up Sawyer and Sage from Kindergarten.  They bickered the whole way home. Sage was upset with Sawyer because his friends were calling her and her friends names at recess.  I gave Sawyer a lecture about always sticking up for his sister.  They have so many life lessons to learn...

And then, within the first 5 minutes of being home, Sawyer somehow mysteriously got a sliver in his finger.  He was upset, and guess who was the first one to come to his aid?  Sage.  She ran like a madwoman into the bathroom trying to find a band-aid to put on his finger for him.  They forgot about their spat so fast and went back to being best friends.  I love that Sage immediately sprang into action to take care of her brother.  Before I even knew what was going on, she was already searching frantically for his band-aid.  

I love the bond that siblings have.  I'm so grateful that my children look after one another.

I have 3 younger sisters, and I am close with each of them.  Whenever we get together, we have so much fun.  We laugh hard, we tease each other, we swap stories, we share each other's burdens, we share advice.  

Just like my siblings and me, I feel overjoyed that my children have automatic best friends that they will forever share so much love with.  It is a true blessing.  

Gentleness

A word that I have been thinking about lately: Gentleness

This is how the dictionary defines the word gentle...

gen·tle adj.
gen·tler, gen·tlest

1. Considerate or kindly in disposition; amiable and tender
2. Not harsh or severe; mild and soft
3. Easily managed or handled; docile

This is the perfect definition for how I should react when I get upset with my children.  Sometimes it can be so easy to react with anger, so I've been trying to remember to treat them with more gentleness.  If I am reacting with harsh words and raising my voice, I am only teaching them to do that also.  It's a real struggle sometimes, but I believe that the more I work on this, the more peaceful our home will be.

On another note, I came home this afternoon from taking the twins to their dance class and discovered Payton had endured an injury.  She had stepped on a rusty nail.  It went straight through her shoe and into her foot, about an inch.  Danny was taking apart some wood pallets for someone, and she was helping him load up the wood into the back of his truck when it happened.  Thank goodness my mom had stopped by, because she is the one who tended to Payton in her time of distress and pulled the nail out since I wasn't home.  Payton was such a trooper.  I am not good with serious injuries, they make me queasy.  When needed though, my inner Mama Bear will come out and I can take care of business.  Thank goodness I have Danny to balance me out because he doesn't struggle dealing with more serious injuries like that.  With having eleven children, my mother-in-law has so many injury stories, so I like to ask her about them from time to time.  Danny told us tonight that he has stepped on his share of nails during his childhood and they healed right up, so Payton should be back on her feet in no time. But seriously, to think at one point I wanted to be a nurse is just laughable.

Motherhood and Makeup.

I felt inspired to start a blog.  It's been on my mind for awhile now.  I need an outlet to write about my adventures as a wife and a mother.  Today is the perfect day to start...

This morning I was in the bathroom getting ready for church, putting on my makeup.  Sage, my 5 year old daughter, came in and started going through my makeup drawers, asking me what each item was.  She found my bronzer, and was about to put it on her face with her finger.  I told her I would help her put it on with a brush.  Then she asked me if she could put on some of my lip gloss, in which I said yes.  She brushed her lips with some light pink gloss, feeling as pretty as ever, smiling at her reflection in the mirror.  When I started to pick out the earrings I was going to wear, she ran to her room, grabbed a necklace she had been given and asked me to help put it on her.  

Then I started to get emotional.  I thought to myself, she won't be this little forever.  She will someday be a big teenager, who wants her own makeup and her own space to put it on.  Right now, she enjoys the company of her mother, and looks to me as an example.  There will come a day when she will be big and grown, and maybe won't desire the advice of her mother on how to put on makeup.  

I constantly pray to see my children as the Savior sees them.  They are sweet, special spirits that are here on earth to learn and grow.  I am their example.  I am their teacher.  I am their friend, and I love them so much.  I hope I can continue to recognize and cherish these sweet moments that come day to day.