Round-up

Round-up of pictures...

Monkey see, monkey do...

I don't know what caption could truly do this picture of Vera justice.

This is clearly a case of too many big sisters.

A few nuggets heard (and in some cases seen) around the Spicer home recently:

*The four 'big' kids are memorizing James. We recently got to the end of James 2 and they were to recite it to me. They knew the verses, but had a tougher time getting them in order. One particular child was the first to say it to me and I was so proud! Later that evening, however, as this child was piling on my bed I noticed marker all over said child's feet. When I asked what had happened, I got a deer-in-the-headlights look and then I knew....said child had written the first letter of each paragraph on said child's feet! After I stopped laughing my head off, all I could think of was this verse:

Psalm 51: Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

Obviously, God ONLY desire truth in the inner parts but is a bit more flexible about, say, the skin.


*My dad is taking Luke to the Texas Rangers' spring training later this month in Surprise, AZ. As I was exclaiming to Luke about how fortunate he is to get this fun opportunity, he replied:

Mom, PopPop had to live through you and Aunt Paige caring nothing about sports for all those years. He's waited his whole life for me.

*I've been making a more concerted effort to expand my very limited repertoire of Chinese recipes this past year, and the results have been mostly positive. I didn't realize how positive until this weekend, however. I tried to make dumplings for the first time ever and Song was over the moon excited. Dumpling-making for such a large crowd is a time-consuming event and is often reserved for Chinese New Year celebrations. After I was done I said that I felt like a real Chinese mom for having made them, to which Song sweetly said, "You are a real Chinese mom. You have Chinese children." (I've said this all along to myself, but I appreciated her affirmation.)


*Last week, Ella climbed to the top of our front stairs...on the outside of the railing! Anna found her, put her arms through the railing to grab hold of her, then started yelling for help! I could immediately tell that this was a very serious yell and was able to run up and pull Ella over the railing to safety. Breathe out. I was so proud of Anna for safely grabbing her and not trying to pull her over the rails (Anna isn't tall enough to do that.) It's always nice to have so many little eyes and ears looking over the little kids, but nicer still to know that God was watching and kept Ella from falling.


*Dean is still doing pretty well in transitioning to life in a large family. He's had some really pouty times, but has also been very open to receiving affection and it generally sets him back on a happier course. He is still having a hard time understanding that he is only 4 years old and doesn't get to do what the big kids do, but I suppose he'll either figure it out or will actually be old enough to do it, too.