Life With Kids Is Funny. . .

My kids do and say the darndest things sometimes! We've had ample opportunity to laugh lately. For example. . .

Emily had to have her arm popped back into place for the third time within this past year. She keeps getting what's called "nursemaid's elbow," which is when a ligament in the arm slips over the head of one of the bones in the joint of the elbow. It hurts quite a bit, and the child cannot use the arm. The first time this happened, I was holding her hand when she dropped suddenly because she didn't want to go upstairs. The second time was two weeks later when Christopher tried to pull her up on the couch. And the third time was last week when Ashley tried to get Emily to come with her and Emily didn't want to. Emily immediately asked me to take her to the doctor because her arm was "broken!" I took Emily to the InstaCare where a nice pediatrician named Dr. Craskell saw her. Dr. Craskell said, "I'm here to see Emily. Are you Emily?" Emily slowly shook her head back and forth. Dr. Craskell then said, "Oh, you're not Emily today? Well, sometimes I don't feel like being a Sarah. Sometimes I think I might be a Betsy. Are you Betsy?" Emily nodded her head up and down. Dr. Craskell responded, "All right--Betsy it is!" Later, Dr. Craskell chuckled as she told me that she thought Emily may have responded that way because if she said she wasn't Emily, she wouldn't have to have the doctor fix her arm! (By the way, the nice doctor also showed me how to fix "nursemaid's elbow" myself so I didn't have to keep paying $25 to have it done!)

This past Friday morning, I went visiting teaching. As I was loading the 3 kids who weren't at school into the van, I noticed that Christopher had (again) put his shoes on without socks. We've spoken to him about this many times before, because that habit makes his feet and shoes smell quite unpleasant. Being in a hurry, I somewhat exasperatedly said, "Tiffer, you're supposed to wear socks with your shoes! That's yucky!" He enthusiatically replied, with a big smile on his face, "I like yucky!"

On Sunday evening, the kids got a kick out of watching the birds in our front yard. There is one bird in particular that seems to like our yard and our Rose of Sharon. Justin says that the
bird likes to use it for his "dinner table." Sometimes he'll show up with peanuts and crack them open, and other times he'll have other things to eat. One of our neighbors, Brother Baldree, says it's a Mountain Blue Jay. It's a pretty bird, and we enjoy watching him. Anyway, the kids watched him eat his "dinner" as a few other birds flew by. The kids were discussing if the bird was male or female, and Christina said the bird was a male because "the dad eats dinner before the mom." We all chuckled, and Justin reminded the kids that the bird was a male because of his bright colors!

Ashley asked if we were going to the grandparents’ homes on Sunday, and I replied that we were going on Monday. Ashley asked which home we were going to, and Christopher piped up, “Are we going to the West’s or the old?” (I guess he knows Grandma and Grandpa Keeler as just Grandma and Grandpa!)

Finally, picture this: It's late Sunday afternoon, and Justin and I have already told Christopher, our child who struggles with getting permission before he does or takes something, that he needs to stay inside the house. He has tried a couple of times to sneak outside. As I am opening some pineapple to go with our Hawaiian Haystacks, I turn around to see, through the kitchen window over the sink, Christopher sneaking, then running, around the side of our house in his Sunday socks. As I begin to grit my teeth and grumble under my breath, the strains of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir waft into the kitchen--". . .Love one another as Jesus loves you, try to show kindness in all that you do. . ."

Life with kids is definitely funny (and a great learning experience, too)!

The West Family Theatre presents. . .

The West Family Theatre is excited to announce the performance of an exciting new play--written, directed, and produced by our resident playwright, Ashley West--Johnny Applerot! Featuring the talents of two fabulous new actors, Christina and Christopher West, Johnny Applerot chronicles the adventures of a boy who has dedicated his life to planting apple seeds. But what will happen when he meets a rotten apple who desperately wants to be useful? Enjoy the show!!