Fingers

Fingers. They come in all shapes and sizes and colors. Fingers do lots of wonderful things. My mother' fingers play the piano and organ and type about 100 words per minute. My father-in-law's fingers also play the piano and organ. My mother-in-law's fingers cook and journal and serve in the church. My father's fingers garden and write wonderful letters to my children.

My husbands fingers do it all. His hands are strong and masculine and skilled and willing to help. My hands and fingers also do it all (except for pump gas and take out the trash). Fingers are important parts of our bodies and it would be difficult to live without them.

Believe it or not, three of my five children were born with chocolate-coated fingers. Oh, yes. It's true. Well, it must be. Why else would they suck on their fingers as if they were the most delicious thing they'd ever tasted?

Dallin never sucked his fingers. Neither did Mimi. Elijah sucked his fingers until he was 2 1/2 years old.

As you can see, Felicity is still a big fan of her fingers.

And she doesn't just suck on them.

The first couple months of Bree's life, she was soothed by a binky.

The binky days were nice while they lasted.

Or some time in her baby swing.

The days Bree was content in her baby swing were nice, too. But they are just about over.

Or someone's loving arms.

Shelly loves Bree. She really loves to hold and cuddle and kiss her.

Bree falls asleep on her daddy's shoulder almost every night.

I remember when Bree was happy to have me hold her all the time, and I was happy to oblige her.

But lately, Bree has joined Felicity and Elijah in the finger-sucking fan club.

"Who me?" says Bree. "I don't suck my fingers!"

"Bet me!" says Mommy. "Here's the proof!"

Don't her fingers look yummy?

And talented! She sometimes gets her index finger up inside her nose while sucking the others!

Most of the time, if Bree is sleeping, she's got her fingers in her mouth. Isn't she beautiful? Is there anything more peaceful than a sleeping baby?

Occasionally, Bree will suck on the fingers of anyone who happens to be holding her at the time.

Case in point! Poor Daddy!

I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. I sucked my thumb until I was nearly 10 years old. It took my parents dangling something I really wanted in front of my nose (getting my ears pierced like all my girlfriends) to get me to stop. Admittedly, I might still do it to this day if it wouldn't ruin my teeth and my social life. Yeah, I liked it that much.

Elijah no longer sucks his fingers and I hope that someday I won't have to dangle something they really want in front of their noses to get them to stop. However, what goes around, comes around...

Just for fun, Dallin and Elijah posed for some pictures showing some of the many things their fingers can do:

Like make funny faces.

Like do the "Mr Spock".

Like making shadow puppet dog.

Like popping making a popping sound from inside the cheek.

Like supporting your body for a headstand.

Fingers do amazing things.

Love, Cara

Pretty Princesses

Yesterday, Felicity's best friend Brynna spent the day at our house. Not five minutes after Brynna arrived, she and Felicity both shed their day clothes and put on princess dress-up dresses. That was at 8:45a.m. The girls wore their princess dress-up dresses until Brynna went home just shy of 5:00p.m. Needless to say, they had a good time together. These are just some of the many things pretty princesses Felicity and Brynna do:


Pretty princesses know how to accessorize with handbags.

Pretty princesses know how to "strike a pose".

Pretty princesses are proud of their baby bumps.

Pretty princesses greatly anticipate impending motherhood.

Pretty princesses see the joy in giving birth.

Pretty princesses hug and kiss their babies.

Pretty princesses happilly swing their babies, even though it's often a 30 minute commitment.

Pretty princesses take good care of their young, making sure they get their beautyrest.

Pretty princesses always take important phone calls.

Pretty princesses appreciate homemade cookies.

Pretty princesses often engage in "Ring Around The Rosy".

Big pretty princesses are protective of little pretty princesses.

Pretty princesses love babies. Especially real ones. Smoochy, smoochy, Bree!

Occasionally pretty princesses share their riding privileges with their baby sister.

Unfortunately sometimes pretty princesses get hurt and it becomes necessary to administer first aid.

Pretty princesses enjoy resting on their laurels and riding in style while someone else does the work.

Pretty princesses are pretty cute, wouldn't you say? I'm happy I've been blessed with three pretty princesses, and grateful they have friends who are, too.

Love, Cara (former pretty princess)

Measuring Up

Tonight Richard came home from work with a new jacket, compliments of his employer, Mountain Valley Health Care and Hospice. As soon as he showed it to the kids, they wanted to try it on. Especially Felicity.

That Felicity wanted to wear something that belongs to her daddy is no surprise to us. She adores Richard and wants to be close to him. Of all the kids, Felicity most looks forward to Richard coming home from work at night. She misses him so much during the day that it's quite normal for her to ask a dozen times each day, "Can we call Daddy?" I do my best to oblige her, when I am fairly sure it's a good time for Richard. Today she took matters into her own hands by climbing up on the kitchen desk, turning on the phone, and dialing random numbers, hoping that Daddy would answer. Pretty cute.

So here she is, modeling her daddy's new jacket. Richard teased Felicity that it's a bit small for her. Richard is nothing if not silly.



Felicity loves her daddy THIS MUCH!!!


Can you believe the shameless advertising? Disgusting!


Elijah decided it would be fun to get in the jacket with Felicity.

It warms my heart to know that my children love their daddy and want to be near him, even if it means wearing his clothes. As a little girl I enjoyed wearing my daddy's shirts to bed and it makes me smile to see my own children do the same. Pretty cute.

Love, Cara

Boy Meets Wall

Temper, temper! Not long ago Dallin was sent to the corner, and he was not happy about it. This is what happens when Dallin stands in the corner too long. Boy meets wall. Heel meets drywall.


Richard was not happy--to say the least--to come home to a hole in the wall. Literally. He has worked in what one might term a "hole in the wall" before and has been grateful to come home to a clean, tidy house. Needless to say, he was just as upset as I was over the damage our home suffered. So upset, in fact, that he asked Dallin to pay for the repair of the wall. It took him a few weeks and a lot of lawn mowing, but Dallin earned enough money to pay for the supplies necessary to right his wrong. Then Richard fixed it.

First, Richard had to cut a hole bigger than the damage to allow for a scrap piece of wood to be inserted in the wall.

The scrap of drywall now could be placed and secured to the scrap piece of wood, to cover the hole.

The edges of the drywall insert were covered with special tape to cover the seams.

Next, Richard had to cover the seams with multiple layers of drywall mud to smooth out the hole.

After sanding the patch, the spot was ready for a fresh coat of wall texture and paint.

Now that the wall has been repainted, the damage is undetectable. How grateful I am that my husband is such a good handyman. His skills and willingness to fix things has saved us a lot of money.

It was a tough lesson for us to teach, and a difficult lesson for Dallin to learn, but I'm pretty sure that the next time Dallin loses his temper, he won't damage anything.

Love, Cara

It's Written All Over Her Face

Who ate all the cherries? Well, it's written all over her face!


And if you ask me, she doesn't appear to be the least bit sorry. In fact, she looks rather proud of herself.


When my children and I pack lunches and spend the day at the park, I always pack myself a box of raspberries. They are my favorite fruit, and often substitute for my treat of the day.


Who ate all of Mommy's raspberries? Again, Felicity isn't embarrassed to have been caught red-handed. Or rather red-faced! "Here's the empty container, Mom! Those raspberries were great!"


In the summertime, our family enjoys fresh fruits, even at dinnertime with our salads and hot vegetables. Felicity loves oranges, and these pictures may tell you one reason why...


Oranges? Well, she can't get enough of them. Yes, it may seem as though I am complaining that I can't keep fruit around my house. But the truth is that I'm delighted my Felicity loves fresh fruit so much. After all it's good for her, and not all children so willingly eat it, let alone ask for it like she does. Along with a love of the gospel and a love of reading, Richard and I seem to have also passed down a love of fruits and vegetables to our children. Hey, there are a lot of worse things we could have passed down to them!

Love, Cara