hadley k merit shay

Janeen says the NICE THINGS

2011-10-29T08:45:00.000-06:00

So I have a friend named Janeen.. Sometimes I think about her and then it just makes me smile and I want to be like her alot. She is always nice no matter what. Sometimes when I am at school and I answer a question wrong, some kids laugh at me and then I kinda look down and feel sorta creepy for a minute until I make myself think it out. It's ok not to know everything all the time and it's ok not to always know what the capital of Arkansas is...it will still be there, and I can learn it better for next time, so I quit looking down at my desk and feel okey dokey fine again. Little Rock, Little Rock, Little Rock. (I can remember it now because when I think about it...Noah's Ark rocked a little back and forth on the water and now I won't ever forget about Little Rock, Arkansas.) So right there I learned two things: #1 Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas and #2 I won't ever laugh at anyone who forgets a state capital for a minute or other stuff.

I think there are lots of times when other people make us feel sorta sad inside. Some kids make fun of other people so they will feel all super duper better than ever or something...but it doesn't work. One day, Margaret told me that her clothes are always in fashion and she looked right at my skirt and that made me think that maybe I wasn't exactly in fashion right then. At recess, I saw Kyle shared his candy bar with Neal W. but he told Steve that there wasn't enough for him. What? Candy bars can be broken in three pieces or twenty three pieces! Even if you only get one tiny peanut it is better than lying or making someone feel bad, but you'd probably get a bit of chocolate too. Some kids always have to be the best, the first, win at everything, get all the attention, be faster, better, more beautiful, answer everything, and put other kids down so they will feel UP. Oh Brother! All of that is super duper sad, bad, mad, and silly, hilly, billy.

But Janeen always says the nice things and she always makes people feel happy and she even wrote me a note and told me that she likes how I do things. I want to be like that. She is the best kind of people because she's fun to be with and she makes you feel special and stuff even when you live far away. I read her note over and over. She plays the piano and plans things out and keeps her room perfect too. But the best part is: Her heart has room for everybody.

That must be the SECRET PEOPLE RULE. Be NICE TO EVERYONE! It's pretty hard sometimes. Like when I am home and my brother bugs me. But my Mom said that the scriptures say: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Them Do Unto YOU. I will try I guess. But he better not bug me today! And...he better not ignore me. And...he better not say mean things to me...And he better not hide the cookies again...OR eat all of the potatoes at dinner...OR always get the remote...OR make weird noises and stuff.

Do you ever wonder why Heavenly Father grows everything...even the weeds. The Sun and Rain fall on the prettiest flowers and on the way ugliest weeds.

He made up the People Rule. I will try it. I want to be NICE to everyone and write notes to people like Janeen does. It would be so much easier if I didn't live in my house with my b-r-o-t-h-e-r...but it will give me lots of practice and then everything else will be easy peasy pudding n' pie!

Ok...Remember... Little Rock, Little Rock, Little Rock...don't throw a rock...then you REALLY ROCK!

NICE! I can remember that!

PS Thank you for being so nice Janeen!

Points aren't the only things that Count!

2010-08-09T10:45:00.000-06:00

When Ms. Clay told us to choose kickball teams at recess...I ran out those doors and to home base as fast as I could because I knew exactly who I wanted to have on my team. First, Jaden... because he can kick harder than anybody in our whole school and he never kicks fly-balls. He kicks low and fast. So fast that even if you could see the ball, you can't catch it in time. Yeah, and for sure we need Madison because she is the best at catching the close-up flyballs. She has no fear and she just reaches right out and grabs those balls no matter how high they go, no matter how long it takes them to come down. Luci just has to be on my team because she is my best friend and we are always on the same team.

"Jaden!" "Madison!" I yelled. "Jaden!" "Madison!" and my hands waved frantically to tell them to come over my team. "Luci, help me yell their names! We have to have them on our team...we have to!"
Well, then Ms. Clay came and told Ryan and Misha to be the captains. They could take turns choosing their teams. I know that Ryan can run fast...but he never listens to the girls and so I squished over by Misha and started to whisper as loud as I could: "Misha, choose Jaden!" And right then- she did choose Jaden. Then Ryan chose Isaac. Then I whispered: "Misha, choose Madison!" And right then-she did choose Madison. Then Ryan chose Skyler. Then I whispered: "Misha, choose me!" But she didn't hear me I think, because lots of kids were telling her to choose them and she probably got all mixed up and so she just chose Shelly. Then Ryan chose Garrett. Then I yelled to the top of my lungs: "Misha, choose me!" But everybody was yelling to the top of their lungs and so she couldn't hear anybody and so she just chose Olivia. Then Ryan chose Hunter. Then Misha chose Hannah. Then Ryan chose Issac. Then Misha chose Luci! Wahooo! Finally! I could put my hand down and not yell my head off anymore. She would choose me next, I just knew it.But the worst possible thing in the whole wide world happened. Ryan drummed his chin with his fingers and looked all around. Twice. I think he wanted everybody to memorize that he was the big captain boy. Anyway, people were waving and jumping and shouting: "Choose me, choose me." Then Ryan told everyone to be quiet-- and he chose-- "Hadley K."

What?! How could he do that? My team was on the other side...couldn't he see that? Why not Autumn or Caroline or Kaylee? Why not choose Logan or Jacob or Eli? Why me? I slowly stepped over to the wrong team which was now MY team. Misha chose Emma. Ryan chose Cody. Misha chose Carter. Ryan chose Kadence. And they kept calling all the names until everybody had a team...even if it was the wrong one.Plus, we had to start outfield and so the other team would probably get two ups and we would probably only get one or maybe one and a half if we were very very lucky because recess isn't that long you know. My day was pretty much shredded to bits and ruined. I looked over at Misha's team. They had the two fastest runners in the universe, the three best catchers know to mankind, the fastest throwers in our entire town, and my best friend on top of all that. It wasn't fair. I couldn't even look at our team.

Regge, Margaret, and Neil were chosen last. Well, Regge has to take over the whole thing no matter what and won't listen to anyone much. Margaret has new shoes on and can't really kick or run in those fancy things--plus she doesn't like sports. And Neil, well, he is Neil.

The real team got 11 homeruns before we finally got their runners out. I was way out in left field and so I pretty much just stood there the whole time watching Luci and Misha smiling and talking on the real team. The bell couldn't ring fast enough for me. Math was better than this. But after a long long time, we were up and after a much longer time, it was finally my turn to kick that ball. My first serve was way wobbly and so it had to be thrown again. Then the next serve was slow and smooth and I kicked it with all my best. Not too low for it to be a pop ball. Not too high for it to be too short. But just right for it to speed sail between the pitcher and 3rd base. It went fast and so did I. First base, Second base, and almost to third, when I tripped on my shoelace and fell down so hard. My elbow was all scraped up and stingy, and my shirt had grass stains everywhere. Most everybody on my team came over to help me up. "Are you ok?" Hunter wanted to know. When Ryan saw my elbow he said, "I'll go get teacher!" and started to run. Somebody shouted: "I'll get some wet paper towels," I tried really really hard not to cry too much. I looked around at my team. "You sure ran fast Hadley!" "Does it hurt alot?" Everybody was being so nice to me and trying to help me feel better.

After recess, when we were all back in our desks, Ms. Clay was telling us about our new spelling words. I looked down at the bandage on my stingy elbow. Our team only got 3 runs, the real team got 11; but just then an idea popped into my mind. 'Points aren't the only thing that counts'. I thought about all the people on my team that tried to help me. Maybe they weren't the fastest runners, or the best catchers, or best kickers, but they were there when I needed them. I sorta think that I was on a winning team after-all!

Chap. 16: Seeds Grow,You Know

2010-08-02T04:28:00.000-06:00

"EVERYBODY can go except ME. That is soooo NOT fair! I am the ONLY ONE who can't go to the party." That's what I sorta shouted last Thursday in the laundry room after I showed the best invitation in the world to my mom. She was planting tiny seeds in some containers, so it took silence time and then she said super softly (which means her idea was stuck in cement), "Hadley K, I already said that you could go to the party, but you cannot stay overnight...and the reason I said that, is because: You can't."

She was poking little holes, in the dirt holder thingy, and planting seeds..and then spraying water over the top. The seeds were so small that I could hardly even see them...even if I wanted to...which right now...I didn't!

I usually help with the plantie and gardeny things. I know those bitty seeds will grow up and up until they have stuff hanging on them like tomatoes and pea pods and beans. It really is a giant miracle. But first, we have to wait for the snow to melt. Then we plant. Then we water, then we wait. And I don't know how they do it...or how the teensy seeds remember, but a carrot seed ALWAYS knows to grow into a carrot. A cucumber seed, ALWAYS remembers to grow into a cucumber. They just know. There will never be a watermelon seed that grows up to be a radish. NEVER EVER! That's why my mom and dad are careful to choose what seeds to plant. It takes a long time though, and so I knew our talking was done. "Mom, I need to go to this party!" I sighed quietly.

She started to give me a hug, which I didn't want right then. Well, I did want her hug...because she is my mom and stuff... (even if she was making a humongous mistake! )

But that was all last week and I should have given her a gianormous hug! And this is why I am writing all this in my journal so I will remember to know next time that my mom really really does get it! I better remember to read this next time my hug is holding back a bit! Remember, Remember, Remember, Hadley K!

It all started when I ran as fast as I could to save the 4-square pad last Thursday for lunch recess. I just plopped right down on the pad and waited for Luci to check out a ball. Just then, Shamee came and asked me if she could have the 4-square pad for her friends and I told her that I promised Luci that I'd save it, but they could take turns with us if they wanted to. I guess they didn't!

Shamee has shiny hair; she is in a high grade and gets to run for a school office, and everybody will vote for her, and she has awesome blue braces on her teeth. Cassandra told Margaret that Shamee had the best braces in the whole school. Shamee just stood there...and I just sat there...(kinda wishing that I wasn't there)... and then she got a big smile and I saw the best braces and yup...they were! They were really really blue. She told me that her birthday was coming and if I would let them have the squares, then she would invite me to her party. You have so got to be kidding me! Of all of my lucky days! ME! Going to Shamee's party! She has her own cell phone and it even takes pictures. Everybody knows that she is popular and now she was going to invite ME to HER party!

"Okay then!" I said,

and then she said: "Great, tell me your name."

and then I did.

She turned around and bounced her 4-square ball. I jumped up quick so it wouldn't turn into a dodge ball. She didn't even say: Thank You, or anything...but she was probably thinking about her birthday. I spent the rest of the week thinking about what present I should take to Shamee's party...how I should have my mom do my hair, and how un-fair it was that I couldn't stay overnight like EVERYBODY else.

"I'm sorry Luci," I whispered when I saw the checked out ball and her sad eyes. I told her the whole deal while we walked back to take turns on the swings. "I'm sorry about 4-square and I'm sorry that you didn't get invited too. But maybe Shamee has an tiny-eensy-teensy house and can only invite a few, very super and important people." It was only one recess ruined, and it was only one party...so Luci shouldn't have been so sad-ee, mad-ee, and stuff. So she had one bad day, she could still have a good life. (I sound like my grandma sometimes!)

Well, I was a (bit) mad too. Its not good to be mad, but mad was on the very top of me because of seeing Luci so sad, and then my mom saying that I couldn't stay overnight. They were ruining my whole social network part on purpose!

I had to remind Shamee about the invitation on Monday. On Tuesday, she brought me the coolest colorfulest card in the universe. It said: Let's PAR-TAY for my B-DAY!!!

Inside it said the stuff about what to plan and things: Friday 6:00 P.M. until Saturday at 10:00 A.M. That just means that everybody else is taking a sleeping bag... EXCEPT ME! Plus, It's a VERY good thing that my dad and mom know where she lives and who her mom is and most of the girls invited or I couldn't even get to go for CAKE AND ICE CREAM!

My parents always want to know where I am and who I am with and what we are going to do. Daddy said that if someone took my bike somewhere, then I would want to know the same things about it. Then he asked me if I AM MORE IMPORTANT than handlebars and pedals... and we just laughed.

On Friday, I tried not to talk about the party so much around Luci. I just told her that I bought a coloring book and some new markers for Shamee. Well...I did tell her that I was going to have my hair pulled up on the sides. But that's all. Oh! Except, I think I told her that I was going to wear my lavendar shirt with the big bow in back. I can't remember, I might have told her that I hope the Birthday cake is chocolate...but that's for sure ALL that I said.

"Be a Lady and be sure to say: Thank You," (my mom always hugs me and says that when I go anywhere.) Be a lady means: Be a Princess...(because I really am one, that's why). Mom said that she or dad would come back to get me at 9:30 PM) PM in this case means: pretty mean...but at least I got to go!) I rang the doorbell. I was in my lavendar shirt and my present was all flowery with a Pink Bow on it! I WAS AT SHAMEE'S BIRTHDAY PARTY...FOR REALS!

And we had so much fun! We played all kinds of games, and we had her cake all baked in ice cream cones! The icing looked like vanilla ice cream with sprinkles...but it wasn't even cold! It wasn't even real ice cream...it was really chocolate cake cones! My mom has got to know about this. I wished Luci could have one...she would think she had died and gone to heaven!

It was the best PAR-TAY e-v-e-r! I really felt like a lady and I remembered to say Thank You. Shamee liked my present... (Who wouldn't? The markers were scented! And everyone of them smelled really good...I tried them all.) One girl named Lesla, giggled at me because I had colors under my nose, but she helped me during 'Pin the Tiara on the Princess' game and so I giggled too.

Now to the part that I want to forget and its also the same part that I want to remember! It was almost 9:00 PM and all of the girls went downstairs to put their sleeping bags in a circle. The Lesla girl let me sit on her sleeping bag with her. At first, everyone was talking about braiding hair, and about riding horses, and about Birthdays and stuff. Luci would have liked the part about riding horses because her uncle just got one. Soon, we all voted to watch TV. I voted to watch 'Little House' re-runs or play games again...but the most votes chose a new program that I hadn't even heard about.

Shamee turned out the lights and the show started. OH MY! It was a very bad show. The actress was not a Lady...she was immodest and disgusting! The actor said two swear words in a row. Even the music was up to no good. It's easy to tell because something inside feels drooped down when stuff is wrong. Two of the girls wanted to change the channel. But, 5 of the girls voted to watch it some more.

"Don't worry, that's just one little part." somebody said. "I watch it all of the time," somebody else agreed. OH MY! I hoped that Shamee's mom would come downstairs. AND Right then...she did come down! I was so glad, now she would change the channel to a good show! ...But SHE DIDN'T Turn that Yucko show off! She just passed around some popcorn and went back upstairs. 'YOU HAVE SO GOT TO BE KIDDING' I thought. Didn't she hear the words? Couldn't she see that Actress? Moms are supposed to pull the plugs!

Something inside of me was kinda scared... sorta like hurry and hide under my bed scared, right then. I looked around at those girls. Rachel and Jaimee had their eyes looking down. Rachel was plugging her ears. The other girls laughed at them and told them to grow up because this wasn't even that bad for now-a-days. WOW! This was a backwards house is all I could think...and some ugly weed seeds were being planted downstairs by that TV show. Do Shamee's friends really think a yuck seed will grow up to be a good seed?

Right then, I said a 'help me' prayer. I didn't want any of this in my 'Angels are Silent Notes taking' book! But, I didn't want anyone to laugh at me... either. The Actress got more immodest. Just then, I remembered Joseph. My Primary teacher told me that he ran away from the immodest queen. I stepped over some girls, and asked Rachel and Jaimee to go upstairs and play a game with me, so we stood up, and we ran up the stairs. And that's when I got it...right at the tippy top of the stairs...a little thought came in my brain all by itself.

Standing for right and sitting for right are not the same sort of seeds!

I am writing this down so I won't forget, because that is a very very IMPORTANT idea that I thought at the top of those stairs.

We played a game...and it was fun...but I was so happy to hear that doorbell at 9:30 PM. Something inside of me smiled really big when I opened the door and saw my dad planted on that porch, juat waiting to take me home.

Science Fair SECRET!

2010-04-17T06:24:00.000-06:00

"Don't tell anybody. Okay Luci?"

She promised me that she wouldn't tell a soul..."with scout's honor" she said. (Only she isn't a scout).

I didn't want anyone to know what my science project was going to be because just in case they copy my idea at the last last minute. It is such a great idea! Luci said so too.

Ms. Clay said that we could start setting up on Tuesday. So I didn't want anyone to know until then... for sure!

My journal is a safe place to write in...and so I will keep track of it all right here. I am making Crystals for my project. REAL CRYSTALS! And I got a book all about it. All you have to have is sugar and water...well, I really mean salt and water and lots of other stuff. We tried the sugar thing first, but it didn't work so well (the sugar stuff burnt and whewy...that was bad...and so forget the sugar) and then we did the salt thing. You take 1 cup of water and 2 cups of salt and cook it. I can't remember exactly how we did it now. Anyway, take lots of cups and jars and ice cube trays or bowls or whatever and take lots of pencils or pens or straws or whatever to put across the cups and jars and ice cube trays and bowls or whatever and they will hold the string that goes down with a nail or paper clip on the end in the water and salt. Then just wait for a few days...and then keep waiting. And we are still waiting!
Kaylee is using clorox water and food coloring to show how flowers can change their colors. It's cool because you can see that they really drink the water up into their stems and stuff. I might put coloring in my cups. Yeah, that would be awesome. And it would NOT be copying because hers is about flowers and mine is about Crystals. Plus, it's a great idea and ideas are just floating in the air sometimes and don't really belong to anybody.

Autumn is taking sodas like Mountain Dew and coke and 7-up to show which one bubbles most. But when she put a nail in a cup of Mountain Dew and coke then that soda eats the nail right up in a few days! No wonder mom doesn't buy soda very much. That stuff would eat my stomach away! GROSS! Plus, Misha is using dish soap and 7-up and water to see what cleans a penny the best. That is sorta like a science experiment...but sorta like a clean the house chore I think. Maybe her mom wants to know how to clean things better, I don't know. But whatever helps them I guess; it just doesn't seem so much like science but more like Saturday chores.

Garrett is doing "Protect the Geysers" and it is awesome! He has two big buckets and they erupt... so on Tuesday morning, we all went outside to watch. Some of the kids got tired of standing by those buckets and GAVE UP and went inside and missed it...but not me. I stood right there for the whole thing. One of the buckets was clogged and so it never did anything but fizz a bit. Ms. Clay finally told us to come in. I think Garrett used lots of baking soda for that. Maybe he will give me his secret recipe so I can show mom and dad. Even my brother would like that.

Hunter is having a rotten egg experiment. He has some clothespins to plug your nose with. NOT ME! I WON'T even go NEAR his desk. What kind of an experiment is that?
Regge is doing a beeper thingy. And he keeps making it beep real loud. "Turn that off!" Logan shouted at him and some of the girls plugged their ears and lots of kids just rolled their eyes. IT was LOUD! But Regge said he had to try it out to make sure it works. Well, believe me...it DID!

Cody didn't have a clue about what to do on Tuesday...so Ms. Clay told him to think really hard about it because he only had three days until the science fair on Friday. He didn't have a clue about what to do on Wednesday and so Ms. Clay told him to think really really hard about it because he only had two days until the science fair on Friday. He didn't have a clue about what to do on Thursday and so Ms. Clay told him to think really really really hard about ti because he only had one day until the science fair on Friday. Cody didn't have a clue about what to do on Friday and so Ms. Clay took him out into the hall and they had a long talk. When they came back in, I thought Cody would be crying, but I saw Ms. Clay wipe her eyes and so I know there was a REAL reason that Cody was not prepared. I know that for positive sure because Ms. Clay gave him a magnifying glass and some newspapers and some water to see how things get amplified sort of.

Madison made clouds with hot water at the bottom of a jar and a container of ice on top...only she was to supposed to put it in the freezer on Thursday and she forgot. Margaret made mothballs dance, Kate had a pea experiment, and Jaden made a volcano! Luci did an ant colony...just like the one I did last year. I even helped her find the queen. When she took the black paper off her jar we could see all of the tunnels and now I wish I had done that again...because I put all my containers and strings and things on my desk and my poster all about Crystals and I had about three little ones started but I was still WAITING.

On Friday we marched into the gym in rows. Each row got twenty minutes to set up their science project and then they had to go back to the room and find something quietly to do. That means read! I put up my poster. It said: COLORFUL CRYSTAL CREATIONS. That is pretty clever. And I put my best 9 containers on the table in front of the poster. They looked like color all right...but I needed to borrow the magnifying glass from Cody if anyone wanted to see the crystals hanging in the bottom of three of the cups. I am still WAITING!

I felt sad when I looked around at everybody else's tables. I felt really sad when I heard Regge's beeping over and over. Ouch...there goes my ear drums. There should be a school rule about NO BEEPERS at science fairs. I felt really really sad and almost got some tears when I saw Cassandra's 'Progressing Plants in Process' project and her beautiful growing garden and her hydro whatever. Her hair was perfect and she had two little pea pod barretts to match her ruffly garden apron. Kids walked by my part of our table and looked way down in my cups and then looked at me and didn't say anything mostly...and then they oohed and awed when they stood around Jaden's volcanos and Cassandra's plants.

Luci and me thought maybe Cassandra's parents did her project by themselves and so it didn't really count so much. Or maybe her uncle is a 'horticulture' guy (that is a really great word that means a garden man. I like big words, but I wasn't liking her perfect project right then). Or maybe she has an aunt who does fancy lettering for her perfect poster and is like pro-fession-al! Or maybe...she probably has a grandma who sews her cute clothes and bought her those pea pod barretts? We watched Luci's ants for a while...and wondered how life and a science fair could possibly be fair.

And then I heard a girl say, "Who is Hadley K?" and it was a girl from a high grade and she was looking at my crystals! She looked at them for a long time and she said that mine was the best project of all. And she asked me lots of questions because she wants to try it. They are 'so pretty' she said. And after she left...I looked at my poster and yup...it was pro-fession-al! That girl changed my whole science fair. I thought alot about that. And then I got a great idea!

My crystals did not work...but I could try an experiment that would. When I think about it...that girl changed me from a frown to a smile in a minute. How did she do that? I thought and thought about that. She wasn't extra extra pretty. She didn't have fancy clothes or matching barrettes and shoes. She didn't think she already knew everything. She was just kind. ..plus, she was interested. That's all. And 'kind' feels good. I decided to do an experiment. I looked around the gym and saw other kids that sat by their projects all alone too. I thought I was the only one. "Luci, we need to try a people experiment." I whispered to her all about my great idea!

Well, Luci started over by Kaylee's table and I started by Olivia's table and then we would meet in the middle. The experiment: Be interested and Be kind to everyone who sat alone by their project. Ask a question, say something nice, and see if they smiled. Then meet back by the ant farm in twelve minutes. "Ready Luci?" She nodded her head and then she got a little bit shy because on her side was Carter and she thinks Carter is really cute and so FINE...of course, she couldn't talk to Carter... and so we traded places.

I hope I always remember this science fair...and I will (because that's what journals are for) and I want all my kids to know about our GREAT PEOPLE EXPERIMENT when they get to earth! ok, so...Luci and I went all around the gym. I told Hannah that she had pretty rocks and a nice chart. Makayla had nice colors on her poster. Kadence organized her pictures in a circle and I like circles. Jacob had his solar system in a neat row and I like neat rows. Sienna chose good pictures for her animal food chain.

And Regge...oh brother...I would have to get Regge's part of a table. I wanted to PLUG MY EARS and PASS HIM BY. BEEPERS should NOT be allowed at Ephraim Elementary. But there he was, all alone, right NEXT to Cassandra's crowd of giggles. (Are people there because of her plants or because of her pea pods and popular?) "Regge," I tried to think of something good about his project. I wanted to be interested. I had to be kind. "Well...hmmmm...I think you...well...good job Regge!" I was still trying to think of something that was sincere. I can't throw lies into my experiment or it isn't REAL. "Do you want me to Beep it for you Hadley?" "Oh NO!" I said quickly...(maybe too quickly)..."Actually I already heard it" (On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and about thirty two times already on Friday I thought.) "No, I just wanted to tell you that you spelled everything just right on your poster." Oh brother, that was lame. "And... your beeper thing...is LOUD...and it is probably the LOUDEST experiment in the whole school." Regge got a big smile on his face. "You got that right!" he said. And I knew by his smile that I did. I did get that right.

On the way home from school, Luci and I talked about the volcanos and ants and dancing mothballs and water magnifiers and cleaning pennies and yucky soda and peas and garden plants and barrettes and clouds and protecting geysers and lots and lots of stuff...but mostly we talked about the best secret experiment of the whole science fair. The people experiment. EVERY time we were nice to someone, they felt better (and we know they did) because they smiled. And that was the best thing ever to prove. And when I think about it, the results of that experiment happened lots faster than growing crystals...still W-A-I-T-I-N-G!

Far Far Away...

2009-07-27T17:15:00.000-06:00

Mom and Dad had to go to another State. And it is far (VERY far) away. It is called a business trip because dad has to show some computer things to lots of people in a gigantic room. He gets to draw the stuff on a wall so everybody can see it. Well, he doesn't actually even draw on the wall for reals...because he is drawing on a computer, but it shines on the wall really big. Anyway, mom just wanted to go with him because after the convention thingy they can go on dates and stuff.

At first, I thought it was a great idea. Because I really really love it when grandma comes. We get to choose what we want to eat and we get to stay up late sometimes. She doesn't even worry about all of the chores so much...because we are so busy having fun. Well, she sorta worries about the chores but she makes up other chores that are different I think. She tells us stories about when our mom and dad were little. Plus, she really really likes pizza and so do I.

It's just that tonight, I miss my mom and dad. Other states are so so far away. I just wish I could be there and see them for a minute. That's all. I would just peek in and give them a hug and look at them. And they would be right there. And I would be right there.

I don't like missing people...and I don't like far far away states. Cept, my aunt Lacey and uncle Trevor live where my mom and dad are. Why can't we all just live by each other and not have to have that sad stretchy feeling? Plus, what if my aunt Lacey has her baby tonight and what if mom and dad get to see it and I don't? What if the baby looks around and wonders where I am? What if it yawns a cute little yawn for the first time and I can't even see it yawn?

Mom usually reads me a story or else dad will make up one about hobbits and things. I know that I am getting big and can read to myself...but it isn't the same. I have little tears, and I keep turning my pillow case over again and again, but it won't make anything change very much. Don't cry Hadley K. I think the tears mean that I am a little sad...but maybe they mean I am happy too sorta. Because when I think about it, I am happy that I have such a good family and so that's why I miss them all the way through to the other side of me. And I will see them soon. And they said they would bring me a surprise! And I thought that would be great... but now I think they are the best surprise!

I better go to sleep. Grandma said we could go feed the ducks tomorrow. I love to feed the ducks! They have little duckling babies right now at the park. They are sooooo cute. I hope Uncle Trevor will send us pictures of their baby. Maybe it will have dimples? I don't even know what it looks like. Grandma said that it might come to earth tonight! I want to be there so much. I will miss everything. I don't even know what color of blanket they have for their baby. It seems like earth is a far far away place from Heaven. Maybe little babies cry because they miss Heaven. I would hold that little baby gently and kind so it will feel happy to be here on earth.

The best part of all will be when my mom and dad come home. We will blow up balloons and make a humongous sign. It will say: WELCOME HOME! ...and we will tape it to the garage door to surprise them. And then they will be home.

I can't wait to give them a gigantic hug. When I think about it... about far far away, and about that baby, and about my mom and dad, and the missing things and stuff...

I wonder if maybe that's how Heavenly Father feels about us?

Best Friends!

2009-06-08T03:50:00.000-06:00

I drew this picture of Luci because she is my best friend.

I have lots of friends. It is great to have lots of friends. Then I can know who I am talking to at school, and when I go to the swimming pool, or the library, or the grocery store. I can say, "Hi Shandra, do you remember which color Ms. Clay said that we should color Austria with?" Or, "Jann, how do you do a flip off the diving board without hitting your head?" Or, "Megan, where did you get that book? ...and is there another one like it?" and stuff like that because when I can't remember what mom wanted at the store then I can go ask Mrs. Carter who has a cell phone and she can call mom and ask. Friends are good because then their faces are familiar and you know where you are and things.

But...a best friend is even different than that. Way much different I think. You never EVER have to wonder if your best friend will invite you to a party...because if you can't come...there wouldn't be a party.

Sometimes, best friends like different stuff to do...but mostly, they choose something to do together anyway or take turns choosing and then you both like different stuff! A best friend gets two drinks of water every time. A best friend shares the popsicle right down the middle. When a best friend breaks a cookie, you get to choose which part you want first. If there is a double rainbow, then you run to call your best friend so they can see it too.

If you have a sad day...a best friend will try to think of something to cheer you up, or if that doesn't even work...then that friend will be quiet with you. Even if you are a little mad, a best friend will forget what you said right then. They just forget the words, cuz' they know that those bad words don't really fit on you anyway.

A best friend asks you questions about what you think...and then they listen. Mostly, people say, "how are you?" and then they keep going and are almost gone before you say, "fine". But I don't think "fine" is even a real answer. Fine about what? Fine is like OK. It's almost like saying nothing. A best friend looks right at your face and wants to know how you really are. Are you happy, sad, mad, glad, surprised, scared, tired, lonesome, funny, or do you have a secret, or a present, or a cold, or a new book?

That must be why I have Luci for my best friend...and I know she is. Her grandma even knows my name and that I can jump the rope at least 74 times usually. Luci likes my favorite colors, PLUS, her favorite colors.

A family is like best friends too, I think. My mom and dad and brothers get it about me. They know what I like and what I don't. They help me with the mathy stuff. They all watch my favorite movie sometimes too.

I think it's awesome that Heavenly Father knows to put us with our best friends when we get to earth. And I am glad that I live by Luci too.

Sometimes, I worry about my little kids and really really hope that they will like me alot too when I grow up into a mom and when they get to earth.

At the swimming pool last week, a boy yelled at his mom, "I don't like you!" And I just stood there because he said it again! ...and I couldn't hardly move. He was yelling his head off, and his mom was getting all red, and they didn't even see all of us watching them and so I threw my diving stick in the water and jumped in the water real quick so I couldn't hear them. But when my bubbles came, up I popped, and I saw the mother go huffing into the restroom. The boy was still mouthy, (like any of us cared that his swim time was up), and it was waffle awful. But, that made me think alot about someday when I have kids...and I really really want them to like me.

I will be the best mom that I can so they will treat me good and write me notes and stuff. I will let them have ice cream and I will help them make their beds and I will take them swimming and to the library and I will make them dinner and tell them about the scriptures and teach them how to say their prayers and then they will never be too lonesome or want to YELL. I sure hope I don't get yeller kids. That would be awful.

I just hope I get best friends sort of kids. That's all.

Soccer Teams play Soccer

2009-06-01T11:29:00.000-06:00

My brother came home pretty mad. He threw his soccer ball against the fence right by where mom and I were weeding our garden. "What's up Zach?" (Moms just know about when boys throw their stuff at fences.)

"I'm tired of people who can't learn the rules. It ruins the game for everybody."

Mom pulled up another weed and said, "Sounds like today didn't go so good, huh?"

Zach was really mad...cuz' he said the name of a kid and then something bad about him...which is totally against our family rule.

I won't put the kid's name in my journal, but this is what Zach yelled right before he went in the house: "__________ acts like we are playing baseball and he catches the soccer ball with his hands and when he gets tired he just sits down like he is on base or something! If he wants to play baseball...then he should go play baseball." He sorta slammed the screen door a little.

"Wow-sers!" I said, "He is M-A-D!

Momma looked over at me: "He'll feel better after dinner. I know he was looking forward to today's practice and it sounds like it didn't go so great for his team. Too bad when people don't do their best to support the teams they choose to be on."

I pulled up a giant dandelion. "I understand about that because remember last summer when Luci and I had our club and we had matching blue shirts and then one girl (whom I will NOT name) wanted to be in our club and we said, 'Sure!' "Do you remember Mom?" I pulled up another dandelion. "And then that girl decided that she didn't want blue shirts...she wanted to wear a pink striped shirt. I had to be the strong one and tell her that this was a blue shirt club and if she wanted to wear a pink striped shirt that she should go find a pink striped shirt club. That made sensible to me. But she just wanted to change all of the rules and tell all the kids at school what was wrong with the blue shirt club and she came to our meetings and she always complained about not getting to wear pink striped shirts. Is it kinda like that Mom?"

"I think it's alot like that Hadley. Could you hand me those clippers?"

And then I remembered something that they said at school. "Mom, do you know what some people are doing?" She clipped off one of the old raspberry stems. "Some people want to be on a marrying team but they don't even want to get married!" Mom looked over at me on that one. "What did you say?" "I said that there are alot of people who carry signs and get all mad because they want on the marrying team but they don't want to get married. They just want to call it married but there isn't a mom and a dad and that's what married is. I saw all about it on our TV at school. I say if they want to wear polka dot pajamas then go ahead and join a polka dot pajama team don't you mom? But if they want to join the marriage team, then find a mom and a dad, right mom? They can't change the rules that are already there."

"Hadley, you are right. There are enough letters in the alphabet for them to make up their own name for what they are doing and to have their own team." Mom stopped and looked at me. "Honey, please tell me about the programs that you see at school, ok? Now let's go in and get some dinner started."

At the supper table, Zach told dad all about his practice and how one boy had to ruin it for everybody. "You can't touch the ball with your hands! That is just not Soccer!" Zach raised his voice. Dad and Zach talked about the rules for soccer and the rules for baseball and so it was hard getting the potatoes passed over to my side of the table. Then Zach said the boy's name again and that he wishes that boy would just quit soccer and join another team. Dad said, "Hey, fella, (he says that when he has to slow Zach down a bit), "be careful about using his name all mad like that. It's true that we don't like what he's doing at all, especially if he knows better. He must learn the real rules to the game and quick or he will hurt the whole team...but he is still a real person and we will not ruin his name in our home."

"I think the coach will take care of it. He probably knows all about the problem and how to fix it the best. You just support the coach...because he is the one in charge and He knows the rules. When this boy 'hands' the ball, remind him firmly that he CANNOT do that in soccer. Just so he knows that you are not angry with him...but you do not like what he is doing. He has to learn the real rules because Soccer Teams play Soccer...and it is all set up and has been the same for all time...then after all you can do...leave it to the Coach. Anger doesn't help any team son!"

"N-O-W ...can you pass the potatoes," I said and then added very quickly, "...And the salad and the chicken and the rolls and the carrots?" I knew if they started to talk about different teams and stuff AGAIN that I might never get dinner! Everyone just looked at me, but no one passed anything. OH. YEAH. I was HUNGRY and I had almost forgotten the rules for that! Manner rules have always been the same ones and will always be for all time...no matter how hungry I was.

FINE.

"P-L-E-A-S-E!"

Then everybody passed me something at once and we all laughed. What a team!

What about MY PLANS?

2009-05-25T09:06:00.000-06:00

Today was one of the worst days in the history of the world. It started out very very good and then it all got all ruined.

Luci and I were ready for swimming lessons a whole month or 3 weeks ago. My stuff was all layed out on my dresser. Mom even got me some pink lemonade lip gloss. We counted down every day until the final day. And the final day was this morning. I called Luci on the telephone to tell her that it was almost 9:00! Our swimming lessons start at 9:30 a.m. (that is the morning time...because then there is p.m. and that is 'past morning' and that's how I know).

"Mom said I just have to fold one more set of towels and put them away and then she will be ready to take us," I told Luci. "We will pick you up really really quick! Don't forget your paper and your towel and your money."

I folded all of those towels in a winky dink! I was so excited because Luci and I could go to swimming lessons every week for life and it would be so fun. Luci is not so brave with holding her nose and jumping in...but I could help her. Luci is not so brave about opening her eyes under the water...but I could help her. Luci doesn't even want to jump off the diving board on the last day...but I could help her! Luci doesn't know what treat to buy after swimming lessons...but I will show her for SURE! and maybe she will buy a banana popsicle just like me. Or a Chico Stick or red licorice or maybe Dots. Yeah. She will buy Dots. But I will get a banana popsicle...cuz' Dots just stick to my teeth...that's all. I like the colors and all...but they aren't that great. Swimming lessons are the best part of the year. Well, that is...they WERE the best part.

Now for the worst day in the history of the world part. We had our papers signed by our parents...yup. Towels...yup. Money...yuppers! "Okay then," the lady with the whistle and orange sun-visor said, "let me S-E-E just a minute h-e-r-e, and she looked up our names from last summer and that made me so excited because last summer we got Mrs. Janter and she is the best swimming teacher in the galaxy and she let us jump off the high dive two times last year and she let us toss some colored noodles in the water and then we would dive in after them and they were every color you could think of. Plus, she let us take the foam-boards down to the deep end once and we got to paddle all the way across the pool and when we did, she gave us a coupon and it was for a free movie for our families! BUT NOT TO BE!
"Hadley K Merit Shay is in the Guppies class this summer...so follow that sign to your teacher...and Luci Megan, you are in the Minnows class...so follow that....

WHAT?! This CANNOT be happening! We paid REAL money for this. Luci is my best friend. I felt like my crayons in car window sun.

W-A-I-T just a minute here. "MOMMMMM..." I sighed my best sigh e-v-e-r. So mom talked to the orange sunvisor lady about friends and stuff and the lady pushed her sunglasses up tighter and said that somebody else had figured it all out and she was just the inbetweener and could NOT change a thing. She didn't feel bad, or even hardly look at us, or blow that whistle which is supposed to save kids lives. That's what I wanted to tell her. But she turned to the next kid in line and pretended that Luci and I were not drowning in sad. My feet were stuck to cement.

Mom explained to us that we could still go to the lessons together and we would still have matching towels and we could still get a small treat after lessons together and still come home together but I said, "Maybe we should just quit these swim fin bin lessons together." How could they do this?

Mom took us aside and said that we needed to make a decision. If we quit, then the money would just go down the drain. But it was up to us. I couldn't understand why they would just throw our money down the drain. Mrs. Janter would be very mad about that. She told us that we should never bring small things into the pool because of the drain and if it got all plugged up then we were through. Oh My!

Luci just looked at me. How could she learn to swim if I wasn't there to help her and stuff? Now...she would never open her eyes under water and it was all that sun-glassed-orange-sun-visor-whistle-lady's fault. I bet she doesn't even have children and I bet she doesn't even make cookies for them either.
"Okay, Luci, just go to the Minnows and be brave...and remember...DON'T RUN...because Mrs. Janter knew somebody's uncles cousins friend once that fell...remember Luci? Oh, and meet me right by the Guppies sign when you are done."Then, I gave mom a hug, "Thank You for taking and paying...but MOSTLY for telling that 'take our money lady' that Luci and I are friends...even if she didn't listen." Mom said that everything would work out and that she thought we had made the right choice to stay and take the lessons. And really...I sorta think we did...too. But I was still not happy about it.

The Minnow class got a really pretty teacher with a braid wrapped up on her head and purple sunglasses to match her purple swimming suit and it kind of matched mine too. I spied on that class because our teacher was late. There were six kids in my class and I only knew five of them...that's all. We couldn't even get in the water until our teacher came and so we watched all of the Minnows and Dolphins and Shark classes having fun and talking and plugging their noses and we just sat there. All at once a MAN teacher came to our side of the pool and yup...he came right straight for the Guppies. I just want to be a MINNOW! At least he had a blue and green and yellow and purple shirt on with little green fishes on it and so maybe....BUT NOT TO BE...he was climbing up the life-guard highchair...because next came orange-visor lady and announced that she was our very teacher.

I looked across the pool at Luci and she was pretending to have lots of fun because I saw her laughing at Angela and Angela is in our class at school sometimes and their teacher had all kinds of colored noodles. Pretty brave of Luci I thought. So when we got in the water and I could splash water in my face...and wash away one little tear...I decided to get brave too.We talked about all of the rules and this lady had LOTS of them. No Running. No Splashing. No Talking. No Smiling...probably. We got in the water and practiced going under for the count of 20, then 30. I can count really fast and so that part was easy. She had us float, and then try arm strokes, and then we held onto the side and kicked our feet for awhile. She had us say our names again. Then she whistled real loud and that means: 'Guppies get out NOW!'...because three little whistle beeps mean 'All Guppies slide to the Side'...and one little tiny whistle means: Listen Fish and DON'T make a Swish! We practiced those whistles over and over.

I peeked over at Luci and she was holding a salmon colored water noodle next to her happy teacher. Life is not fair. No matter what anyone says, I don't CARE! Life is not Fair. My mom always says that everything will work out right...but my day was all wrong.

Some days are just bad. It's bad when that lady won't even listen. When we don't get colorful water noodles. When we have to wait on the edge for a long time. When we don't even know everybody in our class. Plus, I think I got a little sunburn and they didn't have treats cuz' the vending machine was broken. They only had chips and pop and those are NOT good choices.

I am SAD and I am MAD. This is MY Summer vacation and MY Swimming lessons and none of it is working out like MY plans. I thought about when my hair was frizzy, when I didn't get my homework done, when Sienna didn't invite me to her Birthday one time, and last summer when I couldn't go to Luci's until I finished all the vacuuming, when I scraped my arm on the fence, when my brother got all mad at me because I got his best kite stuck in our tree, (like I planted the tree right there!) ... and the time I had to do dishes for two days in a row because I back-talked a bit to my mom about them, and when my best doll fell and broke her arm right off, and when I got the flu, and when I wanted a horse really bad, and when I lost my best book, and then I thought how ALL of MY IDEAS and PLANS get ruined ALL OF THE TIME and now I am in orange-visor lady's Guppies class and that is the worst of ALL the game.

I decided to sit on my bed and pout it out. And an idea just plopped right on top of my new pouty plans. It's about fish and water and stuff cuz' who wants to be a guppie? What about a angel fish or a dolphin, or big whale or something cool. And that's when the idea came. Not so much about swimming, but maybe about lessons probably.

I remembered about a Jonah scripture man that made great plans and nobody listened to him and so He got all mad and decided: Forget it! And then he got in a gigantic whale and had to think about things for three whole days. OH MY that would be very scary. And he finally got out and decided to do what is right even if it wasn't what He Planned or where he wanted to be. My dad says that sometimes our plans are not the Plans that are the most important and after the whale spit Jonah out he learned to be patient and to trust about Heaven's plan for him.
I guess I would rather be a Guppie than swallowed by a whole whale!

Maybe I better not be so MAD...maybe just a little mad.
Maybe I really should be in the Guppie class. Maybe if I am nice to the orange-visor-lady (I don't even know her name)...then maybe... she will be nice too? Maybe nobody made her cookies or listened to her when she was little. Maybe Not. Maybe So. (doesn't matter)... FINE.

I will listen to her billions of rules and stuff...and I will be kind...and maybe I can take her cookies at the very end of the summer with my thank you note...IF she lets us jump off the diving board at least three times...that is.

Attitude...that's all.

2009-05-11T22:43:00.000-06:00

Here's the thing about the Lehi kids. Well, we were reading about the whole family last Monday and so I have been thinking alot about them this week.

First off, they probably had about four kids to start with and they named them Laman, Lemuel, Sam, and Nephi. They used to have kids names like that I guess. I have a cousin named Sam and that is a real name, plus, he is a good guy too!

Well anyway, they lived in Jerusalem which was their town and they liked it except for the bad guys. (And dad said they had lots of money and they lived in a nice home). Lehi was the father and Sariah was the mother. But then, one day Lehi had a dream and they had to get out of there fast...so they couldn't even take their best stuff.
I said, "Why did they have to leave so fast?" And Zachery said: "Because Jerusalem was going down." It was probably for sure because of the bad guys. But mostly mom said because Lehi obeyed.

It's a long story and it really happened and it is full of adventures and so we still get to know more about what happens later. I can't wait for the next part because I like knowing about that family.

My best part is: they got a Liahona! It was a little metal ball that they could hold. It was right by their tent and it showed them where to go. "Wow!" I said right outloud to my dad, "I wish we had one of those!" Zachery said, "It's like a GPS Hadley... we already have one." But dad said, "Not exactly like a GPS...because it only worked when they chose the right."

We read all about their problems and their trips and their tents and stuff. They had to go a long long way and they didn't have any cars. They were out in the middle of no where without stores or a house or their best things. I think that would be scary and lost for good. Those two brothers Laman and Lemuel were mean guys. They didn't even care what their dad or mom said sometimes. So...everybody was feeling really tired of the wilderness and all the wandering around and then they woke up and found the Liahona right there to help them figure things out! That part made me so happy! Momma said that The Holy Ghost is like a Liahona for us and we can know what to do and where to go...but it only works if we choose the right. And I thought, well ok then...I will.

I just keep thinking about those boys. The thing that gets me is that those brothers were awful. They made the whole family feel bad. But when I think about it...this is the part that really gets me. Those bad brothers walked just as far as Nephi and Sam. They helped put up the tents, they got all tired, they hunted for food, they had to go all the way back to Jerusalem because they forgot the family journals and stuff, they had to go in a ship for a long time...they did all of those things...just like Nephi and Sam. But they didn't get blessed the same at all. And I figured out the big diff. Laman and Lemuel just complained and complained the whole way. That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard of. Nephi and Sam were happy and they did what their parents said and they trusted in the Liahona and it worked for them because they were nice. But NO! NOT Laman and Lemuel, they just had to make it hard for everybody. They did all the same work...for nothing...because they didn't get it!

Then I thought: OH MY! Life is really like that sometimes. Some people just complain... and (complain is the same as murmur). And some people just smile... and the smile ones get blessed and the murmur ones get in mega trouble. But everybody has to live and do everything. I think somebody should have told those brothers that they should just smile and obey because then they could be blessed better. They already did all of the hard stuff anyway.

Mom said that is called Attitude. She said if we are thankful then we won't murmur. So I was thinking all about that and I am going to write a big list about the things I am thankful for. Then when I feel sorta mean, I will just look at my list and smile instead. I already have to clean my room no matter what and take my dish days and lots of things.

OK, here goes:
I am thankful for:

Colors
Summer
Dad
Mom
my best friend: Luci
Brothers (well one...most of the time... and one... all of the time,
well...actually...both of my brothers because they are not mean (too much) like Laman and Lemuel)
markers
my birthday!
zagnut candy bar
going to grandmas
raspberries
books
horses
my bike
and probably lots more but mostly I am going to smile and obey right now and go and eat dinner. I have to go eat it anyway... "Coming Mom!"

First and Last School Days

2009-05-04T08:32:00.000-06:00

Well…the thing about school is that I like the first day and the last day. All the other days inbetween are the problem. But mostly I like school alot. I like all the art days and I like recess and I love, love, love, library days and my birthday-day and field-trip days and science fair days, and lots of other days too.

I like the first day because the crayons are all new and my backpack has new pencils and two new notebooks that smell like fresh paper. Plus, my shoes are all new and I have an extra pair of new shoelaces for when they aren’t.

I like to look around and see who is in my class. Our desks are all clean and we get to see where our tote trays are and we can put our stuff in them whenever we want. (except when teacher is tired... and then we stay in our desks and be quiet.)

I like the last day at school because we get to take everything out of our desks and tote trays. We get to wash our desks off with spray and use the paper towels at the back to scrub them off…and we get to put our chairs upside down on our desks and just be done. And we get to keep the rest of our crayons (usually I throw away the box because it is taped one time too many and so I bring a baggie and sometimes the boys give me some of their crayons too! I save all of them except the bitty pieces I just scoop up and throw away because they are tiny.) Plus, sometimes we even get to take a book home from the reject table in the hall by the library. They are still good books, but Mrs. Havers, the library lady, just doesn’t need them anymore. (Well…sometimes they have writing in them or some crinkly pages and stuff…but it’s still a book.)

I get to take my teacher a thank you note and a little present and everybody is going to miss everybody and it is way good to not have any more mathy stuff and we can just go have summer and go swimming, or do whatever we want, and go to grandma’s house and stay for 12 days or the whole summer or something.

Plus, we get to be done with Eli and Regge! Some days I wonder why they even let them come to school.

Oops. Sorry. I broke our family rule. (If we say something nice about someone then we can use their names…but if I write something not so nice about someone then I can’t even say or spell their names). Fine. So there are two boys at school (who I won’t name) that aren’t even worth it! One of them says swear words sometimes. And when they are supposed to stay in line, they don’t…and when they are supposed to raise their hands…they won’t. I don’t even know if the boys, that I won’t write their names about, know what manners are? Maybe they don’t even have parents? Cause’ that what parents are for is to tell their kids about RESPECT and stuff.

Moms always say “Say Thank You, honey, or say Sorry or stand up when grandma comes and give her a big hug.” I know to turn off the TV if company comes and I know if somebody is an adult…then I should listen. Who doesn’t know that you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full and that ‘Please’ is the magic word. Maybe those boys (I won’t say who) don’t understand about sharing a piece of cookie with everybody who smells it. Yeah. They must not have parents because they are rude. They think they are the only ones that count in the whole galaxy.

My mom says that talking on cell phones can be rude too. She turns hers off when she is by real people and when it wiggles in her pocket, then she goes into another room or waits til’ later. Dad said that sometimes people text right in front of other people. I bet if those no-name-rude-dudes in my class had cell phones, they would even text right in front of the teacher! Those boys call our teacher by her first name too and that is not respectful AT ALL. WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE, anyways? I think they don’t EVER take turns or take time-outs… or take baths. Anyway, they can take a hike…AWAY from me.
**************************************
OK, now when I think about it…our first day on earth we all came brand new and on our last day we get to go back home to Heaven…and stay FOREVER…and all the inbetween days are the days where we study the stuff we have to learn…and even those yucky boys started their first day like a child of God…and He has sent them here…too. Maybe when school starts again or in about 34 years...they will be much much nicer. My grandma says people change sometimes. ‘We never know…do we.’

New HADLEY K MERIT SHAY

2009-04-27T19:27:00.000-06:00

I have brown hair and green eyes. This is sorta... kind of... what I think I look like now. I am in (probably) 2nd grade. I'll probably be an artist and a mom and a journalist (because this is my journal already, and so when I think about it...I just have to write it on my 'list' and then I am a journal-list! Get it?) And I like the gray-blue color on the mountains right before it rains and I like all of the colors because drawing is what I am all about.

My best friend is Luci. She has orangy reddish hair and she has glasses and she is true, true, true, and is my very very best friend.

I like to eat pizza...but so does everybody else and so I will add Salmon and Broccoli in there. I have a great family and so I am trying to define all about them right now too. I live in Ephriam. It is a little town...but it has a variety store and a park and a pet store and so good enough. And Plus, my school is here and all of my neighbors live here too. I like to think about things alot. I am going to be a scripture person when I grow up...so I have to be really really nice. With my brother, sometimes that is h-a-r-d. I like to roller skate and jump rope and ride my bike...well, it really is a family bike...but I pretend it is just mine sometimes. And I am a good sharer so it is all good. Zagnuts are my favorite candy and my favorite show is:

What? Oh wait. My show is on right now and I only get one show today... and it is on... and so I can't talk for a minute anymore right now... I'll be right back in a minute someday.

R-A-I-N-I-N-G AGAIN...

2009-04-20T10:51:00.000-06:00

R-A-I-N-I-N-G. AGAIN... R-A-I-N... N-I-N-G... AGAIN.

Luci and I wanted to ride our bikes. Then we were going to roller skate. Then we were going to collect pretty rocks. Then maybe have a lemonade stand. Then probably jump rope or something. And then find some chalk...so we could draw a hopscotch out on the driveway. Then maybe we could make sandwiches and have a picnic by the swings. Then we could swing. Then we could spread a blanket under the tree and read our library books. We just wanted to ride our bikes alot.

But it is R-A-I-N-I-N-G......AGAIN.

I sorta felt like moaning and groaning even though mom said it won't change anything. And it won't. But I didn't plan for it to rain. That rain ruined everything. It isn't fair. I had the greatest plans. We only get one Saturday each week when I think about it. ONE. We can't play chase. We can't look for butterflies. We can't climb trees. We can't play four-square. We can't ride our bikes. I really wanted to ride bikes with Luci today.

OKAY EVERYBODY!!! Give me some great IDEAS for today. It is very very RAINY. WHAT CAN I DO? (Please e-mail my grandma with ideas at: brenda7k@msn.com

Also, if any of you could take a moment to tell me which illustrations you like...(more realistic or more cartoon) since I am trying to define myself a bit...please tell me too!) Thanks, Hadley K (and Brenda K)

I like Growing Stuff!

2009-04-13T07:39:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure exactly what to be when I grow up. Well for sure I want to be a mom the most...but then I might be a growing person too. I like to grow things...because at Family Home Evening we finished planting all kinds of seeds in their little planters in the house. They are all on the kitchen counter now where the sun comes in the window.

I got to plant the rest of the peas by myself. Plus, Oh My!...I can't even hardly believe that those teensy bitty slivers of seeds that aren't even the least bit orange, will turn into carrots...but they will! Then we planted flowers and corn. The corn seeds really look like corn. Next week, we will shovel and rake and get our garden ground all ready to go, dad said. The peas are ready to plant outside. They kinda like cold okay cuz' they are all cozy in their pod which looks like a tiny boat.

I like that our family grows stuff. It's fun to watch. First just the green plants come up and every morning they grow taller and then one day we will plant them outside and then one day they will get some blossoms and then one day that is what turns into real food. It is the funnest thing to see...but it takes l-o-t-s of time. LOTS! Just give them some time. I can't wait to see the pea pods because when I open them, tiny little green balls are inside! They taste so good right out of their boat-pod!

Momma said that Prophets have told us to store some food for when we need it...and so that's why we are growers. Right now we can go to the store and get our food whenever we want. But if the stores were all closed for 94 and 1/2 days or (maybe more or maybe less), then we would just go downstairs and get our food from our own storage...which, when I think about it, is sorta like our own little store. It all works out good.

And there is something else in our storage room...but it it TOP SECRET. I can write it down here because no one is allowed to read my journal...but I won't say the secret out loud to ANYBODY. Except mom said I could tell grandma everything and it could still be a secret and so I did. Oh, and Luci gets to know, but that's ALL. (For sure, I will never ever tell Marcus!) Well, once we talked about reasons we might use our storage and what if an earthquake comes sometime and we couldn't go to a store? Because what if the ground just had a giant crack in it after everything shakes around for a while? Marcus said,"You CAN NOT drive right over a giant crack" and he said: "Sometimes all the stores will fall down and sometimes even houses fall down!" Anyway, that made me way scared about earthquakes. Because things fall out of your cupboards and some of your best stuff gets lost in the big crack when the earth quakes. And you have to clean up a big fat mess...and sometimes things fall on you and so I got real worried. My dad said that if the earth quakes then the first thing to do is to get under our big table or to get in the doorway or hall closet and we'd be fine. But sometimes I worried anyway. Well, lots of times I worried...A-L-O-T!

Mom said that I shouldn't ever worry because Heavenly Father hears our prayers...and then two days later, after I had asked lots more questions about how big the crack could be, and after I sorta didn't want to get in the car just in case that crack came, mom got a great idea. "Hadley K," she said, "I don't know how deep it would be or if it would go across the street by Luci's house or not. I just don't know...and maybe we won't even have an earthquake!" I could tell that she was ready to move on to something else to talk about. The very next day, mom told me to follow her (and that's when I saw her idea)! She took me to our storage room and showed me a surprise!

"Hadley K, if we EVER, but probably NEVER have an earthquake...then I have an important job for you to do." I already knew to put my shoes right where I know where they are and stuff. At school they told us to keep our shoes right by our closet door so we could find them quick if we have an emergency. Ms. Clay said that if things sway and sway around and fall down and break, or if there is a fire, or gas leak, or hundreds of emergency things, then you should first get your shoes on to protect your feet. So I know all about that. But my mom looked right at me. "Honey, this is a secret surprise just for you to know about. Can you keep a top secret?"

Mom pulled out a bucket of wheat and behind it was a sorta brown and sorta reddish box. Well, probably more rust colored with designs I think. She opened the lid and pulled out a giant sack of suckers and then some coloring books and crayons! "Hadley, if we EVER do, (but probably won't have) an earthquake...you will be just fine...because you are big. But some of the little kids next door might be afraid...because they are little. So, listen carefully to what you will need to do. FIRST: You will stay in the hall closet or under our big table, but after things are safe and still again, then SECOND:I want you to come get some of these surprizes and take them to our little friends next door." I counted the coloring books and there was enough for me to have one too! I would choose the one with the butterflies on the cover I think...or maybe the one with the Zoo animals because I love animals. Well, I have to think about which one on Saturday because I needed to pay attention right then. Mom let me look at the books for a minute and then we put the suckers and crayons and coloring books back in the box. Momma put the wheat bucket in front of the secret box and then she held my hands and looked at me very serious.

"Honey, this is a very important job and I know that you can do it. You can help little children to be calm when there is any kind of emergency. Will you do it?" "YES! I will do it!" I was glad to be in charge of the secret box.

"Only in case of EMERGENCY she warned me...(maybe she saw how excited I was to open that box again)? After that, I was never afraid of earthquakes any more. I knew exactly what to do.

So that's why we grow things and stuff. We get all ready and then we don't get all scared about if the stores close or if there is a fire or a quake or if dad doesn't get his job anymore or if whatever happens or something else. So when Marcus threw the ball too far and it crashed right through our window, I got so excited and I told my mom that I would run down and get the surprises to calm us all down! But, she just shook her head and sighed a little mad sigh: "No, this is not an emergency...this is a teaching moment." I kinda knew (by the sound of her voice) to escape the area right then. There goes the rest of my brother's life...but it did not need to include mine!

I sat on my bed and I thought about how many chores Marcus would have to do to get enough money for a new window. Maybe someday he will grow up! Hey... wait...just think about that. Yeah... He is growing up! Just give him some time. Like the seeds grow green, then get the blossoms, then they get food. I get it! My mom is a mom, PLUS she is a grower! She has to wait and wait for Marcus to grow up just like she has to wait and wait for those peas and corn and flowers and carrots and stuff. Our family is a garden! That's funny. But it's sorta also true.

Pulling weeds is not the fun part. I don't like weeds at all. I just pretend that they are the bad guys (because they are and they take all the food from the dirt and will not share with the good plants at all)...anyway, I just get my garden gloves on and pull them all out. I pretend that I am a super-hero and I save the day. Then it's not so boring. Plus, when I get through with my part...then I get to ride my bike. So it all works.

Luci doesn't like bees...but I do! I like them alot because they make our plants happy. My plants love bees and I think they grow just to show off for them. I don't know why Luci is so scared of tiny bees. She should be afraid of the weeds...they are the things that ruin everything. Bee stings only hurt for a second until I put some mud on it. Its kinda important to think about what really hurts and what really helps. I used to think work hurt me because: "I don't want to weed EVER again, it isn't any fun." That's when dad said: "Work doesn't have to be fun in order to work!" And that's when I started to pretend I'm a super-hero and yank those weeds out by their very roots! The weeds will always keep coming and I will always keep yanking. That's how everything grows up. I think when Luci tastes my very own peas, she will like bees...and when she has their honey on my mom's warm bread....mmmmmm! She will love those bees! Just give her some time.

Temples mean Forever!

2009-04-06T10:10:00.000-06:00

We just had Conference. It only happens 2 times between my next Birthdays. What conference means is that we get to listen to the REAL PROPHET! And I love to see The Prophet! Just makes me smile somewhere inside myself. Well... I can always know when it is almost conference time. My mom buys apples and caramels. We almost always have carameled apples for conference. She says it is because Conference is Nutritous and Delicious and Sweet! Get it? Because the apples are the nutritous part and the caramel is sweet part. She is funny like that sometimes...but it all works. Plus, my dad tells me to pick out some quiet activites before conference so I can sit still. My main part about conference is to be quiet because my parents love Conference, and they want to hear every word. One time, even my dad got a tear in his eye, and it was a happy tear because I could tell.
Anyway, If I want something...I have to get it BEFORE the Tabernacle choir starts their first song. They always dress alike when they sing; I think its because they are a choir. Even they have the same necklaces! My mom thinks they sound like angels when they sing. Anyways, so this conference I got my scented markers and eight pieces of paper, and my favorite stuffed giraffe that Aunt Teresa gave me, and my photo album, and a booklet that my Primary teacher gave us about Conference Stuff, and a very pointy pencil that I sharpened just for Conference. Mom said that next conference, she will get some pillowcases for me to cross-stitch on...she says that tying the knot so it doesn't come undone is the most important part, but she knows that I am a good learner and so I can handle that! My mom say it would be nice if I tried to listen to the talks for things to write about or draw about. And I did! ( I did try! But it is a long long time and next time I can do even better...)

My brother sometimes sleeps a little in conference, but I know that his brain can still hear about it and so he'll be ok. I know that my brother in Brasil will be watching conference on a little TV with people that have never seen a Prophet before. There are people who don't even know that a Prophet talks to Jesus and then tells us what He said and what we should know.

Ok, but first before I write about conference, I have to write about the other part of my week.

So...last month or the other one before that one...I'm not sure, Miss Kendra's mom called my mom and they talked for about twenty hours because they are friends, and my mom was all smiley and then she looked kinda sad and then she was smiley and then she looked kind of sad and then she talked about colors and marching and music and stuff and then somehow it all ended up that: because Kendra lives sorta by us , well, 4 houses more down our street, and over that way for about two blocks... and Plus, because she likes me alot...I get to be a flower girl when she gets married!!! I looked at my mom: "What's a Flower Girl?"

I remembered when I was little that I got to be a daffodil in the 1st grade play and all I had to do is sway back and forth when Matthew (who was the wind) blew his way (way too much!) across the stage and stuff. Half of us kids got spit on I think because he really blew like the wind.

Anyway, My mom said that this is different and I get to have a new yellowy dress with some flowers on it and things. That's because I am a FLOWER GIRL, so I have to wear the flowers. "What does a flower girl do?" I wondered. I thought that maybe I would give flowers to Kendra when she came out of the Temple, so the man with the cameras could take lots of pictures like my Aunt Rachel has on her wall when she got married.

"Honey, the thing is, that Kendra is not getting married in the Temple." "WHAT?" I sorta shouted. Oh, now I get it, so that is why my mom had looked kind of sad. "She will be married at a church and sometimes when people get married at a church, they have a flower girl who throws flower petals on the floor in front of the bride. Would you like to do that for her, Hadley K? Well, I wasn't sure if I wanted to do it. "Why do people throw things ON PURPOSE in the church mom?" I looked right at her eyes because she always picks up even teensy pieces of paper or even a tiny cheerio if she sees it on the floor at church! Plus, since it is a very special place, our family even cleaned the church a few Saturdays ago, and I had to dust inside every little singing book holder thingy in the whole Chapel and it took me a long long time. I couldn't even think about her letting me throw flowers on the floor at a church! OH, now I see, that must be why she is not getting married at the Temple. They would NEVER EVER IN TEN THOUSAND YEARS throw things in the TEMPLE.

Ok, so here's the deal. I ended up getting a new dress with flowers on it. I had to go to 2 practices and it was sooooo long and mostly I just had to march down the isle to the beat of the music about weddings...so one practice would have been just fine. The first time we walked down the isle, I started to sing: "Here Comes a bride...here comes the bride" way outloud because Luci taught me that song...but Kendra's grandma came running over and told me not to sing it outloud, so we all had to go back out and start over. All you have to do is make a step and then stop and then make another step and then stop, over and over and over.... That's all. Plus, I had to rip off some flower parts and throw them on the floor. I only got to practice that one time for about two steps. They thought I could take care of that part...and I did.

They had decorations everywhere in the cultural hall. It was like a big party. NOBODY could see Kendra in her wedding dress until the last second of the marching and I mean N-O-B-O-D-Y and so she was stuck in the bathroom for a long long time. But, I got to go in there and see her because I am the flower girl and flower girls can go anywhere because everybody is so busy at all the other places! Plus, they had minty candy and cashews and I love CASHEWS (they are shaped like the moon...so sometimes I call them: 'Moon-nuts'!)...and so I checked out the kitchen a few times because of those! It was all pretty much fun for me, getting to throw flower petals and stuff, but when I think about it and the part I wanted to write down is the other part about what the suit man said to Kendra. You will not even believe what he said.

Ok, so we stood in line for a while out in the hall way. I peeked through the door and there were lots of people sitting on the folding chairs in the gym. Well, you couldn't tell they were the folding chairs because somebody had put covers over them and they had a bow on the back. I really like that bow thing. I think I will have bows on my chairs when I get married too. Ok, so Kendra's grandma told us all to stand still and be quiet and then she told us when the music started and stuff, so we would know when to march out and I could start throwing petals on one side and then on the other side. and she did. And we did. But, Somebody behind me whispered: "Throw them gently, Hadley! Oops! I think I did throw them too far, because one lady was pulling some petals out of her hair right then. Oops. But, then I did great and just dropped them down and then I stepped on them so they would stay right there where I put them. It all worked.

Kendra was so beautiful. She looked like a princess. She had sparklies in her hair and her dress was so pretty and way behind her. WOW! I was standing right by her and I was looking up at her for the whole wedding. A boy had to stand right next to me. He was holding a fancy little pillow with a real diamond ring on it. The boy didn't like holding still or holding a pillow so much, but afterwards, he told me that real diamonds last forever and they are very strong and can even cut through glass and steel!) I was thinking that it was all just wonderful and special and I couldn't wait to get some refreshment treats at the ending. BUT, THEN, something major awful happened. After the man in the suit talked for a long time...(and that is not even the worst part). The worst part is at the end of the talk about all of the married stuff...he said, UNTIL DEATH DO YOU PART! I just blinked and my eyes got so big. I thought maybe I heard about that all wrong. I looked over at my parents. My mom had a little tear and so did Kendra's mom and so maybe I heard it right? You can feel when tears are happy or when they are sad...and you just have to go with it. I wanted to ask that man: "WHAT DID YOU SAY?" ...but just then I looked at Kendra's grandma and I could tell that I better not 'say a word or move a muscle'. Maybe he meant 'until death... do your part'. Yeah, maybe I heard that part wrong. Because Families are Forever. Just because somebody dies in death, for reals, it doesn't mean they have to quit their family. Wow. That would be sad.

Anyway, Kendra kissed her new husband and then they danced and then they smushed some cake in their faces and then they took pictures and then everybody went outside and threw rice at them and then they got in a car that said 'just married' and then they drove away...and then I got to put three Cashew cups in my pocket and then we drove home.

On the way home, I asked my parents, why Kendra wanted to have a wedding where everybody throws things away? I threw the flower petals and Kendra threw her bouquet thingy and her new husband threw a headband thingy and then everybody threw rice all over the parking lot. My parents laughed with me about that. But then, my dad got real quiet and he said to my mom, "I hope they don't throw their marriage away too." Everything got quiet in the whole car and our insides were sad sorta. I could feel that. How can we be sorta sad after such a party with decorations everywhere (even balloons in the basketball hoops), and with leftover cake going home with us? But we were. We were sad. And that's when my parents told me again about how important the Temple is and how important Families are. Then they told me about the man's words. SURE ENOUGH. I HAD heard him say: Until Death, do you part. OH NO! I needed to tell Kendra. I needed to tell her new husband to drive careful and not crash at all, before they could get married in the Temple because if they die now, they do not get to be together forever. OH MY! We have to find them. Then, mom said that they already know. WHAT? They already know? Ok: just tell me that the world is not round anymore then. WHAT? They know that they are not forever? That IS NOT REAL LOVE! I just looked out the window because my brain was stuck right there and I was sad. Very sad. I don't even know if I want to wear the flower girl dress ever again. If I do, I will just think about the colors; I will not think about Kendra's NOT FOREVER WEDDING. I will just think about the Cashews and the cake.

Anyways, my hand is getting tired from all of this writing...but I want my genealogy (all of my children that are still up in Heaven waiting for their time to get to earth) to KNOW SOMETHING ...(when they are born and get old enough to read this)...that I WILL ONLY GET MARRIED IN THE TEMPLE so I can have them f-o-r-e-v-e-r. DON'T you guys even worry a bit about that! We will be a forever family. We will not be throwing things around or away at my wedding. And that is what I heard about at Conference. I heard about that Families are Forever.

I heard alot about the Temple in Conference and I am going there someday. I used my best blue marker (that smells like blueberries... well, sorta...but the lid was off so long that I had to lick it to get it to go and it sure doesn't taste like blueberries); I drew a picture of the Temple and I am going to hang it up right by my bed.

One of the talks said that if we have a name and a standing in the Temple that we will be safe and I wrote that part down too. And I have to ask my dad about that some more, because I don't get all of it, but I did hear the safe part and the forever part and I know that it is true. I saw the real PROPHET and I heard him say that He loves me. And there were flowers there, full of all of the colors, so I used every marker in my box to put flowers on my Temple picture. And now that I think about it...I will wear my flower dress next Sunday and then everybody in Primary will remember about Conference and about: TEMPLES mean FOREVER!

There are RULES for scary stuff...

2009-03-30T05:00:00.000-06:00

Luci didn't come to school yesterday. She wasn't there when I went to recess, or to lunch, or to walk home with after school. B-O-R-I-N-G! Without your best friend, the days are long and empty and boring and sad. So I was already sad about that.

Then my teacher told me that I would have to choose another partner for spelling check because Luci would be gone for a whole week! WHAT? A WHOLE WEEK! She didn't even tell me about that. She always calls me about things. That's when I got worried. "Luci went to stay with her grandma for a week," Ms. Clay said. A WHOLE WEEK... AT HER GRANDMA'S HOUSE?! She would have told me all about that because nothing is better than going to Grandmas! She would have told me over and over about 23 days in a row about something that exciting and great!

So, inside I knew that something was wrong. VERY VERY WRONG.
Maybe Luci was kid-napped or something. I looked at my teacher real hard. I could tell that she thought she was telling me the whole truth. But sometimes, people don't know about everything and maybe she got a phone call that said what she said they said but maybe what they said wasn't the whole truth, because maybe they were the kidnappers! HOW COULD MY VERY BEST FRIEND BE KID-NAPPED?

Once or maybe 13 times when I was little, I worried about kidnappers, because Reggie told everybody at recess that kidnappers tie you up and then throw you away forever. But my mom said I didn't need to be afraid, I just needed to be wise and aware...and she told me all about the stranger stuff...so I was even way more scared about what if and stuff and I couldn't let it go... until finally mom said I could just remember three things if I ever get kid-napped and then I would be fine. And that worked for me. Plus, when I think about it: FOREVER means Heaven and that means we are okay again...so even IF the worst thing happens...then it really doesn't! I was hoping that I told Luci about the three things. My eyes started to get a little teary right then because maybe Luci was kid-napped and tied up to a tree or something and I can't remember if I told her those 3 things. OH NO! I needed to help her! Oh, Luci...please remember the three kidnapped rules and the part about FOREVER:

#1: We will never ever stop looking for you because we love you. (and I know that is true...because I never will ever forget Luci.
#2: Heavenly Father knows right where you are AT.
#3: Be calm and listen to the Holy Ghost, so you will know what to do and what not to do and when. I should have told her all about that over and over.

I never have to worry again because I know the rules about kidnapping. But I should have told them to Luci 100 times.

Then school was almost out and my teacher told me that I could go get my coat and call my mom when she saw that my tears would not melt back in (no matter how high I raised my eyebrows and looked up at the ceiling or how many times I wiped off my face with my sleeves). THIS CANNOT BE HAPPENING TO ME. Luci is my best friend. People can NOT just come and kidnap your best friend.

"Mom, Luci is gon-n-n-n-e," I cried into the office phone. Because when I heard her voice...all of my brave disappeared and I sorta moaned my words out. She told me to calm down a little and to tell her again. "Moooommmmm, Lu-u-u-c-i-i- is go-o-h-h-hon-n-n-n-ne." The office lady put her arm around me and gave me the whole kleenex box. Mom knew that I was having a streak of a panic too, because she talked very quietly and calmly: "Honey, I will be right there. Let me talk to the secretary for a minute and you just stay right there. I am coming." So I gave the phone to the secretary and I sat in a chair and kept pulling the tissues out one by one because my tears just kept racing down my face and I just kept thinking about my best kid-napped friend.

When my mom came, she hugged me and told me that everything would be all right. In the car on the way home she asked: "Honey, what's the matter? Why are you so sad?" And that's when I told her that Luci was kid-napped and that I had to save her...plus, we needed to make flyers and put them on every tree in the whole town. She pulled the car over right then and held me, "Hadley K, who told you that? Luci wasn't kid-napped! She is just fine, honey. She is probably baking cookies with her grandma right now."

"Mom, she would have told me if she was going to her grandmas." And then I thought about my mom's question and about my answer: NO ONE told me that Luci was kid-napped...that's WHO. NOBODY! So she wasn't! She wasn't kidnapped. Oh brother. I used up all the kleenex in the whole entire school principle's office for nothing because Luci was probably baking cookies right now. I can't believe that she didn't even tell me! She better save me one of those cookies in a little baggie thingy... that's all. Actually two of them. But when I looked at my mom...I could tell...that wasn't ALL.

"Honey, you know that Luci's mom has not been feeling well for a while. Well, the doctors just told her that she has cancer and they are trying to help her. "What?" I looked at my mom. "Cancer?" That word gave me the heebie jeebs...because it is a very very bad word and I don't want Luci's mom to have that word. Mom got all quiet again and said, "The doctors are going to do surgery, so Luci will be staying with her grandmother for a week. They just found out, or I think Luci would have called you." I felt stuck to the words and could not move. "What is the surgery thingy about mom?" I asked. She told me that the doctors would do all they could to help Luci's mom because she was very sick.

And then mom had a great idea. "Hadley, maybe you could make a get well card for Luci's mom? I think that would cheer her up.

I got out the paper and markers and took my time so it would be a good card and cheer her up a real lot. Then I had another idea to make a card for Luci too. And I am glad that I made those cards...well...because for the first thing... it will make them feel better and for the next thing, it made me feel better. I don't like it when I can't do anything to help people when they have surgery. OHHH, she will have to have real shots and real stitches too. But, mom says that you can always help people, even if you don't have any markers for a card or even if you're not the doctor. You can always say a prayer for them. And I said extra prayers for Luci's mom because Luci really really needs her mom.

When the phone rang, I thought it was Luci...and it was! She sounded a little sad and she told me that she was at her grandma's house. I didn't tell her that I already knew that, because sometimes it is nicer to let people say it again if they want. She told me that she would be there for the whole week. Hmmm. I already knew that part too and I almost told her, but she was still talking and so I just let it go. She said that her mom was going to have surgery. OH boy! I almost said something right then...because I already knew all of that...but maybe she needed to say it to me...and so I listened to her like my mom had listened to me. I think listening sometimes makes people feel better some way. Luci said, "Would you take my library book back for me?" And I said. "Yes, I will Luci. I would be honored to take it back for you" plus, it was already at my house because it was the book about birds and she had really checked it out for me anyway! And then she told me that her mom has cancer. And right then, I was glad that I already knew about that...because I told her that I made a card for her mom and said some prayers about her mom and I could tell that she was cheered up a little about that. Then I asked if she was making cookies or anything and she said "No, because we were all fasting for my mom." And right then, she had to go because her grandma wanted all of the kids to come for a blessing and have dinner. "Good-bye Hadley." "Good-bye Luci.

I sorta just sat there. You have to have your mom. You have to. This whole thing was bigger than me and Luci put together. I wanted to stop everything and get it all figured out. I couldn't think about my homework. I almost forgot to feed Scruffy. At dinner, I pushed the food around on my plate and then put the peas in straight lines. When people are too sad, then food doesn't taste like anything and you just have to chew it and swallow it anyway. I saw the paperboy riding his bike on his way to soccer practice. How can people just chew gum and ride bikes and go play soccer right now when Luci's mom has to have surgery? Mom said that we should mail the cards to Luci's grandma's house first thing tomorrow. I hope my cards will make them happy again. I put alot of pink on Luci's because she extra love, love, loves pink!

I couldn't even sleep last night because I kept thinking about Luci's mom. I have to sort out all of my ideas into piles and rows in my mind. And right when the grandfather clock donged for eleven times (opps! that is very late!) I decided to say one more prayer about the cancer thing. I knelt on top of my bed...because...well... I am not afraid like when I was little or anything...but I have a thing about not having my feet on the floor in the dark. Because right by my bed is (right by) UNDER my bed. And just then I remembered about Daniel and how he prayed even if he was scared of going down by those hungry lions and when he decided that Heavenly Father was in charge, then Daniel wasn't afraid at all and he just marched right down into that den and petted all of those lions on the head...and then I decided that I needed to have great faith...so I turned my bed lamp on and knelt down on the floor. I can usually tell when my prayers just hit the ceiling and come back down. But I needed this one to keep going. I explained everything to Heavenly Father about Luci's mom. I know that He already knows everything about her, but I wanted to tell Him how Luci needs her mom real real bad. And when I said AMEN...then I jumped real quick back up on my bed and pulled the covers up fast. I didn't really want the light off, but I waited for a minute or 12 and then I turned it off real quick and closed my eyes. I think that is right at the moment when I got an instantly idea in my head. All of a sudden I knew the rules about Cancer and about being really really really sick and about Forever and about LIFE and about all the Surgery and Scary Stuff. They were the same rules about Kidnapping Things! I have to tell Luci about them when I see her and then she will not have to worry anymore.

I turned the lamp back on and got a paper and pencil quick before I forgot.

RULES ABOUT SURGERY AND BEING REALLY SICK AND ABOUT LIFE AND ALL THE SCARY STUFF:

#1: WE WILL NEVER EVER stop LOVING YOU

#2: HEAVENLY FATHER KNOWS RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE AT (He Loves us and He Knows where people should be when... and He knows why.)

#3: BE CALM AND LISTEN TO THE HOLY GHOST, SO YOU WILL KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WHAT NOT TO DO AND WHEN to do or not to do it.

Then I decided to add my very own rule,

RULE #4: FOREVER MEANS FOREVER. WE CAME HERE TO GET THERE AND THERE IS FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER AND EVER...So nothing can really be too sad if I think about it! I started to write down all the rules on Luci's card because she is my very best friend.

...and all of a sudden my eyes started to go to sleep without me and so I pulled the covers up again and fell asleep without even a teensy beansy weensy worry at all.

CRADLED NEST

2009-03-23T01:07:00.000-06:00

I cannot wait for Spring time to come!

That means that we will have bird songs waking us up in the mornings!

And it isn't just 'birds'...because birds are like people and you can't just say 'people' for your friends, because nobody will even know who you mean. You can't just say 'people'.

You have to say: Ryan and Tyler and Amanda and Beatrice. They are all different and they are all somebody else. They have their own names and they all have their favorite color. They live in a house that is not like somebody elses. They like different TV shows, and different songs and different stories and different FOOD. (But probably, they all like ice cream too!)

Well, that is just like for the birds. They have different nests. Some make their nests with string and bits of shiny stuff and paper and leaves and some make their nests in the tree trunks and some by the water and some in grass and some in bushes and some in houses that people make, and some birds live in branches or make twig houses, or on ledges, or on pebbles, or under crops, or under the eaves of people houses, or in forests, or inside chimneys or in mud. Plus, they all have different colors and sizes of eggs. So even if the momma bird isn't home and you can't see her...you can hurry and look real close at the eggs and then remember, remember, remember, while you run into the house to look in a book or on the computer and find out what the baby eggs will break out of their shells to be! Because Bluebird moms will always have Bluebird babies. And Meadowlark moms will always have baby Meadowlark birds. That is very terrific to me and that is why I like to climb trees sometimes. But I am careful not to touch the eggs or the mommy bird will fly back and think that I am in charge and won't take care of her babies anymore.

And that is why I don't want to just say 'Birds'...They all have different names and so I want to say Bluebirds or Cardinals or Gray Catbirds and Brown Headed Cowbirds and Whooping Cranes and Crows and Mourning Doves and Rock Doves and Mallard Ducks and Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles and Great Egrets and Peregrine Falcons and House Finches and Northern Flickers and Goldfinches and Canadian Geese and Red-Tailed Hawks and Great Blue Herons and Blue Jays and Kestrels and Killdeers and Loons and Meadowlarks and Mockingbirds and Robins and Owls and Osprey and Starlings and Whip-poor-wills and Turkeys and Wrens and Marbled Murrelets and Horned Puffins and Pigeons.

PLUS, they all sing different notes for their songs. But they all sing! My daddy said that if only the best Singing Birds sang, then the forests would be silent. He told me that every bird has a special sound and that all of them together make a beautiful song. "Hadley, what if the birds didn't sing because they thought some other kind of bird sang better?" OH MY! That would be sad to have Spring and no sounds AT ALL! Then he told me that sometimes people get silly like that and think that they shouldn't do things because someone else might do it better. That is silly, silly to the max!...Plus, it is important and I need to think about that. I just have to remember that I can try all kinds of things, even if I am not the best at it. ALL of us are important to make the whole song or whatever we are making or doing. I JUST have to DO MY PART. ..and that is good enough.

I read something else that is pretty much incredible and super duper quad-looper IMPORTANT! The baby bird has to peck its own way out of its egg OR IT WILL DIE! I am so not kidding about this. It has to crack its own egg by its own self so that it will get stronger and stronger and if it gets out by itself then it will be a bird. So all the rest of us have to be very very patient about waiting and stuff. Plus, we have to wait for Spring to come too. That's just how it is.

So Luci found a book in the library about birds too... (well, she found it right in my hand!), because we want to know all about birds and stuff and she believed me about that. And we could only check one book out at a time, but when I had to choose between the two books in my hand...well, I just couldn't pick one and so Luci said she would get the other one. We did paper, rock, scissors, and that is how I got the book about the bird egg colors and she got the other one. There couldn't be a better friend than Luci anywhere from here to Antartica or anywhere. The book I checked out has lots of pictures in it, but she has lots of poems in hers...which when I really think about it, is mine too, sorta. "Let's just share the books Luci," I said, and she said, "OK." Because I also want poems too and I am going to copy one down right here in my journal so I can give Luci back her book in the morning. So here is a poem called: CRADLED NEST (because that is the title of it):

Climbers of trees
makers of swings
marble players
designers of dreams

all chores of childhood
and these must be done
...for miracles are also
at play in the Sun.

The moment...

I held my first found nest,

entwined twigs, paper,
sundry strands of hair,
with reverent hands and rapid heart,
I cradled it
....softly there.

Everyone knows about Birds...

their names,
their colors,
their wings,

yet now
beholding
their tiny home;

some mud,
bits of leaf,
and string.

Though Birds had been
Singing all along

from that moment

I began listening to their
SONG.

Hey Sunshine!

2009-03-16T08:05:00.000-06:00

Some days are good and some days are really great and some days are bad and then today was worse than anything invented (that ever happened in the history of everything!)

Somebody called me 'BOSSY' and I am not bossy. And that does it! Because it was Kara who was one of my friends... who was almost not my friend anymore. At least that's what I thought at school today.

It all started when Ms. Clay divided us up into Solar System groups. Kara and Luci and I got to be in a group. We didn't know which planet we would get...except no one got Pluto anymore because it is not a planet now; it's still out there just like it always was, but it doesn't count the same as it did before Scientists changed the rules about planets a bit. So we could do a report on: Mercury or Venus or Earth or Mars or Jupiter or Saturn or Uranus or Neptune. Those are the eight planets for now...oh, and we can report on The Sun (which really isn't a planet either...but since it is smack dab in the middle of everything and all the planets circle around it...we get to include it in the reports). AND my group chose The Sun out of all the tiny folded papers in Nathaniel's baseball cap. I was so happy that Luci chose that bitty paper because I know how to draw a Sun very good and PLUS...I had great ideas for our group.

We whispered because we wanted our report to be very secret and very awesome without anyone stealing our great ideas. "Come on Kara and Luci, let's go back by the pencil sharpener so no one will hear our plans. Seems like Jace and Jonathan and Samuel got Mars and I heard them say that they were going to wear green face paint to do their report and maybe even hand out Mars candy bars. Hailey and Caitlyn and McKenzie chose the paper that said: 'Earth' and so they got the moon (and two balloons) automatically. Soon all of the reports were drawn and Nathaniel got his hat back.

Each group got a balloon and a stack of newspapers. We had to rip the newspapers into strips and then we dip the strips into ooey gooey sticky stuff and it is called paper mache and we took turns putting them all around our balloon. Tomorrow the whole Solar System will be dry and we can pop the balloons underneath and poster paint the planets!

I told Luci to smooth the gooey strips just a little bit better because you can't have a Sun with too many sticky outy parts too much. I told my group that we should make a poster about the Sun and that we should use orange and red and yellow paint on it because I know about paint and colors and stuff, that's all. Well, I told Kara to look up about the Sun in the encyclopedia by Ms. Clay's desk and told Luci that we should all wear Sun colors when we do our report.

I said, "I think Luci should start and talk about how we would all die if we didn't have the Sun...because we would...we would just flop over and die dead. We need it every day. She could tell about how the Sun gives us the Light so that we can see things. Without it, we wouldn't see anything and would probably just fall over our shoes and stuff all the time...except without the Sun we wouldn't even need shoes because we wouldn't be here."

Then I told Kara that she should talk about how the Sun is not really a planet because it is really a Star. The biggest one, because it is the closest to us. She could tell how the Sun is burning up. It is made of gas that all stays together somehow and it has burned for billions of years and hasn't burned up, because it is like the metal inside a toaster and it glows but doesn't really burn. It is called nuclear reactions...but that is the part that we might skip a little until we read about that some more with our dads. Anyway, that's why the Sun makes us feel warm and gives us heat and that is why we love summer time so much. I told Kara that she should read about all of that, but I could tell that Kara didn't especially know about nuclear reactions either so much. But I told them that I could talk about the names of the Sun. I looked it up and in Latin (which is another language where they don't speak English like us, they call it the 'Sol'. And to some people who speak in Greek because their parents didn't teach them to talk like us...it is named Helios...but we will just say Sun because we do know how to talk in English. So I think I will talk about how the Sun is 109 times bigger than the Earth and that there are 300 billon stars in our Galaxy but the Sun is the closest star of all of them and so it is our favorite.

And right then, just as I was going to go get the colors all picked out for our planet and poster painting tomorrow, Kara said that she wasn't going to do the part that I wanted her to do. And I told her that we had to do all of the parts and that was hers. Then she said, "You are so bossy Hadley K, you are not the Sun you know...we don't all have to go around you all the time...what about our ideas? OH MY. I just stood there. It felt like my shoes were paper mached to the floor with all the sticky paste stuff. I froze. I couldn't move. WHAT? I am NOT BOSSY! Luci froze with me for a minute. Then Kara said, "Fine, then you two can do it by yourselves...because you think you have ALL the good ideas." and she went back to her seat and pouted til' recess. I looked at Luci. Our report was going to be very horrible and awful now. "She has to help us Luci...Ms. Clay will be soooo mad." And I was getting a little mad too. BOSSY! Who me?

Bossy is what little kids do. They tell everybody what to do and where to be and how to play and where to sit and what to say and what to eat and how to think and they tattle about everything and they never listen to anybody until their mother says: "Honey, quit telling them what to do, you just take care of you...let me be the mom." But I wasn't doing that! I just had some really great IDEAS and I was JUST HELPING MY SOLAR SYSTEM SUN GROUP so we could do a super special report, that's all!

It is not good to be angry at anybody...and so I tried my best...but that really made me mad red hot like the Sun when she said: BOSSY. Well, fine. I will write down that the Sun is 863,040 miles across and maybe tomorrow Kara will read about that to our class and I will do her other part. Maybe I should have been in the Saturn group because I like the ring around Saturn and we could use a little hoola hoop or something to show that. They would like all my ideas.

After school, I asked Luci if she thought I was BOSSY. "I'm not, am I Luci?" She started to bite her bottom lip which she always does when she is thinking really really hard. "Luci, just tell me what you are thinking right now." I said. The she asked me a question instead. "Hadley, you know how you like to think of great ideas?" I answered "Yes" because I do like to figure things out. "Well, what if Kara said all her ideas and you didn't get to say any of yours?" I had to think about that because Luci had a very good question and she is my very best friend. "You mean what if she decided about everything (what I talked about for my report and what you talked about for your report and what she talked about for her report) and what colors we should paint our Star and what we should wear?" Luci nodded her head. "No way! She can't do that. She can't make up all the decisions. NO WAY!" I said. OOPS.

And then I got it. That is what I had done. I WAS BOSSY! OH NO! I forgot to listen to Kara's very own ideas. PLUS, I forgot to listen to Luci's ideas. "Luci, did you have ANY ideas?" She said that she had a great idea, but we ran out of time at school and now we ran out of time again because we were at her house. WOW! I am BOSSY. And now I wonder what Luci's idea was?

I burst into our house and told my mom the whole yucky story about my day. She was reading a library book, but when I got to the BOSSY part...she put it down and looked right at me. "Mom, Kara is soooooo mad at me that I think she will ruin our whole report. I am going to tell her that she has to do it. She can't ruin it for Luci and me. I will make her do her part tomorrow." My hands were on my hips and my mind was made up about that girl.

Was I ever having the worst day of all time. Plus, I might flunk out of school if that report isn't good and then I will never get to have a real locker or go to a higher grade. But mom had an idea and my day changed to 180 differences.

"Hadley, honey, may I tell you a story about the Sun? Grandpa told it to me when I was little?"

At first, I thought she was changing the subject...but then I remembered that other people have good ideas too, and so I listened real close to see what her idea was.

"Once upon a time the wind and the Sun decided to have a contest. They saw a man on the sidewalk and they decided to see who was the strongest. Their idea was to see which of them could make that man take off his blue coat the fastest and then they would know who was strongest. So the wind blew and blew. The wind blew very hard trying to blow the man's coat right off...but he pulled his coat tighter around him. Every time the wind blew, the man pulled the coat closer. Finally the wind was all blown out and the Sun tried. Out came the smiling soft sunshine and spread rays all around the man. He started to smile and began to get warm. Soon he took his blue coat off and enjoyed his walk in the Sun."

I could see what my mom was saying already. Her idea was to be warm and kind to Kara like the sun, not to be mean and cold and blow and blow like the wind because that would make her mad again. I cannot make her do the part I say. "Mom, what would the Sun do to take the pouty stuff off of Kara so she will help us?" Then mom picked her book up again. "I want to hear your idea about what to do, right after you set the table," she said.

I knew what I had to do. Right after dinner dishes, I called Luci to see what her idea was for the Sun group. She had a super idea about cutting our poster into a round circle and stuff. Then I called Kara and she almost hung up on me! She was still pouting. How can anyone pout that long? She could have been playing instead! But I kept thinking: Sun, Sun, Sun, and so I was warm and kind and nice and sweet and polite and I said I wanted to hear what her idea was. She had a great idea too! She wanted to bring a light bulb to school tomorrow because: The Sun is so bright that it is equal to 4 trillion trillion light bulbs! That is 4.000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of them! OH, that is something that I didn't even know about! And she wondered if we should tell everyone not to look right at the Sun because it would hurt their eyes very bad, maybe even to blind and stuff, and then we both had the idea that we could all wear SUN GLASSES!!! Very cool! I will call and see if Luci likes that idea too. Then we talked about Luci's round poster idea and I could hear Kara start to smile right over the phone. PLUS, she said that she liked my idea about giving every one a yellow smiley sticker because that was sorta like little suns on their hands.

My hand is getting tired from writing all of this. Ok journal, help me remember about other people's ideas too. I don't have all the ideas. I never ever in a million years ever want to be BOSSY again. No WAY! I know that Heavenly Father made the whole Galaxy and the Sun and all of the Planets...so I know He can help me be a little bit kinder to people. Thats what I will ask Him to Please help me with.

When dad got home, he gave me a big hug and said, "Hey Sunshine! How was your day?" :)

A RAINBOW is a PROMISE

2009-03-09T08:25:00.000-06:00

I found out something major and so I am going to write it in my journal for all my generations and stuff. Sometimes people say lots of things that aren't really true. And I was so excited to find the end of the rainbow. We had a giant double one last Thursday! It was the brightest double one that I had ever seen and so I thought it would be easier to find the end, with 4 ends to find.

Here's the deal. For first recess, we all had to stay in because of the humongous rainstorm. So we played the states game, but with all the thunder and stuff, I couldn't really concentrate and so I thought Detroit was in Minnesota instead of Michigan. Then for lunch recess, we got to go out IF we would NOT use the swings (because there was a big puddle at the bottom) OR the kickball field (because of a big puddle at homebase). Fine. We all said "OK" we WON'T. (except for Neil W. who we all knew would.) and then for last recess, we didn't have to make any promises and (Neil W. didn't get any recess), and that's when we saw the biggest double rainbow ever! If I had a cell phone, then I would have called my mom right then so she could have seen the rainbow too!

That's when everybody was all talking about finding the ends of the rainbows. You only have to find one. And whoever gets there first will find a big pot of gold. I think I would buy 82 packages of scented markers and 14 packages of tape and my own scissors (the kind I can always use for paper!) and lots of paper and a horse with a baby colt. (It will be rust colored with a cream mane and tail.) Yeah. I really wanted that pot of gold.
I couldn't wait for school to get out because my dad has a GPS that will help us get there first. I heard my mom say that he can find almost anything with his GPS, and so I know he will help me find that gold...and I will give him a handful so he can buy a lawn-mower or something.

"Luci, run...we have to get home fast..." She was slowing me down a bit, because of all the days to bring a bike without a basket! She had to carry her science project home and the bike and her bookbag. Why did she decide on crystals? They are so breakable and fragiley and slowed us up a-l-o-t. I helped her with her bike. She is my very best friend, and so we stick together, but after we got to her house, I took off in my fastest run.

"Mom, quick! We have to call Dad." I yelled as I opened the front door. My mom came running to see what was wrong. "Mom, come see these rainbows! We need to call dad quick and beg him to get home and bring his GPS".

"Hadley K, dad's at work, but he'll be home for dinner." And that's when I told my mom all about the rainbow ends and how there were four to choose from and how we had to hurry. And that's when I found out that it wasn't even TRUE. You have got to be kidding me. I really wanted it to be true. I had plans for all that gold. Drats!

"But mom! Look at all of those colors! Heaven wouldn't have painted all of those colors pointing to the ends for nothing! " Maybe it is true! I really really wanted it to be TRUE. But it wasn't. I wondered if this would be the time to explain about my need for a cell phone since mom could have missed the whole sky. But it wasn't. She just turned and looked at me with a little sigh,(like I knew she would) and repeated, "That would be a definite NO!" And it is. Definitely is: a No Go on the cell phone ... probably until I'm 35 or in college or something.

Then my mom asked me to start setting the table and we could talk about rainbows, because the truth was even better than a pot of gold. This had better be good, I thought.

She started to cut some carrots while I was getting the dishes from the cupboard. "Hadley K, do you remember the story of Noah?

I told her all about the boat and how two kinds of every single animal, even the giraffes and poodles and catapillars had to be stuffed into it because they couldn't swim and stuff. And then they all came to America so we could have pets and things. And after I said that...

I sorta got all worried about a flood coming to our house...and we don't even own a boat...and if we did, I don't know if Scruffy would stay in it. I got the cups from the cupboard.

"Honey, people were choosing all bad choices and they wouldn't even help their families know about right and wrong and how to get back to Heavenly Father. So He decided to start all over so that the children could learn when they got to earth. He wants everyone to have their best chances once they get to earth. Anyway, He asked Noah to build an ark and all of the people who loved to do what was right got on the boat. And then it rained..."

She told me the whole story, and we got the table all set, and the stew all made, but I didn't know what all of those dolphins, butterflies, and kangaroos, had to do with rainbows? I started to worry that we might have a flood...and what if dad didn't know how to make a big boat like that? I can't even swim. Well, I can sorta swim...but not with the breathing part and everything. And what about Scruffy? And what about my brother in Brasil?

Then my mom wiped off her hands and got the scriptures and it is right in there about rainbows! Plus, it's TRUE! We will never have a flood all over the whole entire earth again. That is why we have rainbows!!! We don't have to get all afraid when it rains. The rainbow is a PROMISE that we will not have a whole wide world flood EVER again. Oh, my. That scripture made me feel safe. And that's not all of the promise. There is another part. Jesus loves us so much and He will come back to live on this earth again! Rainbows lets us know to do our best and be ready for Him because...(some year when the rainbows quit)...He will be here soon! Every single rainbow is a love-note painted straight from Heaven.

I got my coat...I just had to go outside and sit on the porch for awhile...because if Heaven was sending a message, I wanted to be right there to get it.

**************************************************************

Thanks for the idea about rainbows McKenzie K, and Thanks for the beautiful illustrations Jonathan, Caitlyn K, and Hailey K! (They are great...Plus, Mostly...I love you amazingly much!)

Chapter 15: Homework First!

2009-02-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

"Is Anybody Home?" I called out about 20 times! "Is Anybody home?" But... there was not a sound. No one said anything. Zippo!

"IS Anybody Home?" I yelled louder: three more times. Then I started to get worried a bit...because I couldn't find anybody. I looked everywhere. Nobody. Right then, I got worried a lot. Where was everybody?

After school, I always, always, give my mom a hug, and tell her about my day. I put my books down, and hang up my coat, and go to the backporch to pet Scruffy, who is NOW an OUTSIDE Dog. She chewed up one too many things to be an INSIDE Dog! But in the winter, I can keep her on the backporch because it's warmer than out-out!

"Scruffy, where is everybody?" She just wagged her tail. I had to look for hints. There had to be signs about where everybody went. The towels were folded by the washer...so mom had been there. My brother's bookbag was by the frontdoor, so he had been there. There were some carrot peelings in the sink, and the crockpot was full of stew...so mom had been there. Ok, so my dad is at work. Check. My big brother is in Brasil on a mission. Check. But what about Markus and Mom? Maybe Markus was still at basketball. His ball wasn't in his room. Check. But where is Mom?

I thought I heard a sound...but it was only Scruffy moving her dish.

When I was little, I thought monsters were real...they seemed like real. But now, I am old enough to know about shadows and stuff. Thinking about all of that made me need to call my grandma right then! But just when I picked up the phone to dial her number, I saw a note on the table.

'Honey, I hope you remembered that I am taking Markus to the dentist after school. There is some fruit in the fridge. Be back soon. Love, Mom.' OH, Yeah, that's when I remembered that Mom was going to take Markus to the dentist after school...and she'd be back soon, so I was all alone in our home. Maybe I heard another sound. I tried not to think about the bad stuff about being alone. I tried to think of the good stuff. But, I needed to get my 2 dolls first. I am big, but I have two very special dolls, Lena and Zana... that I will probably keep forever. I used to talk to them alot. Sometimes, I still do... just so they don't feel bad. McKenzie helped me name my dolls. She thinks of good names I think. And I wish she were here right now to play house with me. McKenzie is such a fun and kind cousin.

I put Lena and Zana in my arms and marched into the family room. I was in charge! I could pretty much do anything that I wanted! Mostly, I wanted to go back outside and sit on the porch and wait so that I wasn't alone in our home...but I sure didn't want Markus to think I was afraid...BECAUSE I WASN'T...that's why! And it was very very COLD out on that porch after a few minutes anyway. And PLUS, my dolls were cold too. SO...I just got brave. And I am brave...but there are sounds and stuff. So, I took my dolls with me and we turned on every light in the entire house! BE Brave, Be Brave, Be Brave.

Anyway, I had lots of homework to think about. My mom always says: "Honey, get your homework done first." But she wasn't there...and that TV was! If I turned it on, it might have something to watch right then. At First, I thought: Okay, Hadley, you know what to do, you should get your homework done. Then I thought: I know that I know what to do...but I also know what I want to do, and I'm in charge and I can do whatever I want! So I made up my mind!

I put my dolls on the couch and told them that we could watch TV together. The TV remote was high up on the shelf...but I could reach it on my tippy toes. I looked over at my homework...then at the TV...then at my homework...then at the TV. Hmmmm! My dolls just looked at me. OK! OK! I was in charge...that's kinda like I was like the mom... and I knew what to do. I put the TV remote back up on that very high shelf and picked up my books and my dolls. I spread my homework out on the kitchen table and put my dolls on two chairs right next to mine. I was the teacher and Lena and Zana were the students... I read my library book aloud to them, since mom wasn't there. They listened to every word! Then I taught them how to spell all the words on my list. Only 4 math problems and my homework would be all done! They sat so quietly.

Just when I finished my very last problem in math...I heard a knock on the front door. Oh MY! My heart about stopped! Be Brave. Be Brave. Be Brave. Should I answer the door or not? Was it a stranger or not? I grabbed my dolls, hurried into the front room, crawled across the floor, and tried to peek through the window curtains. It couldn't be a purple monster. There is no such thing as a real purple monster. It couldn't be a polka dotted ghost. There is no such thing as a polka dotted ghost. I just hoped that knock would go away. Would it be someone short or someone tall? Knock. Knock, Knock. Would they want to come in? I better go get my guard dog, Scruffy, I thought. The knocking got louder. Oh my! I crawled back across the frontroom and then ran across the kitchen and to the back door to get Scruffy. My mom would want Scruffy to save me! She would let her come in...JUST this once...I just know it! "Come on Scruffy, Come on." I loud-whispered. Somebody wants in our house!

Scruffy was so happy to see me that she jumped up on me, and then she ran into the house. "SHHHH, Scruffy!" Then the doorbell started to ring. OH MY! Somebody really wanted in! Be Brave. Be Brave. Be Brave. I finally got Scruffy all calm, and I crawled back across the frontroom floor. Scruffy followed me, just wagging her tail. Then Scruffy saw my dolls and she ran over and picked up Zana in her mouth! "Scru-f-f-y!" I sorta needed her to growl and bark so the person on the porch would run away, not eat my best dolls...but Scruffy just wagged her tail some more. The doorbell rang again right when I took Zana out of Scruffy's mouth. I ran to the backporch and pulled the little gate thingy shut. "STAY SCRUFFY!" She might not be a guard dog after-all...but that was a sad emergency time to find out! BE BRAVE. Be Brave. Be Brave. Brave was not enough. I said a quick prayer because Faith is even better than Brave! I tiptoed over to the window again, and pulled back the curtain very... very... s-l-o-w-l-y...just an eensy weensy teensy bit...and tried to see who was out there. AND oh my! WAS I EVER SURPRISED!

I started to breathe and a little safe giggle came out. Its good that Scruffy was on the back porch so she couldn't jump up and knock our visitor down. Then I ran back to the entry, unlocked and opened the front door. "GRANDMA! I'm so glad its you!" I put my arms arms around her and held on real tight. "Hadley K, where have you been? I've been knocking for a long long time!" My grandma shook some snow off of her shoes and took off her scarf. She had tried and tried to call me, but I had left the phone off the hook when I saw mom's note. "Hadley, I told your mother that I was getting my keys and would be on my way. She took your brother to the dentist. I was supposed to be here before you got home. But, my car wouldn't start and so I had to get Mr. Franley to help me. I am so sorry honey." I told her that sometimes things happen like that. I didn't really want her to worry about all the sounds, now that I was safe and stuff. Besides, I am big. Plus, I make good decisions...plus: I am very very brave...Plus, (mostly):the prayer...so I was just fine the whole time.

We followed that yummy stew smell into the kitchen, and grandma stirred it a bit. She saw my books on the table. "Maybe you should get started on your homework Hadley K and then when you're through, we can bake some cookies if we have time." "I only have one more thing to do!" I smiled. Then Lena and Zana and I went to the storage room to get some chocolate chips...and on the way back...we turned off all the lights!

Chapter Fourteen: Like a Butterfly

2009-02-16T02:51:00.000-07:00

Our class was coloring trees..and I thought mine was incredible! I used all of my favorite colors, and everybody else's favorite colors too, and I put little flowers all along the tree trunk and stuff. And butterflies on the flowers! But my picture didn't make it up in the hallway. Heidi's did and Laura's did and Hailey's did and Caitlyn's did and Aubrey's did and Mallory's did and McKenzie's did. They color sooooo good. And, their pictures are in the hall.

Cassandra came to school with a beautiful, brand spanking new, dress on today and we all told her it was beautiful...and it is...and she is...beautiful...(again).

Nathaniel got chosen to be in the all-school play. That would be a really fun thing to do and he is great at it! Teresa told me that she is taking piano lessons on Tuesdays...and Jonathan just got a violin and he can already play 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' and he just barely started! Luci said that her uncle might buy a horse and she can ride it anytime.

I look around sometimes, and see that everybody is special in my whole class and I wonder what about me. My art is not in the hall; I'm not all that beautiful (except to my dad, but that doesn't count...well, it really sorta does counts since its my dad...but... anyway); I'm not in the school play; I can't play the piano or the violin, plus, none of my uncles even own a horse for me to ride.

Margaret didn't invite me to her Birthday party (well, she did this year, but not the one before that), and last Wednesday at recess, everybody said that I needed to jump higher and then maybe I wouldn't have to hold the rope so much. I can't even believe that my tree picture is not hanging up in the hall.

Sometimes it feels like it is just me and then lots of air and space and then everybody else is talking and laughing and having their lives together and stuff. They know how to make the friendship string bracelet things, and how to twist their hair into a design, and how to sing all the words, and they probably all have gerbils, and I don't even want a gerbil. Its sorta like I am in a cocoon. Yeah. I got a Butterfly book at the library for our fieldtrip and it talks about cocoons. Wow, I just figured it out...and that is how it feels sometimes.

First, there is a caterpillar...and it just crawls along. If you find one and let it fuzzy walk on your arm, then it tickles! Then one day, when its just not sure about the next thing, it makes a cocoon and goes into it! And everybody thinks that it is just hanging there, doing nothing, for no good reason, but it changes in there, like it wants to be something more than just a caterpillar crawling along! Then it stays still until it is ready to be something else, some caterpillars stay a short while and some stay for a long while; they just get to make up their own decision about that. But the most important part is: COCOONS ARE MADE TO COME OUT OF! And after awhile, the cocoon opens and out comes a BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY! The slow little caterpillar turned into a Butterfly (soft like butter) and beautiful and it can fly! It isn't magic, because it is real... it is a miracle!

Okay for me then, today must be a cocoon kind of day. Maybe I WILL think of something great that I can do.

My mom must have noticed that I was kinda quiet during dinner. Its good to tell moms everything, because they were little kids too...a long long long time ago...but they still remember and so they get it. "Mom, I just think that everyone is better at things than I am." I told her about everybody else's talents, about the horse rides, being in the play, the violin, about holding the jumprope too much, about being beautiful, playing piano, twisting hair, making bracelets, AND about NOT having my picture up in the hallway at school. "She sat right next to me and put her arm around me, (that means she really really understands about my caterpillar/cocoon thing," Then she said, "Honey, is that why you feel so sad tonight?" I nodded my head and I told her how everybody else was already like a butterfly.

My mom spoke very softly, "Hadley...you will go in and out of cocoons your whole life. And each time you will discover that your wings become more beautiful. There are times for each of us to shine and to share our talents and to fly. And there are quiet times when we must decide what comes next. And I want to tell you a little secret about cocoons that they may have left out of your book." Her eyes were sparkling...and I could tell the secret was very important.

"When we are quiet, we can figure out our design and the patterns of life. That's the purpose of cocoons. But, when we finally fly...sometimes we get so busy looking around that we forget about our own wonderful wings!" (I didn't really get it all about the pattern of life and wings and things.) My mom looked at the question mark on my face and then she sorta giggled a little bit. I really like when my mother laughs, it seems like (somehow) everything is going to be okay after-all!

"But, Mom, what about how I don't have any talents and everybody else does?" Sometimes, I have to get us back on track, because I really really needed to figure this out.

"May I tell you what I see?" she asked, but she didn't wait for an answer because she was on a roll. "When you were telling me about all of your friends and about all of the wonderful things they can do...I could see your talent come shining through!!!"

"What?" Now I was really super looper dooper confused.

"Honey, you have the talent of appreciating everybody's talents. That has to be the one of the best talents of all! You were happy for Luci that her uncle got a horse, you liked that your friends got their pictures in the hall this time, you think it is wonderful that people can play the violin or piano, or be in plays, and you told Cassandra that she looked nice in her new dress. Your talent makes everyone happy! And even though you have many other talents, that talent is one of the most valuable in our world! The gift of lifting others' hearts. Talents like that are so special that they are called: Gifts."

Then we talked about a thousand things and then I brushed my teeth and put my pajamas on and said my prayers. Then my mom tucked me into bed and told me that I was such a sweet blessing in her life" and then she turned out the light. I almost felt like I could fly because I was so happy to have such a special and important Gift! And in the morning, I just knew I would be kinda like a butterfly, and I would share my gift with others. But that could wait til morning, because right then my smile turned into a giant yawn and I snuggled into my own blanket cocoon.

Chapter Thirteen: My Best VALENTINE

2009-02-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

The best feeling in the universe and beyond is when somebody actually likes you and remembers to tell you! AND Valentine's is a fine kind time to do it!

So I took all of my Valentine cards to school for my whole class. I chose the best of the best for Luci...because she is my very best friend. And I also wanted to give my super best cards to McKenzie, Alexa, Mallory, Ashley, Audrey, Laura, Caitlyn, Hailey, Heidi, Aubrey, Jonathan, Nathaniel, Jase, Samuel, Ethan, Daniel, Brandt, and Asher. Then I chose sorta good ones for Cassandra and Margaret and Neil and Martha and Jacob. Then I almost didn't want to give one to Regge because he looked on my spelling paper, but I have to get over that, because maybe he will never EVER do it again...okay, fine, I gave an owl valentine for him. Oh no! Next I ran out of valentine cards. Oh well, there was only one name left and it was Seneca. She doesn't talk very much and so that means she is SHY. It's okay, she won't even notice probably.

Today was super woo-per doo-per good! I got loads of Valentines! But the best of the best was the one from mom and dad. All of our breakfast plates were turned upside down and my mom said, "Don't turn them over until after the blessing!" It was hard to keep my eyes closed during the prayer because I was so excited. I tried to concentrate... which means to think about what we were doing... because prayers are very important, and because everything we have is a gift from Heaven, so I listened the best I could, and then when Markus said, "Amen", we hurried and turned our plates over and there was my best Valentine ever! It was a giant Pink Bear and it was holding a Zagnut candy bar and that is my very very favorite candy of all times! I couldn't wait to show it to Luci! And when I did, she said it was the best valentine that she had ever seen too!

At school, we had to do some Math, and some spelling, and some reading, and THEN Ms. Clay finally announced that it was time to put our Valentine boxes on our desks and then we got to go around the room putting Valentines in each others' boxes. We had copied all of the names on the Valentine envelopes so we knew which Valentine to give to everybody. She said we learned alot about how to write and how to spell that way. Mostly, last night, I learned how to get tired from writing everybody's names, but now it was today and so it all works out!

I got tons of Valentine cards! Some of them were funny, and some were very nice, and some had hearts and some had cute cartoon animals on them. A couple of my friends even wrote messages on the back...and that was amazing...because my hand was so done after just writing names on the envelopes and the: 'from Hadley K' part on the back of every single card. It was my favorite day of February 14th school!

Ms. Clay let us go early to recess too! WOW! Everyone was super happy about that and so we had to STOP! RIGHT WHERE WE WERE AT! and think about being quiet in the hallway for a minute, before we could go. I was right by Seneca's desk and so I stood right there for a whole minute. The lid was off of her box and I could see that she didn't have many valentines in her box. Maybe everybody else ran out of valentines too. She looked very sad.

Luci and I were on the swings and I kept thinking about Seneca. If my valentine box were almost empty...then I would be sad too. Something inside me was drooping down for a minute. And then I got a great idea. "Luci, come quick," I jumped off the swing and hurried into the school with Luci following right behind me. "What are we doing Hadley?" she wondered when I stopped at our classroom door. "Luci, you need to stand here and guard the door so that no one and I mean NO ONE will come into the class room!" I hope she didn't roll her eyes, but I couldn't wait to see. I had to do something important and really really quick.

"Ok Luci, thanks for being my smarty hardy guard-y! Let's go back out on the swings." Luci demanded to know about our adventure, but just then the hall monitor boy came around the corner: "You can't be in the school until the bell rings, ya know." And we did know, and Luci said, "Let's GO!" and so we headed out the door as fast as we could without running...because running is also against school rules. Then, just as we got outside the doors, the bell did ring, and it was LOUD right there by that door! It was so funny, because everybody came running, sorta like when you put food in a dog's bowl...just get out of the way!

When we got back into our classroom, Luci passed me a note: "Ok Hadley K, what did you do? Why did we come into the class during recess and risk getting a ticket from the hall monitor boy?" She was worried. What did she think I was doing? Eating all of the candy by myself? Putting the teacher's desk upside down? Coloring on the walls? OF COURSE NOT! But still, I should tell her because she is my very very best friend. But... if you tell people when you do something nice then something about it goes away. Hmmm.

"Seneca!" somebody was excited. "That is awesome!" "Wow, where did you get that?" Lots of kids were around Seneca's desk right then and everybody was telling her that they liked her special valentine. I saw a big smile on Seneca's face. She was holding a giant pink bear valentine and it had a Zagnut candy bar on it! Luci looked over at me with wide eyes that said, 'oh'.

Ms. Clay went over to see what everyone was ahhhhh-ing about, "Someone must think that you are very special Seneca"...but Seneca could not even talk. She just smiled and held her valentine and looked at it over and over. "Ok, everybody...back to your seats", Ms. Clay said and then she let us choose: we could read, or draw, or play quiet games, (like dot to dot or hangman and stuff) until it was time to clean up and go home. We had so much fun and I kept peeking over at Seneca (and yup!), she just smiled and smiled and smiled...even when she was reading a book...she still held her special Valentine! Out of the corner of my eye, I could see other kids sneaking valentines into Seneca's box. One by one, the valentines piled up until her box was full to the tip top!

When the last bell rang, Luci and I gathered up all of our books and our valentine boxes and started for home. "That was nice Hadley K. I think it made Seneca a little different. She smiled the whole half hour left of school. Maybe she doesn't have to be so shy now. That was really nice. But what about your special valentine Hadley K? That was your best one!"

I was quiet for a while and we could hear the snow crunching of our boots, because Luci was right. It was my best one. Plus, it was from my mom and dad. Plus, it had a Zagnut candy bar right on it. Plus, that is my very favorite candy in the galaxy. I sorta felt a little tear coming but I knew that part of it was sad water and part of it was happy water. Because, when I think about how happy Seneca was, and how nice everybody was to her, then it all works out. So I raised my eyebrows really tall and my tear melted back.

"I think that Seneca's smile was my very best valentine Luci." And when I heard those words out of my mouth, then, something inside of me smiled too!

Chapter Twelve: The LIBRARY

2009-02-02T03:31:00.000-07:00

If I didn't know to be really quiet...and I mean REALLY Q-U-I-E-T, then I would have stood up on a table and yelled: "THANK YOU MS. CLAY, FOR A PERFECT FIELDTRIP DAY! (Only because we went to the best place in our whole town and probably in the whole world!) We all got in the buses for our fieldtrip and after the other teacher warned us to be extra extra good and not bad at all...and after Ms. Clay told us we were going to have a nice day, then "we all put our sack lunches in a safe place next to us or in our laps without looking in them", and then we looked out the bus windows. I heard a paper noise and I saw a boy from the other class take a cookie out of his lunch and sneak pieces in his mouth. He'll be sad when we get to our picnic and his wookie nookie cookie is all gone. Some kids just have to 'learn by doing I guess, because they won't learn by listening'. Very sad...v-e-r-y sad. There are consequences you know! That means that we choose stuff and then something happens after that.

Caitlyn and Audrey are sitting in front of us and they are planning Audrey's birthday party for February 4th! They said that they will invite Luci and me! I love Birthday parties! We passed Mr. Lee's variety store where I get to buy gum sometimes, and where I got my glass piggy bank, and where I buy candy hearts that he scoops from the bin with his scooper thingy...oh! and where I like to look at all of the coloring books and stuff. I'll probably get a coloring book and markers for Audrey's Birthday! We drove past Christiansen's furniture store where they have the farm set in the very back and it even has the fences for the horses and two wagons for the tractors. Luci and I looked out the window alot so we could see where our surprise fieldtrip was going to be! A boy in the back took somebody's backpack and started passing it around. Luci just rolled her eyes. Sometimes, people need too much attention we think. Our bus went right past the post office and then we turned left and almost went to the swimming pool where I got water up my nose when I took swimming lessons last summer, but then we turned back and I could hardly believe my eyes! The bus was stopping. OUR FIELDTRIP WAS TO THE EPHRAIM CITY LIBRARY! My mom will not believe this! Maybe they think it is MY Birthday or something. I LOVE GOING TO THE LIBRARY!

Ms. Clay said that if we were REALLY and I mean...REALLY QUIET...then we could check out two books each! I looked around at everybody in the whole two classes and tried to spy out who might not be quiet so I could beg them to hold it down so we could each take two books home, but when the huge wooden doors opened...I forgot all about anyone else and wandered into what I call: wonderful!

"Come on Luci," I whispered. "I know the best place for us!" I grabbed her hand and hurried so we could sit by the big red beanbag by the childrens' books. There are fifty-three million books probably. I love to see the illustrations. That means the pictures...but it makes people feel extra special to say they illustrate stuff instead of just draw pictures I think. And instead of saying they wrote a book, big people say that they authored a book. I like big words, so that all works for me. Now when I think about that, maybe I will be an author and an illustrator when I grow up...well, or I might be a mailman lady...because they get to drive on the other side and take packages and surprises and stuff to people or maybe I will...I don't know...I'll plan it out on Saturday!

Luci is my best friend and so we decided to choose four books together and then trade around when we get home. FOUR BOOKS! That is so hard to choose. I wish we could choose 42 books! I like books about horses, and I like chapter books about mysteries and 'Where the Sidewalk Ends' sort of books. Oh! and books about Brasil because that's where my brother is, and maybe I should get a craft book for my mom because she is making a shelf for my room!

Two of the kids from the other class were laughing and talking outloud by the water-fountain, so we came really really close to packing it all up...but finally Ms. Clay talked to the teacher with the big clipboard and so the that teacher took her board and very sharp pencil and those talky walky laughy loud boys out to the bus by themselves. That's a consequence for ya! They should have listened and obeyed. SAD for them. NO BOOKS for them. Maybe next time they will get it.

I like books about: space, zoo animals, how to draw, biographies (that's just books about people and AUTO-biograhies are about somebody who wrote about their own self, because they auto-matically know what to say... since it is them)! There are books that show all the colors, and books about going to other countries and it even shows what they wear and what they like to eat in those places. I found a book about weather and it's all about how the rain drops down after the clouds bump into the mountain and stuff like that. I almost decided to get a book about my favorite movie, but then I saw a book about going to grandma's house and I think I will get that one for sure! Luci found a book about making your own necklace, one about popcorn, one about twins, and three storybooks that we have never ever heard of! We took each book out and turned a couple of pages and then put it carefully back or put it on our giant 'maybe' stack.

It seemed like we were only at the library for 2 minutes when Ms. Clay announced that it was time to choose our final books and take them to the front desk because it was already lunch time. "Oh no Luci!" I whispered. "We have to hurry and choose! That couldn't have been a whole hour Luci." Luci just started putting books back on the shelf except the Pollyanna book and one about poems and stuff. "But what if the very very VERY best books are still on the shelf and we haven't even seen them yet?" I panicked, "HURRY!" Ms. Clay warned us. So, I closed my eyes and picked two books from my best pile...and then very carefully put the other 7 'almost' books back for later! I got a book about Butterflies and a storybook named: A Wagon full of Surprises! and I quick talked Luci out of her poems book because we have to have the book about Going to Grandmas! and we took them to the front desk.

When we left the library in two straight lines, we marched across the hall to a large pretty much empty conference room and then we could finally open our lunches. "Luci, I was so excited for my lunch and special treat, but I would rather go back to the Library and look at books!" She was smack-dab in the middle of a bite of her peanut butter and honey sandwich so she didn't say a word. "When I think about it, Luci!" I smiled, "Eating is like feeding YOU and reading is like feeding your ideas. And I like being hungry for both!"

Chapter Eleven: The Big Fieldtrip!

2009-01-26T03:26:00.000-07:00

My heart is smiling alot because my class is going on a super duper moo-per looper fieldtrip! I am so excited!

That means that Ms. Clay gave us an important paper to not bend, or write on, or lose, or get dirty, or forget about. We MUST have our mom and dad read it and get all excited for us and then they can tear off the bottom and sign their names to tell our teacher that we will be very very nice because: YES, we can go! Then we take the bottom part and put it as quick as a winky dink into our backpacks and tape the top part on our fridges so we won't forget! But believe me...I WILL NOT FORGET! This is my big time to ride a bus and to take a special sack lunch (with dessert in it)!

I like field trips! Ms. Clay said, "Be sure to get to school very early on Tuesday." And I will. She said, "The fieldtrip is a "complete surprise"! That means that they still need to figure it all out I think. I hope we go to the zoo! I love to see all the animals and stuff. Maybe we will go visit a farm. There are lots of animals there too and they aren't so wild and so maybe we can pet them or milk a cow or make butter or something.

Oh! Good one Hadley, great idea: maybe we will go to the bakery! Marcus said his class did that once and he said they gave everyone a free cookie after they looked at all of the ovens and dough machines and stuff. Once he got to go to a giangantic park and they played on the swings and slides and ate their lunches on picnic tables. Oh! I just can't hardly wait!

Markus was teaching me all about fieldtrips so I would be very prepared for morning. He was kinda telling my mom, but I listened real close. This is exactly what will happen: First thing, we will get on the buses. One of the teachers will climb onto the bus with a clipboard and a commission (that probably means she has a big job to do). While the bus driver is finishing his donut outside, that teacher will squint at us with her eyes and tell us all to mind our manners as she checks off her list with a sharp, very sharp, pencil. She will tell us that we better not litter, or yell, or wander off, or throw things around in the bus. (Whoa lady...don't give everyone ideas, I thought). Then Markus said that Everyone will be very quiet and she will tell us again that we better behave or there will be a big fat huge test for those who are not courteous. And that test will be during recess on the very next day. Then she will say: "Don't even think about opening your sack lunches on the bus." And then she will say: "Your parents pay alot of taxes for you to get to do these things and so you better mind your p's and q's or you won't deserve to go on this fieldtrip or any others in the future. I asked Markus what p's and q's meant and he just sorta rolled his eyes and went on. I looked at my mom. Then I figured it out, all by myself! It means be 'polite' and don't get quilty! All the kids are like statues he said. They just want to get off the bus and go home. That part worried me about fieldtrips. But the next part is the good part!
Next, Markus said that the teachers trade buses and start over giving their speeches about our day. You can't go until they do it, so just smile and nod and wait. He said that the other teacher gets on the bus with a giant smile. She just looks at everyone and tells all the parents who are going with us about how well-behaved these students are and how much fun we are going to have. She has been looking forward to it for a long time! Then everyone breathes again, Markus said. My mom giggled just a little bit. I hope I can hold my breath long enough to do it the right way in the morning.

Isn't that just life for ya? Everywhere I go, some people are happy and some people are grumpy. It isn't just kids, I guess. Maybe even big grown-up people decide to be nice or not. Anyway, I sure hope we get the smiling teacher on our bus! If not, then we will all sit and shake, Markus said. I'm going to be a kind kind of person when I grow up! And I am growing up right now when I think about it.

Well, I guess I better go take a bath and wash my hair and set my clothes out and hug my mom and dad and say my prayers and go to sleep so I will be ready for my FIELDTRIP as soon as I wake up!!!

Maybe we will go to the chicken hatchery (OH! I hope so! Maybe they will give us a new little baby chick!), or maybe to the children's museum...oh that would be so great because you can hunt for dinosaur bones in the sand or play with the old kind of telephones about when they were invented, or climb way up on a fire engine! My cousin Mallory got to drive a real fire engine once! Oh! and McKenzie got to go see some Bees on a TV thingy in a storage room place or something like that! Maybe we will go up the canyon to collect leaves and see what plants not to touch like the poison ivy scratchy itchy stuff. (No...that's not it, because its all snowy right now, so that's not it!) Maybe we will visit an aquarium! That's where you get to look through the glass and try to name twenty thousand kinds of fish when they swim quickity slippidy past you. Or Maybe, we could go to the newspaper place! If we go there I can see how to make a newspaper, and that would be great because it is kinda like making a book...and when I grow up, I am going to write a book. Well, maybe I will write lots of books.

Ok, Hadley K, time to quit thinking and just OBEY!
take a bath,
wash my hair,
set my clothes out,
remind mom about my special lunch,
hug mom and dad,
say my prayers, (maybe I can ask if its okay if the kind teacher is on my bus).
and GO TO SLEEP so I will be ready for my big surprise FIELDTRIP! Where or where will we go? I can't hardly wait to know!

Chapter Ten: The Scripture Store!

2009-01-19T03:47:00.000-07:00

So, we were having a yucky stucky time getting together for Family Home Evenings. And sometimes Markus just rolled his eyes at the very thought. He'll be okay when he grows up I think, but for now, he can't sit still very much sometimes. But, the best thing just happened today! My parents thought up the most excellent idea ever!

It's called the SCRIPTURE STORE! And we get to spend our scripture script (that's kind of like our own home-made money thingys). If we read our scriptures just a bit every day (even if its only a verse or a chapter or a story) then we get to have a student script on Sunday. And that is very good because I love to read about the stories in the scriptures. Like Daniel who was not even afraid of the Lions because Heavenly Father would make those lions into pets just like Scruffy, so they wouldn't hurt him at all, and they didn't. And Heavenly Father helped Esther too, only I can't remember the name of the bad guy in that story right now...but all I remember is that if I have faith like Esther then the bad guys will just go away.

If we write 2 paragraphs in our journals a week (which: if I think about it: I am already doing it right now!!!) then on Sunday I will get a scribe script. Maybe I will write about some of my favorite scripture stories sometimes.

And if I can tell my parents something that somebody did that was super kind during the week then I get a steward script...and steward just means that you took care of watching for good things and tried to do kind things for other people. It's not that hard. Sometimes it could just be a smile even. But, sometimes you have to do dishes or vacuum or take bread to the neighbor and stuff.

But, here's the best part! We get to buy real things with the script and then we can start all over with it again. We can save our script and buy something very big, like a coloring book, or new crayons, or even a new pair of shoes when we need them, and stuff like that. My parents even made a little store in the storage room. The deal is: they have the key. And the other thing is: we can only get the script things, IF we have Family Home Evening. AND something else: the store is only open for 20 minutes after Family Home Evening once a week! WE CANNOT MISS A ONE! So, I have to plan it all out and think ahead. This week I am definitely going for the Zagnut candy bar...because I really really like Zagnut candy bars. They are the best ever! It will cost 2 scripts...so I can't forget to write a note to remember to be nice and to read my scriptures. Even Markus thinks this is a great idea. He saw a football key chain in that store and it cost 3 scripts so he has to be pretty kind all week long!

I am so excited about this whole brand spanking new idea! We can't even wait for everyone to be home for family night now. Plus, inside of me feels like a giant smile. I think it's because our Prophet said to always have a night just for our family to talk and learn and play games together. He said we can invite other people to be with us sometimes too. I think Luci would like this script thing too! I'll ask mom if she can get another Zagnut candy bar in there for Luci.
Well, that's my "two paragraphs or more" in my journal for this week. It's one of my very best weeks ever in the world cuz' now we have a real scripture store! That is a very very important idea that my parents thought of. Way to go Mom and Dad!

Chapter Nine: C-H-E-A-T-I-N-G

2009-01-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

CHEATING! That's exactly what Regge was doing. I was sad to the middle of me and back. At first, I thought, maybe he looked at my paper by accident. Maybe he was stretching and looked by mistake or something. I think everybody is trying to do their very best. Why not? It is sorta why we came to earth. Who would even try to do something wrong on purpose and get their book all messed up...because when I think about it, our books (up there) tell us what we get and where we go forever and ever and ever and ever and never quits. That is way past and beyond me!

But, Regge looked at my paper twice and then again and that does it! He was CHEATING on purpose. SAD, SAD, SAD. "Regge, quit looking on my paper," I whispered sharp. He just laughed at me while I squinted at him. And just then Ms. Clay said the last word for us to spell and so I hurried and piled all of my books and my dictionary and my backpack and my pencil holder in front of my spelling words and covered my paper really really good and scooted my chair way-away from him so that the angels don't write anything about that cheaty thing in my book! All day long, I worried about Regge.

Our teacher has a pretty rock collection in the back of our room. I bet it was Regge who showed Ricky and Karen the fool's gold rock and promised them that it was real gold. At recess, I saw Regge cut in line to kick the ball ahead of Justin. OH MY! His book must be stuffed with yuck. How disgusting. I don't even want my desk to be next to his desk.

There are some really cute boys in my class. I wish my desk was by theirs. Like Jonathan, he is fun and includes everybody and he would never ever in a zillion years cheat on a test. Nathaniel is kind and shares with everybody and would never cheat or crowd in line. Samuel is a good sport, everybody likes him too, and he wouldn't cheat either. Now those boys are my kind of people... they are smart, and nice, and handsome to the max! I was thinking to tell Luci about how yucky Regge is. Maybe I should warn everybody.

At recess, I said: "Luci, I have to tell you something about Regge." Just as I was about to tell Luci every little dreadful detail about the boy, a little thought came to my mind about my special Christmas gift, which is really a promise, which is also my New Year's Resolution thingy because it all works out that way... and so just then, I remembered to think about the good instead of the bad things. So I stopped right there. "What about Regge?" Luci asked. "What did you want to tell me?"

"A..well...I wanted to tell you that...a well...I think that Regge is sad." "What?" Luci blinked like a frog who didn't even believe my words. "Well...I think that maybe we should ask Ms. Clay to help him with his spelling. "What, are you kidding me, Hadley K, he got all but the very last word right on his spelling test! That was better than me, I missed two, what about asking teacher to help me!" "Oh, yeah." I mumbled. "Come on, no one's on 4-square," and I started to run.

After recess, I wrote a little note to Ms. Clay and I told her that Regge probably needed some help on spelling, but maybe he was too shy to ask. I didn't think she would know who wrote the note, but after school she asked me to stay and visit with her. Oh yeah, I had written the note with my blue pencil and she knows that is my most favorite color. Plus, I had a smiley face at the bottom and she knows about my smiley faces. "Well, I think Regge is sad because he tried to copy my words to feel better about his paper, and so maybe you could help him learn to spell by himself and then he would be happy." That was all I could think of to say. She thanked me for telling her and said that she would try to help him more.

It still bothered me all day about the Cheating thing. Mostly, because I don't even want to be anywhere near Regge or his cheaty desk. But, then I thought about my part. I was judging him and mad at him and that is bad too. Maybe nobody would want to sit by me either if they could see my mind all mad and judging. But cheating is way bad. But judging is way bad too. But cheating is way way bad. I was mad at him because judging is in my book now, because of the cheating in his! I'm not sure how to fix that.

And then something important happened. Margaret accidentally knocked Ms. Clay's vase off her desk when she was handing in her late library book. The vase went crash-bang-into a million pieces and Margaret started to cry. "Oh, Ms. Clay, I am so sorry." And you know what my teacher said? She just gave Margaret a little hug and said, "I am sad about the vase, but not about you Margaret. I am not mad at you. Come help me sweep up the pieces if you would."

That is very very important what Ms. Clay said...and it fixed my problem too. I wasn't mad at Regge. I was mad at the cheaty thing. And cheating is something to be mad about. Wow! I felt much better! So I jumped right up from my desk and helped Margaret clean up Ms. Clay's flowers from the floor while Ms. Clay swept the bazillion pieces of vase. And then I marched back to my desk which is right next to Reginald G's desk and put away my books and dictionary and pencil case and waited for the bell to ring.

Chapter Eight: Scruffy!

2009-01-05T11:14:00.000-07:00

My puppy has a name! Nobody even helped me. It is a great name, and I thought it all up myself. My puppy is (da da!):

Kaisa K Scruffy Shay! That is a terrific name! Maybe people will want me to help them name their dogs now...so I chose the very best one first because she is the very best dog in the whole world! We just call her Scruffy.

When I say: "Come on, Scruffy!", she wags her tail 100 miles an hour and so I know she likes her name alot.

But sometimes I think other people think that they have the very best dog in the world, even if they don't, and so it all works out. Its good that everybody see things a little different. Because Mrs. Merzolot two streets over has the real most ugliest dog I have ever seen...and I mean E-V-E-R seen, but she thinks it is just as cute as a button. I have never seen a giant bulldog button before, but I am happy for her, I really am. When I look at Mrs. Merzolot's dog, I see a big fat bulldog with drooling and grumpy and bowl-legging stuff...but she sees her best dog in the world. Maybe all the people with blue eyes see things different than all the people with brown eyes and green eyes. I will have to figure out, about that, on Saturday. All I know is that I am sooooo glad that I have green eyes and that my dog is the best in the whole wide country world!

The last two weeks have been the best! But in two days school will start again. I am sorta ready and sorta not. Life is like that. I want to tell my friends and my teacher about Scruffy...but I don't want to leave her home. I wish I could take her to school and let her sit right by my desk. But, She might eat the principal's shoes and chew up my best crayons and jump up on the lunch table and eat everybody's lunches in the whole school. And then she would be the biggest fattest dog in the universe and everybody would look at me like: 'You know that you can't bring a dog to school Hadley K and now it ate all of our lunches, including our dessert!' and I would just look down at my shoelaces because they are right, I do know that dogs can't come to school. But if I train her to be really nice and to stay and to sit and to crawl and to shake and ESPECIALLY: to go outside when she needs to be outside (if you know what I mean)...then it will all work out.

Today is the day, that I clean up all the bits of color from my bedroom floor. I know today is the day because when we were having our oatmeal this morning, my mom said, "Hadley K, today is the DAY!" and I knew EXACTLY what she meant. It will take about 3 years to clean my room and then tonight, I will train Scruffy to be nice. My mom thinks I should train me first...and when I thought about that...it is a really really great idea that she said. I really can learn to obey fast if Scruffy can, because when I think about it...I am a person and Scruffy is a dog and so if a dog can learn to obey first off...then I can too. I like that alot. At first, the thought of obeying about my messy room made me sad...but then I remembered my gift about choosing to be HAPPY...so I figured out to make a cleaning game. Yeah, okay, pick up all the red papers and red socks and red shirts or pencils or anything red in my room and put it all away before I count to 24! Then I think I will put away everything that has pink on it next! HEY! maybe...I should call Luci! She will think my game is like a genuis game!

Well....OR NOT. I guess it is mine to do all alone. Drats! OK. Here I go, just smile and nod, just smile and nod, just smile and nod. READY...SET...GO! Pick up everything with POLKA DOTS ON IT FIRST. Then STRIPES! Then every paper that measures under 1 and 1/2 inches long...YEAH! And while I am in the garage getting the measurer thingy... I will pet the best dog in the world: SCRUFFY!

Chapter Seven: OH MY!!!

2008-12-29T06:02:00.000-07:00

I am so excited that my pen is not even sure what to write!

We had the best Christmas in the whole world. I cannot even think or believe what I actually got for Christmas!!! I just have to write every single part down to remember it FOR-E-V-E-R. OH MY!

The thing about writing in my journal is that I am saying stuff that I already know. But I am writing it down anyway, because of the family history...thing. It's really MY JOURNAL, but I already know about me, so I think its like I am writing it for my little children so they will know about me. Only they are not even born yet and so I don't know their names or else I would write this to their names. But whoever you are going to be, (hmmm..maybe you are twins! Yeah, I think maybe two sets of twins, and then a boy and then a girl and then a boy and then another girl...and...well, wait! Maybe the girl first and then...hmmm...I sorta want 9 children but sometimes 7. I'll have to figure it all out on Saturday or something. I think everybody's names could start with K). Anyway: you kids be nice and share. Maybe you could tear this page out and make copies so everyone can have one because you are not going to believe what I got for Christmas!!!

First, on Christmas Eve, after dad read what Luke said about the real Christmas then I got to open the package that mom (winked about over and over). "Oh my! Thank you! I love these new pajamas!" (But don't even think thats the best surprise yet!) Because the best gift is next!

On Christmas morning, we sat on the stairs while Dad figured out about his new camera. He had us smile at least twelve times before the flash finally worked right, and Mom was smiling the whole time and telling us that it was already daytime in Brasil and so our brother was probably going to call us in an one hour and 22 and 1/2 minutes from now! I was smiling a straight cheeser because I know that's the best way to get the camera part done, (I sorta wished that dad had read his new instructions book another time too), but I was co-operating big time while we all waited for Markus who really didn't get it about waking up at 5:00 in the morning. But later, when he saw that violet gecko bursting across his new blue and orange snowboard then he was wide awake. I heard a little noise down there. I really did. Okay, so we took the pictures quick and when the grandfather clock donged then we ran down the stairs and looked by the tree. And there under that tree was the best present in the whole country and beyond. There was the barky noise again and the cutest puppy that I ever saw in my whole life! And the puppy had a bright red bow on it and a tag that said: For Hadley K Merit Shay! I jumped up and down and yelled: Is this really my very own puppy for keeps? Momma, is this really my very own puppy? Look at my puppy!!! My very own puppy! Can we really keep this puppy? I felt a little tear come out because Dad said that we could keep it and that it was my Christmas present for reals and I was so happy. I didn't even know that I could have a real puppy for Christmas.

She is so soft and she is golden, the golden kind of retriever thats gold. She licked my face because she likes me so much and I giggled about that. It feels so tickeleee. Then Markus wanted to open his other present, but I forgot that there were other presents. So Dad opened his pencil holder and my Mom opened her Koo-pawns and Markus opened his candy bar and pencil with the football eraser and the whole world was so happy about their gifts. I was the happiest of all! Oh My! Oh My!!!

We talked to my brother in Brasil, he kind of speaks our language still... and I told him all about my present. And he said, "what is your puppy's name?" and I said: "I don't know!" And he said, "You better choose a good name for her and then you can write a letter and tell me what it is!" And then he told me that he loves me. And then it was Markus' turn to talk. I need a NAME for my new puppy. I need lots and lots of good ideas.

OH NO! Gotta go... my puppy just found another shoe. She is sooooo smart. Probably the smartest dog in the universe. She already knows all about what a shoe is, that's pretty smart for a little puppy and she can find them anywhere! Oops, that one belongs to my dad! Better go....

Chapter Six: The GIFT

2008-12-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why I started to giggle...but I did. And then I couldn't stop no matter what! And it was not good because I was smack dab in the middle of my school program with my new ruffly Christmas dress on. There were about 20 million people looking at us and the lights were pointy right at us, and we had to stand very still and keep our hands at our sides and I had an itch. And grandpas were flashing their cameras, and grandmas were wiping away little happy tears, and little kids were standing on their parents' laps so they could see us lots better than the upset people behind them. And my teacher was hurrying to one side of the gym and then to the other trying to get the lights just right...and then the principal announced all about us and stuff and then it got real quiet. And all of a sudden, I started to giggle. It was so embarrassing! And the more I thought about that, the more I giggled. Maybe because my hair was pulled too tight up there and then my bow popped right off and onto Jacob's head who was right on the row in front of me. He turned around and the look on his face could have started everything, or maybe because I was the third row up and right on the end of the bleachers and I was just trying not to fall off the program. It was all a very special special evening, like my teacher said, and I tried to cover my mouth, but a great giant ha, ha, ha, came out! Oops!
Anyway, I sneaked a peek at my mom and she was trying to tell me to quit laughing NOW! She put her finger over her lips like: Shhhhh! And my father was tilting his head with his eyebrows up high and his arms folded like: Why, Hadley K, Why? and sorta like there might be no more presents with my number on them when we get back home. They had to dress all nice to come and I think they came to hear me and 49 other kids sing and this laughing stuff was not appropri-up or some word like that. But when I saw them staring with their eyes all talking to me...and when I tried to stop, I started to laugh even more. Did they think I was doing it on purpose? Well, I wasn't! I ducked down behind Jacob just a bit so that my teacher wouldn't squint at me and so I wouldn't ruin the whole Christmas song, and I pinched my arm really hard so I would quit. Oh My...HA...HA...HA! Anyway, we had a very quiet ride home. But there are lots of good things that happened this week too! That's how life is, I think. There are always good things and there are always bad things. A good thing is that our family got our coats on and we went to all our neighbors and sang Christmas songs on their porches. A bad thing was: I accidentally tore a little piece of the wrapping off one of the gifts that I was rearranging. The good thing was: It was a present for my brother and I found some tape really really fast and fixed it before any problems. A bad thing was: my snowman melted his head off. A good thing was: My teacher made a little sleigh for everybody in my class with two candy canes for the slider things! A bad thing was: I giggled during my special program. That made me sad. But a very very good thing is: This week, right now...is Christmas week.

I got a coloring book and markers for Luci. She will be sooooo excited for that. I put a little pink dot by the pages that she should save for me to color. I really like that book.

I made a pencil holder for my dad. We did it at school. All you need is a soup can. My teacher probably had chicken noodle soup for a year because she saved all of those cans in a big box. (I am happy for her that she can have potatoes and hamburger and salad now that it is all done.) Anyway, we just glopped glue all over the can and then you smear it all around...and then this is the part where we go fast. You just take a yarn that has whatever color you want...or whatever color is left if Brad got the color you wanted...and then just wind it around and around and around the can getting higher and higher to the top and then you are done. Well, you still have to wash your hands so you don't stick to your desk. Anyway, my dad will be so excited!

I am giving my mom some little cards. They are called: Coupons...like: Koo-pawns. You just draw a picture of what you will do to help. Like one has dishes on it and when she gives it back to me, then I will help with the dishes. One has a broom on it, so I will sweep the floor. I tried to draw a cleaning the closet one...but there is no way that I could draw all of that stuff and so I did a cloth for dusting instead. At the very end, when I was wrapping them up, I decided to take out the 'clean the bathroom' one. But maybe I should put it back in there. I should. I'll think about that one. Maybe I should. I'll see....

For my brothers, I drew a picture of the Temple for my brother Chandler in Brasil. And for Markus, I gave him my best pencil with a football eraser and...I also gave him a whole candy bar! For my grandma and grandpas, I drew pictures of my snowman before his head melted off and I wrote: "I love you very much and please hurry and come visit us forever". And I was all excited for Christmas because the best thing is: My Christmas countdown chain is so teensy now that it is hardly there. But that giggling thing in my program really made me feel bad. I just ruined my whole program for my whole school. Mostly, my mom and dad, because nobody else noticed so much, because they were looking at their kids. I let my parents down big time. I just sorta drooped around for a couple of days. I had chocolate milk, but I didn't put marshmellows in it.

And after a very good and very bad week...I think I know what gift to give Jesus. I want His to be the best present of all! And His will be the hardest to make and do. I decided that even though every day is good and bad...that I will just remember the good parts. I can choose happy instead of sad. I think that's the gift He will like the most from me. My mom says that everybody has bad days. I think it seems like I keep making lots of mistakes more than anybody, but if I quit thinking about my bad days then everything will be better. So this is how my gift will go: if someone asks me about my Christmas program...I can say: "Well, just for a minute there, I sorta got a little giggle in my heart, but mostly, it was a special special evening." Yeah, and I will remember the special part. Something inside of me feels like a smile and so I know that is the gift I should give. WOW! I really am ready now. Merry Christmas Hadley K!

Chapter Five: Waiting for Christmas!

2008-12-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

Not this week, but the very next one (after this one that we are doing) is when Christmas comes! I can't hardly believe that! I made a paper chain so I could see how many days are left...and every night right after prayers, I take one paper off and rip it into bitty pieces and toss them all up in the air as high as I can and watch them come down like snowflakes! Mom said I should clean up all of those pieces...but I asked her if it is ok since it is a special part of my very own celebration and that I will pick them up RIGHT after Christmas. And I will. She just smiled and sorta sighed and closed the door.

Jumping from paper to paper is fun. Maybe I have invented a famous game or something. Maybe I better think of a name for it very quick. I told my best friend, Luci, to come see my bedroom floor. "Your what?" she blinked. But, was she ever surprised at the three zillion and fifty thousand torn pieces of colored bits of paper all over my room.
"You can only step on the red ones" I told her.
Now Blue!
Now Yellow!
Now Green!

By the time we had jumped on every color a couple of times, we were tired. "Luci, look at my little tiny smallest chain! That means Christmas is coming SOON, very very soon!"

"You really should clean all those papers up." she said.

"Right after Christmas" I told her, "because this is part of my waiting for Christmas stuff that I do."

"What else can we do while we wait for Christmas Luci?" I showed her our tippy tree that is sorta slanty and I showed her the presents and the numbers on them and what I thought could be in every single one. And then we talked about the most Important thing: what gift to give Jesus...because it really is HIM that we are all celebrating about...and we are both still thinking very hard about that. We shook some of the presents a bit more (very gently) and we colored a snowman too. Then Luci's mom called and said it was time for her to come home for dinner. AND, if I think about it, dinner is close to reading and homework and then bedtime again. Yippy skippy! Another piece of chain is about to come off!!!

I was helping my mom with her waiting for Christmas stuff. We cut out some gingerbread men and after I ate two whole men...I had a big inspiration idea. I could take gingerbread cookies to all the grandmas on our street. Sometimes, people give grandmas stuff like oranges and bananas and apples in a basket. I bet they have fifty-five baskets in every room in their houses by now. But if I was a grandma, I would want gingerbread cookies instead. I whispered about my idea to mom. She liked my plan and so we made some special ones for Mrs. Saderson and Nellie and Sister Rugers. We iced the cookies and put raisins for the buttons and butterscotch chips for the eyes and a huge smile of red hots and almonds for shoes. We used frosting for glue! You can't even eat real glue and so this is a very very important good brain storming idea! My mom is amazing! I decorated those boys really really good and then I bundled up in my warmest coat and fuzzy white hat and boots while mom wrapped the cellophaney see through stuff on the gingerbread boys. It was soooooo cold outside. But something inside of me was warm and that happy was there and I could tell that it was.

Mrs. Saderson opened her big brown door and just about laughed all over the room when I showed her my surprise. She put her hands over her mouth and then she laughed again. She told me all about when she was a girl just like me, (but she doesn't look like she was ever a girl just like me) and she told me every thing about her family, and her kids, and showed me pictures of every one of them and told me that they were all really busy and then she told me how she loved gingerbread men for Christmas. And she was still laughing probably, when I got down the street to Nellie's.

I had to knock a lot of times really really loud. Finally Nellie opened her big yellow door. When she saw my surprise, she put her hands on her hips. "Why it has been a long time since I have had a gingerbread man!" she said. And she didn't tell me her whole life, like Mrs. Saderson did, but she walked really really slow into the kitchen and made me some hot chocolate and asked me all about how I had made such a nice surprise and asked me about what my family does for Christmas. She smiled when I went down her steps and she told me to be very careful because the walk was slippery.

Sister Rugers said my surprise was the very nicest one she could think of. She even let me hold her cat named Ruby. It is a super soft cat and it likes me alot I think. She said I could come back anytime and hold it again. She wanted me to sing a Christmas song for her and so I tried to remember all the words to 'Away in a Manger'. I got it pretty ok, but she had to help me in a couple of times. She said she learned that song in Primary too. I didn't even know they had Primary way back in those days, whenever they were. But they did. On the way home I thought about those grandmas. Wow! They were little like me (someday way back long ago). And that made me know that someday far from now, I will have little krinklee lines all over my face like them and I will be old too! I had never really thought about that before. What kind of grandma do I want to be when I get krinklee?

I took a red paper strip off my chain that night and ripped it into twenty-two pieces and threw them up as high as I could! I jumped on all the red pieces, and the blue pieces, and the yellow pieces, and the green pieces, and then jumped right into bed. While I waited for my mom or dad to come tuck me in, I thought about my day. Wow! I really will turn into a grandma some day. I really really will. The papers strips come off so fast. And when I am a grandma, I will be so excited for Christmas and I will make paper chains and count off the days (maybe for a whole year or twenty)...and I will jump from color to color (probably in my whole entire house!) because my game is such a great invention that I made. And...when I am a krinkle-ly grandma, maybe someone will bring me a gingerbread man with icing and red-hots, and then I will make them some chocolate milk and I will show them lots of pictures of my family, and I will let them pet my cat. ..and I will ask them what ideas they have for an extra special gift to celebrate Jesus!!!Those are all good waiting for Christmas things to do!
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