At the end of 4th grade, a parent at Miciah's school organized the 4th and 5th graders into a dance troupe to do a number for the school Talent Show. Miciah was so excited to do it! It's swing dancing!
So she performed a few times in May-ish. Then she performed again at a Swing Dance expo in downtown Cincinnati in August. Rob and I were out of town, so we missed it. But another parent videotaped it and put it on youtube. Here it is, for you to enjoy:
And the link: http://youtu.be/WWpqzkVumz0
Miciah is in the back right. She's wearing a blue skirt and matching blue shirt. No, not the one in front of her wearing a lighter blue skirt and shirt. No, not the girl next to her and more in the middle also wearing a similar color blue.
Apparently the crowd loved it and gave them a standing ovation. Then, all weekend people were telling the parent organizer that the school dance troupe was their favorite part of the expo. Cute!
Also, thank you parents with talents who choose to involve my children in wonderful things. You guys ROCK!
Showing posts with label Miciah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miciah. Show all posts
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Miciah is 10
Which is totally weird. Except, it's getting less weird all the time. I remember, years back, thinking that my kids would never get big. And now it's happening. It's awesome, actually.
10 isn't a Birthday Party year, so we had a quiet family dinner. Miciah was excited to decorate the house for Halloween "for her birthday." When she asked if we could do that, I was reminded of my oldest brother, Budge (great name, right?!). His birthday is mid-December and we'd always decorate the house for Christmas on his birthday. At least, that's what we did when he was in the house, so he tells me (he's 8 years older than me, so by the time I was remembering stuff, he was mostly gone). It was special for him. And now it's special to decorate the house for Halloween on Miciah's birthday. Fun!
The kids did it mostly themselves. They made posters and things to hang from the ceilings. They took cotton balls and stretched them out so they look cobwebby, and those are all over the living room. It's pretty cool. It's festive, yet home-grown. I approve.
Also, this is a pretty great Halloween decoration, too:
We're thinking of taking him out with us Trick-or-Treating. Cause apparently snakes freak people out. I don't understand this, as I think snakes are fascinating, beautiful creatures. Oh well. To each their own.
(We did a quick measurement, while he slithered across the floor, and he's just under 4 feet long. He never looks near that long all curled up in his cage, and he's always curled up. That's what he likes to do. Also, he's still name-less. We're leaning toward Carl Sagan or Cuddles. He's a very cuddly snake.)
The kids did it mostly themselves. They made posters and things to hang from the ceilings. They took cotton balls and stretched them out so they look cobwebby, and those are all over the living room. It's pretty cool. It's festive, yet home-grown. I approve.
Also, this is a pretty great Halloween decoration, too:
We're thinking of taking him out with us Trick-or-Treating. Cause apparently snakes freak people out. I don't understand this, as I think snakes are fascinating, beautiful creatures. Oh well. To each their own.
(We did a quick measurement, while he slithered across the floor, and he's just under 4 feet long. He never looks near that long all curled up in his cage, and he's always curled up. That's what he likes to do. Also, he's still name-less. We're leaning toward Carl Sagan or Cuddles. He's a very cuddly snake.)
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Love Those Kids
Elijah
Some missionaries spoke at the church we attended today. The second talk was about being a Gospel-Sharing Home. I was listening, because I was interpreting the talk to myself (which always makes me feel like an idiot, which is why I don't do it more often). I hadn't really given it a ton of thought, though, other than thinking that he gave a good story about his conversion. It struck me as one of those "Yes, yes. I should be doing missionary work, I get it" type of talks.
Sacrament meeting ended and before Elijah left for Primary he said, "Mom, I want to go over to the Jasper's house." The Jasper's are our neighbors. They're the cutest elderly people in the world, and they're great neighbors. But I wasn't making the connection to the sudden interest in talking about them. I asked Elijah to continue. "I want to read the Book of Mormon with them." What a cute, diligent boy. I asked him which part of the Book of Mormon he wanted to read with them and he said, "I don't know. I think I'll just start at the beginning." And with that he walked to class.
I listened to the talk. I was even paying attention. But Elijah was listening with an open heart.
For as rambunctious as that little boy is, he sure teaches us a lot about living the Gospel. His heart is nearly always in the right place. Have I told you about him and Rick? They've always had a strong connection, ever since Elijah was born. During Rick's prolonged hospital stay, Elijah was the one always reminding us to pray for Rick. In fact, I think he still includes him in his prayers, even though Rick is now home and doing "fine."
Here's what gets me, though. Since Rick has been home, Elijah has gone over to see him nearly every day. EVERY DAY. How many times have I personally been over? Three times, maybe, in the last month or so. Elijah goes over and talks to him, who knows about what. He checks his legs to see if Rick is increasing his muscle mass. He's so concerned. You can just tell that that little boy understands that he almost lost his favorite great Uncle, and he now is determined to take care of him.
It's just amazing to me. I have all those adult concerns. What if I don't have the right thing to say? Well, I can't go over anyway, cause I'm busy. He doesn't need me to go see him, he's fine. All those kinds of things go through my head. But Elijah just goes over. As Rick put it, "it's precious."
Teancom
And then there's Tank. The other day I asked him to help me do something. I forget what it was, but it wasn't a big thing. I'm used to the "I don't want to!" reaction that I get from some unnamed others, so I was shocked when after I told him thank you he said thank you right back. I asked, "For what?" He said, "For letting me help. I like to help." Aww.
Miciah
Honestly, Miciah has been getting on my nerves lately. She has lots more homework this year, and I think it stresses her out a little, and we all know that I'm already stressed out. Some days are fine, but other days aren't so fine. Then Rob and I are together over the weekends and I start back over at Monday feeling alright again.
But Miciah's awesome. She's still zany and likes being around us and her little brothers. She loves babies, particularly the nearly-toddler age, and wants to help take care of them all she can. She's writing a book for school and she's way excited about it. She's reading Harry Potter so much that she stays up til ridiculous hours and then is grouchy the next day and blames us for not getting her homework done (go figure that one out). Still, she's reading up a storm and acing Math tests and loving school. It's great.
Plus, she's hilarious. Even when she's mad, all I have to do is make a silly face at her and she's giggling and then making me giggle. She has so much positive energy.
Love those kids.
(Oh! And love that husband, too. In 2 weeks he has his first "professional" Great Thackeroni gig. Though, he's not going to let them pay him except with a piece of birthday cake. I've talked with Rob about this Great Thackeroni thing. He always downplays the compliments he recieves, but I tell him he shouldn't. Rob has a gift. Clearly it's not magic. That's obvious. It's making people happy. Making people smile. And he can do it in so many ways! He can sing, he's got zany accents he can pull out, fake magic he can perform. Know what I would do if given a stage and 10 minutes to make people happy? Fail miserably, that's what I would do. And THAT'S what people see. Rob has a gift that most of the rest of us don't. It's awesome.)
Some missionaries spoke at the church we attended today. The second talk was about being a Gospel-Sharing Home. I was listening, because I was interpreting the talk to myself (which always makes me feel like an idiot, which is why I don't do it more often). I hadn't really given it a ton of thought, though, other than thinking that he gave a good story about his conversion. It struck me as one of those "Yes, yes. I should be doing missionary work, I get it" type of talks.
Sacrament meeting ended and before Elijah left for Primary he said, "Mom, I want to go over to the Jasper's house." The Jasper's are our neighbors. They're the cutest elderly people in the world, and they're great neighbors. But I wasn't making the connection to the sudden interest in talking about them. I asked Elijah to continue. "I want to read the Book of Mormon with them." What a cute, diligent boy. I asked him which part of the Book of Mormon he wanted to read with them and he said, "I don't know. I think I'll just start at the beginning." And with that he walked to class.
I listened to the talk. I was even paying attention. But Elijah was listening with an open heart.
For as rambunctious as that little boy is, he sure teaches us a lot about living the Gospel. His heart is nearly always in the right place. Have I told you about him and Rick? They've always had a strong connection, ever since Elijah was born. During Rick's prolonged hospital stay, Elijah was the one always reminding us to pray for Rick. In fact, I think he still includes him in his prayers, even though Rick is now home and doing "fine."
Here's what gets me, though. Since Rick has been home, Elijah has gone over to see him nearly every day. EVERY DAY. How many times have I personally been over? Three times, maybe, in the last month or so. Elijah goes over and talks to him, who knows about what. He checks his legs to see if Rick is increasing his muscle mass. He's so concerned. You can just tell that that little boy understands that he almost lost his favorite great Uncle, and he now is determined to take care of him.
It's just amazing to me. I have all those adult concerns. What if I don't have the right thing to say? Well, I can't go over anyway, cause I'm busy. He doesn't need me to go see him, he's fine. All those kinds of things go through my head. But Elijah just goes over. As Rick put it, "it's precious."
Teancom
And then there's Tank. The other day I asked him to help me do something. I forget what it was, but it wasn't a big thing. I'm used to the "I don't want to!" reaction that I get from some unnamed others, so I was shocked when after I told him thank you he said thank you right back. I asked, "For what?" He said, "For letting me help. I like to help." Aww.
Miciah
Honestly, Miciah has been getting on my nerves lately. She has lots more homework this year, and I think it stresses her out a little, and we all know that I'm already stressed out. Some days are fine, but other days aren't so fine. Then Rob and I are together over the weekends and I start back over at Monday feeling alright again.
But Miciah's awesome. She's still zany and likes being around us and her little brothers. She loves babies, particularly the nearly-toddler age, and wants to help take care of them all she can. She's writing a book for school and she's way excited about it. She's reading Harry Potter so much that she stays up til ridiculous hours and then is grouchy the next day and blames us for not getting her homework done (go figure that one out). Still, she's reading up a storm and acing Math tests and loving school. It's great.
Plus, she's hilarious. Even when she's mad, all I have to do is make a silly face at her and she's giggling and then making me giggle. She has so much positive energy.
Love those kids.
(Oh! And love that husband, too. In 2 weeks he has his first "professional" Great Thackeroni gig. Though, he's not going to let them pay him except with a piece of birthday cake. I've talked with Rob about this Great Thackeroni thing. He always downplays the compliments he recieves, but I tell him he shouldn't. Rob has a gift. Clearly it's not magic. That's obvious. It's making people happy. Making people smile. And he can do it in so many ways! He can sing, he's got zany accents he can pull out, fake magic he can perform. Know what I would do if given a stage and 10 minutes to make people happy? Fail miserably, that's what I would do. And THAT'S what people see. Rob has a gift that most of the rest of us don't. It's awesome.)
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Miciah's Room
2 posts in 1 day. I know. It's too awesome. (There's no charge for awesomeness. Or attractiveness.)
I helped Miciah clean out her room today. If you remember, Miciah's room is a combination craft room / bedroom. She loves it because she loves crafts and she can do them late into the night. She thinks I don't know, but I do, and it's cool.
We spent 3 hours cleaning. Ended up with 7 garbage bags of stuff to throw or give away. Incredible. She now has way more space and way less crap. Hurray!
And best of all, I found a treasure amidst the crap. (I found a few, actually. Like a letter my Mom wrote me during my freshman year of college. I read it and cried. And a letter saying that I was going to meet President Hinckley. Very cool. I kept them both.) It's this:
I have no idea where we got this.
If you look really closely, you can see that Miciah wrote her name and then "DON'T LOOK IN HERE!" Normally when it says that, I don't actually look, cause I get it. But this was an Elations Heathier Joints Journal. My curiosity was piqued. Here's what it says, word-for-word (Miciah's words in blue):
The longer I read it, the more I smiled. It's not dated, so I have no idea when she wrote it or why, but I can relate.
Love that Miciah.
I helped Miciah clean out her room today. If you remember, Miciah's room is a combination craft room / bedroom. She loves it because she loves crafts and she can do them late into the night. She thinks I don't know, but I do, and it's cool.
We spent 3 hours cleaning. Ended up with 7 garbage bags of stuff to throw or give away. Incredible. She now has way more space and way less crap. Hurray!
And best of all, I found a treasure amidst the crap. (I found a few, actually. Like a letter my Mom wrote me during my freshman year of college. I read it and cried. And a letter saying that I was going to meet President Hinckley. Very cool. I kept them both.) It's this:
If you look really closely, you can see that Miciah wrote her name and then "DON'T LOOK IN HERE!" Normally when it says that, I don't actually look, cause I get it. But this was an Elations Heathier Joints Journal. My curiosity was piqued. Here's what it says, word-for-word (Miciah's words in blue):
The boys are so stupid. I don't like them today.
I HATE MOM AND DAD! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I HAE MOM! I Hate Mom! I HATE MOM! I HATE MOM! I REALLY HATE MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I REALLY DO! I ALWAYS WILL! NO MATTER WHAT SHE DOES! I HATE MOM!!!!!!!
The longer I read it, the more I smiled. It's not dated, so I have no idea when she wrote it or why, but I can relate.
Love that Miciah.
Monday, April 11, 2011
The Dragon Who Learned to Love
Miciah's been bugging me about posting this, so here it is. She wrote this story for an Activity Days / Faith in God activity: Write a story with a Gospel-inspired moral. When we were trying to help her come up with ideas, she said, "But I want to write about dragons!" "So, write about dragons, then." And this story was born. As always, all spelling and punctuation are hers.
The Dragon Who Learned to Love
Moral of story: Love your parents
By: Miciah Lynn Thacker
Table of Contents
Ch. 1 ------------------------ pg. 1
Ch. 2 ------------------------ pg. 2
Ch. 3 ------------------------ pg. 3
Dedicated to:
Sis. Cox and Sis. Kindel
Turn the page to read an amazing STORY!
Chapter 1
Witches
Once, there was a dragon. The dragon was named Silvia, for her silver scales. She was friends with a lama named Frank. One day, Frank went over to Silvia's house, a huge castle, complete with a giand lava pool, for the dragon olimpics of corse.
As Frank was walking over to Silvia's house, He saw a witch! She was singing. Then all of a sudden, two more witches came out and joined her! Their song sonded like this. "We are witches of the night! We will give you such a fright! Na, na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!"
When Frank got to Silvia's house, he told her about the witches. "No big deal," said Silvia. "I want to tell you something." "What?" asked Frank. "I want to run away. My parents ar driving me loko. I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me." "Sure!" cried Frank. "Any-thing to get out of this place!"
*Later that Day*
It was nightime. Frank and Silvia snuck out of the castle. "Where are we going?" asked Frank. "Don't know. Somewhere, I guess," said Silvia.
Once they got inside of the forest, they saw three lights. Then something very soft chimed out, "We are witches of the night! We will give you such a fright! Na, na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!" "That's them!" whispered Frank. "Who?" asked Silvia. "The witches!" cried Frank.
Chapter 2
The place
The next day, they were on a mini island. It was about as big as a normal house. There, they built a fire. The fire was very warm. Soon, it got to big! It was now not a little fire, but a huge fire! "Come on!" shouted Silvia. "Why?" asked Frank. "So you don't die" "Whatever!" shouted Frank. He climbed onto Silvia's back.
After that, they went to the enchanted forest. There they found a place to rest on top of a tree.
*The next day*
They woke up to pitch black. They were in a bag! Thump, thump, thump! Silvia cut off the top. They jumped out. Boom! Boom! Boom! they almost got squashed! A giant almost squashed them! They flew up and Silvia said something you never would beleve.
Chapter 3
reterning
Silvia said, "Now I think we should go back. I just relised I love my parents and need my parents more than I think. I now know that I love my parents just the way they are." "Good for you," said Frank.
They were on their way to Silvia's house when they saw the witches! They were singing their crazy song. "We are witches of the night! We will give you such a fright! Na, na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!" Then they tried to turn Frank into a rabbit! Silvia doged it and made her way to the castle. She talked to her parents. Then, her parents went outside and they made sure those witches never came back!
The End!
The Dragon Who Learned to Love
Moral of story: Love your parents
By: Miciah Lynn Thacker
Table of Contents
Ch. 1 ------------------------ pg. 1
Ch. 2 ------------------------ pg. 2
Ch. 3 ------------------------ pg. 3
Dedicated to:
Sis. Cox and Sis. Kindel
Turn the page to read an amazing STORY!
Chapter 1
Witches
Once, there was a dragon. The dragon was named Silvia, for her silver scales. She was friends with a lama named Frank. One day, Frank went over to Silvia's house, a huge castle, complete with a giand lava pool, for the dragon olimpics of corse.
As Frank was walking over to Silvia's house, He saw a witch! She was singing. Then all of a sudden, two more witches came out and joined her! Their song sonded like this. "We are witches of the night! We will give you such a fright! Na, na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!"
When Frank got to Silvia's house, he told her about the witches. "No big deal," said Silvia. "I want to tell you something." "What?" asked Frank. "I want to run away. My parents ar driving me loko. I wanted to ask if you wanted to come with me." "Sure!" cried Frank. "Any-thing to get out of this place!"
*Later that Day*
It was nightime. Frank and Silvia snuck out of the castle. "Where are we going?" asked Frank. "Don't know. Somewhere, I guess," said Silvia.
Once they got inside of the forest, they saw three lights. Then something very soft chimed out, "We are witches of the night! We will give you such a fright! Na, na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!" "That's them!" whispered Frank. "Who?" asked Silvia. "The witches!" cried Frank.
Chapter 2
The place
The next day, they were on a mini island. It was about as big as a normal house. There, they built a fire. The fire was very warm. Soon, it got to big! It was now not a little fire, but a huge fire! "Come on!" shouted Silvia. "Why?" asked Frank. "So you don't die" "Whatever!" shouted Frank. He climbed onto Silvia's back.
After that, they went to the enchanted forest. There they found a place to rest on top of a tree.
*The next day*
They woke up to pitch black. They were in a bag! Thump, thump, thump! Silvia cut off the top. They jumped out. Boom! Boom! Boom! they almost got squashed! A giant almost squashed them! They flew up and Silvia said something you never would beleve.
Chapter 3
reterning
Silvia said, "Now I think we should go back. I just relised I love my parents and need my parents more than I think. I now know that I love my parents just the way they are." "Good for you," said Frank.
They were on their way to Silvia's house when they saw the witches! They were singing their crazy song. "We are witches of the night! We will give you such a fright! Na, na, na, na, na! Na, na, na, na, na, na, na!" Then they tried to turn Frank into a rabbit! Silvia doged it and made her way to the castle. She talked to her parents. Then, her parents went outside and they made sure those witches never came back!
The End!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Some Miciah Catch-Up
Seems like it's all about HER, HER, HER on my blog these days. But when you've hit on a good thing, you should keep it going, right? Here's a bunch of her things I've been meaning to post. As always, all spelling and punctuation are Miciah's.
(By the way: It's Spring Break. I'm kinda hoping that a kid breaks a bone during the off time so that I can post a "Spring Break Break" blog title.)
Things I would have if I was Snowbound
by Miciah Thacker
1-28-11
1 I would have to have a lot of food.
2 I would have to have a lot of food for my dog.
3 I would have to have a lot of food for my cat.
4 I would have to have a place for my dog to use the potty.
5 I would have to have a lot of books.
6 I would have to have a lot of water.
7 I would have to have a ton of blankets.
8 I would have to have a place to put trash.
9 I would have to have crayons and colored pencils to color with.
10 I would have to have paper and pencils to write with.
(I just love seeing her priorities: Take care of food for everyone, including pets, and make sure she has reading and art supplies handy. Also, there's her practical side: She needs a trashcan and a place for the dog to go potty.)
Friday December 10, 2010
Dear Santa,
How is it going in the North Pole? Here it's going great! It's already snowed! I think that I've been doing great in school. I also think I was good this year.
What I want for Christmas is a lava lamp. I really want a lightning one, but Mom says no. So, instead of a lightning one, can you get me a bubble one? I want my bubble one to be a shiny blue at the top and bottom for the plastic parts. In the middle, I would like it to be a normal blue. You have to turn it on for a while for it to get moving. Please get me a lava lamp!
Well, time for me to stop now. Maybe I'll see you this Christmas!
Your Friend,
Miciah
(Remember that Miciah totally knows about Santa Claus. Also, she got a blue lava lamp for Christmas. She helped me pick it out on-line. So Santa knew exactly what she wanted.)
Oh, the places I'll go!
By: Miciah Thacker
I would like to go to many different places. I want to go to Disney World. There you can see all of your favorite Disney charracters. Disney World is in Florida right next to my great aunt and uncle. They work there. The land around Disney World is very pretty. I want to go to Disney World very badly!
I also want to go to the Grand Canyon because the rock the canyon is made of has a lot of colors in it. The rock looks magnificent in pictures. There is a place to stand above the canyon, too. The floor is made of glass. That's why I want to go to the Grand Canyon, the most colorful canyon in the world!
I would like to go to Washington D.C., too. There are wonderful monuments, lots to do, and you get to see the White House! If your lucky, you get to go inside the White House. The place is beautiful! I want to see the Decleration of Independence. There is lots to see and lots to do. That's why I want to go to Washington D.C.
All of theese places I would love to go to, no matter what time.
(At least she acknowledged at the end that it wouldn't be a party ALL the time.)
By: Miciah Thacker
I'm so lucky because I have the game Carcossonne (car-ka-sonn). To play it you build castles, feilds, coysters, roads, and you can buy expansion packs to add tiles to play with. We bought 3 expansion packs. One has a king and a robber baron for the biggest castle and road. Another has inns and cathedrials. The last one just has pieces that are actually pretty cool. Carcossonne is the best game ever!
(Carcassonne has been our family's latest obsession. It's a great family game, and we've had a ton of fun with it. Come play it with us some time!)
Here's some fun artwork. Miciah says it's called Me Ready for Snow:
She wanted to do something on the back side, and she came up with this:
Also she has a long story called The Dragon who Learned to Love, but that's a post for another time.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
May All Her Wishes Come True
Miciah had to come up with 3 wishes for a school assignment. Here they are:
1 - I wish to go to all the places I want to go to!
2 - I wish my cousin Dea lived with me!
3 - I wish to have an awesome house and get anything I want!
Whatever. Our house is already awesome.
1 - I wish to go to all the places I want to go to!
2 - I wish my cousin Dea lived with me!
3 - I wish to have an awesome house and get anything I want!
Whatever. Our house is already awesome.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Christmas with Santa
Christmas with Santa
By: Miciah Thacker
(As always, all punctuation and spelling is hers.)
It was Christmas Eve. My family opened our "eve presents". They were all pajamas! We put them on and went to bed. At about mid-night I heard a loud THUMP! in my sleap. I woke-up. I walked into the living room. Santa was sprawled on the floor, the Christmas tree on top of him. I helped Santa get the Christmas tree off of him. "Hi!" he said. "Uh, hi." I said back. "Why are you up?" asked Santa. "I heard you fall down the chimeny," I said. "Oh, I guess you did, Santa said. Santa stood up, then fell back down, hitting his head on the Couch. Santa stood back up, saying, "Hi! I'm Santa! I'm a member of your family! Uh, what's your name? I seem to have forgotten!" "My name is Miciah," I answered. "Oh," He said "Well, I better get to bed! Where's my room?" Santa said "At the North Pole!" I yelled at him. "Oh," He said. "Just sleep on the couch!" I said. "Okey!" He said. In the morning Santa was at the table, eating brecfast. The phone started to ring. I answered it. It was my friend Elizibeth! When I was finished talking, I told Santa we had to leave. When we got to Elizebeth's house, Santa had to excange her coal for some candycanes. When we got back to my house Santa tripped and bumped his head on the table. He stood up and said, "I better get going, now young lady. I have to get back to the North Pole!" "Yah, about that," I said but I didn't get to finish because at that very moment, Santa walked outside and climbed onto the roof. As he flew away, I heard him say, "Why is it so bright out? I thought it was midnight!" I laughed and went to wake up my parents.
*note: Miciah totally knows about Santa. You can see that throughout the story. Where he says he's a member of the family, for instance. Kinda funny.
By: Miciah Thacker
(As always, all punctuation and spelling is hers.)
It was Christmas Eve. My family opened our "eve presents". They were all pajamas! We put them on and went to bed. At about mid-night I heard a loud THUMP! in my sleap. I woke-up. I walked into the living room. Santa was sprawled on the floor, the Christmas tree on top of him. I helped Santa get the Christmas tree off of him. "Hi!" he said. "Uh, hi." I said back. "Why are you up?" asked Santa. "I heard you fall down the chimeny," I said. "Oh, I guess you did, Santa said. Santa stood up, then fell back down, hitting his head on the Couch. Santa stood back up, saying, "Hi! I'm Santa! I'm a member of your family! Uh, what's your name? I seem to have forgotten!" "My name is Miciah," I answered. "Oh," He said "Well, I better get to bed! Where's my room?" Santa said "At the North Pole!" I yelled at him. "Oh," He said. "Just sleep on the couch!" I said. "Okey!" He said. In the morning Santa was at the table, eating brecfast. The phone started to ring. I answered it. It was my friend Elizibeth! When I was finished talking, I told Santa we had to leave. When we got to Elizebeth's house, Santa had to excange her coal for some candycanes. When we got back to my house Santa tripped and bumped his head on the table. He stood up and said, "I better get going, now young lady. I have to get back to the North Pole!" "Yah, about that," I said but I didn't get to finish because at that very moment, Santa walked outside and climbed onto the roof. As he flew away, I heard him say, "Why is it so bright out? I thought it was midnight!" I laughed and went to wake up my parents.
*note: Miciah totally knows about Santa. You can see that throughout the story. Where he says he's a member of the family, for instance. Kinda funny.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
SnowDay by Miciah Thacker
Miciah wrote this for a school assignment, and I thought it was worth sharing. All spelling and punctuation is hers.
SnowDay by Miciah Thacker
It was Tuesday. When I woke up, I looked outside and saw that the ground was covered in snow and it looked about 1 foot deep. I ran upstairs and dad said, "Miciah, It's a snowday." I was so excided that I ran into my brothers' room and woke up my brothers. "It's a snowday!" I yelled. "What?" asked Elijah. "IT'S A SNOWDAY!" I yelled at him. Elijah jumped out of bed and said, "Yay!" As he got his snow suit on, I ran to my room and got on mine. Then, I ran outside the same time as my brothers. Then dad walked out. "Yay! Dad is going to play!" we yelled. Next, I ran over to our neighbors and asked if they wanted to play. They said yes and in a few minuets, they were outside.
When they were out, we built an igloo with a hole in the top. Then we had a snowball fight, kids agenst my dad. Next, we made a snowman. We named him Bob. Then, when dad wasn't looking, we tackled him and buried him. When we were fineshed, we were all cold and tierd and dicided to go inside. It was 4:00! Dad made us hot chocolote. We had dinner as a family and then went to bed.
...
Rob's a good daddy, no?
And, just because misspellings are fun, you should check this out:
Dot Dot Dot
Wait for it to load and then hit play.
Trust me through the first 30 seconds. You'll love it. You'll be saying "beacuase" to yourself for the rest of the day, just so you can giggle.
SnowDay by Miciah Thacker
It was Tuesday. When I woke up, I looked outside and saw that the ground was covered in snow and it looked about 1 foot deep. I ran upstairs and dad said, "Miciah, It's a snowday." I was so excided that I ran into my brothers' room and woke up my brothers. "It's a snowday!" I yelled. "What?" asked Elijah. "IT'S A SNOWDAY!" I yelled at him. Elijah jumped out of bed and said, "Yay!" As he got his snow suit on, I ran to my room and got on mine. Then, I ran outside the same time as my brothers. Then dad walked out. "Yay! Dad is going to play!" we yelled. Next, I ran over to our neighbors and asked if they wanted to play. They said yes and in a few minuets, they were outside.
When they were out, we built an igloo with a hole in the top. Then we had a snowball fight, kids agenst my dad. Next, we made a snowman. We named him Bob. Then, when dad wasn't looking, we tackled him and buried him. When we were fineshed, we were all cold and tierd and dicided to go inside. It was 4:00! Dad made us hot chocolote. We had dinner as a family and then went to bed.
...
Rob's a good daddy, no?
And, just because misspellings are fun, you should check this out:
Dot Dot Dot
Wait for it to load and then hit play.
Trust me through the first 30 seconds. You'll love it. You'll be saying "beacuase" to yourself for the rest of the day, just so you can giggle.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Today's Update
From Rob
Since it's all said and done, I guess I'll write about it. Back in the Fall Rob applied for a dream job - a tenure-track professorship at a small liberal arts college about 20 minutes from our house. The biology department there is a close-knit group of delightful people, and we were both really hopeful about Rob's chances.
In December he got a phone interview (which ended up being a face-to-face interview, which was fine by Rob), and then in early January he got the Real interview, which was 6 hours worth of presenting, meeting people, etc. He met with the Dean of the department, the President of the college, and the entire department. It was pretty intense, but again everyone was really nice.
The next week Rob heard back. There were 2 positions open, and Rob was in the top 3. After much debate, they chose the other 2. So, happy 3rd place to Rob!
No crying for us, though. Strangely, we weren't sad about it at all. I mean, it was disappointing, and it would have been a great job. But after Rob went and interviewed, all the anxiety went away. He felt really good about the interview, he felt like he showed them who he is and what he's about, and there's really not much else you can ask for in an interview process. On top of that, Rob has a great job right now, things are stable, his boss is a goddess, and we're happy.
Also, it was Rob's birthday on Wednesday. And he shaved off his beard. Those were unrelated events.
From Tamra
As of 2 days ago, I officially own the van sitting in my driveway. So I guess I can't say it's my parents' van any more. It's a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan. It's served my parents well for all this time, and the odometer proves it: 377,000 miles. Did you even know that number existed?! It's awesome. I want to walk around saying to people, "Guess how many miles my van has on it."
We intend to use it lightly. As I see it, the van's put in good time and deserves a rest period before the end comes. We're hoping that it lasts a year or two, and I think that's reasonable if we don't stress it out. It's really nice to be able to go to the store during the day, to the museum with Tank, etc. Hurray!
And I would insert another picture of it, but it's still covered in snow, and do you really need a picture of our van? No. You'll live.
From Miciah
She's still being Miciah. She reads and reads and reads, till all hours of the night. She's still doing piano and likes it when she's not whining about practicing. In general, though, her whining has gotten much better. She's a delightful 9-year-old and I have a good time with her. It's amazing how not yelling at someone every day really changes your relationship with that person. The tension that's always been there between us is less and less every day. We'll sit next to each other and just make each other laugh. It's lovely!
Miciah is still acing school with little effort. She was accepted into her school's gifted program for language arts starting next year. I think it means they'll actually try to challenge her, which is good. When I explained to her what the program was supposed to be like, to see if she wanted to do it, she said, "Language arts is so easy." Yes, sweetie, that's why they want to put you in an advanced class. Miciah also gets lots of comments from her teachers about how nice and respectful she is, which is something we expect from her. She's a great kid.
From Elijah
Elijah is crazy hyper most nights, and I'm counting down the days till good weather. He gets worse as he gets more tired, and by 8:00 it's almost intolerable. One night I told Tank and Elijah they had to go to bed. Tank said, "How come Miciah gets to stay up?" "Because Miciah doesn't get crazy when she's tired." Tank thought about that and then said, "But she gets whiny." Good point.
Elijah is a softie. We're only 1 movie away from finishing the Star Wars "saga," and he's still sad for Darth Vader. All through movies 4 and 5, while Vader was doing horrible things to people, Elijah was saying things like, "But he's still good, right?" No! He's not! Rob did tell him that there is some sort of happy ending for him, just so Elijah wouldn't freak out.
Elijah is also the kid who reminds us to read scriptures at night. If I suggest (because I'm lazy sometimes) that we just skip it, Elijah gets upset. He loves to read the verses, and he's getting pretty good. Scriptures are great, cause there are lots of big words to challenge new readers, but also lots of repetition to give them confidence. If they can't read anything else, they can always get "and it came to pass."
And a good Elijah story. Rob was gone and I was putting the kids to bed, but I was also really, really grumpy for no reason. So I told Elijah to go to bed and I'd be in to tuck him in "in a second." I needed some time to sit on the couch and just breathe before I went in there. You know, enjoy the silence for a few moments. As Elijah was walking to his room, and I was reassuring him that I'd be in "in a second," he said, "Does a second mean a minute to a parent?" Hmm. Apparently the answer to that is yes.
From Teancom
Tank's accomplishment for the week: Playing at the museum for 3 hours! We've had a museum membership for the majority of the time we've lived here. It's a great place for the kids, and they've loved it. Except for Tank in the last few months. We'd go and he'd throw a fit the entire time (I think I wrote about it). SO frustrating. So we decided that when the pass came up for renewal, we wouldn't do it. What's the point, if he's just going to throw fits the whole time?
On Saturday we took all 3 of the kids, and I was surprised by the fact that all 3 of them were really into it. I kinda thought that Miciah and Elijah were getting too old for the Children's Museum. Apparently not. So I told them that I'd give it a couple tries with Tank, see if he liked it better now. And he played happily. No fits, even when we left.
While we were there he asked me to crawl through the Woods area with him. There are tunnels and ladders and a slide. It's pretty great. I told him that I'd play for 10 minutes and then he needed to play on his own. He thought that was acceptable. So I took my coat, my purse, and my library copy of The Autobiography of Mark Twain. The tome probably weighs like 75 pounds. It was comical, I noted, as I shimmied back and forth through a climbing tunnel, pushing my book ahead of my body at every turn. Rob laughed at me when I told him the story and said, "Why didn't you just leave it on the bench?" What?! Leave a book behind? "What if someone took it?" Rob just looked at me. "Right. Cause it's a hot seller right now." Fine.
From Cleo
Our cat is about to be my brother's cat. Keith asked if he could take her up to his apartment in Dayton, and I happily agreed. Cleo still hasn't forgiven us for getting a dog. She stays in the basement all day long and therefore gets zero attention. Miciah was pretty sad when we told her, cause of all of us, she likes Cleo the best. Miciah's room is downstairs, and she cuddles with Cleo every night. Miciah cried for a while, but I explained that Cleo really would be happier at Keith's place. Miciah agreed, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. I suggested that she make something to help her remember Cleo. She took pictures and did a scrapbook page, and she's been happier ever since.
From Kui
Love my dog. We're still working with her, teaching her who's boss. We'd had her a few months before I felt like she really "got it" that we're in charge. She's barking less and behaving better in general, so we're making progress with her. She's a very compliant dog, and she was super well trained before we even got her. We're just fine tuning it. ... Love how cuddly she is. Love, love my dog.
And that's all of us. Happy almost February!
Since it's all said and done, I guess I'll write about it. Back in the Fall Rob applied for a dream job - a tenure-track professorship at a small liberal arts college about 20 minutes from our house. The biology department there is a close-knit group of delightful people, and we were both really hopeful about Rob's chances.
In December he got a phone interview (which ended up being a face-to-face interview, which was fine by Rob), and then in early January he got the Real interview, which was 6 hours worth of presenting, meeting people, etc. He met with the Dean of the department, the President of the college, and the entire department. It was pretty intense, but again everyone was really nice.
The next week Rob heard back. There were 2 positions open, and Rob was in the top 3. After much debate, they chose the other 2. So, happy 3rd place to Rob!
No crying for us, though. Strangely, we weren't sad about it at all. I mean, it was disappointing, and it would have been a great job. But after Rob went and interviewed, all the anxiety went away. He felt really good about the interview, he felt like he showed them who he is and what he's about, and there's really not much else you can ask for in an interview process. On top of that, Rob has a great job right now, things are stable, his boss is a goddess, and we're happy.
Also, it was Rob's birthday on Wednesday. And he shaved off his beard. Those were unrelated events.
From Tamra
As of 2 days ago, I officially own the van sitting in my driveway. So I guess I can't say it's my parents' van any more. It's a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan. It's served my parents well for all this time, and the odometer proves it: 377,000 miles. Did you even know that number existed?! It's awesome. I want to walk around saying to people, "Guess how many miles my van has on it."
We intend to use it lightly. As I see it, the van's put in good time and deserves a rest period before the end comes. We're hoping that it lasts a year or two, and I think that's reasonable if we don't stress it out. It's really nice to be able to go to the store during the day, to the museum with Tank, etc. Hurray!
And I would insert another picture of it, but it's still covered in snow, and do you really need a picture of our van? No. You'll live.
From Miciah
She's still being Miciah. She reads and reads and reads, till all hours of the night. She's still doing piano and likes it when she's not whining about practicing. In general, though, her whining has gotten much better. She's a delightful 9-year-old and I have a good time with her. It's amazing how not yelling at someone every day really changes your relationship with that person. The tension that's always been there between us is less and less every day. We'll sit next to each other and just make each other laugh. It's lovely!
Miciah is still acing school with little effort. She was accepted into her school's gifted program for language arts starting next year. I think it means they'll actually try to challenge her, which is good. When I explained to her what the program was supposed to be like, to see if she wanted to do it, she said, "Language arts is so easy." Yes, sweetie, that's why they want to put you in an advanced class. Miciah also gets lots of comments from her teachers about how nice and respectful she is, which is something we expect from her. She's a great kid.
From Elijah
Elijah is crazy hyper most nights, and I'm counting down the days till good weather. He gets worse as he gets more tired, and by 8:00 it's almost intolerable. One night I told Tank and Elijah they had to go to bed. Tank said, "How come Miciah gets to stay up?" "Because Miciah doesn't get crazy when she's tired." Tank thought about that and then said, "But she gets whiny." Good point.
Elijah is a softie. We're only 1 movie away from finishing the Star Wars "saga," and he's still sad for Darth Vader. All through movies 4 and 5, while Vader was doing horrible things to people, Elijah was saying things like, "But he's still good, right?" No! He's not! Rob did tell him that there is some sort of happy ending for him, just so Elijah wouldn't freak out.
Elijah is also the kid who reminds us to read scriptures at night. If I suggest (because I'm lazy sometimes) that we just skip it, Elijah gets upset. He loves to read the verses, and he's getting pretty good. Scriptures are great, cause there are lots of big words to challenge new readers, but also lots of repetition to give them confidence. If they can't read anything else, they can always get "and it came to pass."
And a good Elijah story. Rob was gone and I was putting the kids to bed, but I was also really, really grumpy for no reason. So I told Elijah to go to bed and I'd be in to tuck him in "in a second." I needed some time to sit on the couch and just breathe before I went in there. You know, enjoy the silence for a few moments. As Elijah was walking to his room, and I was reassuring him that I'd be in "in a second," he said, "Does a second mean a minute to a parent?" Hmm. Apparently the answer to that is yes.
From Teancom
Tank's accomplishment for the week: Playing at the museum for 3 hours! We've had a museum membership for the majority of the time we've lived here. It's a great place for the kids, and they've loved it. Except for Tank in the last few months. We'd go and he'd throw a fit the entire time (I think I wrote about it). SO frustrating. So we decided that when the pass came up for renewal, we wouldn't do it. What's the point, if he's just going to throw fits the whole time?
On Saturday we took all 3 of the kids, and I was surprised by the fact that all 3 of them were really into it. I kinda thought that Miciah and Elijah were getting too old for the Children's Museum. Apparently not. So I told them that I'd give it a couple tries with Tank, see if he liked it better now. And he played happily. No fits, even when we left.
While we were there he asked me to crawl through the Woods area with him. There are tunnels and ladders and a slide. It's pretty great. I told him that I'd play for 10 minutes and then he needed to play on his own. He thought that was acceptable. So I took my coat, my purse, and my library copy of The Autobiography of Mark Twain. The tome probably weighs like 75 pounds. It was comical, I noted, as I shimmied back and forth through a climbing tunnel, pushing my book ahead of my body at every turn. Rob laughed at me when I told him the story and said, "Why didn't you just leave it on the bench?" What?! Leave a book behind? "What if someone took it?" Rob just looked at me. "Right. Cause it's a hot seller right now." Fine.
From Cleo
Our cat is about to be my brother's cat. Keith asked if he could take her up to his apartment in Dayton, and I happily agreed. Cleo still hasn't forgiven us for getting a dog. She stays in the basement all day long and therefore gets zero attention. Miciah was pretty sad when we told her, cause of all of us, she likes Cleo the best. Miciah's room is downstairs, and she cuddles with Cleo every night. Miciah cried for a while, but I explained that Cleo really would be happier at Keith's place. Miciah agreed, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. I suggested that she make something to help her remember Cleo. She took pictures and did a scrapbook page, and she's been happier ever since.
From Kui
Love my dog. We're still working with her, teaching her who's boss. We'd had her a few months before I felt like she really "got it" that we're in charge. She's barking less and behaving better in general, so we're making progress with her. She's a very compliant dog, and she was super well trained before we even got her. We're just fine tuning it. ... Love how cuddly she is. Love, love my dog.
And that's all of us. Happy almost February!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
What Drives You Batty?
For a school assignment Miciah was supposed to answer the question, "What drives you batty?" Here's her response. (All spelling and punctuation is Miciah's.)
What drives me batty is when my brother, Elijah hits me and says he wants to kill me.* Guess what else drives me batty? When my other brother, Teancom, says he will play with me after school or something, and then doesn't. When I'm sad about my old cat Max or not having a sister, that also drives me batty! When my brother Elijah says he'll help me and then makes a mess, that drives me batty! When my dog, Coey, gets out of the house and barks at people just walking by or cars, that drives me batty, too! When I'm walking thu an apple orchard and apples fall on me, guess what? It drives me batty, that's what! What else drives me batty is when I'm reading and my brothers bother me! When my dad spanks me, it drives me batty! When I am trying to read something on a car and all of a sudden, it drives away! That also drives me batty! When my mom yells at me, it drives me batty! What drives you batty?
*We're working with Elijah on saying he wants to kill people. He went through a phase where that's all he said, seemed like. He hasn't said it to anyone for 2 weeks, and we have automatic punishments in place if he says it to anyone again. So, hopefully it's under control.
What drives me batty is when my brother, Elijah hits me and says he wants to kill me.* Guess what else drives me batty? When my other brother, Teancom, says he will play with me after school or something, and then doesn't. When I'm sad about my old cat Max or not having a sister, that also drives me batty! When my brother Elijah says he'll help me and then makes a mess, that drives me batty! When my dog, Coey, gets out of the house and barks at people just walking by or cars, that drives me batty, too! When I'm walking thu an apple orchard and apples fall on me, guess what? It drives me batty, that's what! What else drives me batty is when I'm reading and my brothers bother me! When my dad spanks me, it drives me batty! When I am trying to read something on a car and all of a sudden, it drives away! That also drives me batty! When my mom yells at me, it drives me batty! What drives you batty?
*We're working with Elijah on saying he wants to kill people. He went through a phase where that's all he said, seemed like. He hasn't said it to anyone for 2 weeks, and we have automatic punishments in place if he says it to anyone again. So, hopefully it's under control.
Miciah is Awesome
I was an awful kid, let's start there. I remember being a horrible child. I was angry pretty much all the time for pretty much no reason. I hated my mother. I was manipulative, just because I could be. ... And all this means that, so far, my children impress me. They're all WAY better individuals than I was until I was at LEAST 18 years old. (My siblings will argue age with me on this point. I sometimes say I was awful until I was 25, cause that's a safe estimate.)
I wanted to share a non-important event that illustrates my point. Elijah got a new bookbag this year. Miciah, however, wasn't in need of a new bookbag. She wanted one that she saw at the store, cause it was cool, but she was okay with going home empty-handed. (Time #1 when I was more impressed with her than with myself.)
Last month her bookbag died, though. There was something funky with the zipper and it didn't seem fixable. I mentioned to her that she probably needed a new bookbag. She looked at it and said, kinda casual-like, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." I suggested that downstairs there was a nice new bookbag that she could have, if she wanted it, and if not, we'd buy her one from the store. She seemed interested and then went downstairs to check it out. She immediately came upstairs and transferred all her belongings into the new bookbag.
A few days later I asked if she liked her new bookbag and she said she did. Good!
And THIS is why I'm impressed with Miciah for liking this bookbag:
That's Elijah's green bookbag, and Miciah's new bookbag. Here's the close-up:
Not only is the bookbag not a cool color. Not only does it not have some cool pattern or character on it. It's Rob's Immunology Conference bookbag! Granted, we use bags like this, so maybe Miciah thinks it's normal. But I'm fairly confident that no one else in her class, maybe no one else in her grade or even her SCHOOL, is using some lame Immunology Conference bookbag.
And how would I have reacted as a kid? With anger. Or scorn. Or contempt. Definitely not like, "Oh, thanks, Mom! You're the best!"
So, kudos to my daughter. Love her.
I wanted to share a non-important event that illustrates my point. Elijah got a new bookbag this year. Miciah, however, wasn't in need of a new bookbag. She wanted one that she saw at the store, cause it was cool, but she was okay with going home empty-handed. (Time #1 when I was more impressed with her than with myself.)
Last month her bookbag died, though. There was something funky with the zipper and it didn't seem fixable. I mentioned to her that she probably needed a new bookbag. She looked at it and said, kinda casual-like, "Yeah, that's what I was thinking." I suggested that downstairs there was a nice new bookbag that she could have, if she wanted it, and if not, we'd buy her one from the store. She seemed interested and then went downstairs to check it out. She immediately came upstairs and transferred all her belongings into the new bookbag.
A few days later I asked if she liked her new bookbag and she said she did. Good!
And THIS is why I'm impressed with Miciah for liking this bookbag:
Not only is the bookbag not a cool color. Not only does it not have some cool pattern or character on it. It's Rob's Immunology Conference bookbag! Granted, we use bags like this, so maybe Miciah thinks it's normal. But I'm fairly confident that no one else in her class, maybe no one else in her grade or even her SCHOOL, is using some lame Immunology Conference bookbag.
And how would I have reacted as a kid? With anger. Or scorn. Or contempt. Definitely not like, "Oh, thanks, Mom! You're the best!"
So, kudos to my daughter. Love her.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Miciah, the Negotiator
In recent posts, Elijah has been a literary master and Teancom has been a biologist. Miciah's getting older and becoming a well-rounded, beautiful person, so she's harder to peg. She's funny, she's goofy, she's smart, she's whiny (but getting better--Elijah's taken over the Most Whiny Child spot), she's amazing. But I thought this recent example gives a good perspective into who our Miss Miciah is.
On a rambling weeknight.
Miciah: I need a new toothbrush, Mom.
Me: No, you don't.
Miciah: Yes, I do.
Me: Why do you need a new toothbrush?
Miciah: Because mine is getting old.
Me: It's fine, Miciah.
Miciah takes a deep breath and then says: Health care professionals - like dentists - say you should change your toothbrush once a month, and I've had the same toothbrush for like 6 months!
How do you respond to that, I ask?
A week later she retrieved a toothbrush from our stash of new and unopened ones. Problem solved.
On a rambling weeknight.
Miciah: I need a new toothbrush, Mom.
Me: No, you don't.
Miciah: Yes, I do.
Me: Why do you need a new toothbrush?
Miciah: Because mine is getting old.
Me: It's fine, Miciah.
Miciah takes a deep breath and then says: Health care professionals - like dentists - say you should change your toothbrush once a month, and I've had the same toothbrush for like 6 months!
How do you respond to that, I ask?
A week later she retrieved a toothbrush from our stash of new and unopened ones. Problem solved.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Miciah's Schoolwork
The assignment: Use your graphic organizer to write about a special person in your life.
Miciah's response:
text is as follows:
My Uncle Callin
By: Miciah Thacker
My Uncle Callin is my favorite uncle. I like to go places with him, and he is very fun to play with. He likes to give me piggie-back-rides, and I love him very much. He is my moms brother, and my uncle. Uncle Callin has a girl-friend named Katheren. I will meet her this summer. Callin is nice, kind, careing, and very fun to play with. He tells me funny stories, and likes to make me laugh. I like to make him laugh, too. My Uncle Callin is one of the best uncles ever!
...
We lived in Utah when Miciah was a baby. By the time we moved, when she was almost 3, her and Collin were best friends. They used to talk for hours on the phone, though now that she's older, she's doing older kid things like calling her friends instead. Still, Collin has remained one of her best friends, and rightly so. Collin is a GREAT uncle to her, and to all his other nieces and nephews.
Miciah's response:
My Uncle Callin
By: Miciah Thacker
My Uncle Callin is my favorite uncle. I like to go places with him, and he is very fun to play with. He likes to give me piggie-back-rides, and I love him very much. He is my moms brother, and my uncle. Uncle Callin has a girl-friend named Katheren. I will meet her this summer. Callin is nice, kind, careing, and very fun to play with. He tells me funny stories, and likes to make me laugh. I like to make him laugh, too. My Uncle Callin is one of the best uncles ever!
...
We lived in Utah when Miciah was a baby. By the time we moved, when she was almost 3, her and Collin were best friends. They used to talk for hours on the phone, though now that she's older, she's doing older kid things like calling her friends instead. Still, Collin has remained one of her best friends, and rightly so. Collin is a GREAT uncle to her, and to all his other nieces and nephews.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Miciah's School Work
She brought home her Weekly Vocabulary Study Booklet which, this week, was for Nutik, the Wolf Pup by Jean Craighead George. It lists a word and then you have to write a sentence including that word. This is what she chose to write about:
beloved
sentence: In the summer, I will see my beloved uncle Collin.
glanced
sentence: I quickly glanced at the cupcakes he bought.
gleamed
sentence: I gleamed with joy when I last saw him!
noble
sentence: My uncle Collin is very noble.
promised
sentence: I promised him I would hug him.
wiggled
sentence: I wiggled out of his arms once.
Loved the cupcake one. Apparently you better have cupcakes when we see you next, Collin! And yes, I'll be sending the Weekly Vocabulary Study Booklet to you.
beloved
sentence: In the summer, I will see my beloved uncle Collin.
glanced
sentence: I quickly glanced at the cupcakes he bought.
gleamed
sentence: I gleamed with joy when I last saw him!
noble
sentence: My uncle Collin is very noble.
promised
sentence: I promised him I would hug him.
wiggled
sentence: I wiggled out of his arms once.
Loved the cupcake one. Apparently you better have cupcakes when we see you next, Collin! And yes, I'll be sending the Weekly Vocabulary Study Booklet to you.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
5 Examples of Why Miciah is Adorable
Example 1: A Great Big Sister
Miciah is a thoughtful person. She's always looking out for her brothers, and as a mom I REALLY appreciate that. A while back I was thinking about that and decided to say it out loud. So I said, "Miciah, you're a great big sister." Miciah smiled and said, "Why did you say that? Because you like me?" I half-smiled and then got serious. "Because it's true."
Miciah helps Tank get things that he needs or wants, even if (and especially when) I'm too lazy to do it myself. She plays games that the boys like, watches movies that the boys want. She reads them books and colors with them. The boys have a great big sister.
Example 2: Books
A while back I decided to make an especial effort to be friends with Miciah. Why Miciah in particular? Because she's the one that can crawl under my skin. Thankfully, Miciah is relatively easy to be friends with, once I cut her a little slack and started searching for the common ground.
The common ground has largely been our love for reading. Miciah loves, loves, loves to read! In fact, that's nearly a direct quote from one of her school assignments:
"Why I like Monfort Heights Elementy school. I like the fild day party. I absoloutly love the holoween party and parade! I like reses, too. It has a library and I love, love, love, to read! I like all of these things because when I do them I am happy. That is why I like monfort Heights!"
I used to limit her to 4 library books. But she was reading them too fast. So now it's up to 10 books. Granted, she should probably start reading harder books, but I remember being her age and just enjoying to read books that were easy to read. So there's no push.
Example 3: Fairies
Miciah loves anything that has to do with fairies. She watches movies about fairies. She reads books about fairies. In fact, she RE-reads books about fairies.
The other day she said to me, "Mom, are fairies real?" I like to discourage my children's use of imagination, so I said, "No." She then went on about well, what if they are real and do they really fly and where do they live and, by the way, I like fairies, don't you, Elijah? and fairies are really pretty.
Example 4: Help Wanted!
Anyone with Toy Making Experience can apply in person to Miciah.
Example 5: Words of Affirmation
Since making a greater effort to be friends with my talented, funny, amazing daughter, I've noticed more and more things that I like about her. As the tension between us has melted away, I've seen things about her that I was incapable of seeing before.
For instance, Miciah's love language is Words of Affirmation. I thought it was Quality Time, because she was always wanting me to make things with her. But my desire to make things is kind of on the low end of that scale, so I outsourced the craft-making and signed her up for classes at the museum center. And to my amazement, it worked! Then I started realizing WHAT Miciah's always making: cards, letters, notes. She leaves us messages all over the house. "I love you, Mom and Dad!" "It's snowing. I love snow. Will you make a snowman with me?" and then "Thanks for playing in the snow with me, Dad!"
More importantly, I've started noticing how she melts when I tell her that I love her, that she's a great daughter, and that I'm lucky to be her mom. That I'm proud of her school work, that she's doing well at the piano, and that she's a great reader. Since I've started taking the time, almost daily, to say nice things to her, genuine things, I feel like I'm watching her open up. She's more likely to smile, more likely to laugh and joke. More likely to just be happy.
Right about here is where I should mention how pathetic it is that it's taken me SO LONG to make this connection with my daughter. But I'll keep it on the positive side, because that's what it is in my life right now: a huge positive. Should have done it earlier, for sure, but better now than never!
Miciah is a thoughtful person. She's always looking out for her brothers, and as a mom I REALLY appreciate that. A while back I was thinking about that and decided to say it out loud. So I said, "Miciah, you're a great big sister." Miciah smiled and said, "Why did you say that? Because you like me?" I half-smiled and then got serious. "Because it's true."
Miciah helps Tank get things that he needs or wants, even if (and especially when) I'm too lazy to do it myself. She plays games that the boys like, watches movies that the boys want. She reads them books and colors with them. The boys have a great big sister.
Example 2: Books
A while back I decided to make an especial effort to be friends with Miciah. Why Miciah in particular? Because she's the one that can crawl under my skin. Thankfully, Miciah is relatively easy to be friends with, once I cut her a little slack and started searching for the common ground.
The common ground has largely been our love for reading. Miciah loves, loves, loves to read! In fact, that's nearly a direct quote from one of her school assignments:
"Why I like Monfort Heights Elementy school. I like the fild day party. I absoloutly love the holoween party and parade! I like reses, too. It has a library and I love, love, love, to read! I like all of these things because when I do them I am happy. That is why I like monfort Heights!"
I used to limit her to 4 library books. But she was reading them too fast. So now it's up to 10 books. Granted, she should probably start reading harder books, but I remember being her age and just enjoying to read books that were easy to read. So there's no push.
Example 3: Fairies
Miciah loves anything that has to do with fairies. She watches movies about fairies. She reads books about fairies. In fact, she RE-reads books about fairies.
The other day she said to me, "Mom, are fairies real?" I like to discourage my children's use of imagination, so I said, "No." She then went on about well, what if they are real and do they really fly and where do they live and, by the way, I like fairies, don't you, Elijah? and fairies are really pretty.
Example 4: Help Wanted!
Anyone with Toy Making Experience can apply in person to Miciah.
Example 5: Words of Affirmation
Since making a greater effort to be friends with my talented, funny, amazing daughter, I've noticed more and more things that I like about her. As the tension between us has melted away, I've seen things about her that I was incapable of seeing before.
For instance, Miciah's love language is Words of Affirmation. I thought it was Quality Time, because she was always wanting me to make things with her. But my desire to make things is kind of on the low end of that scale, so I outsourced the craft-making and signed her up for classes at the museum center. And to my amazement, it worked! Then I started realizing WHAT Miciah's always making: cards, letters, notes. She leaves us messages all over the house. "I love you, Mom and Dad!" "It's snowing. I love snow. Will you make a snowman with me?" and then "Thanks for playing in the snow with me, Dad!"
More importantly, I've started noticing how she melts when I tell her that I love her, that she's a great daughter, and that I'm lucky to be her mom. That I'm proud of her school work, that she's doing well at the piano, and that she's a great reader. Since I've started taking the time, almost daily, to say nice things to her, genuine things, I feel like I'm watching her open up. She's more likely to smile, more likely to laugh and joke. More likely to just be happy.
Right about here is where I should mention how pathetic it is that it's taken me SO LONG to make this connection with my daughter. But I'll keep it on the positive side, because that's what it is in my life right now: a huge positive. Should have done it earlier, for sure, but better now than never!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Miciah's Talk on the Holy Ghost - January 10th, 2010
One of the benefits of having a dad in the Bishopric is that your ability to speak in Sacrament Meeting is recognized early. (For those of you who don't know, usually youth aren't asked to speak in front of the whole congregation until they're 12 years old.)
The talk was wonderful, and I wanted to share it with you all. (As a side note: We helped Miciah with the organization of the talk, we typed it out for her, and we prompted a few things (like, "How does the Holy Ghost make you feel?"), but the thoughts and feelings and wording are her own.)
Miciah's Talk on the Holy Ghost - January 10th, 2010
My dad asked me to give this talk today because I was just recently baptized. He asked me because at my baptism I got the gift of the Holy Ghost. The gift of the Holy Ghost is a special gift from Heavenly Father after you’re baptized. You can feel the spirit of the Holy Ghost before you’re baptized, like I’m about to tell you about. This past summer I went to Utah
The Holy Ghost is a spirit. He looks like a man, but you can’t exactly see him. This is because he doesn’t have a mortal body.
The Holy Ghost prompts you and lets you know when you have done something right or wrong. When you do something right your heart feels warm and happy. If my dad wanted to make me warm, he could put piles of blankets on me, but he still wouldn’t be able to make me warm in my heart. This is why the Holy Ghost needs a spiritual body – so he can get into our hearts.
When you do something wrong your heart will feel sad and sorry that you did it. The Holy Ghost does this so that you will want to tell the truth instead of keeping it a secret. If someone told the truth about something they lied about before, then instead of feeling sad, you would feel happy, because you can make things better.
The members of the Godhead are Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost’s main job is to tell people that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
When I got the gift of the Holy Ghost at my baptism, I started to cry in the middle of it because I felt the spirit of the Holy Ghost and was happy. I am grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Friday, November 20, 2009
More of Miciah's School Work
They had a section on animal rescue. I liked her answer on one of her papers.
The question:
"Write about how you would help rescue an animal. Use five spelling words from the list."
(spelling words: must, skin, still, drop, task)
Answer:
I would give it help by not droping it. It won't be an esey task. I will still do it. I must! If it's skin is eney color, I will take it to the vet.
I just loved her sense of duty: I must!
(She is a phonetic speller, as you can tell.)
In the same Animal Rescue unit:
If you can't read it, it says:
Sometimes, animals are in danger. So someone has to rescue them. If you see a whale off the shore, wet it entell it is back in the water. If a seal pup with out a mother, take care of it entell it's old enouf to live on it's own. Save animals for the fun of it. All so save animals to help them. Let's get saveing thous animals!
Then it shows her calling "Come hear!" to a bunch of baby seals and her wetting down a beached whale.
There was another school work assignment where she had to describe one of her friends. She chose a boy in her class named Jonathan. She said lots of nice things about him in short sentences, the way kids do. One of the points she brought out was that "Jonathan is a wonderful artest. He drows good fish and his writing is vary neat." Then, at the end, she says "This is a picter of his fish" and draws this pathetic-looking fish. I couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't tell if that's really how Jonathan draws it (and then kids think that somehow looks amazing), or if that's her un-artistic version of how he draws them. Either way, it was hilarious.
She wrote one more thing that I wanted to share, but it's for another post.
The question:
"Write about how you would help rescue an animal. Use five spelling words from the list."
(spelling words: must, skin, still, drop, task)
Answer:
I would give it help by not droping it. It won't be an esey task. I will still do it. I must! If it's skin is eney color, I will take it to the vet.
I just loved her sense of duty: I must!
(She is a phonetic speller, as you can tell.)
In the same Animal Rescue unit:
If you can't read it, it says:
Sometimes, animals are in danger. So someone has to rescue them. If you see a whale off the shore, wet it entell it is back in the water. If a seal pup with out a mother, take care of it entell it's old enouf to live on it's own. Save animals for the fun of it. All so save animals to help them. Let's get saveing thous animals!
Then it shows her calling "Come hear!" to a bunch of baby seals and her wetting down a beached whale.
There was another school work assignment where she had to describe one of her friends. She chose a boy in her class named Jonathan. She said lots of nice things about him in short sentences, the way kids do. One of the points she brought out was that "Jonathan is a wonderful artest. He drows good fish and his writing is vary neat." Then, at the end, she says "This is a picter of his fish" and draws this pathetic-looking fish. I couldn't help but laugh. I couldn't tell if that's really how Jonathan draws it (and then kids think that somehow looks amazing), or if that's her un-artistic version of how he draws them. Either way, it was hilarious.
She wrote one more thing that I wanted to share, but it's for another post.
Miciah's News
8 Years Old Means...
Miciah is now 8 and she's loving it and I'm loving it and it's good for everyone. She is generally calmer and in more control of her emotions (unless you count when she's losing a tooth, and then she's completely irrationally emotionally explosive). She is also taking on more responsibility around the house, and she loves it. We changed her chore list to include:
1 Making dinner once a week
2 Doing her own laundry
We're only on week 2 of these changes, so we'll see how she loves them over time. But already she's thinking of great things to make for dinner like Clam Chowder. I told her we'd have to work up to that one.
Letting her do her own laundry last week also meant that she didn't kick and scream about doing it. That's semi-miraculous. I hope it continues to be so successful even when laundry changes are coming our way (more in another update to come).
And check out these chore lists:
See the beach and tree and water? ... Before I left for Key West, Miciah asked if the next time I went she could come with me. I said, "Sure," thinking that the next time I went was probably, oh, never. But, of course, she was talking about it instantly like it was a sure thing. Realizing that I should have answered VERY differently, I did the only thing left to do: set about devising a way to get her to Key West. The kids have been earning money for about a year now, $5 a week. So we sat down and figured out prices and timelines and told them that if they saved all their money (minus $.50 for tithing), they would have enough money in a year's time. They are now very motivated to do their chores--a nice change. And each of them has a Key West piggy bank to make it all seem real. We're already looking forward to our family vacation to Key West.
School Halloween Party
During her school party I caught this great shot:
She's messing with her loose tooth. Which is good. We used scare tactics to get to her to mess with it, since she's been letting them stay in her mouth for ages, and the dentist told us she probably shouldn't do that. So we gave her a week's time, and the tooth was out. Another parent caught the moment:
Another tooth will be gone within a day or so. Hopefully the drama and trauma of last night's Loose Tooth Freak Out Session won't repeat itself. Sheesh. It's just a tooth! More grow in!
School
We had Miciah's Parent Teacher Conference this week, too. It went great. One of the "major" concerns: I should stop doodling on Miciah's homework. ... They make us sign everything and this seems tedious to me. Maybe other parents find it wonderful. Or maybe they're just decent enough to not give the teacher crap about it. Me, though, I doodle. The teacher caught on to the rebellious spirit of it all, I guess, and asked me to stop. So there goes my fun.
Here's Miciah's school picture:
Miciah is doing well in school and is helpful and kind. She isn't snooty when she knows stuff that other people don't. She isn't being bossy (no "Miciah, who's the teacher?" talks). She isn't being as bossy at home, either. Being 8 is really good for her.
Miciah's Party
More pictures of the girl craziness that went on:
It was fun. The next scheduled Birthday Party is when she turns 13, I think. I think that's the year Rob and I decided. And it's 13 because nothing cool happens when you turn 13. It's just a pointless year. Might as well give it a party and make it something to look forward to. Then a party at 16 and then we should be done with them. Hurray!
Piano, etc.
Miciah has been doing piano lessons for several weeks now and seems to be really liking it. It's still a novelty, so she spends half the lesson trying to make her teacher laugh. Cause she's a goober like that.
It's fun to watch Miciah grow up and decide what she wants to do with her time. She reads a LOT and is very interested in history and science stuff. In fact, that's exactly what she told me the last time we went to the museum. She said, "Mom, have you noticed that I'm more interested in the history than in playing?" I wanted to laugh. Good for her, though. I told her that when we have Elijah and Teancom on board, it wasn't really the time to read stuff, and promised that we would go to the museum later, just me, Rob, and her. It's fun that she's entering that new stage when we can enjoy more adult stuff with her.
She is also interested in fairies, just to remind us that she's still only 8.
And that's Miciah's news. I'll make another post of her artwork and things she's done at school.
Miciah is now 8 and she's loving it and I'm loving it and it's good for everyone. She is generally calmer and in more control of her emotions (unless you count when she's losing a tooth, and then she's completely irrationally emotionally explosive). She is also taking on more responsibility around the house, and she loves it. We changed her chore list to include:
1 Making dinner once a week
2 Doing her own laundry
We're only on week 2 of these changes, so we'll see how she loves them over time. But already she's thinking of great things to make for dinner like Clam Chowder. I told her we'd have to work up to that one.
Letting her do her own laundry last week also meant that she didn't kick and scream about doing it. That's semi-miraculous. I hope it continues to be so successful even when laundry changes are coming our way (more in another update to come).
And check out these chore lists:
See the beach and tree and water? ... Before I left for Key West, Miciah asked if the next time I went she could come with me. I said, "Sure," thinking that the next time I went was probably, oh, never. But, of course, she was talking about it instantly like it was a sure thing. Realizing that I should have answered VERY differently, I did the only thing left to do: set about devising a way to get her to Key West. The kids have been earning money for about a year now, $5 a week. So we sat down and figured out prices and timelines and told them that if they saved all their money (minus $.50 for tithing), they would have enough money in a year's time. They are now very motivated to do their chores--a nice change. And each of them has a Key West piggy bank to make it all seem real. We're already looking forward to our family vacation to Key West.
School Halloween Party
During her school party I caught this great shot:
She's messing with her loose tooth. Which is good. We used scare tactics to get to her to mess with it, since she's been letting them stay in her mouth for ages, and the dentist told us she probably shouldn't do that. So we gave her a week's time, and the tooth was out. Another parent caught the moment:
Another tooth will be gone within a day or so. Hopefully the drama and trauma of last night's Loose Tooth Freak Out Session won't repeat itself. Sheesh. It's just a tooth! More grow in!
School
We had Miciah's Parent Teacher Conference this week, too. It went great. One of the "major" concerns: I should stop doodling on Miciah's homework. ... They make us sign everything and this seems tedious to me. Maybe other parents find it wonderful. Or maybe they're just decent enough to not give the teacher crap about it. Me, though, I doodle. The teacher caught on to the rebellious spirit of it all, I guess, and asked me to stop. So there goes my fun.
Here's Miciah's school picture:
Miciah is doing well in school and is helpful and kind. She isn't snooty when she knows stuff that other people don't. She isn't being bossy (no "Miciah, who's the teacher?" talks). She isn't being as bossy at home, either. Being 8 is really good for her.
Miciah's Party
More pictures of the girl craziness that went on:
It was fun. The next scheduled Birthday Party is when she turns 13, I think. I think that's the year Rob and I decided. And it's 13 because nothing cool happens when you turn 13. It's just a pointless year. Might as well give it a party and make it something to look forward to. Then a party at 16 and then we should be done with them. Hurray!
Piano, etc.
Miciah has been doing piano lessons for several weeks now and seems to be really liking it. It's still a novelty, so she spends half the lesson trying to make her teacher laugh. Cause she's a goober like that.
It's fun to watch Miciah grow up and decide what she wants to do with her time. She reads a LOT and is very interested in history and science stuff. In fact, that's exactly what she told me the last time we went to the museum. She said, "Mom, have you noticed that I'm more interested in the history than in playing?" I wanted to laugh. Good for her, though. I told her that when we have Elijah and Teancom on board, it wasn't really the time to read stuff, and promised that we would go to the museum later, just me, Rob, and her. It's fun that she's entering that new stage when we can enjoy more adult stuff with her.
She is also interested in fairies, just to remind us that she's still only 8.
And that's Miciah's news. I'll make another post of her artwork and things she's done at school.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Miciah's Soccer Pictures
As promised at one time, here are pictures of Miciah playing soccer. Game on 9/26/2009:
Warm up:
I like this one because it has both me and Miciah in it. During the rest of the game, I had my hands either crossed in front of me or stuffed into my jeans pockets. Because I'm a very enthusiastic coach like that.
Miciah was a captain for this particular game (all the girls took turns):
Action shots:
Pretty sure both girls and the ball were out of bounds in the previous picture.
Playing goalie:
Miciah had a good season. She was noticeably better by the end of the season, and I was proud of her hard work and improvement. She found out that she has a strong kick and by the end was shooting with quite a bit of confidence. She came really close to scoring one game, kicking it just wide. Offense wasn't her favorite, though, cause you have to ... run and stuff. I preferred defense, too, when I was her age.
So here's to soccer and here's to Miciah and the good times that were.
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