Does a three-year-old have any tact?

I would argue NO. Over the past several days I have had some experiences that will prove my point.

1st: All of our crew (Ben, Kiya, Jaynie and I) were at the grocery store shopping. Ben was up next to the cashier, Kiya and I were standing back behind a little bit. Then Kiya turns to me and says in reference to the cashier, "Mom, look at that lady . . . she is sooo fat."

2nd: Ben and I took our girls to see the movie 'The Princess and the Frog'. After the show got over, which was absolutely adorable by the way, we went to the restroom. When Kiya and I were leaving the restroom a lady with crutches walked in. So Kiya asked about the lady and why she had crutches. I explained that she needed help walking all the time, so she uses the crutches. Then Kiya and I were waiting outside the restroom for Ben when a gentleman in a wheelchair pulled up to wait too. Then Kiya asks, "Mom what does he have?" To which I reply "Popcorn" trying to avoid an embarrassing situation. She of course isn't satisfied with that and says, "No, what is he sitting in?" I quickly explain that it is a wheelchair that helps him move. Then Kiya in her infinite 3 year old wisdom says very loudly, "Mom, he can't walk all the time so he needs that to help him move." The gentleman looked up chuckling and showed Kiya how his chair moved and how he could even go on only two wheels. I was grateful for his kindness and being willing to show off to Kiya.

3rd: The whole fam was at the grocery store shopping again. A gentleman walks near us and Kiya asks Ben who he is. Ben just says, " Ummm, a friend?" So then Kiya says to Ben, " Well, he looks really sick." This man turned to us and gave us the strangest look. He looked like a perfectly healthy man to me, but I guess not to Kiya.

Now I just wait for the next tactless incident, and in the mean time enjoy the sweet innocence of my little girl.

So Amanda has informed me that it has been over a year since I last wrote anything on our "family" blog. I will have to admit that it has been some time since I last wrote, but my reasons for doing so were valid. The last time I wrote, Amanda criticized my writing saying that, "I went too far into detail and possibly gave more information than people needed to know about our personal lives". To this I stated that I would take a vow of (blogging) silence. Well I suppose it's time to return and also update about the activities of our family.

As my first posting after my absence, I would just like to echo what Amanda posted about. Our girls have grown up amazingly this last year.

Well, so I won't dive into "too much" detail about our family and our activities I will just share one of the most recent things that impressed me about my girls. On Christmas Eve we have a tradition of going over to Grandma Smith's house, going caroling, having soup, and ending with a nativity program. This year for the nativity, Kiya was asked to be Mary, and so she wouldn't be scared I was asked to be Joseph. We said okay and went and got our costumes on. The program started and when they called us out we walked over next to the manger and I sat/knelt down with Kiya sitting on my lap. When the story announced the birth of Jesus, I placed Jesus in the manger. As I did so, Kiya started to get rather restless. I asked her what was the matter, and she whispered back to me, "Daddy, I'm Mary, I have to go be Mary". After her statement she stood up, walked around to the other side of the manger, knelt down and clapped her hands together like she was praying. Confused, I again asked Kiya, "what are you doing?" to which she again responded by saying "Daddy, I'm Mary, I have to act like Mary." She didn't move from that position for the remainder of the program.

How on earth does a three year old know the humble and reverent demeanor that Mary probably had as the mother of the Savior of the world? We talked about the Christmas story, but never about how Mary acted. She just knew the importance of being the mother of Jesus, and acted like she thought Mary would.

I love these girls, and sorry to just focus on Kiya on this post, but I learned a great lesson from her that night that when we are given a name to represent, we are to represent that person to the fullest, and not just do the minimum. Every week we take a name upon us, and this experience has made me realize that I need to do a better job in reverencing the name I receive every time I take the sacrament and be a better example of that name in all I do.

What a great year we've had!

As I've been thinking over the past year today, I have remembered many great times that we've had in our family, but I am amazed by one thing . . . how much my children have grown.

Kiya is one of the smartest three year olds I have ever seen (and I probably should only say this because I am her mother, but it is my right to think that and I believe that it is true), she picks up on absolutely everything that anyone around her says. Today we were at Grandma Smith's house (Ben's grandma) when Kiya asked me if she could have a treat. I told her that they weren't mine to give away and that she needed to ask Grandma for one, so she left the room to go ask. A minute or two later she came back to me and said "Mom, I'm too shy. Can you go ask for me?" I have no idea where she got that from, but it made me chuckle.

Jaynie has gone from my baby to a two year old with an amazing vocabulary and enormous personality. She is so fun everyday, she is our little singer and will just make up her own words when she doesn't remember the real ones. I like the songs better Jaynie's way, they are more fun to listen to. Jaynie is either the happiest kid I've ever met and keeps us laughing or is a screaming terror throwing a giant temper tantrum. We get one extreme or the other with her, and I wouldn't change a thing about her.

I am grateful to have the chance to be their mother, and thank my Father in Heaven for sending two precious angels to me. I love them very much.