Thank You Grandma!

 Cosette got this card from her Grandma Rogers in the mail yesterday, she sent a little money with it and Cosette was nearly beside herself with excitement. She immediately insisted that she write a thank you card so we've got that ready to mail out. And she kept saying, "I'm just so grateful to Grandma Rogers!"

I haven't talked about Cosette's pooping success because, as lame as it sounds, I really don't want to jinx it. But here's goes... Cosette has pooped, ON HER OWN, in the potty nearly every day for the past couple weeks!!! It sounds like such a little thing and I think most people take it for granted but it really is a small miracle for us. She is so proud of herself and is gaining confidence. So, now that I've put it out there for the world to see we'll expect some set-backs but it's still so very exciting and I'm just thrilled for her.

Orthodontist (Already)

I took Isaac to the orthodontist this morning. I never would have thought we'd be starting orthodontist visits so early but alas it has begun! He has an underbite that is wearing away at his front baby teeth and I don't want him to wear down his adult teeth so I decided to bring him in to just see what they say. And I have to say it was worth it, if only for this one comment... "Good job Mom." Wow, that's not something a mother hears every day. She was saying that I did right because I brought him in at exactly the right time. I guess if you catch the underbite when they're young enough it's easier to correct whereas if you wait until after they're 9 or 10 it will require surgery to fix. So, he got some spacers put in his teeth today and we'll go in next week and get a mold of his upper jaw and then they'll put in a retainer type thing that will connect his upper jaw to a wire/mask with rubber bands that will pull his upper jaw forward and fix the underbite. He'll have to wear it as much as possible, so while he sleeps and basically anytime he's not in school, but thankfully we should be able to do all that within a year and then he'll be done for a while. I'll post pictures of him with his mask on once we get it. (Mask sounds all scary but it's really just a wire that goes from his forhead to his chin.)

Over

Well, the novelty has worn off, Debbie is no longer thrilled to do dishes. She actually hit that point around Sunday. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted. :)

My Role as a Woman

My lesson in Relief Society this month is on Elder D. Todd Christofferson's talk from October's General Conference Priesthood Session titled, "Brethren, We Have Work To Do." I'm not sure how to approach this one and I really don't want to offend anyone. I came across a blog a while ago written by "Mormon feminists" and read it today in an effort to get an idea of what not to say while teaching my lesson. But I really need to NOT read this blog, I don't agree with most of what they say and honestly I feel like they've got one foot in the apostasy door. And it seems to only bring a spirit of contention into my heart and as Chad said to me, "People don't go to the internet to find truth." So, I won't visit that site again but it did help me clarify my own view of myself and womanhood.

In the past, as I've thought about my personal role as a woman in this world, I've felt that I'm lacking because I don't have an education, I stay at home with my kids, and I don't do anything except be a mom.

Well, I realized recently that I don't WANT to do anything except be a mom. I don't want to work. I'd like to go back to school but I don't want to do that anytime soon. I only want to stay home with my kids. And you know, that's JUST FINE. I'm not less of a woman because I really, really like being a mom and am content with that. I'm not failing in my modern femininity by staying at home with my children and making them my first priority. I'm not even that stellar of a mother, but I love my children and I love my role as their mother and I'm tired of feeling guilty for not wanting more out of life. So you feminists out there go right ahead and fight for your so-called "equality" but stop telling me that I'm out of touch and repressed because I'm content and feel very much full filled with the very thing you're fighting. My desire to be a nurturer of my husband and children and my desire to have my husband provide for our family does not make me weak. It does not mean I've been "brainwashed" by the "Mormon culture" and it does not mean I'm any less of a modern woman.

Dishes

Debbie has been, quite literally, begging us to "let" her do dishes. So today was her big day. She says she loves doing dishes and I just want to document it for the future. Here's the proof Teenage Debbie, look at that smile on your face.