Weekend Update

It's been a busy time for all of us, what with the state high school basketball tournaments (nope we don't actually know anyone on any of the teams) but that has just kind of become Brennan's thing and he usually takes the kids so I'm supportive :)

The girls and I sang in church on Sunday and it was so neat to be able to do it with them. First of all, they helped me be brave. I get so terrified to sing in public now, but I figured if I put my cute little girls out front no one would even notice me. They both did so well, I was so proud of them. We sang an arrangement of "I am a Child of God". Anna had to start out with a solo and did beautifully. Her voice is so pretty and clear and she has a really good ear for music. Abby had a solo right after Anna's and came in perfectly. She didn't seem at all nervous and made me smile when she leaned right into the mic for her part. After her solo, she looked back at me with a big grin knowing she had nailed it and wanting to see my approval. I was grateful she managed to hold still throughout the song, which she hadn't quite managed during any of our practice sessions. I managed not to pass out, so all in all I think it went quite well.

Yesterday we got to go see Anna's class demonstrate some of the self-defense skills they've learned through Radkids. It was so neat, I highly recommend this program. They had these two big guys in a big red padded suit with helmet and all. Then each kid was able to fight one of the guys off using their newly learned skills. It was so impressive to see tiny little Anna be picked up by this big guy and watch her fight her way out. Most of the kids were a little tentative, not Anna. I love how scrappy she is. We love Anna.

I took the girls over to my brother's future mother-in-law's house the other day so we could try on some darling dresses she's making for the wedding. Anna immediately focused in on their dog and Abby just got super comfortable and chatty with this sweet woman. She was asking her all about her grand-daughters and how old they are, etc. It was one of those funny moments where I was watching a grown woman in my little 8 year old's body. We love Abigail.

Nate's hair is pretty short, so I don't usually even worry about combing it, but the other day they had class pictures so I actually did his hair. When I was done I said my usual cheesy mom saying, "Holy handsomeness!!!" which always elicits a huge grin from him and then he asked in all sincerity, "Mom, do you think even more girls will like me when they see me today?" He's got his father's confidence. We love Nate.

The other day Ben accidentally kicked Abby's head. She might have over-reacted a bit and started crying. Ben quickly said, "Oops, I'm sorry." It sounded so grown up and caught us all off guard so we all, including Abby, started laughing. I don't think he knew why we were laughing, but he didn't miss the fact that Abby went from tears to laughter in about .3 seconds and said, "Abby, you're a faker head!" We love Benjamin.