Raina Raina & Rocks

On the shores of Lake Superior, Evelyn was in HEAVEN!!! Why?? Because there she could collect one of her new obsessions....ROCKS! Every time she went to the shore her pockets were filled with them. We had to empty them before we left to go back to the camper and even then she would see 50 along the way that she would try to refill her pockets with. Getting her to take ONLY one each visit was a HUGE battle. We left the Grand Marais area with the start of our new rock collection. Right now the reminder of our vacation is sitting in the back of my van in a little pile. It puts a smile on my face every time I see it. She continues to add to her collection every time she is outside for any amount of time. She is not picky with size or color or shape. We have them all.

A month ago, Evelyn started singing a new song. "I'm a raina raina!" It started on a Monday and I assumed it was a new song she'd learned at Kingdom Kids at church but the song itself remained a mystery to me. She would sing and dance to it and encourage me to "sing along, mom!" I kept telling her I couldn't as I didn't know the song. Two weeks later, the song was still a mystery until she put on this shirt, which was a gift from her Auntie Keesha, Uncle Chris & Xander. The first thing she said was, "It's a raina raina!" Mystery solved!!! It's a BALLERINA!! Now when she sings her song, which she made up, I can sing along "I'm a BALLERINA!"

Soon, this little girl will be FOUR years old. She is changing into a little girl right before our eyes and it's an amazing journey to witness. Our big goals for this BIG girl: teach her to be respectful to herself, to others (especially her siblings), to us (her parents) and of her and our stuff. It's a big challenge right now. One of our values as a family is RESPECT. Another goal: Work with her on her pronunciation. A big win for me this summer was getting her to call her brother Grant instead of Nant. She still has trouble with the r's but now refers to him as Gant! Another win, she can now write her nickname. She starts her second year of preschool soon and I'm sure that this year will be amazing. And a third goal: getting her to remember her manners. Instead of saying, "get me juice" or using words like "now" she will be saying please, thank you and can you." Character building is my goal, that other stuff like riding a two-wheeler...well I could care less at this point. Her attitude and behavior are WAY more important. It would be a lot easier to work on the other though...a lot easier. And a lot less frustrating. But the results will be soooo beautiful and then her insides will be a even better match to this gorgeous outside!




Up next: the move, vacation and birthdays.