Prairie Guy

I love

• Discussing the day's passage with you
• watching you work
• sitting on the swing with you
• listening to the sound of your voice coming down the stair well as you pray with the kids at night
• that you call me sweetie in the middle of a disagreement

Thank you

• for building me a wonderful porch... you rock.
• for taking care of sick kids at night
• for "unplugging" the tv and choosing to shoot the breeze with me.
• for giving me the go-ahead to replace the lawn furniture... YES!

Prairie Hero

I love ...
the sparkle in your eye and the chortle in your throat.

I laugh...
when I see you streak across the yard buck naked after hanging your wet swimming trunks on the line. Parchment paper derrier contrasted against cappucino brown sun tanned limbs and torso.

when you come running up to me, bubbling with excitement, waving me down on the riding lawnmower to "show me" your latest find. I shut the lawn mower off and ask; "What is it?" met by... "I don't know!" (I think it was a rusted piece of a barrette... such an exciting treasure for you!)

I cringe (but love it)...

when you come up to me straight out of the pool and lean against me with your icy little body or lay your hand on my leg.

Prairie Girl

I love

• that you rub my feet when I'm exhausted
• watching you run around as go-fer for your Dad. It's beautiful.

I smile

• when I see you putzing around the yard in your rubber boots, in the dead heat of summer. Cute.

I'm proud

• of what a great job you did of cleaning upstairs this week
• of how wonderfully you play with kids of all ages
• of how sensitive you are to other's feelings.

Prairie Pumpkin

I laugh

• when you hear a voice but can't pinpoint it, even when it's coming an inch from your face. you move your head around like a floundering chicken trying to find it.
• when you jerk your head at any passing flesh, trying to find something to suck on, like you're starving or something
• when the public health nurse weighed you and gasped. 16 lbs 4 oz. "I just weighed a one year old that weighed that much!" she chortled. 'Nuff said.

I loved

• when you fell asleep on Shailey's shoulder. Literally 1,2,3... out.

Prairie Princess

I laughed

• when you saw me coming out the door with a huge basket of laundry and dejectedly asked; "do I have to hang those?" When I replied in the negative you eagerly asked; "Can I hang them?" Go figure.

My heart melted

• when after a 20 minute prodding from me to find the attachment to the vacuum cleaner, insisting that you weren't looking dilligently, you found it in two minutes flat when I threatened you with not going to play at Luke's this afternoon. After bringing me the attachment and hearing me explain how that was proof that you weren't looking dilligently before and did you understand and yada, yada, yada your eyes welled up with tears. When I told you not to cry, I wasn't mad, you told me you weren't crying because I was mad, but because you had been bad. Guess who cried then....

I love

• seeing the games and toys you invent around the yard, and hearing you tell people that you don't watch tv "till it snows".

Prairie Rugrat

I love...

• rubbing your chubby bare feet with a clean cloth at the end of the day and having you convulse in silent giggles.
• how you get up and go directly outside in your pj's and start playing (hard). I especially love it when your pj's are mis-matched and you look like a forlorn welfare case. Good thing we live in the country.
  

You cracked me up

• when you insisted on handing me the dirty laundry piece by piece out of the hamper as I loaded the washing machine saying; "Dis Daddy...." "Dis Mommy".... "Dis baby...." and each of your siblings by name.

I'm so proud

• of how you've taken to the potty. Even on diahhrea days, you make it there. You are a potty trooper!!

Prairie Hero

You Made Me Laugh out Loud When...

I told you not to go past your knees in the water while I went to the cabin to feed the baby, but you immediately went to the end of the dock and tried to jump onto the water trampoline, promptly FELL IN and came up wailing, not because you were hurt but because you knew you were in BIG TROUBLE.

You clomped around the house in the following attire; shirtless. your cowboy boots (on the wrong feet). a pair of bermuda shorts. and thought you were cool.

I Love it That....

You love life. You find joy in the simplest things, and your enthusiasm is always bubbling over. May I never squelch that, (even when it is 9 pm and I am exhausted and you are still bubbling), because it is a precious, precious gift.

Prairie Pumpkin

I Love...
your mouth

your toes

the peace you personify.

your smile, your giggle, your gurgly coos and goos and star-studded hazy eyes.

watching you lift your head up high during tummy time.

You Make Me Laugh When
a loud voice (and believe me, there are many in this house) startles you, and you cringe, then stick out a pouty lip, pause for 4 seconds and then burst into heartbroken wails. *love it*.

Prairie Rugrat

I Love It When
you say, "Baby's crying." "Baby's crying." "Baby's crying." "Baby's crying." in faithful 3 second repetition for as long as the baby is crying. I'm not sure which is more annoying, the cry-er or the informant, but it is annoyingly adorable.

You devotedly push your "baby" in the girls play stroller around the rough gravel drive as I devotedly push Prairie Pumpkin in his to put him to sleep.

You say, "Here baby, soo." and try to put the soother in Prairie Pumpkin's mouth when he's fussing.

you take my pumice stone and try to give me a pedicure. "Rub a dub Mommy?"

It Made Me Laugh When
I could not find a workable pen anywhere in the house because you have a fetish for taking them apart and leaving the pieces strewn all over

you insisted the water at the lake was "hot. hot. hot." (well, actually you say "ought, ought, ought.") and I couldn't convince you that the word you were searching for was "cold."

You came up to me while I was laying on the couch, kissed the bottom of my bare foot and then promptly said "Ew!"

Prairie Poppet

You Make Me Laugh When
You sing Little Liza Jake (Jane) and Bill Baby (Bailey)

I Am Proud of You Because
you are reading The Magician's Nephew to yourself. You blow me away.

I Love it When
We do our family devotions and you read your paragraph as we pass the bible around and I see your daddy's smile as he listens to you.

Prairie Girl

I Love the Way You
teach Prairie Rugrat. You are so creative with finding new ways to make games fun and interesting for him. It's not enough for you to teach him developmental games, you teach him to beat his time with a timer! I love to see you teaching him new things and delighting in his progress. You are such a super sister and you will be a super mother.

help me with household chores. without being asked. just sticking alongside me and being ready to help me any way I need. It makes the daily drudgery a daily delight. I enjoy working with you!

I'm Proud of You Because
you are so mature. Being able to send you over to B and M's on butchering day to care for the children (hah, I just wrote chickens and had to backtrack!) was such a wake up call to me about how trustworthy and mature you are.

You love people. May you never lose that love and appreciation of others. May you always abound in grace and beauty as you do now. You are a gem.

Prairie Guy

I Loved It When
You rescued a baby robin from Sophie and called us all over to see it. There was a day not long ago when you wouldn't have thought twice or captured that moment, especially since you were working when it happened. The fact that you called us all over and "made a moment" was precious to me (and I'm sure to the kids).

You expressed your desire for us to do a joint bible study together.

You told me that there is nothing more relaxing to you than my hand on your neck.

I Appreciate it When You
lay on the couch, with the tv off and just shoot the breeze with me.

give me a rub, with no ulterior motive, just because you know it makes me feel good.

I Am Proud of You Because
You kept your cool as we packed up and left for camp even though I lost it and we had to come back three times for stuff we had forgotten (notice I say *we*).

God is speaking to you, and you are listening. I love it when you share the things His spirit is placing on your heart.

You are passionate. Stoic on the outside, but bubbling with spiritual lava on the inside. Let it flow baby.