Out of the Mouth of Babes!

     How does a two year old going on three figure out all the nuances of our English language?  Listening to Seneti in action leaves me speechless!  All I can do is laugh!  A deep down toenails laugh - might I add!  And don't you forget that a few years out from this stage - I help kids with correct speech for a living - and I'm STILL awestruck by the learning a language miracle!  How does she figure out grammar tenses?  How does she figure out pronouns?  She practices, listens, and observes - BUT STILL!  Her national test score results for speech acquisition are right up there in the CUTEST EVER range!

     Drum roll "peez!"  (No 'llllll' yet! - I hope she is not developmentally delayed!)

     Some Seneti quote-ables:

     1.  "?What ya do-in?"  To imitate - please notice the question mark smothered at the beginning of the question!  Seneti has this tactic down pat!  There is no question that she is asking you something!  Then you must use your best sing-song teeter-totter vocal pattern.  Begin on the lowest note in your range and quickly jump to the highest note, then come down and back up on middle range notes.

2.  "?You jus fine?"  To imitate - please scrunch up both eyebrows in dramatic 'oh, dear' expressions while at the same time opening your mouth wide to expedite the required quick inhalation of air a millisecond in front of the question posed loudly at the very same high pitch for all three words.  She gets a lot of practice with this question at our house!  Seneti aspires to be like Joe and John - and is our little medic!  She has to come storming dramatically in for a closer look at any casuality - no matter the extent!  In fact, just yesterday there are three noteworthy laughable examples of this.  

2.a.  I was helping Litia with a problem on the bottom of her foot and had her lay on her bed so I could doctor her up in comfort!  Litia has a low tolerance for 'future' pain - and thought what I was going to do would cause more grief - and was letting the whole world know about it!  Seneti (no longer asleep) came bursting through the previously closed door with questions spewing forth as fast as water coming out of a fire hose with the beginning one being, "?Litia, you jus fine?"  Seneti doesn't stand back to ask these questions but wants to be an eyeball away from the action.  

     2.b.  Fotu was playing shortstop for the All-Star team at the state tournament.  We had stolen some great shade and were enjoying the show.  When a hard ground ball was hit closer to third, Fotu jumped out literally level to snag it in his glove and landed hard on his side.  Seneti reacted with, "?Totu dead?"  Then when he quickly got his bearings and threw the ball to snag the next runner, Seneti with relief stated, "Oh, Totu jus fine!"

     2.c.  We have a very small garden in the back yard.  Seneti helped me pick our first 'Summer Squash' (Oh, Sione - why Summer Squash?).  When I handed it to her she screamed, "Oooh" and promptly dropped it.  "Mom, this lellow baby has bump owies!"  (Exactly Seneti - you and I have a keen understanding!) 

     3.  (Special note:  I constantly embarrass Litia - without it even being on my agenda!)  Litia had just finished her violin lesson and I was helping get a chair for an elderly grandmother that was coming in to listen to the next lesson.  As I left the room, a petite hand found its way into my hand and then Seneti stopping me so she could look up into my face and asked, "???Mom, au you STUPID???"  I looked down at her and said, "Nooo, I don't think I am!"  Then she pulled her hand out of my hand and pointing with straight conviction at Litia said, "She say it!!!"  I started laughing so hard, and Litia had a VERY CONVICTED look on her face.  Now I know what Litia says behind my back while I am off embarrassing her! 

     4.  As I was putting Seneti to bed last night, her best delay tactics began with a buttermilk hug (she pats your back or the back of your head with her dainty little hand while doing this) and, "Mom, you my best fwiend in the hoe wor_d!"  She knew that would give her a few more minutes of rockin' and huggin' before she'd have to go to sleep!

     5.  The girls all got a new tiny purse.  Litia and Kalina have mirrors.  In the van, when the mirrors were discovered Seneti said,  "Peeze!  I wanna see mysef!"  

     Edition one must close now.  I so enjoy this fun time of year with my kids!  I have had a funny observation multiple times this summer.  I've run into parents of kids I teach around town and ask them how their Summer is going.  They have ALL reflected on how ready they are for school to begin again so they can have time to themselves.  I have always reflected on how much easier it is to take care of 4 kids than 27 or 28 kids!  Summer time - hold on as long as you can!  

  

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission!

     Oh, the joy of telephone conferencing when a fat oversized white envelope is about to be opened!  There was Mom, silently speed-reading ahead on the paper signed by Pres. Thomas S. Monson (in blue ink) and leaving all of us in her wake - even Dad!  She always has been one to need to know every detail - even if we are left behind!  She was crying before we could hear an audible - "Oh, my goodness!" BUT - that was a:  GIVEN!  It took some prompting from Dad - "So, where is it?" - before we heard the cracked and happy teared voice of Mom say:  Ireland, Dublin! ! ! ! ! ! !  Nobody predicted that one!  Mom came in as the closest 'guesser' having picked Scotland.  At least as far as I know.  

So off to the Emerald Isle they go!  I am so happy for them!  Mom asked, "Do they speak English?"  I replied, "Yes, but you won't understand it!"  

And to think that Fotu spent so much time trying to find an island that spoke English to put down as his mission "guess!"  Oh, how could he miss such an island?  

     You should hear Seneti say, "Dubin!  I-an!"  It is the cutest thing!  She asked, "Can I come with 'em peez?  OK?"     

     Wow Dad!  You have really outdone yourself now!  Taking Mom on an 18 month Island cruise sounds like you are treating her like your queen for sure!  And you didn't even tip her upside down this time!  I hope you meet some amazing people who are ready to receive the gospel message!  I hope you cherish every day that you have together while serving there!  The people I know who have served there LOVED IT DEARLY!  We will miss you, but are so excited for you!

Called to Serve Him!  I have a twinge of jealousy in my soul?  Oh, how I would love to serve an official mission again!  I'm looking forward to the day!  

     While I'm waiting on that day, I better enjoy the mission I'm serving right now!  I help run an MTC!  It just happens to be family style!  Crazy, wild and certainly unorganized, but MTC non the less!  I've got work to do, to be better at the work there is to do in that regard!   

     Tonight for Mutual, we had the theme of Missionary Preparation.  I was asked to teach the youth about leading music.  Oh, the flood of memories that come back to me!  Music and mission go hand in hand for me!  Who would have ever known that I would need to play music so difficult that it would be beyond my ability and make Joe and Misha stretch their skill.  The music still needed to be played, so we pooled our resources and came up with a plan.  It was called the Treble Clef - Bass Clef duet with the four hands and minimum skills of Hna. Hatch and Hna. Everett.  We got by without anyone knowing it wasn't supposed to be that way! (Except our mission president.)  It sounded like it was supposed to in the end!

     That reminds me of the time Dad told our family that he had lead the music while Mom played the piano while on their mission in Australia and Fotu burst out laughing so hard he was ready to split a gut!  Only those who know Dad's musical ability would understand the joke!  Can you even imagine!  LOL for sure!

     I distinctly remember being asked by Pres. Pratt if I would like to do my mission over.  I told him, "No way!  But, I would give anything to keep on going from here!"  I didn't want to go home!  I was allowed to extend one transfer and I cherished every moment!  

     I hope this is a mission to cherish for Dad and Mom!  

     "Grandma and Grandpa are going away on a mission!"  Can you think of anything more exciting?