The kids are getting OLD.

Noah at his first Court of Honor, giving a presentation

Noah is a SCOUT. He looks so sharp in his Class-A uniform. He had his first Court of Honor last Saturday, where he gave an excellent presentation on his trip to Colorado with Aaron & Tom. He had a slideshow with several pictures from the trip, he had rehearsed his narration all morning, he used a laser pointer, he was funny, he spoke loud & clear, and he ended by saying, "Thank you for listening attentively."

Molly is in the school CHORUS. They're learning several Christmas songs, including harmony, and they'll be performing at the State Capitol! Molly also plays piano and violin. Lately, all she talks about is singing... although she did practice the piano for a solid HOUR today when she was determined to perfect a particular song.

Zoe knows how to KNIT. At 7! She's working on something with black yarn; maybe it will be a scarf. She also is good at fixing a ponytail in her own hair and getting all the bumps out. If she had her way, she'd wear pink, and a skirt, every day.

Lucy can BLOW DRY and ROUND BRUSH her own hair. I still help her with the back, but she can get the front/sides of her blonde bob looking very lovely all on her own. She absolutely loves horses and loves playing with our dog. If she had her way, she'd wear jeans every day... regardless of the weather. Zoe and Lucy will be EIGHT in only 3 1/2 months! And they are both learning muliplication and division in their advanced math class at school. In 2nd grade!


A little story of the kids' growing up and being responsible:

Our church services start at 10:30am. Last Sunday I was gone all morning, leaving at 7am, for a Youth service activity (holding a small church service at a care center for severely disabled adults). Aaron had morning meetings during the hours the kids would be getting ready for church... so the kids had to be responsible to get themselves completely ready. I left them some instructions on the white board easel the night before, about what time they needed to shower, dress, don't forget to brush teeth, etc. Aaron's morning responsibilities lasted longer than he intended so he called the kids right before church started to say, "Are you guys ready? Meet me in the driveway so I can swing by and pick you up for church." All four of them were ready: appropriately dressed, hair decently fixed, shoes on, scriptures in hand. I was so proud of them when I heard and saw how well they'd done!

It does make me realize, though, how OLD they are getting. Noah will be 12 next year. Next year is Junior High for him. Molly will be in double-digits, and my baby twins will be getting baptized. Within just 10 short years, they'll start moving out and moving on... graduating from high school, going on missions, going to college, maybe even starting to think about marriage... gulp. Sometimes I get worried thinking about their teen years; hoping they will have good friends, hoping they won't go through too many hard times, hoping they will all turn out great and be happy. Sometimes it seems that it would be nice to fast forward through those years and jump to the time they're all happily married, responsible adults, giving me adorable grandkids. But, I'm sure we'll have some really fun times during their teen years that I really wouldn't want to miss.