Charlotte's Prayer

Dear God,
You are the best person in the whole world.  Thank you for giving us food to eat and a home.  A nice home, so that we can live longer than the animals and insects....because insects get stomped on and the animals get hunted and eaten for food or something.  I really care about the animals.
Amen.

Conversations

Conversations in our house are often hard to follow because of all the interruptions and each of the girls trying to jump in the conversation. I feel like a referee fielding questions from both sides of the court when talking with the girls. Take this conversation for example.

Emma: Is there a civil rights leader named Helen Keller who was deaf and blind?

Me: There was a woman named Helen Keller who was deaf and blind. I guess she might be considered a civil rights leader.

Charlotte: What does deaf and blind mean?

Me: Deaf means you can't hear and blind means you can't see.

Charlotte: Well, if you are blind, you can't really do anything.

Me: Well, some people who are blind use canes to help them get around.

Emma: Cocaine? I thought that was a drug?

Me: Not cocaine, canes - kind of like a stick.

Charlotte:  Like a man-made stick or one found in nature?

Me: They are usually man-made.

Emma: So was she a civil rights leader or not?  That's what I read in the book during math class.

Questions about God

My favorite time of day with the girls is bedtime...and, no, it's not because they are about to drift off to dreamland.  I love talking to them at night when there aren't any other distractions and I can hear what is on their little minds.  They ask some of the funniest and toughest questions when they are all tucked into bed at night.  These two questions popped up in the last few days.

Question One

Charlotte: If God lives in your heart and you are healthy and eat healthy food and your heart is beating really strong...(pause)...is he okay in there?

Me: (pause) Uh...

Charlotte: Yeah, I think he is okay in there.

Me: Yeah, I think so too.

Question Two

Me (reading Charlotte's pick of the night, Cinderella)

Emma (interrupting): I know this has nothing to do with what we are reading, but does God have a wife?  I mean some people say he does, but does he?

Me: I have no idea. It doesn't say anything in the Bible about God having a wife.

Emma: Well, some people have Bibles with crazy handwriting and it says he has a wife and funny hair.

Me: Okay, well, I don't know.

El-bones

Cristina (after jumping off the side of the couch): Ouch!  I hurt my el-bone.  (Looking at her arm and grimacing.)

I have an el-bone.  Mommy, do you have an el-bone?

Me: I have an el-BOW.

Cristina: Aww.  We both have el-bones.  Now we can be vampires.

She went on and on about el-bones and after awhile, I tired of trying to get her to say elbows.  Not really sure how this makes us vampires?

Charlotte's New Skill

Last night, Charlotte wanted me to help her learn how to ride Emma's bike without training wheels.  So, I was holding the bike steady while she pedaled and then letting go for her to go on her own.  She'd get a little ways before crashing onto the driveway.  Apparently, she practiced a bit this afternoon and was finally able to get the hang of it herself. So, tonight, she wanted me to come outside and watch her ride around the driveway.

She got a bit of stage fright showing off her new skill.  She kept starting off at the same point next to the swing and when she couldn't get going like she wanted, she would bring the bike back to the top of the driveway to try again.  At one point, she was getting a little exasperated and she said, "My feet are being so selfish right now.  They just don't want to get on the pedals like they need to."

After a few minutes of trying, she finally got back in the rhythm and was flying around the driveway on the bike.  Then, she tells me, "My feet are jealous of me because I control my whole body."  She seriously cracks me up!

So excited to be riding a bike without training wheels.

Charlotte dancing with Ella

After You Die

Charlotte: You know what happens after you die?

Me: What?

Charlotte:  First, you turn into bones, then into a skeleton, then into a mummy, then you get buried in a tomb in some country I don't know the name of.

Me: Egypt?

Charlotte: Yeah, Egypt.

Cigarettes

Charlotte (looking at a cigarette display): Those are those things that smoke.

Emma: Yeah, they are bad for kids and babies.

Me: They are bad for everyone.

Emma: Daddy said he smoked when you got married.

Me: He did and it was disgusting.

Emma: Why did you marry him then?

Me: Because I loved him anyway and he was a good kisser.

Emma: And Daddy quit drugs when you got married.

Me: Huh?

Emma: Well, cigarettes are drugs, you know.

Charlotte: I know why you married Daddy.  Because he was strong, brave, good at fixing things in houses, and talented.

Emma:  Yeah, talented at smoking.