Could it really be true?

Is it possible? Can it really be that our internet, after an entire month of slower-than-molasses-in-January-connections is finally fixed?

I don't want to jump to conclusions, but the fact that I successfully logged into blogger tonight for the first time in a month gives me that impression! Yippee! We did learn how to deal with the internet as it was, but I cannot deny that our life will be easier with a faster internet connection. Thank you, all you hard-working people on ships fixing underground cables in the ocean!

Well, it's Friday night and the whole house is settled in for the night. The girls are fast asleep, the house smells lovely after a round of chocolate cupcakes were baked in my oven, and all the toys are picked up. My house helper was here today so all my dust has been temporarily managed (it will reappear again tomorrow). I even did the dishes after supper tonight (ok, I confess I sometimes stack them for the morning if there aren't many or I'm too tired) so my kitchen is all sparkly.

However, I have a confession to make: I am officially the mother of a toy-snatcher. In case you were under the impression that sweet, gentle Clara Anne would never do such a thing, I am very sad to disappoint you. Clara Anne and Emma have had lots of opportunities to play together recently, and Clara Anne has decided that whenever she wants something that Emma is playing happily with, she will simply grab it out of Emma's hands. We have even had some situations where Emma, in pure and simple self-defense, runs away from Clara Anne, but usually Clara Anne just runs after her, trying to get the toy.

I don't know why, when there are a zillion toys to play with, that Clara Anne must have the one that is already being played with! After Christmas and New Years, there were even more toys available at both houses but that has not seemed to help the problem. We are trying to address this issue with Clara Anne but it is truly a heart issue: greed leads to grabbing, whereas we want her to have a generous spirit, giving Emma free rein to play with her toys, and especially letting Emma play with Emma's own toys!

So I've decided that the memory verse for this next week is Acts 20:35 "It is more blessed to give than receive." A few weeks ago, we were working on part of Acts 5:21 "We must obey God." Clara has that one down pat now and it is great to hear it coming from her mouth at random occasions--even teaching it to her Doll! I hope it can really be true that this next memory verse will sink down into her heart and help her have a more generous spirit!

Here's a recent photo of Clara Anne with some of her friends who are generously overlooking her toy-snatching tendencies. Aren't they cute?!

And now it's Chloe's turn to have a moment in the limelight. She has been an absolute doll baby lately; eating like a horse and sleeping a ton, and smiley, giggly and talkative when she's awake. She loves to say "da-da-da" in a soft little voice and especially loves being tickled and held up high in the air. She is growing so fast, and getting to be quite the little chunk to carry around. She still has a rather egg-shaped head, and not much hair yet, but we still love her! We are loving watching her learn how to "scoot" (we can't really call it crawling) from one place to another. She manages to get where she wants to go! It's fun--some of Clara Anne's first words in the morning are usually, "See Chloe? Play Chloe!"

Of course, just as I was writing that, Chloe decided to wake up and cry (very uncharacteristic of her--truly!). So I'd better go and convince her that nothing is wrong and she should go back to sleep.

But hey, now that the internet is working again, I can post again soon! Thanks for hanging in there with us during the slow stages!