"Anne-Marie, what makes you so full of vinegar tonight?" my daughter-in-law Tammy asked her 7-year-old daughter as she bounced around in animated conversation.
Overhearing, her 5-year-old sister Maddie piped up, "I didn't have any vinegar today!" I'm not sure if she is even familiar with vinegar, but this is typical of her remarks that keep me entertained.
When I was unpacking on our arrival here, Maddie came into the room carrying a handful of tangled yarn. "Mimi, do you know how to sew?" she asked me. When I told her yarn was for knitting, she asked if I knew how to knit, which I don't. Today it must have still been on her mind, for I heard her say thoughtfully, "I bet my other grandma knows how to knit!"
We were preparing to go out yesterday, and my husband decided to stay home. Anne-Marie found out her Pa Pa wasn't going, so she put up a plea to stay home, too. I knew she was a little homebody, but I asked her why she didn't want to go. "Well," she said, "if we were going to the Lego store, I would want to go. Or if I was going to a friend's house, I would want to go." Then, thinking harder, the thoughtful little miss said, "And if it was church, I would really want to go, or if I didn't know where we were going I would want to go."
"Well, we don't know where we are going," I reasoned, although I knew a couple of places we might go, to which she answered, "Yes, I heard Dad say you were going to Sam's Club." I get it. The unknown factor might still present possibilities in her mind, I guess.
Last night was church, and Anne-Marie could hardly wait. When I came down from upstairs she met me at the door, freshly bathed and shampooed, wearing a longish summer dress with sandals and fairly dancing with excitement. After church, dashing in and out among her friends in the spacious foyer, she was a vision of loveliness, her blonde hair bouncing and the purple dress, longer in the back, floating after her.
No wonder she likes church so much. I had read a sheaf of papers held by a magnetic clip on their refrigerator that Anne-Marie had typed (yes, she types) as part of her homeschooling. One was about kids' church. "First, we have waffles," she wrote, "Chocolate chip or plain." (This was for Sunday mornings.) "Then we have worship. Sometimes we feel angels," she continued. She went on about games they play, the story, and songs they sing.
Other pages were about her baby brother ("His face makes him cute."), or "How to Give a Baby a Bath," the last step being, "Hug and kiss the clean baby."
And that is one of my favorite things about my visit, hugging and kissing the baby!
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