Mwende at 4 years old

Her Stats:

Vision: 20/30

Hearing: Perfect

Height: 3' 6.25" - 90th percentile

Weight: 38 lbs 6.4 oz - 50th percentile

A conversation with Mwende

My favorite food is: Candy

My favorite sport to play is: Riding my bike

The best show on television is: The Littles

The coolest person on Earth is: Julie

My favorite thing to learn about in school is: Jesus

The thing I do the best is: Running

If I could anywhere in the world, I'd go to: Ashley's house

My favorite color is: Purple

When I grow up, I'm going to become a: Funny grownup.

My current favorite song is: The ABC song

My favorite book: Corduroy

Three words that describe me are: Pretty, Climber, Silly

When I was little, I used to: Climb the wall

My favorite season of the year is: Winter cause I love to put snow on my tongue.

The best thing about camping is: Sleeping in the tent

The snack I like best is: Cheese

One food that I really dislike: Spicy stuff

My best friend is: Sophie

If I had one wish it would be: That everybody watch tv together

My best memory is: Going to SeaWorld

Do you have any other favorites? : My favorite thing is falling in love with Mama (big hug).

Mom's notes:

Mwende is a very active girl. She loves to run, jump, dance and is almost constantly moving. She talks nonstop, and I sometimes wonder if she ever takes pause to breath. She is very imaginative and bright. She loves to play with her stuffed animals and dolls, they are her "kids". She is quick to memorize a bible verse. She memorized her first verse, 1 Thessalonians 5:11 within a couple of hours. She loves to play outside, especially if there is dirt or mud involved. She takes particular joy in her little sister and doesn't like to be apart from her even for Mwelu's nap. Mwende is very outgoing and will talk to anyone and everyone, even if they aren't listening or don't hear. She makes friends where ever she goes. She is her Mama's shining star.

I wish...

This morning we had the usual 'goodbye daddy' routine. Long and drawn out. Plenty of tears. About 15 minutes after Patrick finally managed to escape Mwende said:

"I wish Daddy didn't have to work and we could still have all this stuff."

Why God needs leaves

We're driving down the street when Mwende sees a couple of trees that don't have leaves on them. She exclaims, "Oh no Mama! Those trees are dead! They don't have any leaves!" "Oh no..." I say. She says, "Does that make God sad?" "I'll bet it does, God likes leaves." I respond. She thinks for a moment and then says, "I know why God needs leaves!" "Why?" I ask. "God needs leaves to make celery!"

No bones about it

Mwende was lying on my mother's lap (her Grandma) playing with the skin on her arm. I have permission from my mom to call it "the flab under her arm". Anyway, Mwende was playing with it and suddenly exclaims, "Grandma, you don't have any bones in your arm!"

You can be my mommy

Mwende, Mwelu, my sister and I are up in Woodland, CA visiting my Aunt Sandy. We went to Gipson Ranch where my Aunt keeps her horses and my Mom, Aunt Jenny and cousins Wendy and Laura joined us for a mini family reunion. We were going to look at my Aunt's horse and Mwende was taking a golf cart with my mom, Aunt Sandy and my cousins. She is sitting next to my cousin Laura (who is 14 yrs) and stroking her hair. She then tells her, "When you grow up someday, you can be my mommy." Laura replies by saying "But, you already have a mommy." Mwende comes back with: "When my mommy dies and goes up in the sky, then you can be my mommy."

>>>I guess that solves the problem of who we should choose as their guardian!<<<

I saw an airport!

A plane just now flew over our place. Mwende comes running in and says "I just saw an airport!" "An airplane?" I replied. "No! An airport! That's where daddy lives. I mean, that's where daddy is!" (Patrick has been going on a lot of business trips lately)

Snug as a bug in a rug

Last night Mwende decided to sleep on the floor... using her hopscotch rug as a blanket. When I left her she was curled up underneath with a My Little Pony and her doll "Calisa" neatly tucked in beside her. I took this picture just before we went to bed for the night. Don't worry, Patrick transferred her to her bed. My little snuggle bug. :)