Listening in on kids’ conversations are always entertaining.  I overhead the following conversation between my two boys recently:

7 yo:  “Heaven is a very special place and you can’t get there by airplane.”

5 yo:  “You need a rocket!”

Once again, my 5 yo solved the problem for all those who are wondering about heaven.

A couple of weeks ago, the boys went to bed for the evening in a different bedroom for one reason or another… which happened to have a baby monitor.  So I decided to listen in on their quiet settling down to sleep (not!).  Join me for this amusing clip…

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Most of are you are familiar with the epic trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings.  And of course, Peter Jackson made movie history with his grand movie rendition of the tale in three great productions.  The primary characters in the tale are four simple hobbits from the Shire thrust into a great saga of good against evil in Middle Earth:

This year, in the spirit of LotR fare, as enthusiasts of both the books and the movies, we offer to you our Halloween-costumed “hobbits” in this year’s production of The Lord of the Dings, starring:

Matthew Ding as Peregrin “Pippin” Took (as the tallest and most impulsive of the four)

Andrew Ding as Meriadoc “Merry” Brandywine (as the most sensible or at least sensitive of our children)

Emmaline Ding as Samwise Gamgee (cuz she loves to help around the house)

Calissa Ding as Frodo Baggins (cuz she’s least likely to lose the “precious” ring around her neck!)

(click the above to go to a full-sized image suitable for the average LotD fan to use as a desktop background =-p)

The kids gleefully tromped around the mall this morning barefoot.  Most shoppers looked at them with amusement, but one store employee, obviously a LotR fan, inquired as to why their feet weren’t hairy! =-)

OTHER CAST AND CREDITS

The Lord of the Dings – Evers

Costume design and production – Lois

Here are a few more photos from the “set”…

Cheerful hobbits grasping the hilts of their daggers:

Not quite forlorn “Frodo,” Calissa attempts to feel the inner angst of her character:

Donning hood and cloak, the hobbits offer the “monster faces” by which they plan to frighten any Nazgûl that may threaten to either harm the Ringbearer (or take their candy):

Lois has been working on Scripture memorization with the kids lately, using Susan Hunt’s excellent book, My ABC Bible Verses, which teaches a new verse each chapter that starts with a subsequent letter of the alphabet.

The most recent verse starts with the letter ‘B,’ from Matthew 5:9:

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.

By way of background, our 3-year-old daughter Calissa tends to be last in line during memorization time, so by the time it gets to her, she sorta has already picked up on the verse because her 3 older siblings have had to recite it clearly.

This evening, over the dinner table, Lois decided to quiz just Calissa on “Matthew 5:9.”    Calissa said in response, “Blessed are the cheesemakers for they will be called sons of God!”

“Cheesemakers?!” we said.

At which she giggled knowingly and added, “Matthew 5:9!”

But she didn’t stop there.

She pointed at her oldest brother Matthew… then pointed at each of her other siblings, and then said,

“Andrew 5:9!”

“Emmie 5:9!

“Bethany 5:9!”

Finally she finished triumphantly, “Calissa 5:9!”

Silly girl.  What a rascal!

Once upon a time our two oldest children spoke only Chinese and it was really cute.  But ever since I taught my eldest to read, his Chinese speaking skills immediately began sinking.  Eventually it got harder and harder to keep up with Chinese, and now it’s practically non-existent in our house nowadays.  Sad, but true.

But the story doesn’t end there.  We are currently revisiting our Chinese language skills because after all, our kids are ethnically Chinese.  Their grandparents all speak Chinese.  I believe speaking another language other than English is beneficial, so at this juncture, we’re determined to drill more Chinese into our kids’ vocabularies.  Today was the new beginning where I started speaking Chinese to them.  English now takes the backseat.  So, how did the kids do?

When I told my four-year-old in Chinese to go pee, she froze and just stood there.  Her face said it all.  Completely dumbfounded, lost, and clueless.   She could tell I was giving her a command but she had no idea what I was asking her to do.  Finally, I repeated the command in English and immediately comprehension was in the air.

Later I told my three-year-old to get me her milk in Chinese, she returned quickly with a CD.   CD, milk, they’re all the same to her.  At least she obeyed my command of “go get. . . . ”

When I spoke to my five-year-old in Chinese, he just giggled.  It sounded funny to him.  He understood the language, but not having spoken to for such a long time, the language sounded funny to him.

My seven-year-old is the most adaptable since he had the most language exposure.  He was able to reply to me in Chinese.  Now, that made me happy.

So, we still have ways to go with the kids.  We are now transforming our household (back) into a Chinese speaking household to the best of our ability.   I’m looking forward to receiving my newest Chinese curriculum purchase.

Lois was making calzones in the kitchen.  From scratch.

She stepped away for “just a moment” to change baby’s diaper.

She came back to the below… well sorta.  The following was taken after the children were properly chastened, but not before removing the evidence of their actions.

I had an amusing chat with my four-year-old the other day.

Me: “Andrew, I like the way you are.  Can you not grow up and stay this way all the time?”

He:  “I can’t!”

Me:  “Why not?”

He:  “Because you keep giving me milk to drink so I keep growing.”

[Note: at one point he was not a great milk drinker, and we told him if we wanted to be big like Daddy, he had to drink his milk.  This evidently stuck in his mind.]

Me:  “Hmmm. . . good point.  Can I stop giving you milk so you can stop growing and stay this way forever?”

He:  “Yes.”

So folks, there you have it.  I’ve divulged the secret to keep your child young and cute forever.  Just stop giving them milk.