The Life of Mr. Fishy

Elisa often seems lost in her own little world. Dominic has mentioned that she has the attention span of a fish. Last Christmas he had the fun idea of giving Lisy a fish. We gave her a blue beta, which she named Mr. Fishy. She loved it immediately. When she first saw the net, she asked, "Can I use that to take him out?!" She took it in stride when the anwser was no. She tried to pet him several times until we put a stop to it. Over the last 5 months she has spent a lot of time just watching him. She took her job of feeding him very seriously. At first she fed him everything: bread, chocolate chips, cereal, cat food, etc. Once she remembered that he could only eat fish food, she was diligent about it (and the bowl stayed cleaner longer. Of course I was the only one to clean out the bowl.) Sometimes her younger sisters still tried to feed Mr. Fishy something taboo.

Last week I discovered Mr. Fishy floating at the top of his bowl. Lisy was very sad. We gathered in the bathroom to flush him down the toilet. When Dominic came home, we held a memorial service in the garden. The kids made a small ring of stones and placed little bouquets of garden flowers. We said a prayer. Then the children, starting with Lisy, all told their favorite stories about Mr. Fishy. Who new a fish could generate so many happy memories?

Yesterday we took her to the pet store to get a new fish. She liked the betas just fine, but she loved the goldfish. "It's a fish that's shiny like gold!" $4 for a beta or 4/$1 for a goldfish? That's a no-brainer. Now Lisy has a goldfish, Mr. Fishy II.

Mr. Fishy II likes to hide behind the statue.

"all about my MOM"

Happy Mother's Day!

Today in Primary all the children filled out a form about their moms. Except for Makayla who is still in Nursery, I received 4 questionnaires that cracked me up. They are so funny that I have to share them with you. Just remember, they answered in all seriousness.

1. My mom is ___ years old.
2. My mom weighs ____ pounds.
3. My mom's favorite color is ____.
4. My mom's favorite food is _____.
5. My mom always says "_____."
6. My mom cooks the best ______.
7. My mom's job is ______.
8. My mom laughs when _______.
9. If my mom had time, she would love to _______.
10. My mom & I like to _______.
11. My mom really loves _________.
12. I LOVE my mom because ____________.

Samuel
1. 35 years old
2. 250 pounds
3. red
4. eggs with cheese
5. "When the food comes, eat."
6. cookies
7. being a stay at home mom
8. we do funny things
9. read
10. do garden work
11. gardening
12. she is awesome

Benjamin
1. 34 years old
2. ?
3. red
4. ?
5. ?
6. food
7. taking care of the family
8. ?
9. ?
10. ?
11. my family
12. ? ("You don't know what you love about me?" I asked. "Well, there are just so many things," he answered. Good save, kiddo.)

Elisa
1.77 years old
2. 100 pounds
3. red
4. pizza
5. "Keep yourself modest."
6. popcorn
7. she takes care of me
8. Dad's funny
9. eat
10. do homework (actually, helping her with homework drives me bonkers!)
11. me (she apparently thinks very highly of herself)
12. she takes good care of me

Rachel
1. 27 years old
2. 40 pounds
3. pink
4. eggs
5. "I love you."
6. biscuits
7. folding laundry
8. it's funny
9. make pancakes
10. fold my laundry
11. making me food (I think she was hungry)
12. gives me my baby dolls