Snow and Fufu

Ama wants to like snow...she really does.  And maybe she really does a little but she's not so fond of playing in it.  It takes us 10 minutes to suit her up and she lasts about 2 minutes actually playing in the snow.  Haha I don't blame the girl.  You didn't see me out there!

One of the traditional foods of Ghana is a dish called fufu.  It is a dough like food often in a red soup.  It's quite the task of making fufu.  They take a food like plantain, cassaba, or yams and mash them up in a bowl or pot with a large wooden stick that is flat on the end.  It's quite interesting to see them do it.  I was able to try it on my 2nd trip to Ghana but it's not my cup of tea that's for sure.  Ama on the other hand loves it and has been wanting us to make some.  She has been "making fufu" with her play dishes and Ethan's bat for awhile now.

Madelyn decided to enter this years Reflections contest at school.  We had never entered before so I didn't know what to expect.  The theme for the year is Magic of a Moment.  We came up with the idea of taking a picture of Ama seeing snow for the first time.  It was late October and the forecast was calling for snow so that morning when it snowed we ran outside, trying to hurry because the kids had to get to the bus, and Maddie took some pictures of Ama.  The day the entry was due I got it printed and matted it and turned it in with maybe 30 minutes to spare.  Madelyn went on to win for her age division  in photography at her school.  She then won for the Fremont area and she got invited to the ceremony for the region.  There she received a certificate of merit and did not move on to state but they chose a winner to move on and two others received this certificate of merit so she was very close to moving on to state.  I'm proud of her for trying something new and I love the photo she took.  Every time I look at it I get a little choked up thinking about all of the firsts Ama has been experiencing in this whole new world.  I'm glad Maddie was able to record this first for her.  The title of the photograph was "There's no snow in Ghana".   It's pretty appropriate.  When Ama first saw the snow she stood frozen with this look of "what in the heaven's is this?"  Then she said it was too cold until I started playing with the snow and she decided it wasn't so bad.  No quite so magical at first. Haha

V-day Dance

Madelyn had been dreading the annual 6th grade Valentine's dance at her school.  She got a new cute dress and we put curls in her hair and I think she actually had fun.  I went and watched (totally paparazzi) and had a good time seeing all these cute 6th graders interact with each other.  I saw lots of moans and groans when the slow songs came on but everyone was a good sport.  I can't believe Madelyn is 12 years old.  She's in young womans now and even taught the lesson in her Beehive class last Sunday.  This Sunday she is speaking in Sacrament meeting as a youth speaker.  Time flies!  I proud of who she is, the decisions she makes, and the beautiful girl that she is.