Worth Doing Well

Today is not quite like most Sundays. It's very quiet and relaxing. I admit, most Sundays are less than relaxing. We usually hurry home from church, hungry and exhausted. We scrounge for food and crash on the couch for a nap while the kids play loudly in the den and/or bedrooms. So I'm thankful for today. Today we are trying harder to keep it holy...and I'm happy to say, it's working!

It's been raining pretty constantly since Friday night. Someone at church today said she measured ten inches! Thankfully we are on a hill and haven't had any flooding. Some haven't fared so well though. The temperatures have dropped quite a bit, our high today was 66°, and that was this morning. Now it's 64°, overcast and windy. It's a welcomed change. Since today is the last day of September, and with this weather, I feel especially festive. I love the Fall. It makes me want to embroider Christmas ornaments and get the kids winter clothes out. Hey! That's a good idea- I think I'll start that tomorrow.

Samuel has been 2 years old officially, for one week now. He has always had a sense of humor. When he was a baby, something about his smile and how his eyes lit up made it apparent he was a funny guy! He is talking a LOT and even tells jokes! He likes this one the best: "Knock knock!" (Who's there?) "Letter" (Letter who?) "Been knocking!" Then he wittily snickers. It's so cute! It's supposed to be 'Letter in, she's been knocking!' That's a tribute to Blue's Clues.

He got a Toy Story birthday card that sings.
He helped pick it out at the store. 

He loves his new Cars 2 shades.
He says, "I cool!"

He got new "burpies". He lifted his shades
to check them out. They didn't pass the
smell test until I washed them. Haha!

Isn't he precious?!

I made the same cupcakes as last year, since he doesn't even remember. We decided to make them a tradition, until he objects. We opted to forego the icing this time- they really didn't need them. They were scrumptious~ there are Oreos inside!

The kids are enjoying their new schools. Katherine is in middle school, sixth grade. She signed up for band and is learning to play the clarinet. She is super excited about that, and is eagerly looking forward to turning 12 in a week and a half! She is reading a lot and recently told me that she has been reading her scriptures every night. I'm so proud of her. She is in the Advanced Language Arts and Math classes at school- the only two Advanced courses they offer. So far she hasn't been overloaded and seems to be enjoying it. 

Travis loves LOVES loves school. Did I say he loves it? If there were a stronger word, I would use it. His whole countenance, attitude, and demeanor have changed. He has become soft-spoken and never complains. I have to ask him to repeat himself sometimes, because he speaks so quietly. His new school is such a blessing! We're SO grateful he is able to go there and we know it was an answer to prayer. He loves to read. He does take some pride in carrying around a really thick book, most kids he knows are intimidated by that volume. At his new school he has been able to play soccer most days on the playground. It's his new favorite sport and he is teaching his sisters to play at home. Soccer and reading are his favorite past times.

Olivia and Ella love their new school too. Olivia is in second grade and has a wonderful teacher. She comes home everyday telling us how much she loves school. I believe a lot of it has to do with her teacher and how much she cares about Olivia and her progress. At first, I was worried about Olivia and thought she may be dyslexic. After a couple of weeks though, she really has taken off! Her reading and spelling abilities have improved and she is gaining confidence every day. We're so proud of her. A few weeks ago, Olivia was chosen by her teacher to be the first Clap Out recipient in her class. She invited us to come and help surprise Olivia. It was a Friday and Johnny was off work, so we went. Each teacher in the school chose a student they wanted to spotlight. They introduced the student in front of the whole school and told why they were proud of them and why they chose them. Olivia's teacher talked about Olivia's hard work with reading and how much she had grown. After all the teachers in the school spoke, the other kids lined up in the hallways outside the classrooms with the other teachers, coaches, etc. Then the "Clap Out" award winners walked in a line, like a parade, down the halls while everyone clapped and cheered for them. It brought tears to my eyes! Olivia looked a little embarrassed, but I know she was excited.

Ella is in first grade and loves it. School seems to come easy for her. Each night, she and Olivia have spelling words to practice. By Tuesday night, Ella just about has her main words memorized (what they are and how to spell them). She'll tell me what the next one is before I can say it! Although their homework takes a long time each night, I'm grateful for what they're learning and the time I get to spend with them. Bryn likes to bring a paper and pencil to the table too and asks what word she needs to right. She still has another year at home, since she doesn't turn five until November. Ella got glasses, as you can see. She is farsighted and her right eye is quite a bit weaker. She never complained about her eyesight, but I took the school kids to get checked, mostly because we have insurance. Travis has had glasses for a little over a year, and Katherine has 20/25 nearsightedness. When we discovered how poor Ella's eyesight was, we were shocked! She has an excellent doctor, who is working hard to correct her vision. It's getting much better already! Since her right eye is so weak, she may have to wear a patch later. She sure looks cute in her glasses though!

Bryn seems to enjoy being the oldest at home during the day and playing with Samuel. She loves watching movies the most. AND, she nearly refuses to wear pants. Ever. She wears a dress everyday and knows how to fix her hair in a ponytail. She also loves to snack. We will eat breakfast around 6-6:30ish. After we're home a little while, she wants to eat again. Thankfully she makes healthy choices- grapes, apples, popcorn, cheese sticks, etc. She's pretty good about sharing with Samuel too. On days that Johnny is at work, she likes to help me cook. I make our bread for sandwiches and toast a couple of times a week. She climbs up on the counter and helps me dump the ingredients in. Sometimes we make cookies together for the kids to have when they get home. Bryn is a very determined little girl and there isn't much she doesn't think she can do. In fact, the only times she says she can't do something is when it's time to clean up. That's when she says she needs help and it's too hard. Haha! If she is thirsty, she can climb to get a cup. If she wants her hair fixed, she can put it in a ponytail. And for the most part, she can get her own snacks. Clearly, she is very capable and I have to remind her.

Johnny started a new semester, and is already on his second course. He should graduate next December. He's taking a few nursing courses this semester, but still has some basics to go too. Hopefully he can knock them out next semester. They may be heavier loads though- he's got to take Statistics (ugh), State Gov't and a literature course (probably LOTS of reading). Since being back in school he has made one B and the rest A's. As long as he keeps that up, he should have no problem getting into CRNA school.

Katherine and I have been working out together, most every morning before school. We actually started back in the summer, in July. We just "celebrated" our 90th day! We didn't workout EVERY morning; we took rest days when we really needed it. But it was still an accomplishment. We've started Round 2. Something about "90 Days" seems achievable. To say, "I'm going to workout everyday for the rest of my life" is admittedly overwhelming. Sometimes I still have to remind myself why I'm doing it and how I'm committed. It helps that Katherine is relying on me to be there every morning. We have a set routine of weight-lifting using an app on my phone, and cardio using Turbo Jam videos. At least, that was our Round 1 workout routine. I've mixed it up now. I combined my weight routine (back/biceps/forearms for example) with doing intervals for 10 minutes on my roadbike, on the bike trainer. That should cover 5 days a week and I can either rest on weekends or do cardio on Saturdays. It just started, so I haven't played around with it much. My days go so much better when I workout. It's like when you read your scriptures first. What you do for your body, you do for your spirit. I love it!

Our house is for sale. We listed it the middle of June. We know houses don't sell right away since the market is somewhat saturated, so we thought we should try now in order to time it right. When it sells we want to rent closer to Johnny's work and the kids' schools. We spend so much time driving, it's like we live in another town! Seriously, it takes me an hour to pick the kids up in the afternoons. We could save a lot of gas and time if we lived closer. It's sad though because we LOVE this house. It's perfect for us; we just wish it was in another neighborhood. Don't get me wrong, we love our neighborhood, it's just too far. We knew we'd have to sell eventually, so Johnny could go to graduate school. So when the time is right, it'll sell and we'll stay here in Nac until then. We've had several showings, one yesterday even. If they choose to make an offer, we probably won't hear about it until tomorrow at the soonest. So...we wait, in a beautiful, clean house. ;)