What's Up with Us?
I was catching up on Kaycee's blog and she had one of her regular posts where she updated us on each member of the family. I used to do those occasionally, and I don't think I've done one in a while. So here (partly for my own record, since my journal is skimpy this year) is what our family is up to right now:
S is almost three years old now. She is my princess, my dress-up-in-pretty-clothes-and-dance-around girl. (It's kind of nice to still have one of those.) She's enjoying having her mom all to herself during the school day, and she loves going to play at the gym. (Luckily for mom, who gets a full workout that way.) She's starting to talk in full sentences, and she is also getting a tad bit bossy. She's even more of a sugar fanatic than my boys were (worrisome) and she still stays up much later than her mother can stay coherent. Another night owl for the family.
K just finished his first quarter of kindergarten. It's amazing how much he has learned already! He doesn't like to talk about school-- if I ask how his day went I usually get an answer like "It's a secret," or "I don't think I want to tell you that." But from volunteering in his class and spending time at school activities I've learned that he loves math and finds it easy so far, and he has several friends that get excited to see him. K loves to play fight and wrestle, and he still loves to pretend that he is Link from the Legend of Zelda video games. It's not unusual to see him with a play sword (or a stick) shoved down the back of his shirt while he runs off to fight some monsters.
B is continuing to grow taller and taller! She towers over the other kids in her class at school. Despite the physical growth spurt, she is still enjoying girlhood. (Actually, I'm quite relieved that she doesn't seem to be heading quite so quickly into puberty as her sister did.) B loves Barbies, My Little Ponies, her Build-a-Bear animals, and playing with friends. She is my most social child, still a chatterbox, and quite willing to tell you what she is thinking or feeling (I hope this stays around). She is also still my most sensitive child, both to the feelings of others and to spiritual matters.
J is also going through a growth spurt. He flew suddenly through size 12 and into size 14 pants, since he just keeps getting taller. His feet have spurted also and now we have to get him shoes in the men's section. (I knew that was coming too, but it's still so weird...he's just my little boy!) He is doing well in school so far this year, even with the transition to a full-day schedule. (It helps that we've scored another teacher who knows how to handle him.) He continues to astound me with his ability to do mental math and pick up random facts about all kinds of things. He draws conclusions that are often sideways from how I think so I love getting his perspective on things.
M turned 13 last month so we officially have a teenager in the house. And boy, do we ever have a teenager on our hands. Mood swings, cramps, acne, bossiness, social fears, monopilzing the bathroom and complete obliviousness of the feelings of others are all some of the downsides. On the upside, M now can think and draw conclusions about pretty complex topics and if you can get her to talk, have quite interesting conversations. She is also my standard babysitter and I'm experiencing breaks I haven't had since she was born. If M is home, I can just leave all the kids and go to the store by myself. It's an intoxicating level of freedom. She is becoming a fantastic student, keeping up with her heavy junior high honors workload like a champ. She's not getting much sleep (which worries me) and I have a feeling that part is only going to get worse....
Terence is currently serving as an advisor to an academy class of brand new officers as they finish up their training before heading out on the road. The schedule is brutal for him. He has to be out the door at 5am and usually doesn't make it home before 6 at night. There's quite a bit of paperwork invovled too, since he has to file a weekly report on each cadet. And paperwork is NOT his favorite. But he is enjoying having the whole weekend off and making the best of it. He achieved his personal goal of benching 400 pounds before turning 40 and is now working on achieving some high personal record for deadlifts. At church he is still serving as a Sunday School teacher and enjoying his 14 and 15 year olds (as much as it is possible to enjoy a roomful of teenagers).
Heidi is trying to keep her sanity while keeping everyone else in the family going. I am trying really, really hard to get Boy Scouts figured out (one of my Primary responsibilities) but it's so overwhelming. Attending our monthly Roundtables (training meetings for our whole district-- it's a LOT of tan uniforms!) feels like I am sitting through classes in Spanish. I understand some of it, but a lot of it just goes right over my head. To distract myself from Primary I am training for my first marathon in February. I'm at the easy part of the training right now but it will start ramping up by the end of October. EEEEK!
Well, that's a short recap of what's going on with the family lately. I'm loving this time of year-- we are on fall break and though the highs have still been near 100 degrees, the mornings and evenings are cooler. Hallelujah! Bring it on!!!!
S is almost three years old now. She is my princess, my dress-up-in-pretty-clothes-and-dance-around girl. (It's kind of nice to still have one of those.) She's enjoying having her mom all to herself during the school day, and she loves going to play at the gym. (Luckily for mom, who gets a full workout that way.) She's starting to talk in full sentences, and she is also getting a tad bit bossy. She's even more of a sugar fanatic than my boys were (worrisome) and she still stays up much later than her mother can stay coherent. Another night owl for the family.
K just finished his first quarter of kindergarten. It's amazing how much he has learned already! He doesn't like to talk about school-- if I ask how his day went I usually get an answer like "It's a secret," or "I don't think I want to tell you that." But from volunteering in his class and spending time at school activities I've learned that he loves math and finds it easy so far, and he has several friends that get excited to see him. K loves to play fight and wrestle, and he still loves to pretend that he is Link from the Legend of Zelda video games. It's not unusual to see him with a play sword (or a stick) shoved down the back of his shirt while he runs off to fight some monsters.
B is continuing to grow taller and taller! She towers over the other kids in her class at school. Despite the physical growth spurt, she is still enjoying girlhood. (Actually, I'm quite relieved that she doesn't seem to be heading quite so quickly into puberty as her sister did.) B loves Barbies, My Little Ponies, her Build-a-Bear animals, and playing with friends. She is my most social child, still a chatterbox, and quite willing to tell you what she is thinking or feeling (I hope this stays around). She is also still my most sensitive child, both to the feelings of others and to spiritual matters.
J is also going through a growth spurt. He flew suddenly through size 12 and into size 14 pants, since he just keeps getting taller. His feet have spurted also and now we have to get him shoes in the men's section. (I knew that was coming too, but it's still so weird...he's just my little boy!) He is doing well in school so far this year, even with the transition to a full-day schedule. (It helps that we've scored another teacher who knows how to handle him.) He continues to astound me with his ability to do mental math and pick up random facts about all kinds of things. He draws conclusions that are often sideways from how I think so I love getting his perspective on things.
M turned 13 last month so we officially have a teenager in the house. And boy, do we ever have a teenager on our hands. Mood swings, cramps, acne, bossiness, social fears, monopilzing the bathroom and complete obliviousness of the feelings of others are all some of the downsides. On the upside, M now can think and draw conclusions about pretty complex topics and if you can get her to talk, have quite interesting conversations. She is also my standard babysitter and I'm experiencing breaks I haven't had since she was born. If M is home, I can just leave all the kids and go to the store by myself. It's an intoxicating level of freedom. She is becoming a fantastic student, keeping up with her heavy junior high honors workload like a champ. She's not getting much sleep (which worries me) and I have a feeling that part is only going to get worse....
Terence is currently serving as an advisor to an academy class of brand new officers as they finish up their training before heading out on the road. The schedule is brutal for him. He has to be out the door at 5am and usually doesn't make it home before 6 at night. There's quite a bit of paperwork invovled too, since he has to file a weekly report on each cadet. And paperwork is NOT his favorite. But he is enjoying having the whole weekend off and making the best of it. He achieved his personal goal of benching 400 pounds before turning 40 and is now working on achieving some high personal record for deadlifts. At church he is still serving as a Sunday School teacher and enjoying his 14 and 15 year olds (as much as it is possible to enjoy a roomful of teenagers).
Heidi is trying to keep her sanity while keeping everyone else in the family going. I am trying really, really hard to get Boy Scouts figured out (one of my Primary responsibilities) but it's so overwhelming. Attending our monthly Roundtables (training meetings for our whole district-- it's a LOT of tan uniforms!) feels like I am sitting through classes in Spanish. I understand some of it, but a lot of it just goes right over my head. To distract myself from Primary I am training for my first marathon in February. I'm at the easy part of the training right now but it will start ramping up by the end of October. EEEEK!
Well, that's a short recap of what's going on with the family lately. I'm loving this time of year-- we are on fall break and though the highs have still been near 100 degrees, the mornings and evenings are cooler. Hallelujah! Bring it on!!!!
Comments
Kyle sounds like Jaden, Jaden didn't talk about school in Kindergarten. He does now.
I can't imagine having a teenager. that freaks me out.
Wow! that is a lot of weight to bench!!!