Jan 2014

If life would just slow down for a bit, I'd have time to actually record what is happening! This fall/winter has been a whirlwind of kid activities, lessons, school, and just regular life.

Stephen is still in Young Men's with the 14 year olds and working for the Dept of Agriculture like he has done forever. He ran a marathon last August after lots of training, but unfortunately tore his minicus, a little cartridge part in his knee and gets to have knee surgery to fix it here in the next two weeks. Tyler and I only ran reasonable distances, like a half marathon in May. All the kids from Adam up did cross country in the fall and several of them did races ranging from 2 miles up to the 13 that Tyler did with me. I love that it's a relatively inexpensive sport that all of them can participate in at their levels.

We did two co-ops in the fall and the kids had violin and piano lessons. I also started learning violin and it's fun to be now be able to play, slowly, several primary songs and have them be recognizable. Not beautiful yet, but not as screechy as they were. I'm a counselor in the Primary Presidency and I love doing sharing times for the kids. We have a HUGE primary (150 kids) which makes it hard to keep enough teachers and leaders and really get to know the kids.


Ryan worked hard last summer taking high school Earth Science A and B, so that he could take Biology and Physics during the school year. Physics was the class he really wanted! He did great this summer and first semester and loved the online format of the classes. He's taking several other high school level classes right now (he's in 8th grade) and will have 14 credits by the end of the year. The plan is for him to earn at least his AA degree while still in high school and he'll start dual credit classes next year (PreCalc). He's been super involved in scouts and has enough merit badges to become a Life, and is just waiting until February for the six month time period to pass. His loves are still math and science, and anything dealing with fire. He will volunteer to build a fire in the basement anytime I will let him and loves to just sit and watch it or lay in front of the gas fireplace to do school.

Tyler is 6th grade. He still LOVES running and biking. He enjoys math and reading, but would prefer to clean over school work any day. He loves jobs like sweeping where you can see what you've accomplished and putting things in order. He also loves the rewards he gets for being a great  helper! He likes being outside, even when it's cold and taking care of the animals. He gets so excited still to collect the eggs.

Eli is in 3rd grade and finally starting to be more confident with school. He is choosing to read books for fun and gaining confidence with his math. He LOVES playing with the babies, especially chase and peek-a-boo type games. He also loves being outdoors and has started to enjoy running with Tyler. He has gained a lot of confidence this year as he's learned new skills with jobs, working outside, school, cooking, and sewing. He loves eggs for breakfast and cooking them up for anyone else that wants some each morning.

Jeanisha is also in 3rd grade. She loves making games out of school and encouraging the others to "race" and get their work done. Some days she will convince them to work under a bed or in a blanket fort and "hide" to surprise me. She also loves to cook, especially things like brownies and other treats. She is learning to make several dinner items and follow recipes without much help. She also learned to sew and enjoyed making pajama pants and a matching shirt, mostly by herself. She loves playing board games, but does not like going outside when it is cold.

Adam is in 1st grade and becoming a fluent, independent reader. He is mastering his multiplication tables because some of the online "games" that he loves, like sumdog.com have started giving him that type of problem as he's mastered lower math. He loves to basically teach himself with computer programs and amazes me what he just figures out. Technology and the way it scaffolds kids is amazing. He also did cross country, but tends to run in a kind of la-la land as he is looking at everything around him more than he is actually running. He's very observant and loves being outside. He is also in a very black and white stage and takes everything very literally.

Lincoln is a bundle of energy who has decided he should be called Linc. Apparently, I messed up when I named him. He told me that Jesus tells the parents what the name should be and sometimes the parents get it wrong. He is pretty adamant about it. He is very independent and I've learned it is pointless to try to teach him something before he's ready. It's a huge fight until the day he decides he wants to learn something and then it's just done. He's just recently started asking about learning to read, but if you ask if he wants to learn his letters and sounds, he'll say, no I already know them, I just want to read this book. He has done a preschool a couple days a week down at the high school and loved it. The teacher/child ratio is about 1:1 and he says he likes it because he doesn't have to clean up and he gets snacks. He also told me that most kids have to be parent sized to go to school there, but he is so smart, he was able to start going there when he is 4. He is diffidently not lacking in confidence!

Cumorah is 2 1/2 and having difficulty learning to talk. We've just finished ALL the evaluations for her ears and her hearing is fine. For some reason, she only says vowel sounds and won't even try to say most words. She is doing speech therapy and we're doing sign language. She understands perfectly what she is asked to do and does a pretty good job of communicating what she wants or needs even without talking. She is a tease and super silly and loves making the kids laugh. She is also sweet and cuddly and thinks she should be able to do anything they do. She like playing pretend, especially with baby dolls and toy food. She likes drawing and writing in all the kids' schoolbooks if they don't put them away.


Benson is  1 1/2 and he's not talking either, but I think a big part for him is that he points and someone jumps to get him what he wants. The audiologist termed it "older siblingitis" He loves to dance and be silly. One of his favorite things is when I am using the Blendtec and he runs over and wants lifted up to watch it. For some reason, he thinks it is the coolest thing. He loves farm animals and whatever toy someone else is playing with. :) He also loves riding in a laundry basket as the kids push him around the room. I think he would ride for hours if they would keep pushing. He also loves balls and has a pretty good arm.

Overall, life is busy, but very good. We have lots of silliness, giggling, teasing, and playing on a daily basis. Along with school work, discipline, cleaning, cooking and doing different fun activities, there is never a dull moment.