December 17, 2009

It's a secret....

...I bought the hubs his Christmas present this afternoon. He's having dinner with his dad tonight, so I figured I would take the afternoon and set it up.

I got him an mp3 player. He mentioned wanting to be able to listen to something other than sports talk radio during his commute, so I am loading it up with songs, church talks, and anything else I can find. I hope he likes it!

December 15, 2009

The Baby Boy

I can't believe the baby boy is half-way finished with his first grade year! He is in the middle of yet another growth spurt. He's getting huge! I swear he's going to be taller than me by the time he's 10! Every day he comes home from school and eats 3 or 4 bananas as his after school snack. He might turn into a monkey if I don't watch him closely ;) In school, he started out the school year a little bit behind. Luckily, he has a very strong work ethic, so he is all caught up. He loves reading and learning. Nature fascinates him, so he usually reads books about animals or watches shows about how the earth was made. I feel lucky to be his mom.

The Big Baby Sister

The big baby sister is so sweet. She is finally coming to accept the fact that the baby will be staying with us permanently. The past 17 months have been a huge challenge. I was expecting some resistance to the newcomer, but never imagined it would be quite so intense. Lately, however, the big sister seems to be growing more secure with the baby. I still don't trust her to be alone with her baby sister, but at least she doesn't kick her in the head right in front of me (we celebrate the small victories in this house).

Anyhoo...school has been great for the big baby sister. She is learning quite a bit, and is enjoying being around some of her old friends from both Jane Jane's and The Learning Center. She recently decided she wants her hair done every day. It's fun learning how to do her hair!

The Big Brother

The big brother is such a blessing in my life. He is so smart. He is in an advanced reading class, and made the 2nd grade UIL writing team. He is showing a great interest in science and art. His inquisitiveness astounds me. I have a half-finished masters degree in Biology, yet he still manages to stump me with his questions. It is neat to be able to use the internet to point him in the direction he needs to go and let him answer his own questions. He has read over 100 books this semester, and is reading at a 6th grade level. He is also very responsible and tries his hardest to be kind to his brother and sisters. He is really close to the baby, and is always so sweet to her.

The Baby

Every morning the hubs and the baby are the first ones awake in the house. The baby serves as the family alarm clock, and since the hubs has to leave every morning by 6 to beat traffic, he wakes up with her, gets her breakfast, packs his lunch, and plays with her for a bit before leaving for the day.

This morning was no different, except that I laid awake in bed and listened to their early morning interactions. There's just something so heartwarming about listening to the man you love fawn over the baby you both love when you know that he is unaware of your eavesdropping. As he carried her in to me before leaving for the day, I took a minute to thank God for blessing me with him. And her. And the big kids. I don't know what I did to deserve the little family I have, but I feel honored to share my life with them.
I cannot believe this year is almost over. A year ago, John was graduating from college. So much has changed, but quite a bit is the same as well. Maybe I should write a blog post about that- compare/contrast life before and after spousal graduation....hmmm... sounds promising. Maybe I'll put it in the pipeline for future use.

Anyway, with the end of the year comes end of year preparations for tax season. One of the things our church does each December is tithing settlement. Basically, you set an appointment with the Bishop and declare whether you have paid a full 10% in tithes on your increase. If you have, you get a nice pat on the back and are reminded of the blessings that are promised to you for doing this. If you haven't, you get challenged to do better next year. It's a bit of an internal control mechanism as well, as it gives you a chance to compare the church's records with your personal records and reconcile them if necessary. Sometime this past month, the hubs decided to sign our family up for tithing settlement. As we were riding home a couple Sundays ago, he informed me that we would have our appointment on the 13th at 8:45 am. In other words, on Sunday before church. Have I mentioned we drive approximately 20 miles to church- each way?

So last Sunday was the day. The hubs woke me up before 6, and we proceeded to get the kids breakfasted, showered, and dressed. We were shooting to leave about 8:00. Well, lots of shouting, some tears, and some very unladylike expressions from me to him later, we were on our way. We ended up getting on the road around 8:35. On the way, I told him that I had looked at the sign-up sheet, and that our appointment was actually at 9:15, so we should be okay on time.

We pulled up to the church, exchanged one more round of pleasantries, unloaded everyone, and headed for the bishop's office. Upon reaching the door, we looked at the sign-up sheet and noticed that our 9:15 a.m. appointment was actually for 9:15 PM. (!!) On Wednesday. (!!)

Oh well, at least we got to sit in the soft seats at church.