This is going to be a long one!

I guess it's time for an update. It's been over 2 weeks since I posted anything. I've thought about posting. Does that count? As it is, I know I'm not going to be able to finish this in one attempt. Joseph has not been very lenient with me this morning.

It's currently snowing. I like the snow. I don't like it on the roads. We have so much ice around here that I'm surprised there haven't been more accidents than have already happened. I had to "bank the van" last night at a stop sign since it seemed to be the only sure way of stopping. (I steered the right front tire into a snow bank.) It has been barely making it into the double digits lately. I can hardly believe that we'll be dying from heat in 6 months.

We attended the Rexburg Temple Open House Monday last week. It was a lot of walking and I kept stealing glances at Katrina to see if she was keeping up ok. I was glad that I wasn't pregnant, but then realized that I might as well as been since I was carrying a load of blankets and a hungry baby, had a big diaper bag around my neck and was still wearing a jacket. All of the rooms were beautiful, of course. The girls started getting a little bored. Rebekah had to be carried sometimes. Daniel was very attentive. He stuck right by the tour guide's side. He must be very good in line at school! When we got done with the tour and were in the neighboring Stake Center's cultural hall for refreshments, Rebekah nodded her head and said, "Temple." She's very perceptive. Only we weren't in the temple by then. :)

I suppose I can update you by person.



Joseph first. His blessing was two Sundays ago. I had been worried that he wouldn't fit into the blessing outfit that I started before we moved. No worries. He had at least an inch left in the legs. He was well behaved for his blessing. He was hot and cranky by the time church was over. So was I, come to think of it. The church building was full of people and very warm. We had lots of people attend his blessing. Our house was full that morning! Here are some pictures of the day. We had a few shutter-bugs that day!


He has been smiling for a little while now. It's very cute to see his jaw drop down low and expose his shiny gums. It's difficult to catch it with the camera, though. I was successful once. He's even laughed a few times, but they've all been while he's unconscious or nearly so. He must have really good dreams!

Joseph still sleeps a lot. I won't complain though because if he's awake, he's usually demanding something. I don't get much done if he's not sleeping. He was two months old this past Sunday.

Rebekah has been talking more and more. She surprises me with some of her comments. Some of her favorite things to say are, "Let me see", "I was sitting there", "I want (fill in the blank)" and "Be nice to me!" She has taken a bit of a break from her potty training. I haven't felt like pursuing it. I'm not sure how much she recognizes that it's coming. I should get more involved with that. (Ten minutes after writing this, Rebekah came up to me and said she needed to go potty. She was still dry and actually went potty! I guess I don't know what I'm talking about.)

Rebekah is the most polite of the kids. She says, "Thank you" several times a day. Many times when I tell her to do something, she says, "Oh Tay!"

Somehow, she's become very fashion minded. She keeps changing her clothes. I keep sending her to her room to change back. I really don't like to do laundry that much!

Leah finally started Sunbeams this year and now thinks she's quite special. While I agree with her, I don't think I'd mean it with the same attitude. She acts older than her age, which makes it hard for me to treat her fairly. I'm starting to expect more than she's capable of doing.

Apparently, I yell too much. Leah can now only truly express herself by yelling. That's how she starts. And ends. She's not very pleasant to be around sometimes. Other times, she' quite fun. I said something (unoffending...but I can't remember what exactly) and she grunted/whined, flapped her arms and stomped away. I was stunned for a moment then called her back into the room to ask her what was wrong. Nothing was wrong and she didn't know why she reacted that way. She was suddenly all smiles and pleasantness.

Leah is very motherly. She is good to play with Rebekah and explain things to her. Last week, she was following me around the house with a carpet sweeper. She paused in her housework to lean in to Jospeh and put the pacifier back into his mouth. Last night she engaged Rebekah in an endless game of "Ring around the rosie." But she changed the end to, "We all fall bottom" and insisted that everyone comply. I still don't get it.

Since getting her booster seat for the van, the screaming has decrease (yet not disappeared). It has been nice. She feels very mature in it.

Nathan is my least-like-the-family child. He is not fooled by reverse psychology. He is not bothered with ultimatums. He thinks he is the smartest child in his Kindergarten class. He is a smart little stinker, but I wouldn't go that far. He is the only one that doesn't ask to hold Joseph. He will debate with you until he gets disinterested or in trouble.

Santa brought the boys K'Nex for Christmas. Nathan spends HOURS following the advanced directions and creating things. Yesterday it was a helicopter.

He loves to do worksheets. He'll do a worksheet nearly every time I suggest it. But don't ask him to read. He'll be six in a little over 2 weeks.

Daniel seems to have beaten his pants-wetting problem. It's been a couple of weeks (except for one time) since he's had any problem. That was good medicine I bought! One application and he was cured! I still wish I hadn't spent the money on it. I think he was just affected by all the changes he'd been through in the past couple of months. Daniel is currently trying to tell the truth.

I had a conference with his teacher at school. All his grades are in the mid or low 90's. He is well behaved in class. He has the best handwriting in the whole class. He's a good reader (I actually knew that one.) He completes his work (although he can get distracted). Where is this boy she's talking about? We have serious struggles at home. He even told me that punishments wouldn't work to get him to do his homework! I responded that he didn't know exactly what kind of punishments I could come up with!

Daniel is slow to lose his baby teeth. The only two he's lost were pulled by a dentist, and one of them wasn't even loose. He's had a third tooth loose for at least a couple of months. He tried to yank it this morning, but ended up crying. Apparently, it wasn't ready to come out.

Daniel and I are starting to have more "grown-up" conversations. I'm finally starting to feel like a parent. Until now, I've just felt like a long term babysitter. It's an interesting feeling!

I have been trying to get the house organized (still). Joseph is making it a challenge for me. I don't get the sleep I want or need. Last night was not restful and the girls are paying the price today.

I am still working on my goal to show an increase of love. It's not easy, but I'm not giving up! I'm also trying to remember that they are all still young enough that they are not accountable for their actions...I'm holding them accountable anyway.

I am finally getting a calling at church. I'll be in the Primary, but still don't know what exactly I'll be doing. Hopefully, I'll get to know some women with children my age. This is the worst part of moving. I feel like an outsider all over again. That isn't to say that they aren't nice. They're friendly, just not friends. I'm very grateful that we didn't move very far and I can still reach out to my friends back there...and I do!

Many of you know that I usually have something go "wrong" each time I have a baby. This time it seemed that I had broken the curse. That may be premature. I have an appointment today to investigate why I get a stabbing pain in my gut. My doctor is stumped and has ordered some tests. It could be scar tissue, but seems kind of high in the stomach for that. I guess I'll keep you posted.

Chad has been working hard at the office with deadlines and meetings keeping him busy. He has started getting busy with the Elder's Quorum and is starting to get to know more people.

He goes outside in the freezing cold every day to keep the animals alive. Chocolate keeps destroying the containers we put his water in, so now Chad's shopping for something close to indestructible.

Chad is the only reason the boys get on the bus every morning. I am grateful to him for how much he does. I feel like I should say more about him, but his life is our family and that's all been said.

We haven't sold our old house yet. We're crossing our fingers that it won't be much longer. We hear that things are picking up. We've found that it's quite expensive to heat an empty house, so we're extra hopeful someone will buy soon.

We've been healthy for a long time now. I'm counting that blessing daily. I know it won't last forever. Let's get Joseph a little older before we start throwing the mucus around!

And now you're caught up. Whew. I'm glad there's one less thing to feel guilty about!