Journaling . . .

Having found myself with a few extra moments this morning (WHAT? EXTRA TIME?----Quick scrub the bathrooms, sweep the floor, dust the front room . . . .right. That is how I always feel. Something can ALWAYS be done.) But not right now. Wanting to write about all that is going on in our lives right now. Hum. Starting with me. I am learning to value my talents. Talent. Yes. Something I was not always sure I possessed, maybe it was because I was too busy admiring or envying other peoples' talents, that I failed to recognize or appreciate my own. Do you have to turn 30 before you feel like you can give yourself a pat on the back? Or was I just too distracted by everything else-- a self centered teen (who isn't?) and then having 4 babies in my 20's (who has TIME to remember who they really are among all the diapers and laundry?) The past few months I have been teaching TaVaCi and gymnastics and I find myself quite enjoying TEACHING. Being able to work and interact with these young children- my students- and see them grow and develop. And see myself grow in confidence in my own ability. Feeling good about me because I taught someone something . . . I am using my talents and getting to earn a little extra money for our family. I like it! I am having fun! Yes, all this makes us a very busy family, but Scott has been here for our kids while I am gone. They LOVE spending more time with Scott and I think he is seeing that being "the mom" is not very easy. He works really hard to take good care of our 4 kids. I am grateful for his efforts and how this has allowed me to reach outside of the laundry and dirty diapers and develop a part of me that I really enjoy! Being a teacher. :)



Scott is, of course, still busy being a Chiropractor. This past football season, he was the team trainer at Madison and he in now gearing up for Basketball. He will be the assistant J.V. boys b-ball coach again this year; along with being their team trainer. He is also hunting for Elk and Deer right now . . . no luck yet . . . Hopefully something soon! He actually got a good size deer last year and we ate it all. Yea us. I was a little leery about eating a deer . . . not having grown-up eating "big game" meat, but it was actually pretty good and the kids liked it! Most of the time I just didn't say anything, everyone ate dinner and assumed that they were just eating beef, even Scott. :) I was the only one who knew what was actually in it.

Samantha is now 9 and in 3rd grade. She LOVES her teacher and is learning cursive writing and her times tables. Sam has been taking piano lessons for the past year and I am so amazed at how well she can play in such a short time. She has really excelled at piano. I am encouraging her to stick with it because I think she may have found a real talent. She has also started basketball, this is her 2nd year playing. She has 2 close friends on her team and she is having tons of fun. She definitely has the "height" to play basketball. I can already see how far she has come in just one year.

McKenzie is now 7 and in first grade. She had a bit of a rough start to first grade and was really STRESSED out by being at school all day. She was having lots of anxiety and feeling overwhelmed. I met with her teacher and we are all working to help her and she is doing SO much better. She is still learning to read . . . and can read lots of words, but I am still waiting for it to really CLICK for her . . . just not quite there yet, but close. She is in her 2nd year of DANCE! Dance class has been so good for Kenzie, it has boosted her confidence and her self-esteem. She is a natural. She has great rhythm and can just move to the music. She is very flexible. She is a darling little dancer---she pulls really cute "dance faces" and everything. Love it.

Whitney is now 4 and is FINALLY in pre-school. The interesting thing about Whitney is that she has really enjoyed being "the baby" of the family for the past 3 1/2 years. She can do lots of things herself----- eating, dressing, bathroom duties, brushing teeth, turning on lights etc. . . She just doesn't WANT to do them for herself. She has been throwing LOTS of tantrums lately. At four years old this is kind-of crazy . . . we sailed through the "terrible twos" only to find ourselves at "flipped-out four." Whitney has always been very opinionated. She knows what she wants and is stubborn to get it. This has made for lots of "head-butting." She is just having a hard time letting go of being "the baby", she wants me to rock her and carry her to bed. Which is actually really sweet . . . but . . . . We are really trying to help her GROW-UP and take responsibility for herself. Oh Whit. She still loves to tease us and make us laugh. She has also started dance lessons this year, she likes it,but I am not sure if she is as taken with dance and Kenzie is. We will see. We are committed for this year.

Dallas is now 8 1/2 months old. He is rolling (front to back and front again) and rotating on his tummy and can now get all the way across the room. He sits up pretty well on his own--still will face plant every now and then. He just cut his 2nd tooth this month (bottom rt.) He EATS so much! I can hardly keep him full! We are almost finished nursing. I think he will be all the way weaned by the end of this week. He is also SOOOO heavy to lift. I swear his bones are made of lead. When our girls were his size they did not weigh so much, they were never this heavy to lift. He continues to be a mild, sweet, easy going little guy. He is calm and happy to play on the floor most of the day. He does love to jump in his chair that hangs from the doorway! He is the perfect caboose to our family. :)