Christmas Letter

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!! This year has been very full for us. We began it in our new house. We have spent the entire year, and entire paychecks-:), fixing it up. We've changed nearly everything imaginable. Our big project this fall was our kitchen. We painted the cabinets, changed the hardware, put in new appliances, got granite countertops, and are now in the process of picking out and installing the backsplash. Does it ever end? Hopefully we'll have fewer projects in 2009.
ROBERT has had a busy year. He was short an attorney in his office nearly the entire year so he was loaded with cases. He was also put into the bishopric this spring. What a surprise! Although it's a lot of work, he has enjoyed it, and we are noticing the growth and blessings that are coming from his service.
HEIDI is like any other mom--crazy busy! She spent the first half of the year still in Young Women's. She went to camp with them and then was released. In April she competed in a half-marathon. She volunteers once a week in Adam's school class. She also started teaching piano again and is part of a small group teaching preschool to our 3 year olds.
ADAM is now 6 years old. He started Kindergarten in August. He loves it! He really enjoys the constant stimulation and busyness of it. He has worked very hard this entire year learning how to cope and manage his OCD. We're pleased he is doing so well. He loves Ben 10, playing on the computer and writing. He will make list after list just to write. He has about 10 Christmas lists right now.
MATTHEW is 3 1/2 years old. He began preschool this fall, which he enjoys. He has become quite shy in large groups; he would rather play with just one or two friends. He loves playing games and any sport. He is definitely athletic.
We wish everyone a Merry Christmas. May you see the blessings in your lives.

Love, Robert, Heidi, Adam and Matthew

Christmas Came Early

Christmas came early in our house. Since we will be in Cheyenne on Christmas Day we decided to have our family Christmas this morning. We didn't tell the boys about it until last night and boy, did they get excited. Adam, our night owl, was up by 6:30am--way earlier than he gets up for school. We had a great time. Everyone loved their gifts. In fact, both Adam and Matthew kept saying thank you and telling us how much they like their gifts. We played with the toys and games and watched the new DVDs today. Now we're heading out to McDonalds for dinner. They earned their Happy Meals this week by eating the dinners every night. Here's a few photos from our day. You can see that both boys are excited. I love Matt's cute, little face; he's so expressive. Merry Christmas!!!

Toddlers or Teenagers--which is better?

Yesterday afternoon I spent three hours at Adam's school helping the teachers with 45 kindergarteners. Normally I help for an hour and a half with about 22 students. So, I was a bit surprised when I was there double the time with double the students. Holy Hannah Montana!! I was so tired when I got home. I could never be a kindergarten teacher. They have the patience of saints and the stamina of the Energizer bunny.
Later in the evening, I heard Adam and Matt playing around in their rooms. I went to investigate and they were pretending to have big muscles. They had put on lots of shirts and sweaters; Adam had on nine and Matt had on six. It made me think of what they might look like as teenagers after going through puberty, and perhaps after a few steroids. Here they are showing off and flexing their "muscles". Matt calls this his "tough guy" look.

More December Activities

Adam and Matt made a ginger-bread house on Sunday. As you can see, Adam is very anxious to eat it.

December Activities

This past week we have done some of the typical December activities. While we were cutting out paper snowflakes, Adam and Matt each found a strip of paper that looked like a mustache. They quickly found some tape and wore them the rest of the evening.

We took the boys to sit on Santa's lap. As you can see, Matt was less than thrilled once he saw Santa. However, both were excited about the candycanes they received. Matt was too scared to say what he wants. Adam said he wants Magic Tree House books.

St. Nicholas Day

For as long as I can remember, my family has celebrated the European holiday of St. Nicholas Day. Children all over Europe put out their shoes on the night of the 5th, sometimes filled with straw and carrots to feed St. Nicholas' horse. St. Nicholas then fills the shoes with candies, fruit, and little presents. Since I was a little girl, we have put our red, wooden shoes every December 5th. For me, this represents the start of the Christmas season. In fact, lots of times I was more excited about St. Nicholas Day than Christmas. I think, because, it was alway exciting to see what St. Nick would bring that would fit into our shoes. It couldn't be big or necessarily extravagant, and we didn't put in "requests" or "write a list". It felt more like a surprise to me. I've continued this tradition with my boys. This year they were VERY EXCITED. They put their snowboots under the Christmas tree on Friday evening. Both kept talking about St. Nick coming into our house and filling their boots. Matt was very curious if St. Nick would come into his bedroom while he was sleeping or if he would see his pajamas. They woke up a bit early Saturday morning and rushed to look in their boots. Throughout the rest of the day, they both kept mentioning how St. Nicholas knew what they liked. Matt got a small Nerf football and Adam got a Crazy 8s game.

We put our tree up this weekend--well, three of them. I decided to only do one big tree. I hadn't intended to use all of the ornaments (300 of them), but they boys wanted to. I took my brothers' advice and allowed Adam and Matthew to decorate the tree. I didn't comment once on where they placed them, and I haven't moved any of them. That's a major accomplishment for me. And you know, it was more fun. I didn't have to stress about decorating the tree or the time involved, since the boys did it. Yesterday afternoon, after church, we decorated two small Christmas trees. One went into Adam's room and the other into Matt's.

Macho, Macho Man

Is it possible for a 3 year old to be macho? Matt has completely fallen into a macho phase. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. He does have latin blood coursing through his veins, thanks to his dad, however, I just didn't think it would start this early. He refuses to use or eat anything pink or purple--no pink plates, no purple vitamins, no purple jelly beans, etc--you get the idea. He wouldn't even touch some pink and purples beads he was using for a craft project the other day. And the words 'pretty' and 'cute' are off-limits now. Today he was showing me something he made and I said, "that's pretty cool." He said, "Don't say pretty. It's cool." Sometimes we like to tease him by telling him we're going to give him Bratz and Barbies for Christmas. He quickly reminds us that those aren't 'boy toys'. It will be interesting to see how long this phase lasts. Perhaps, only 70 years.

Christmas Packages

I've been a bit of a humbug this holiday season. At least that's what Robert says. I think it's because I don't want to put up all four Christmas trees like we did last year. I'm still tired from last Christmas. We haven't put up any trees or any decorations yet. I think I only want them up for a couple of weeks because I'm the one having to decorate everything and having to keep the kids from touching the decorations. I'm a tree-nazi. I love a beautiful tree. And when I decorate a tree I put each ornament in the perfect spot and I do not want it moved...EVER. So, it's very trying on my patience to not get upset when the boys want to look and touch the ornaments. Anyhow, back to being a humbug. I think I'm finally losing that feeling. I went Christmas shopping this morning while the boys were in school. It was fun--picking out some things that I know they'll really enjoy. I'm also starting to put together Christmas packages to mail out. To me, Christmas packages are my most favorite part of the holidays. I think it's because they were such a big part of our Christmases growing up all over the world. We never lived by our relatives, and quite often, were an ocean away. So, we always received lots of packages. It was always very exciting to see what goodies were inside. This is when we got to eat M&Ms. My grandma always included them in her packages. Since my dad is a dentist we RARELY got to eat M&Ms. Also, my mom would always put together such beautiful packages to send out. I remember seeing her assemble them on the dining table, usually 6 or 7. She still does great packages, and when I put a package together I try to think how she would do it and what she may include and how to make it fun and exciting. I'm still not sure when our Christmas tree will go up, perhaps this weekend. However, the Christmas packages are getting assembled and sent out soon.

Birthday Party--Part 2

Adam had some friends over this afternoon for a birthday party. We gave each of the boys a Ben 10 t-shirt. Most of them wanted to wear them during the party, which was great. Here is a photo of them doing their best Ben 10 impersonation. (LtoR--Micah Dvorak, Spencer Hunt, Adam, Cy Kentner, and Abe Kentner. Matthew was at the party but felt too shy to be in the pictures and around the "big" boys). We played a couple of games--find Ben 10 and had a pinata. Then they enjoyed cake and rootbeer floats. By that time, they were chopping at the bit to jump on the trampoline and play air-hockey so that's what they did.

Birthday Party--Part 1

Don't you just love that face? He's pretending to be Ben 10. As I said in an earlier post, we surprised Adam with a newly redecorated bedroom in a Ben 10 theme when he came home from school. He was VERY excited about it.

Here Matt and Adam are both doing their best Ben 10 pose.

Before the wrapping paper got thrashed--

As you can see, Adam got lots of Ben 10 stuff, which he was excited for all of it. He got 3 t-shirts and loves them all. This picture reminds me of my childhood. After each birthday and Christmas, my mom would have us neatly arrange our gifts and take a photo with them. I'm continuing the tradition.

After the thrashing of the wrapping paper and posing for photos. Adam and Matt loved playing together with the new toys.

Happy Birthday Adam!!!

Today is Adam's 6th birthday! He's very excited to be 6 and to have his party. He woke up this morning to lots of birthday decorations in the house. He had a 'birthday' cinnamon roll with a candle in it for breakfast. He was excited to go to school because his teacher and para each have a surprise for him. While he's been at school, we've been secretly redecorating his room. We're changing it to Ben 10. I've painted the Ben 10 sign on his wall, put up a poster and wallies, and framed a photo of him in his Ben 10 halloween costume. He's going to be so surprised when he comes home from school and sees his room. Tonight we're going to dinner at the new McDonald's that just opened yesterday (great timing). Tomorrow we're having a Ben 10 birthday party with his friends. I'll post more pictures tomorrow. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ADAM!!
(These are some of the family photos we had taken earlier this month)

I'd Like One Roadtrip, Please

I had no idea how stifled I've felt here in Garden City this year until gas got cheap. As the price has gone down, I keep thinking, 'wow, I can go there or there or there and it will only cost me $20. Let's go.' I can now get a tank of gas (for a minivan) for less than $30, more like $25. I'm so ready to get out of here. In fact, because of that, we've decided to leave for the Christmas holidays. We had planned on staying here but now we're heading up to Cheyenne, WY for Christmas and then onto Leavenworth, KS for New Years. We are taking advantage of the crappy economy (cheap gas prices) and getting the heck out of here. Which makes me think of another point. Although the economy has gone down the flusher, it's definitely helped our 'personal economy'--cheap gas, great sales--I'll take it.

Kids Say and Do The Darndest Things

I love hearing funny things that kids say. Every parent has cute stories to share about their children. Here's a couple from our kids this past week. Adam has learned to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". He likes to sing it this way, "...buy me some peanuts and crack the nuts..." (instead of crackerjacks). Matthew got up on Monday and told me it was morning time because he didn't have anymore yawns.

November = Gratitude

We're trying to teach Adam and Matthew more about gratitude and being thankful. So, for the month of November, we are doing a couple of projects. The first is a 'gratitude' chart. I bought a posterboard and made a big grid on it (400+ squares). Each time someone shows gratitude or says 'thank you' we put a check in a square. We are trying to fill it up by Thanksgiving. The other project is a 'gratitude' journal. Each night during dinner we individually say what we are grateful for that day. We made a little booklet to write in so we have a record of it. Last night Adam said, "I am grateful that I tried my dinner and I didn't die." Ha-ha!! (See Nov. 5th post)

Obama Mania

I know lots of people having been posting about the election, so what's one more? I'm so excited that Obama won. I voted for him. To all my Mormon, Republican friends and relatives--don't pass out. I took a lot of time this election deciding who I wanted to vote for. In fact, I told myself I wasn't going to decide until Tuesday morning because I wanted to be open-minded to both candidates during the entire campaign and I really wanted to vote from my heart. I didn't want to vote for a candidate just because everyone was telling me who to vote for. I wanted to vote for who I WANTED. I felt this campaign season wasn't as negative as past ones. I think that speaks to the character of both Obama and McCain. I have always been a fan of McCain. I lived in Arizona for 10 years and he was my senator. I voted for him for President back in 2000. However, this year, I just felt like Obama had a better grasp of what America needs right now. I like his stance on immigration, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his economic plan. I also think he really values collaboration and we, as a country, need that with the rest of the world. I'm by no means an expert on international affairs, but I have lived in three others countries besides the U.S. and have relatives in both Europe and South America. Most of the nations in those two continents are more socialistic that America and the people tend to dislike our politics. I think, because Obama leans more toward socialistic ideals, he can help unite us with the rest of the world. I do have high expectations for Obama. I really felt like when I voted for him, I was putting my trust and faith in him to change and improve America. I think he is really reaching out to everyone and sending out a "call to arms", meaning he expects us to rise and help him improve America. I get the sense that his presidency will expect more out of us as a population and doesn't want to be viewed as simply the politicians in D.C. that have little, if none, contact with the 'real folk'. Most of you and especially those that are much more political-savvy than me may think my writings are juvenile, and perhaps they are, but that's how I feel and I do my best to express them.

Dinner Update

Two or three weeks ago I posted that I was going to try (or demand) something new with getting my boys to eat dinner. If they eat their dinners every night, Sunday thru Friday, then on Saturday they get to have a Happy Meal. It's working! The first week they tanked. Only Rob and I got something on Saturday. (Side note--we didn't eat Happy Meals but Chinese instead.) The second week Adam and Matt did better. And this week has been great. I've intentionally cooked dishes that they wouldn't try before--one a chicken dish with a creamy mushroom sauce and the other sloppy joes. They tried them both AND really liked them. In fact, they asked for seconds, even thirds on the sloppy joes. Matt keeps reminding us that we get to go to McDonalds if we eat our dinner. Tomorrow I'm going to try a potato chowder. Neither of them like soup, but that's because they haven't been willing to try it. They do realize they only have two more dinners to go 'til Saturday so I'm hoping they eat it. We'll see how it goes.

So Cute and Dapper

Here are some photos of Matthew before church yesterday. He just looked so cute I had to take some pictures.

Trick or Treat

Adam and Matthew had lots of fun trick-or-treating last night. The weather was great. We didn't even need jackets. They were so excited they ran from house to house. Rob and I just stayed on the sidewalk while they went as fast as they could. They're old enough now that they can walk the entire time and don't need us to hold them.

Matt dressed up as Diego. He's with the pumpkin he designed and carved.

Adam is Ben 10. Great pose, eh!

Here they are after two hours of trick-or-treating. Quite a stash! Adam ended up with 6 lbs. of candy and Matt had 5 lbs.

Kitchen Update

Here's a couple photos of the new countertops. Someone (Holly) has been bugging me to post some pictures. They turned out pretty well. We had the granite come up on the wall four inches. The workers forgot to bring the backsplash piece near the cooktop. They're coming back next week to fix that. You can see our new appliances, too. There's still a few things left to do: paint the cupboards where the old countertop hung over, tile the rest of the backsplash, and change out the rangehood to stainless like the appliances. Eventually it will all get done.

What Season Is It?

Saturday was a busy day. We took out our old countertops and repaired drywall where the old backsplash had been. We took out the sink this morning. The new countertops should be here in a couple of hours. Yippee! While we were working, the boys were busy outside. First, we raked all of the leaves into a huge pile and Adam and Matt had fun jumping into them. They would take a big running start and then dive into the leaves like they were homeplate.

They got hot after that so they started playing with the sprinklers and hose. Is it summer or fall? Thank goodness for Kansas weather. It can be freezing in the morning and hot in the afternoon.

A Little Bit of Inspiration

This past Sunday we had a lesson at church about our trials and struggles and the lessons we can learn from them. This caused me to think about Adam and his OCD. It's been a year now since we really started dealing with this. A year ago he was starting to wash his hands 50+ times a day, thought everything that was outside the house or left the house was contaminated, and couldn't touch particular things. When we got the diagnosis of OCD and learned it would be something he would have his entire life, it was quite overwhelming. It has taken months of treatment and medication to get a grip on it. At the moment he is doing well. However, it can change daily and so we have to be vigilant about doing his coping exercises. At the beginning of the year, when things were really bad, I decided to keep a journal or record of the blessings that have come from OCD. Initially this was quite hard because it seemed like it only brought grief and heartache. And really, what good could come from OCD? A few weeks ago, during Stake Conference, I had a bit of inspiration. I have regularly thought about why Adam has OCD--not why does he have this as a complaint, but why does he have this as a wonder, what is the purpose behind him being given this trial. During the meeting, the thought came to mind that Adam is learning at a very young age how to truly decide between two things--good vs. bad. The OCD is like a voice in is head trying to convince him to choose the OCD side. The voice tries to convince him that the OCD side has to be chosen or else something terrible will happen. If he obeys the OCD then he'll feel better--for awhile, until he does the ritual again. He is learning how to examine his thoughts and look for the truth in them--what's his real thoughts and what are the OCD thoughts. By the time he's a teenage he'll have had lots of practice. I'm hoping this will help him then to be able to look at what other kids say and the peer pressue and be able to determine what is really the right thing to do and not just the path that others tell him to follow. I'm not sure if this makes much sense. I find it hard to accurate describe what OCD is like to those that have not either lived with it themselves or had someone close to them with it. Sometimes I think it is similar to an addiction--not that the person is addicted to the behavior but the feeling that something has to be done in order to live or survive.

Stroke of Genius

So, I had a stroke of genius recently. Literally, one of those moments when you're like, "holey-moley, that is the best idea ever". My boys are picky eaters. Part of it is my fault, I understand that, and part of it is theirs. Another day, another dinner, and another "Ewww, gross!" And then the lightbulb went on--during the blessing on the food (prayers are answered). I said, "You know how you love to go to McDonalds or Burger King. Well, we'll go every Saturday night, your choice, as long you eat your dinner every night. Those who eat it get to go and those who don't will have PBJ." Why didn't I think of this earlier? The benefits are endless--1. Save $--it will be a long time before we go to McD's (I'm guessing a month); 2. Eventually they'll try new foods; 3. I get a break from cooking every Sat. night (it's nice to look forward to that). So far this week, both Adam and Matt are 0-2. We'll see how they feel come Saturday night while Robert and I are eating 'restaurant' food and they're eating PBJ. Perhaps they'll do better next week.

We're each full of personality

I found this professional and academic personality test. Not like one of those you find on Facebook or something. It's really neat. Check it out here: http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp.
My personality type is introverted intuitive feeling judging. It explains in detail about each personality type and it also tells which careers best suit you. I'm best suited for being a nurse, counselor or teacher.

Seeking The One

Isn't this painting great? The artist is Liz Lemon Swindle. I just love it because it portrays Christ as young and youthful. There is a real human aspect to it. And He seems so approachable. I first saw it three years ago and have wanted ever since. Well, my wish finally came true. While in Denver over the weekend we went to a store that had it. . . . and it happened to be on sale, 1/3 off. I couldn't believe it because the painting costs hundreds of dollars. So, after discussing it, Robert said "sure, let's get it". And then, "Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, and Happy Anniversary for the next couple of years." :)

Happy Birthday Part 2

Here are some photos from Robert's birthday party last night.

Yep, that's 38 candles.
He did it! He blew them all out with one blow.

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is Robert's 38th birthday. Happy Birthday, Honey!! Robert is a great husband, dad, and son. We've had a lot of fun this past year. Here are some photos! Robert and Matt at a KU basketball game.
Robert and Matt taking a rest.

Robert teaching Adam to ride his bike on Christmas morning.

In Love with KC

Every fall I get the urge to go to Kansas City. I love KC in the autumn. I think it's because I first moved there at the end of summer and met Robert during the fall. I never did like the fall until I lived there. Before, to me, the fall just brought me closer to winter, and I hate the cold. So, it's a big deal for me to like it. The changing leaves, the apple fests, school starting back up at KU-- it just feels like home. I love it. We've lived here in Garden City for about three years now, and I'm getting the itch to move again. Blame it on my Army childhood. And now that a new temple as been announced for Kansas City, I really want to move back. It might be a couple of years before that happens but perhaps that will be our next move--we can hope.

Still Undecided

So, I'm still undecided who I'm going to vote for. I like things and views from both candidates. I've been watching the debates and reading as much as I can. I've found two good website to help with this. I thought I'd pass them along in case there are others that still aren't sure who they want to vote for.

My favorite is www.factcheck.org. I initially heard about this website on 'Larry King Live'. This is managed by an unbiased company that simply analyze all the commercials, ads, debates, etc and tell you what is really true. They've already got stuff about the VP debate and what each candidate said that was false.

The other is found at http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/MatchoMatic/fullpage?id=5542139. There are different viewpoints listed from each candidate, however, you don't know who said what. You select which ones reflect your thinking the best. Then, after you're done, the candidate that you agree with the most is revealed. Very interesting!

Everything I DIDN'T Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Last month I started helping Adam's kindergarten class every Wednesday afternoon. I help out with the writing center. Not only am I teaching the kids stuff but they are teaching me stuff. It's amazing how much I can pick up just by talking with and watching a student. I can learn about their home life, values, attitudes, etc. I have thought more than once, "please don't say that or act that way around Adam". Here are a few things that I didn't want to learn in Kindergarten during yesterday afternoon.
1. O.....M......G---you know the acronym, right? One little girl started repeating that over and over, and then another boy started saying it. I said, "Let's say 'oh, my gosh', instead." Another girl at the table, who happens to be Mennonite, said "that's a bad word, isn't it?" Then, the girl that had started it all, said, "that's Jesus' name, right?" So, instead of getting into a deep conversation of really who God is, I said, "yes. Let's just say oh my gosh instead." And the kids started doing it. If one of them slipped up the others would correct them. I wasn't sure how much I should say but I felt like if I said something short and to the point, the kids might respond. And they did.
2. Adam and I were talking about what it means to be cool. I said a cool person is someone that is nice to everyone. He looked at me, like 'yeah, right' and said, "No, it's not. A cool person is someone that has cool clothes." Oh, really!? So, I'm sure you can guess the rest of the conversation. "No, you don't have to have cool clothes to be cool." "Yes, you do. I'm cool and I have cool clothes." "Who told you this?" "Everybody knows it." ARRRGH--do they have to pick up on this twisted thinking as early as kindergarten? Can't they just maintain their pure thinking for a little bit longer?
3. The class has been having a 'color of the day'. They've had to flip thru magazines and cut out the color and glue it to a sheet of paper. Some of the kids get real giggly if they see any part of the human body or people hugging. Some of their comments are a bit inappropriate, especially for 5 year olds. I can definitely tell who has older siblings. This is another one of those things that I think, "Please don't let Adam hear these comments. Please don't pick up on these behaviors."
Part of me realizes that I can't shelter Adam from everything but part of me wants to have a say in what he hears and learns. For the most part, all of the students are very sweet and like to give me hugs. Just please don't teach my son bad stuff.

Hello? Anyone there?

I'm still here. We've just been super busy working on a kitchen, doing preschool, life with kids, etc. My folks are coming for a visit this weekend and a friend is getting married, so perhaps, next week I'll have a bit more time to post something.

Help---I'm Drowning in Zucchini

For all you gardeners out there that have way too much zucchini, which would be anyone that planted it, I've got an answer to help you. We'll call it our 'secret' apple pie--it's really made with zucchini. It will fool your kids, your husband, anyone. They'll have no idea they're eating zucchini. Here's the recipe:

Zucchini Apple Pie

1-2 large zucchini--enough for 4-6 cups, depending how full you like your pie
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
Pinch of nutmeg
3 Tbsp. of flour
Butter

Peel and seed your zucchini. Cut it into quarters, lengthwise. Then thinly slice it like you would an apple. Toss with lemon juice and salt. Lightly cook it in a frying pan until it is tender-crisp.
In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, cream of tartar, nutmeg and flour. Mix zucchini slices in. It will be a bit runny. Fill your pie crust. Dot with butter. Cook at 400 degrees for 40 minutes or until light brown on top. Eat and enjoy. Don't tell anyone it's zucchini until after they've eaten a slice.

Busy in the Kitchen

I've been busy in the kitchen this weekend. I bought some GREAT Colorado peaches and made jam with them. Dee-lish!! Then I made a bunch of salsa. We've been getting lots of tomatoes and jalapenos from our garden. The salsa tastes so fresh! Yum! I made a couple of batches and stuck them in the freezer.

We've now moved onto Phase 2 of our kitchen re-do. We bought new appliances on Saturday--new dishwasher, cooktop and wall oven. We should get them later this week. Our current cooktop and wall oven are the originals ones--40+ years old. I can't wait to get rid of them. I'll post pictures once they get installed.

A couple of other exciting things to note: I'm going to be helping in Adam's kindergarten class every Wednesday afternoon. Adam is super excited about this and it should be fun.
Yesterday, we saw some friends (the Aceves family) from Emporia (we lived there before here) in church. It was a lot of fun to catch up with them. They may possibly be moving here so they were checking out the area. They had forgotten we lived here and were just as surprised to see us as we were to see them.

Random Misc.

Here is some random stuff from this week. Adam had an appt. with his OCD doctor. It went really well. He talked a lot. He still washes his hands a lot, but he says he wants to start working on that. So, we're going to see how he does this month before we go for another appt.

The boys have said some silly things. Adam and I were talking about the lyrics of a song. I said one thing; he said another. He said, "Mom, that is TOTALLY not it." Later on, he then said, "Relax!, Mom". He's definitely learning stuff in school. Then I told Matthew that he was cute. He gave me a look and said, "Don't say that. Say cool or awesome."

Did anyone else watch the new TV show, 'Fringe'? It's done by the same people as 'Lost'. That's why I checked it out. It was pretty intense--lots of twists and turns and, of course, questions to be answered later. Seems like it will be a good show.

I've been teaching Matt's Joy School this week. I'm used to having little kids at our house, but usually they just play with toys. Now, I'm having to keep them occupied with structured activities. It can be a bit hard keeping their attention on something. Oh, well--we'll get used to it. The kids really enjoy 'their school'.

We had playgroup yesterday. When we're all there, there are 10 moms and 15 kids. The children play really well together, and us moms have lots of fun laughing. It's a great bunch!

New Kitchen--partially

So, I'm finally getting an update in. We've been super busy renovating our kitchen. We've redone our cabinets (painted them). We just have to put the new handles on. Here are some 'before and after' photos. Our next projects will be new appliances and granite countertops. Before

Before


After


After

There's been a lot going on these past couple of weeks. I always think, "next week won't be as busy" but that never happens.

Adam is doing well in school. His favorite activities are computer time and recess. He bought lunch for the first time on Friday. He was very excited. Of the 22 kids in his class, he is the ONLY ONE that brings his lunch. Am I the only one that finds that amazing? Is it not the norm anymore to bring your lunch to school?

Matthew has started Joy School (it's like homeschool preschool). There are three of us doing it, and we rotate each week where we have it and who teaches. He's really enjoying it. It's at our house this week.

My aunt and uncle stayed with us this weekend. It was fun to have them here since we don't get many visitors. They were on their way home to Utah after spending time with grandkids in Texas.

So, that's what's been going on. We'll see if the next couple of weeks will be less busy--probably not.

Post Script on the Kitty

Robert went back to the courthouse after work to look for the kitty, but he couldn't find it. So, no new kitty at our house.

Weekly Happenings

We've been busy in our garden, eating carrots, tomatoes, cantaloupe, watermelon and a few green beans.

Before--April 2008

After--August 2008

When we moved into our house, the yard, front and back, was a disaster. We've worked hard trying to fix it up.

We've been pretty busy this week. Adam has been really enjoying Kindergarten. He acts like he's been going for years--totally adjusted. He's had two trips to the office, though. On Monday he fell at recess and hit his head on some concrete. He had a huge knot on his forehead and was complaining about feeling nauseous so the nurse thought he may have a concussion. He's okay now. On Tuesday he got busy in class and forgot to go the bathroom. When I picked him up, I noticed he had a different shirt on . I thought perhaps he traded with one of his friends. Then I noticed different shorts, socks, and shoes. I put two and two together.

Matt starts Joy School (homeschool preschool) next week. Two friends and I will be doing it. We only have a small group, however, we've been busy getting everything ready for that.

And, crazy us, we've started renovating our kitchen this week, too. First, we'll be painting our cupboards and changing the hardware. Next, we'll change some appliances. Then do new countertops and backsplash. We've got a three month timeline. We're doing everything ourselves except for the countertops.

So, that's our week.

P.S. Robert just called. He's bringing home a kitten tonight. He's seen a little kitty outside the courthouse the past week or two and feels so bad because it looks like it's starving. What am I getting myself in to? Oh, well, the boys will love it!