Big Man on Campus

How did this happen!?! I made a video of Luke from birth until now . . . while pouring over all those pictures I just can't get over how big he is, how much he's changed and just how much I love him and I am so full of gratitude. This little boy is amazing. He teaches me every day to embrace curiosity and search for answers. He asks questions from every single angle about a given suject so that he really understands by the time he's finished asking (which can be days or weeks!) He has a very tender heart and he is very in tune with us and how we are feeling. Whenever we are down (which has been too much lately!) or feeling sick he makes us things or just sits by us and gives us hugs and kisses. He is very social and loves to play with other children. He gets so excited when his cousins get to come over and play! He is quite the leader and can become very chagrined when other children don't follow all his rules, but he's learning to recognize his emotions and is starting to talk about other ways he can deal with that frustration. We love this sweet boy. I still don't know how 5 years has passed so quickly, but I'm grateful for the 5 years he's been mine!

He has a new found interest in undersea/submarines and really wanted his party to be all about that. After 3 years of birthdays based around the movie Cars, it was fun to have a change!

Gaining Independence

If you had to categorize my boys most people would probably define them as 'momma's boys.' This means they require a lot of individual/personal/constant attention. It is not uncommon to hear one of them say, 'momma!' while clinging to my legs and then raise their hands up for me to hold them . . . they are 3 and 5! I don't really know how this happened. I feel like I'm a pretty no nonsense mom, but apperantly not. I think for the past while we haven't had much of a routine or our own space for that matter. Things have been kind of crazy, and maybe they are clinging to me out of nervousness or anxiety. Either way, this momma needs a little space! It's high time these boys learn a little independence and my hope is that they will gain more confidence and be more happy over all in the end.
The first thing I've done is create easy access snacks in the pantry and fridge. I went to the dollar store and bought several easy open/clear containers and put all of their favorite snacks in them. They have loved being able to do this on their own. And, I think they are eating better than usual because I've put out healthier snacks that I don't mind them munching on throughout the day.
I also created a daily activities chart. They have a really tough time with transitions and hesitate when something gets 'sprung' on them without fair warning. I've been wanting to make a chart like this for a while (like over a year!) and finally got the motivation to do it. One day down and it's going pretty well. Luke especially has been excited about it and loved helping plan out the next day.
Here's to more independence!

Update on sleep - S is doing great now, sleeping nearly 12 hours straight . . . and L has suddenly developed a huge fear of spiders. So much that he was awake from 2-4am last night and has slept on our floor the past several nights. He is currently asleep in his own bed with a desk lamp on the floor next to him . . . hopefully tonight will be better than last night!

Preschool

L went to his first day of 'big' preschool on Thursday. In October I drove by a church that had a sign for their preschool and I decided to go in and see how it was. It seemed like a good facility, the teachers were very nice, and the price was right. They said he could start right away, but he was so anxious about it (and honestly I was too) that I didn't. For the past several months though he has really seemed like he needs something more. With the stresses in our life right now, I can't do as much as I normally would (or hope I would), and he needs his own 'thing' right now. After lots of thought and even prayer I decided to go ahead and sign him up. He was not happy about it when I first told him, but I let him pick out a new outfit and he was excited about decorating his bucket (instead of back-pack), and promised him a treat if he did well when I dropped him off. He did awesome! He seemed happy when I picked him up and has told me that his favorite part was playing on the play ground. He told me he felt kind of shy and I told him that's ok, I still get shy too. He's growing up so fast and in just a few months he'll be a big kindergartener!

Love that cheesy smile.

Sleep

Sleep is a constant issue with our family. It always seems like just when we get everyone sleeping well something happens and we have to start all over again. We recently put the boys in the same room and they were doing awesome for a while, but the past few weeks (because of staying up late for holidays and visitors) they've been waking up before 6am and then spend the rest of the day tired. And most parents know that tired kids results in more whining, crying, fighting, disobedience, etc etc. Last night I made a make-shift bed for Luke in the office and had him sleep in there. At 7:15 this morning I heard the first noises of children rousing. A whole hour and half later than I've become used too. My first thought was Hallelujah! So far the day has gone so much better than it has for a while. They are happy, content, sweet. I am grateful for this balance right now and pray it lasts!

Christmas

Our Christmas was spent at home this year. Although we live with my parents and my brother and his wife right now, they didn't get up as early as us, so we had a quiet morning with the boys. It was so fun to see their excitement with it all. They were so happy! David's parents came to visit for the week before Christmas and we had a great time just visiting with them. We have a lot to be grateful for and this Christmas was a good chance to reflect on what we do have.

Our Trial: Part One

Our lives have been full of blessings and ease. We come from good, loving families centered on the Gospel. I had never really felt like I had been tried or tested to the edge of my limits. We'd gone through difficult times and struggles but nothing I would define as a huge 'trial.'

This time last year, D was closing in on the end of his Master's program at TAMU. He'd started applying to a few jobs here and there knowing that finding work in the Public sector can take some time and hoping that by graduation in May he would land a job. In Feb/March I started to have several very strange feelings/promptings. I just felt like something hard was coming for our family. My initial thoughts were that someone was going to get sick or hurt and I almost drove myself crazy with paranoia. I said a lot of prayers to ease my mind and had the very distinct impression that yes, something hard was going to happen, but it was not going to involve the health of my family. I am grateful now for those impressions and the preparation it gave me for the journey upon which our family was about to embark.

At the end of March, D applied for a job with a the CS police department. He passed the testing process and out of 200 applicants was one of 8 asked to interview (they would only be hiring 6-7). He felt uneasy when he first began the application process, but I encouraged him to apply and continue anyway . . . he had a fever of 103 on the day of the test as well, which maybe was a sign. When he was asked to interview they never set a firm date and the end of April started to approach. We had one week to decide if we should extend our lease and wait around to see about the job or if we should just pack up and move in with my parents in AZ. At this point this was the only job he'd even heard back from out of nearly 50 applications, so we didn't want to be foolish to turn down our only chance. We were so conflicted and didn't know what to do. It got to the point where every time I thought about him taking the job in CS I would become sick to my stomach and feel very anxious and overwhelmed. I called my mom one night to talk with her and get some advice. We were feeling like he should turn down the job, but didn't know if it was wise to give up the only chance he'd had so far. After hanging up the phone I cried possibly the hardest I've cried in my adult life. Huge sobs of doubt, confusion, and frustration. The next day David called the recruiter and told her he wouldn't be going to interview and we proceeded with plans to move in with my parents. We felt a huge weight lifted and we felt very good about our decision, certain that there was a reason we needed to be in AZ. That was 7 months ago.

Cat in the Hat

I'm way behind on blogging, but we'll get caught up eventually! I've had this year's Halloween planned out for quite some time. When the boys run around, wrestle and play they remind me a lot of Thing 1 and Thing 2 from The Cat in the Hat, so I wanted to do a family theme based on that. It was obvious that Daddy be the Cat and since I'm the voice of reason in this family :) I got to be the fish. They boys thought is was pretty fun to have blue hair and I had them grow their hair out for about 2 months just for this!