Changes and Stuff

Two weeks ago Benson was sustained and set apart as Ward Executive Secretary. I think he is doing a great job, and I think he enjoys it for the most part. The bishop does a lot of interviews on Tuesday nights and I need to be at Young Womens, because I am the Beehive Advisor. We are still working on getting things figured out for the kids. He is also there Sunday and Wednesday.

Audrey is enjoying gymnastics. She goes each Friday from 11:45 -12:40 p.m. She seems to tell me about a new friend that she meets every time. I found a book club that she might start going to the 1st and 3rd Thursdays form 2-4 p.m. She is loving activity days (achievement days) on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays and was excited to have two more of her ward friends turn 8 recently. I need to get better at play dates and start inviting friends over more. Audrey is also taking piano lessons and loves it. She seems to get a long with her teacher really well.

Jessica is excited about primary, and reading and she loves to sing. She has gymnastics on Fridays also from 10:45- 11:40 In school she often gets her worksheets done, and then keeps going without being asked. I have to ask her to stop sometimes. She has been writing lots, and coming up with how things are spelled on her own, based on how they sound to her. The other day I found a little schedule she had created for herself or her doll and it was so fun to see the way she spelled things. She acts so grown up and wants to do everything that Audrey does, but she still is just my little Jessica.

Austin has been sick lately and we have been trying to figure it out. I had a feeling it might be allergies/sensitivity and since he has already been drinking Lactaid for possible lactose intolerance, I thought it must be something else. He has been having diarrhea a lot, for months. Lately I have been paying closer attention to his fluid intake and decided to modify his diet(process of elimination) and see if we could figure it out. I tried to think of something he eats daily. I came up with apples and decided to take apples out of his diet. He hasn't had apples for 4 days and he seems to be doing better. He actually had a normal poopy diaper today. We will see how it goes in the next 10 days. Maybe now we can get him potty trained!:) It seems so simple and random to me that not eating apples would make such a difference after all this time. We'll see what happens. I have done a lot of research on all the different causes of his symptoms and hoping that it is simple and something he will grow out of.

Jackson is walking well and starting to say some words like stop, his version of soother (pacifier), Momma, Dadda, cup, etc. I keep noticing more all the time. His hair has gotten a little less curly, especially since we cut it., and more blond. He doesn't like sleeping in his own bed and is still nursing a little. I am ok if he doesn't grow up any faster than he already is. In the meantime I am still sleep deprived and it has taken a lot longer to get over this last pregnancy(Do you ever really get over it?;))

We planted grass a couple of weeks ago where the lawn was all dug up from replacing the sewer line. It is growing and we are excited!

I have been working on a better system for keeping in contact with all the people that I want and need to keep in contact with from weekly to monthly. Why have I waited so long to figure something out? I have been thinking about it for awhile. My Grandma likes to keep in contact with her kids, grandkids and great grandkids and a has a system of some kind. She always calls and sings to the kids and us when it's our birthdays. At the end she says, "I love You I Do." She is a great example to me in many ways.

I have realized that I have put all my focus into my husband and kids and the "have to's" and haven't done that great at keeping in contact with friends. Not that my kids and husband aren't important, I just need to put a little more effort into nourishing some of my other relationships. I also need to be in contact with the Young Women and encourage and remind them. So I have come up with a system using index cards for now, and I am hoping it will help me keep in contact a little better.