Just Boys

Brandon - He is not quite 10 months old yet, but I still wanted to give a little update on him. I took him for his 9 month check up at 9 1/2 months. I was suprised that he had only gained one pound in two months. He went from being in the 55th persentile to the 25th percentile...nothing to be concerned about, he is just our little squirt. Also about a week ago I noticed that he has a little tooth poking through the bottom....his first tooth!

Cameron - It has been insanely cold around here lately and Cameron has a crazy amount of energy that he uses to tease his brother Anson. Cameron is still a lot of fun though, and he definitely makes my days interesting.

Anson - It is so hard to keep him busy enough on his days off from school especially since I can't send him out to play in this cold weather.

I also wanted to mention that I am reading the book by Stormie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Parent. It is so good! (I recommend it to anyone who is a parent) The last chapter I read was chapter fourteen, Instilling the Desire to Learn. As with so many other topics she covered, I found great encouragement in this one...there is such amazing power in prayer. I just want to quote the part that I am going start praying for my boys. It is taken from page 109, "I pray he (she) will respect the wisdom of his (her) parents and be willing to be taught by them. May he (she) also have the desire to be taught by the teachers You bring into his (her) life. Handpick each one, Lord, and may they be godly people from whom he (she) can easily learn. Take out of his (her) life any teacher who would be an ungodly influence or create a bad learning expereince."

Big Shoe to Fill

Here is a picture of Anson with the big shoe that he made with Daddy for big shoe night for Sparks. Sparks is a kids club that our church runs. It is a great club and very enjoyable for the kids...they play games, have fun theme nights, and memorize scripture. By doing these things the kids can also earn AWANA bucks which they can later spend at store night. Anyway Anson loves to go, that is the thing that he looks forward to most in the week.
On Wednesday Anson came home from school early because he was complaining that his head hurt. That morning he had mentioned that he didn't want to go to school, which I found odd because he enjoys going. So when I got the call to pick him up, it all made sense. Cameron has been sick as well, but his is a cough. That hasn't stopped him from teasing Anson when he is resting on the couch, and it seems like Cameron has more energy than usual...which is a lot.
Also the other day Anson's teacher mentioned that he is hardworking and kind to others and therefore is going to get student of the month for January. Later on today at the school's assembly they announce all the students of the month. I'm so proud of Anson, I know that he is a great kid and I'm glad that his teacher thinks so too.

My Day

Life with one vehicle

7:50 - Get everyone in the van and drop Doug off at work. Come home
8:45 - Get all the boys in the van again and pick up Anson's friend and drop the two of them off at school. Come home.
11:45 - Get my two youngest boys in the van again and pick up Doug for lunch. Come home and
have lunch.
12:45 -Get in the van again and drop off Doug at work. Run a few errands and then head to the
grocery store. Get home after 2:00
3:00 - Get the boys in the van again and head to the school to pick up Anson and his friend.
Drop off his friend and come home.
4:45 - Get all the boys in the van one last time and pick Doug up from work. Come home.

On days like today I think that it would be less busy if I home schooled.

Here Comes Trouble!

Brandon is nine months old already, that is so hard to believe. He is crawling around like a maniac and has even taken a tumble down the stairs. I think that he has some what learned his lesson though, because the other day I opened the basement door to see what he would do. He crawled right up to the stairs and then reached out, when he didn't feel anything under his hand he pulled back.
It is so wonderful to watch him grow and learn. He loves to just crawl around the house all day and explore. Unfortunately he also finds all sorts of interesting things to put into his mouth. Brandon is also pulling himself up on things like his new ride on car.
Brandon is learning to be a good sleeper. The holidays kind of messed things up for a while, but now things are starting to get back on track.

2008 Goals

I figured that it was maybe already to late to title this New Years resolutions, although I did put those on paper on the second of the month. I also wanted to write them down here because it would give me some accountability. So if any of you ever think of it, please ask me how things are going with my goals. I'm just going to be brief on here, but on paper I have set times as to when I want to accomplish my goals by and I also put down a plan on how I plan to achieve them as well.

My 2008 Goals

1. Lose 15 lbs - but even more than that I just want to get into shape.
2. Start a monthly menu plan
3. Set up a budget each month, and stick with it.
4. Keep a cleaner house
5. Start doing preschool with Cameron once a week.
6. Read my Bible daily and commit scripture to memory
7. Have a prayer time - with that I want to start a prayer Journal.
8. Start family devotions - have a prayer binder (pray for family, friends and missionaries)
9. Organize all photos stored away in a box
10. De clutter - Go though the whole house and get rid of clutter.

I would really appreciate your prayers for me. I know that the biggest obstacle I have is me. I get discouraged and unmotivated.

Announcing...

...the engagement of my baby sister, Vonda. The wedding will most likely take place some time in August.

...also the birth of my latest nephew. Theo was born on Dec 29th. He is the 27th grandchild for my mom.