Grrrr!!!! (blog update)

I am really frustrated because I cannot keep up with my blog! That is why I took several hours today to get out and have some alone/blog time, but it's just not happening! I do not have a working camera right now besides my phone. The phone has one of those micro SD cards in it, which is convenient if it would WORK! For some reason it will not load onto my computer! So while the pictures continue to accumulate on my phone, I continue to get further and further behind on my blog. :(

So now you know where I've been (if you've been wondering), and I guess now I will try to figure this thing out so I can hopefully soon catch up on here! For now I will give a quick update on everyone......

Myles says there have been some changes at work that he does not like. He doesn't have a problem with authority, but they are laying heavier on him now for no apparent reason. He is one who works fast and hard and often does better when he is just left alone, but now he doesn't have as much freedom and is frustrated. I feel bad for him, but if this goes like other things have in the past, it will pass soon and things will relax some. In the 11+ years I have been familiar with the company (that is where I met Myles), they have gone back and forth so many times it's not even funny. They get very strict and enforce the silliest rules, then they back off and let certain people get away with murder until it gets bad again, then they get strict again, change management, etc. Things will probably change for the better again soon. Otherwise he is doing pretty well, just plugging along, enjoying his family, football and life! :) Oh, and he is a Cub Scouts leader this year and is really enjoying that so far!

I was having some serious hormone problems a couple of months ago, but I am using some kind of cream right now (can't remember the name) and it seems to be helping a LOT. I actually feel normal now and I don't snap at everyone in my path. Yeah, it got bad. But now I am back to my normal self and am enjoying life, getting the house more organized and decluttered (YEA!!!!!), loving spending time with the kiddos, trying to get in a little more outdoor exercising, homeschool activities, teaching my kids by word and (hopefully) by example how to live for Christ daily.......LIFE IS GOOD! I do miss my mom terribly. (Please pray for my parents.) But other than that, we all have pretty good health and lots of other things to be thankful for! :)

Jonathan is really getting into Cub Scouts this year. He has loved it in the past, but this year he is a Webelos, and they are doing a ton more than they did last year! I remember when he was a little 1st grade Tiger, looking at the Webelos thinking, "Wow, they seem so huge." And now my Jonathan is huge!!!! *sniff* *sniff* Actually, I am really enjoying watching my kids grow and mature, it just seems to slip by so fast though! One of my favorite things about Jonathan is the way he plays with Jack. I wish he was still that sweet with the other two, but I guess he expresses his love in other ways to them. *rolling eyes* He is so sweet with Jack though. The two of them are so silly. Today they were racing through the living room from one end to the other. At one point, Jack lost his balance and stumbled backwards. He didn't fall, but regained his balance and then kept running (this is actually quite common for him). Jonathan was right behind him, squatting down to his level and imitating everything he did. Jack was just giggling and running as fast as he could! Jonathan is so good with him. He helps me out a lot by dressing him, feeding him, playing with him, etc. I can't seem to persuade him to change a dirty diaper yet, but I can't blame him there!

Jayla is getting much better at reading! I was typing an email out the other day, not worrying about her seeing it, but then she started to read the entire email aloud. I was pleasantly surprised to hear her doing so well! I do read with her aloud, but not every day, so something in her has just "clicked" recently, I guess! She even paused a couple of times and told me, "I'm really starting to like reading now." I knew she would once it clicked. :) We had to pull her out of dance class this week. She was disappointed as I knew she would be, but at her young age she understands that we just can't afford it right now. We actually have a couple of other reasons too, but finances is the main reason. (I think everyone is finally starting to feel the effects of the economy. I know some have for a while, but it is really just now starting to "hit" us really hard.) So anyway, she is probably going to start karate again. We did this about 3 years ago but then the next year we did American Heritage Girls which met the same night as karate, so we just never went back. It is free though. She won't even have to wear a Gi, just sweats and a t-shirt! I think the testing will cost something, but it is only a couple of times a year and not that expensive. I also gave her the option of going back to American Heritage Girls and we could do fund raisers for that, but she chose karate over AHG! She was even so excited that she wanted to skip dance class (we were on the way there) and go to karate instead! I was shocked! I think she loves dance more, but she has been wanting to get back into karate for a while. I'm excited too, because with her being so tiny and so cute, I want her to be able to defend herself when necessary!!!!! Jayla is also great with Jack, and she will change dirty diapers (if I let her), so I guess the two working together could put me out of a job! Well, I don't think Jack would like that, but at least they can meet his (and everyone's) basic needs if I am in bed sick or something. :) Oh, Jayla is also a very good helper. She has such a sweet personality and a willingness to serve others (except her brothers! Hahaha!). Right now she is loving helping me with household duties including cooking, cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, etc. I think her favorite new thing though is sewing. She has learned to sew by hand and has stitched some pillows, stuffed animals and a beanbag! It's not "perfect", but she really did do a great job for a 7-year-old who is just starting out! We will be making pillow cases with the homeschool group soon to take to a homeless shelter, so I know she will love that and the residents there will be so grateful!

Jacob, my little man, will be FIVE YEARS OLD in just a few weeks! One month from today, actually! He has weighed more than Jayla since he was about 18 months old, and he's going to catch her in height soon, I just know it! I sometimes call them my twins because they are so close in size, but when they talk you can tell he is younger. :) His voice/speech is maturing though and he is starting to come out of the "baby talk" stage......except for when he is imitating Jack! Jacob has shown some interest in reading. He was writing his name out earlier today, so he is learning the letters and some sounds. I know all children are different, but Jonathan was already reading very well at his age, so I just wonder sometimes if we had those Leap Frog DVDs that Jonathan learned with (only watched them a couple of times each and they just "stuck") if he would pick it up as quickly. Jayla just has a completely different learning style, but that's okay because she is stronger in other areas. Jacob is really working on his attitude lately. He gets those "angry eyebrows" way too often, so lately if I just remind him that he is not going to be mad and act like a big boy, he will laugh and say, "Oh, right." :) He is definitely maturing and getting out of that toddler/pre-school stage very quickly! He still loves to build things. This past week he has carried around the last dozen or so pieces of bristle blocks that we have, refusing to let anyone else play with them! Yeah, he gets pretty possessive of his building toys! He loves to make bridges out of just about anything too, so cars, trains, bridges, building blocks......those are his faves and have been for pretty much all his life! He is also very sweet with Jack. I don't ask for his help very often with Jack just because he is younger, but usually when I do it is to play with him and keep him occupied until I can get to him. He is so great with him. Those two will giggle together over nothing! Jacob just makes a face at him sometimes and the giggling starts! And like the others, they imitate each other as well.

Jack sure has it good. He is young enough and has such a sweet personality that he has not really clashed with anyone yet. About the worst thing he has ever done is pushing buttons on things when we repeatedly tell him no and pull him away. He's just a good, sweet boy! I know this may not last, but I'm just going to expect that it will and maybe he'll always live up to that! Hehe! Milestones.....let's see..... Well, Jack started walking toward the end of January. He's always been wobbly and slow, but he is getting more steady and faster and always progressing. He can sign a few words and verbally speak a few words. He is going to have weekly speech therapy starting next week, so that should really push him along. The Speech Path said she mostly just plays with them (from our point of view) and they learn to say more! She was excited to hear we are doing some signs with him. It has helped all of our kids to communicate better. We love it! At the beginning of the year I think Jack only had a couple of teeth, but now he is up to 16 or so. I lost count. He is almost always feeding himself now, and has for a while, but he's getting less messy as he gets more coordinated. :) He is actually using a spoon more on his own now, so that's great! He loves books and music. He will sit and look at a book with no pictures for several minutes, as if he were reading it, so maybe he'll be an early reader too....? I want to put him in Kinder Music or some program like that. I think I will take him to the library one on Friday mornings, if I can ever find the time to get there (it's in another town nearly 30 minutes from the house instead of the one 5 minutes away). Jack has this really funky dance.....I just can't help but laugh, and it's especially funny when you do it with him! :) That encourages him to keep going too, so we're all just doing this weird, funky dance and laughing away! I tell ya, life would be so dull without my little Jack-Jack! His personality just lights up the room! :) Nearly everyone he meets comments to me how sweet he is too, so I'm not just biased!!! Well, maybe a little. ;) Let's see, oh, he had an echocardiogram done last month that came back completely normal. I am still waiting for his test results for the Noonan syndrome, but even if it is negative, they are not 100% accurate and there are more tests that can be done. *sigh* At this point I have a little "closure" to the whole thing just knowing there is "something there" (according to the geneticist......he was agreeing with me), but I do want to have a diagnosis. We are really enjoying him though, diagnosis or not! He is just so much fun and such a blessing to us!

As a family we have really enjoyed playing the Wii and watching movies or cartoons together. We need to be more active together, but we just can't quite seem to make that happen! I would love to bike together now that they are getting a little older (I didn't want to when they were younger). We are starting to hike more! I am starting out slow, but steady. We are hiking once a week right now, and it's basically a walk through the trails at the park or something like that. We plan to walk some lake trails next week and dig for Rose rocks while we're there! Jayla collects them, so that should be a lot of fun! We are still attending a local Baptist church (mostly for the whole family environment) on Sunday mornings and then they have the once-a-month "fellowships" at various homes. I don't see why it can't be the other way around and meet in homes weekly (I love it!) and then come together for corporate worship once a month.......but I won't go there. Over all, I like it for a "regular" church, and there are plenty of kids for my kids to play with, so that's great, and most of them are homeschoolers! My heart is really with the house church though. There are no other kids there, so there is really no place or time set aside for any children. If Jack were older and was able to sit still for an hour then we could all go, but since he is so young and cannot be reasoned with at this point, we just don't go on Sundays. Myles is going for the Wednesday night Bible studies still, though they have had a few weeks off for remodeling. Their kitchen is just about done, and I think everyone is so ready to be back together again! From the moment we met them, they felt like family, and I miss them all so much! Their hearts are just so full of love and they are so eager to serve others and teach the Truth to those who will listen! It is so refreshing! So different from what I grew up with, and yet so familiar because it is what I have always read about in the New Testament and have longed for since I was about 15 years old! :) It is such a breath of fresh air!

Well, I can't really think of anything else that is really "new" for us. I've mentioned the car that we got back in June. Myles is LOVING it! :) It has been such a blessing. We had a garage sale last weekend and made about $10.00. Yes, that is TEN dollars. Not worth my time, but I'm glad we gave it a shot. There just wasn't any traffic this year, probably because it is October??? Whatever the case, everything else is going to be donated and be out of our lives forever! No more clutter!!!!! We just don't have room for it, and it causes unnecessary stress for everyone! I actually still have some more things to go through that were not included in the garage sale, but I am planning to get rid of as much as I possibly can!

Oh, a few weeks ago Jacob discovered a SNAKE in our house! INSIDE our house! Well, we lost track of it and have not seen it since, we I had assumed it found its way back outside. Not so. Today when I was getting ready to leave, I was looking for some scrapbook paper, and there it was inside one of my scrapbook bags! The nerve!!! It was just a "harmless" black rat snake (chicken snake), but inside my house a snake is a snake, so it had to pay the price. Myles gave it a burial at sea. He was so funny to watch because he HATES snakes and it was really stressing him out, but he did it and was a hero to us all! :) Jonathan likes snakes though, so he was a little upset. He was the one to identify it for us and he knew it was not venomous, so he begged and pleaded with Myles. Poor guy. Daddy won.

I know that if I look at pictures I will think of a ton more to blog about, but I want to save some things for when I have the pictures to go with them. So I guess that will be all for now. Please leave me a comment so I'll know someone is actually reading this! I miss my bloggy friends. :( More soon, I hope!