Welcome Fall

Wow. My very first blog! It took a while to get this started, but I'm finally convinced that it is the best way to keep everyone posted on what's going on with our family. First of all, I love fall. I love the brisk mornings, the warm afternoons, and the cool evenings. The colors are gorgeous and the smell in the air is so refreshing after a hot summer. This fall finds our family doing many things. Tony is working at SW Idaho Advanced Care Hospital on the graveyard shift (yuck) and has also taken on another per diem nursing position for those days he feels he can handle a little overtime. It helps our pocketbook, especially since the economy is lousy right now and we have more mouths to feed. Tony also dabbles in the l.e.d. flashlight business which, although fun, will not allow him to quit his day job (or night job as the case is).

Samuel is now 4 months old. He is so adorable, and is definitely going to be another bundle of energy just like his brothers. He loves his bottles too, which has made him truly my chunkiest 4-month-old baby yet. Jordan was always so skinny that I'm enjoying the pudges on Samuel. Already Samuel will not snuggle with me anymore. When I hold him he insists on facing outward where he can see everything that is going on. He is rolling over regularly from his back to his front, but can't seem to figure out how to get back again. He screams until I roll him back to his back, but then he immediately rolls back to his stomach again, and then screams because he can't get back. It is an exausting game sometimes, especially when I'm trying to get something done. I am already misssing those first two innocent months of his life when he would just snuggle with me. He is defiinitely going to be a mover. He is super strong and I am sure will keep me on my toes once he's mobile!

Jordan is a typical three-year-old boy, full of energy and full of love. Because he is talking quite well now, we've seen a remarkable decrease in the number tantrums that we experience, thank goodness. Now he is turning his energies into being the family clown. He runs around the house in his new big boy underwear, stopping here and there to wiggle his hips back and forth to the music in his head, or stop for a pose in front of the mirror. His laughter is contagious, and he has become so loving with his new baby brother. Jordan follows his big brother everywhere, and is very upset when he is away at school, whining for "Booboo" to come home from school. Story: Yesterday I went to visit a lady in our ward for a visiting teaching visit. I took Jordan with me and let Samuel stay home with Tony sleeping. We were sitting in her family room chatting, three of us women, with all of our children, a total of five there under the age of 5. Suddenly we realized that the kids weren't with us, and we heard a strange sound coming from the stairs. We looked around, and there we saw it, 5 little children sitting in rows on the stairs, each with a open church book in hand (that they had found in a closed cupboard), singing their little hearts out as if they were all holding hymn books. It was the most adorable sight, each of them singing their own song, but each being very proper and sitting straight with their "hymn book" open. Don't tell me that these little ones don't learn spiritual things each and every week that we take them to church. They are building a foundation for the rest of their lives of what is truly important.

Spencer is our first grader! I love the first grade. The kids are all so eager to learn and to please their teacher. Spencer looks forward to school every day and insisted on having his own alarm clock so that he could get up extra early to get ready. Spencer is excited to come home and show me all the cool stuff he's done at school, but is very quick to tell me, "Mom, I don't have to be the smartest kid in the whole world. I just want to be a regular kid." Of course, moms and dads do dream of their kids outsmarting and outperforming all of the other kids in class. We just need to take a chill pill. Spencer loves being mom #2 in our house. He is very good at telling Jordan what to do, and uses some very clever arguments of persuasion to get Jordan to do what he wants. Could he be a future politician? Possibly. Nevertheless, he is a wonderful big brother to Jordan and very protective. Just what a big brother is for. Spencer is enamored with his baby brother Samuel and oogles over him regularly. It's amazing how quickly the bond forms even for siblings.

Overall, life is good. We are so blessed with a fabulous little family and a wonderful place to live. We try to remember and give thanks each day for the blessings we have.