So, let's start from the bottom (or the youngest) or sweet little Jaren. We are SO SO glad we have him in our home. He makes us all happier with his cute little claps when he accomplishes something, his happy smile around the dinner table, his cute little walk, his sweet hugs. At this stage everything he does is cute! I just watch him all day and he is continually bringing smiles to my face. He loves books now. He will bring me book after book. And if it's one he doesn't like he'll right away loose interest and go get another one, if it's one he does like he'll want to read it over and over and over again. Like at least 4 times in a row. It's very cute. He doesn't say much (dada a lot, mama sometimes) but he is trying to communicate. He'll point, he'll clap, he'll reach toward me or motion and he also kind of grunts. When I'm playing with a shapes toy or stacker toy with him and I say "This?" He'll try to say this, more of the sss sound, and if I say Again? He's say Da! And kind of bop like Yeah! So he is trying. He is a joy.
Tessa is in Primary now. What a big girl. And she is still doing her busy bee class too. We had the winter break and she is excited to go back now. She kind of laughs whenever we talk about it and says "I love my busy bee class!" She can be so helpful and sweet and loving, but she can also flip to the other side pretty fast. Something will set her off (and you'd think she'd of learned by now) but she'll just scream or throw a full on fit. I really hope that gets better soon b/c I don't like time-outs all day. I love it when it's just me and her though and we do puzzles and play games, or sometimes she just helps me do the dishes or clean the bathroom and she's really sweet about it like she actually enjoys helping me!
Adalynn is such a sweet, nurturing and kind little girl. She is very sweet with Jaren. She plays with him and brings him his pacifier or a toy she hugs and kisses him. She makes him laugh. She is for the most part just a happy and sweet girl. She is well mannered and likes to give us hug and show love. She really has learned compassion and how to spread the love and happiness. Today, she showed me her drawing that she made in her class (CTR 4 at church) At the top it says I can CHOOSE THE RIGHT... by helping my mom and dad, and keeping the commandments. She said she helped with that answer. Then she drew a picture, this is how she described it, "This is You and Daddy, and Jaren, and me and Tessa and Will, and we are picking up toys and putting them in the toy box. And on the back it's a picture of me going to the temple and I'm going to get married and then be a mommy." And I told her how proud I was of her that that's what every mom wants to hear. What a good girl.
Will is much more mature this year. When I go to his school Stacey at the front desk talks so highly of him and how much better he's doing this year and how much she likes him. Mrs. Eaton says he's smart and I think she enjoys having him in class... but she does mention that he gets in his own world sometimes. I of course notice that at home too- we have to tell him to do things over and over again sometimes b/c he doesnt pay attention. But he is a good boy and is much happier (fits hardly ever now) He plays well with others and is helpful. He is really into super heroes lately. He loves spider-man. If there is a level 1 or 2 Spiderman book he'll want to read that one to me every night in his spider-man pjs...after he has worn a spider-man shirt and watched the cartoon during the day and then acted it out... He also has been watching He-man lately.
We got some new games for Christmas and over winter break we have played Sorry and Guess Who many times as well as our old games- Zingo, Crazy Eights, Candyland...
So, as far as the new year goes the kids are off to a great start with their manners. I have started doing a manners jar for each of them and if I hear them say Please, Thank you, or Excuse me or if they are just being really polite and kind they get a marble. If they scream or whine they get one taken away (b/c that is not good manners). They have been much happier and more polite since we've started that.
As for Billy and I our New Years Resolutions are to improve our spirituality and physical health. We are starting a year of P90X and a lifestyle of healthy eating. We have come to realize that we are the type of people that can't really do the occasional splurge on the weekend or holidays or once a month b/c a day or weekend turns into a week or a month of eating unhealthy and then we go back to those same food addictions and we crave the fast food and the sugary junk. But we also have realized that while it may taste good at the moment it makes us feel awful and is not worth it. Not only do I feel guilty, but as I get older my body can't take that food. I get heartburn and stomach pains and worse every time I eat junk. I just CANT do that to myself any more. No excuses.
So Mr. Tony Horton has suggested a plan to cleanse yourself of this bad stuff and to figure out how your body reacts to one thing at a time being taken away. The first week is no processed food or sugars. The second week- no gluten, the 3rd week- no dairy, the 4th week no meat. So at the end you are pretty much a vegetarian for a week. We will be eating a lot of fruit, salads and soups. We have completed week one and it feels so good to be eating whole foods and to be eating so healthy. We have had some things from a can (like tomatoes, broth, and beans) but we look at every ingredient to make sure it has no bad stuff or sugars. We have been strict and have been eating really good, and let me tell you- It feels good! No more heartburn, bloating, digestive problems. No more guilt... I feel good about what I'm putting into my body. In the church we have always heard that our body is a Temple- a gift from God. Well, think of those beautiful Temples that we love to visit- those holy places. We do not allow trash and uncleanliness in the temple. That is God's home, we keep it up b/c we love God and we love his house. Our body is a temple. We should treat it like one. We should not put junk in the body that our Heavenly Father gave us. Our body is a gift. Also another thought with exercise. Exercise is part of the whole thing- treating your body right, and it's hard but worth it. Every time I start exercising after a long time obviously I'm sore and it's hard but I was thinking along the terms of cleaning the other day. (of course I clean a lot so I think about it a lot and I've been thinking a lot about this healthy lifestyle so it makes since in my mind) I was thinking about how it's nice to keep my house clean. With exercise, if you do it every day and get into the habit of it and keep it up not only do you benefit in so many ways, but you don't have to catch up and start over again and rededicate yourself- you just keep it up. I have things that I do every day- laundry, dishes, picking up toys, and then on certain days I'll do the bathrooms or the floors. If I slack, there's more to do later and it's harder. If I keep up with it I feel better and more relaxed, it's enjoyable to live in that clean environment, I don't have to catch up on a huge project later- I just maintain. So I totally see the parables of a clean house and a body that is taken care of. And our friend Tony said, "Remember: Choose wrong and here come the problems, sooner or later. Life is not about instant gratification. One of my mantras early on was Short- term pain and discomfort can lead to a life-time of excitement, wellness, happiness and joy. Short-term pleasure can lead to a myriad of problems."
I could end there, but let me just tell you a little about what we have been eating... Let's see: Fruit Shakes, scrambled eggs (with spinach and tomatoes cooked in), and homemade all natural granola for breakfast, we have had some chicken breast lettuce wraps with vegetables on the side for lunch, as well as soup, salad and one day we had a delicious lunch of Talapia, a good sized portion of California blend vegetables and Quinoa. Mmmm, that was good. For snacks we've had a lot of fruit and some hard boiled eggs... and for dinner we have had some of the same stuff we used to have like Chicken, brown rice or potatoes and vegetables and some new stuff. In Tony Horton's book he has a great recipe for this Fresh Tomato Zucchini Pasta that is really good. It's a rice pasta with a homemade sauce that has a bunch of vegetables in it. It's good. We also made a really great vegetable soup that was delicious and completely natural and homemade.
We are off to a good start this New Year!
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