The Latest

My, have we been busy. I'm going to attempt to give all of the updates person by person here, so bear with me!

As far as the entire family goes, we're all doing great. Life as a family of 6 is definitely getting easier - and personally, I'm very relieved. I wasn't sure about all of that "large family" business. A little scary - seriously. Our only current "challenge" is deciding what the best solution is for our living arrangements. We're in the process of buying this house, and we didn't know I was pregnant when we moved in. Jason and I have taken it as a sign, though, that this is the house for us. We just need to get creative! Austin is still in our room, which is perfectly fine, but the time is fast approaching that we will no longer care to be roomies. No offense to the little butterball, but that's just how it is.

Also, in case you didn't know, my grandmother passed away at the end of April. We were completely expecting it, but it was obviously still very hard on all of us. Mindi and I were the only grandkids, and she totally adopted Ben and Jason. Jason had the opportunity to spend alot of time with her. He would go to her house frequently and just hang out. Those two had a very special bond. Jason and I were very blessed to spend her last moments with her.

In other news, my parents are definitely moving here next summer. We knew it would happen eventually, but no one knew for sure when. Aside from our little clan being here, my dad's brother also lives here. Oh, and I'm holding out hope that my sister (who is in NY) will move back, too. Hey - a girl can wish, right? Jason and I are really excited about the whole thing. It was really great, because they had a serious chat with us about it all. They did NOT want to move here if Jason wasn't totally up for it. How many in-laws will do that?! Anyway, because we are so fortunate to all have a very close relationship, they're headed this way. Yeah!!

Jason continues to do AWESOME at his job. He does the majority of his work through Handyman Connection, but he is also building his own customer base. Right now, he's working on an addition for the local dance academy. I'm not kidding you - that guy can do just about anything. Yes, he would probably be embarrassed by all my bragging, but it's so true. He's incredible. He gets up with me in the morning, cooks breakfast, takes Logan to school, works hard all day, comes home to help out with supper if I need it, and then just totally throws himself into our family. I'm so lucky.

I'm cruising along with my usual gig. I feel as though I have finally been able to get back in the swing of things lately. It's been so nice! I've had quite a bit of catching up to do, but the list is getting shorter every day. I started running a couple of months ago, so that's my current "project". I'm hoping to do the Tulsa Run in October, but we'll see. It's LONG. Yikes. Also, in the fall I'll be teaching 2 days each week at the preschool. It's a great deal. Peyton, Addison, and Austin will all go (for free!) while I float around the classrooms. On Fridays, I'll be trading babysitting duties with a girlfriend so that we can each have a whole day to ourselves every other week. It's a perfect situation, and I'm super excited about it.

Logan just finished 1st grade and is really looking forward to the summer break. We always have a blast when school is out, so I'm looking forward to it, too. Logan did very well at school this year, and he says his favorite class is P.E. His favorite subjects are math and writing. He also LOVES to read. Jason and Logan (and occasionally, Peyton) were very involved in Cub Scouts this year. It was quite fun for both of them. Also, on Passover Sunday, Logan became a Christian. Jason and I were so thrilled. I don't think we realized what a special feeling we would have as his parents. He will be baptized this week, and Jason does a special Bible Study book with him each day. Logan also became involved at Awanas this spring at church and already finished his first book. He's really come out of his shell - he's doing so great!

Peyton had a GREAT year at preschool. We absolutely love, love, love his school. I had quite a time finding him a good place to go, so it's been a huge relief. He was so devastated when the school year ended! We're continuing to do some work with Peyton's nutritional issues, but he's definitely getting better. He is eating like a horse and he's finally ADDING some weight, which is a huge relief. He'll be going to a specialist in the next month or so, just to check for any kind of problem with the structure of his digestive system. We are so thrilled that 1 of the 2 specialists in the state is about 15 minutes away. He has had many tests ran, so we know he's not allergic to anything at this point. Currently, we're doing an elimination process with certain foods (dairy for now) to find the ingredients that he's intolerant to. There's a big difference between allergy and intolerance. To be honest, it's taken some time to get used to the process, but it's totally worth it. Jason and I were in agreement that we would take the time to "get to the bottom of it", even if that meant loading up with vitamins/supplements and spending many hours researching. It's been completely worth it, and we're glad we didn't just medicate him.

Peyton also got to start Cubbies this spring, which is the younger Awanas group at church. He loves it, and Jason teaches in there each week. It's worked out so well, because now the boys each have an activity that they do with their Dad.

Let's see - who's next? Oh yes, that would be Addison. Oh my. There's just so much I can say about this girl. She is absolutely a hoot. She has grown up so much in the last six months. Even though she is not quite 2, she is always helping to cook, clean up (including putting her own dishes in the sink), check on Austin, and anything else that the older boys do. We are constantly amazed at what a big girl she is. Of course, because she's not quite 2, she also has random moments of needing to still be the baby. We have to remind ourselves of that from time to time! Addison loves playing with her babies, playing outside, going for walks, and watching Barney. She also loves to sing and dance (she's beginning Baby Ballet in the fall), and now, she also enjoys imitating the boys when they play boxing on the Wii. It's quite a sight. It truly is a blast having a little girl running around - even if she is onerier than the boys!

My little Austin is 6 months old now! It has gone by so fast - it's shocking. Like most 4th (or more!) children, he has gotten the shaft - at least a little bit. I just got his portraits taken for the first time (Logan had about 8 by now), he almost always wears onesies (Logan and Peyton were always completely decked out in jeans, etc.), and he eats in a pink highchair (we're not convinced it's worth it to pay for a new cover - he doesn't seem to mind). I just have to say that he is the happiest baby I think I've ever known. That kid is always smiling and squealing. He just goes with the flow of our crazy lives, and as long as he's not away from his mommy for too long, he's set. He's also a chunk, and we LOVE it. We're always squeezing him - he's just so much fun. Oh, and in case you're wondering (I don't know WHY you would wonder), HE IS IT. THE LAST. THE YOUNGEST. EVER. I'm serious. If something crazy happens, I'm sueing. Mark my words.

Last, but certainly not least......Max. Maximus. Maximillion. Maxipad. (Hey - you call your dog what you want, I'll call my dog what I want) He's one cool dog. And he completes our little group. Oh, and he sleeps right between Jason's and my feet. (Is that gramatically correct? Mom? Jen?) And he follows me around everywhere. Yes, he fits right in. And he's great.

Well, that's about it. Good grief. I think I covered all the important parts. Are you still there? Are you still awake? Hello? Have a good night!

Teacher Gifts!

Ok, so my friend Jen and I decided to connect with our inner Martha Stewart and make some really fun clipboards. We saw them on Etsy for $15.00 and realized we could do SO much better. Didn't we Jen? Hee hee. The funny thing is that we tend to think we could do SO much better quite often. And sometimes, we don't do ANY better. At all. But hey - we try.

Anyway, this is how the clipboard started it's boring life:
And THIS, my friends, is how it looks now:

I actually bought 4 of them. These are the 2 I have finished so far. They're for Logan and Peyton's teachers. Aren't they just too fun? They actually make me WANT to write a to-do list just so I can stick it in this clipboard. Well....almost, anyway.

Hopefully I'll get around to finishing the other 2 in a few days. They're a bit time-consuming, but really fun to make. I hope the teachers like them!

Getting Organized

I know I haven't written in awhile, but it's actually been for a pretty good reason! I've been spending alot of time lately sorting, organizing, evaluating current systems, reading, etc. After having Austin, I spent SO much time wandering through my days - taking life one hour at a time. Only within the last couple of weeks has the fog been lifted - and I'm very glad.

We also have been so busy with Peyton's nutrition stuff. I'll post the latest updates on that within the next day or so. The ever-growing list of supplements had begun to create some confusion around here! Because all 4 kids take various vitamins, etc., I really needed a system in place. Jason cooks breakfast every morning, and that's one of the times that they take everything. We were both getting a little overwhelmed.

I decided that I would start my household overhaul with the simple task of making a re-usable list of the vitamins and supplements. I wanted something that would be in plain sight, fun and colorful, and easy to follow. I came up with this:
I got some scrapbook paper and stickers and went for it. I put it inside a sheet protector, put magnetic strips on the back, then hung it on the refrigerator. I have a marker hanging right next to it. We can easily check off the list and clean it off at the end of the day!

I'm eager to start this! It's these little things that make life so much easier around here. As I work my way around the house, I'll be posting my problems and solutions. If I'm feeling really brave, I'll post before and after pictures. Let me give you fair warning - some of them will be really scary.

Have a great Saturday!