A Closer Look

I haven't talked about each of us individually in a long time, so here's a little update.

Kelsey- Coming up on 20 months! She's growing up so fast and is quite the little ham. She likes to make everyone laugh and enjoys the attention. Her hair is finally starting to grow more so she doesn't look so much like a boy (as the kids always say). Except I think it's going to be curly like Bryn's, which right now means it just sort of flips out every which way and makes her look a little bit crazy. Funny wings flipping out behind her ears. I think it's adorable though. Her eating dramatically improved overnight, it seemed. She just decided she could relinquish a little control, and maybe her life wasn't so bad after all. So she now eats everything we're eating (not in large quantities though) and it sure makes my life a lot easier. I stressed about her nutrition a lot before, and now I can relax. She doesn't talk very clearly, but she repeats us for scriptures every night and can say everybody's names really cute. She's very obsessed with animals and can do pretty much any animal sound that I know. She loves books still, and is always trying to keep up with her big sisters.

Madison- Nearly 3 years old, and I know I've said it before, but she's very big and "old" for her age. She is just the cutest little girl, with a thick build still :). Kenny and I agree that she is so far our most stubborn 2 year old. Not that she's always rotten, but of all the kids she will be defiant for the longest, without budging at all. She does not compromise, and she does not like to back down on whatever position she is taking. If you do something, she will un-do it, and then do it again by herself. It presents its challenges but overall she has a very sweet demeanor. She remembers the funniest movie quotes and pulls them out at appropriate times which has us all laughing. She is often singing, and it' so cute to hear her little voice. Probably my favorite song she sings is "You are so beautiful to me", the way Alfalfa does it on Little Rascals. :)

Brynlee- is still a giggly, silly, happy little girl. She is in the 5 year old gymnastics class and is so happy in there. We still struggle with her staying focused and following directions, in class and at home, but we're working on it. I homeschool her along with Ty, and she's very different to teach than Tyler. I have to exercise a lot more patience, and continually find way to make things into a game, and make it fun. Otherwise she completely checks out and is impossible to teach. She is a smart girl, but she just wants to have fun, so we have to improvise. And that's okay. I just can't get stuck in the thinking that the way I was taught in public school is the way everyone should be taught at every age. I have to remind myself too, she's still pre-school age. She also loves books, dressing up, playing dolls and playing make-believe anything with Madi. She did a great job in her primary program today and recited her line perfectly. She was nervous to go up there but once she knew that daddy and I would watch her the whole time she decided it would be alright.

Tyler- My big boy is in 1st grade this year, but still homeschooled. We tried to get him into a charter school (I don't remember if I've mentioned this before) but it's done on a lottery draw and we were not very lucky. So we were put on a waiting list and made our way up as people chose different schools, etc. Anyway we're now #10 on the list, so that will roll-over to next year and he'll be able to go to "real school" as he calls it. I love having him at home though. He's a joy to teach, a great student, and very helpful too. He sets a really good example for his sisters to follow which always makes my job easier. I have to be careful to not ask him to do too much, because he already takes his responsibilities so seriously, and holds himself to such a high standard. His most favorite things in the world are art, science, and soccer. He is doing soccer and gymnastics right now which is fun for him to be with other kids his age, and respond to a different authority. He's currently obsessed with drawing monsters and has the most creative imagination--no two monsters are alike. We sure go through a lot of paper with that boy. He gave a short talk in the primary program today and did a great job. He really loves being in the spotlight and after the practice yesterday he told me, "I can't wait to get up in front of all those people and read my talk!"

Me- I am happy, healthy, and terrific! (dad :)) I feel like life never slows down to get a break, but it's the best kind of busy I can imagine. I'm happy to be the one at home, teaching and nurturing these sweet spirits. Today I got called and set apart as a Young Womens Advisor. I'm happy to be back in the young womens program, but with not such a heavy responsibility :). I also babysit Anja 3-4 days a week. She's 10 months old so it does add more challenges to my busy days, especially when she gets dropped off at 6:1but it's good for me too. I was telling Kenny how it's always helpful to do something hard, because when I only have my 4 kids, I feel much more free and capable. Whereas before I felt overwhelmed trying to go anywhere with them. Now that I have to occasionally do it with 5 little ones, I feel like my "normal" life is a lot easier! :) So that's a bonus. We're still not done emptying out the storage unit and getting everything set up here at home. We still can't park the cars in the garage, but it's coming. And every day we make a little progress and get that much closer to a "normal" workload of cleaning and house keep-up. I'm struggling balancing all the things I feel are so important in my life and making time for each of them. I really enjoy working out and realize how necessary that is (especially with this added weight I can't seem to get rid of). I also know that reading my scriptures in the morning is an absolute MUST, and I'm trying to continue to learn and grow through reading. So I'm always reading something. I don't just mean those quick, mindless, fun-story novels. I mean like really reading to learn. I just can't get it all in. Either I read or I work out, but I can't seem to do both and I don't know how to reconcile that. I'll keep trying to find a way, but any suggestions are welcome.

Kenny- This guy continues to impress me with how hard he works. He's putting in a lot of hours and keeping it all together. He also got called and set apart as the Elders Quorum President today. I thought it was so cool how the Stake Pres. said in his setting apart that he was foreordained to this calling, and that he has a work to do here. I think he will do a great job and am glad he can use his talents to bless others lives. Weekends are anything but fun and relaxing. It's more like, Kenny's home so I pull out this massive to-do list and we try to tackle as much as we can! But he's very helpful and a good sport about it. He built the other units stairs on the back deck this weekend, and they look great! I'm amazed at his handy-man skills. I need to take a pic of them.

Well that's about all for us Westons. Our days are quickly growing darker and colder and we're gearing up for another long winter. Life is good. :)