Our World As We Know It

Is going fine. :)

I haven't blogged as much because of the craziness of life. But I knew that would be the case when I started school. I thought I'd take a minute and post an update on how the first month of school and life in general went for the month of September.

We are doing good. Scholastically, Leif and I are doing fine in school. I am focusing on the general ed classes that I'm enrolled in because they are the classes with deadlines. So far, I've been able to keep up with the classes and running the house. Leif is keeping up and enjoying his classes for the most part.

This month I have become more involved in the Young Women's program for church. I am in the YW Presidency. The life that these girls live is so completely opposite from the life that I was living when I was their age. I grew up in the city, and this is NOT the city. Tonight we talked about writing in our journals at our weekly activity. We discussed different ways to incorporate journal writing into our daily life. I was shocked to see a dozen girls ages 12-18 years old give me a blank stare when I brought up the idea of blogging. NONE of them knew what a blog was! I then asked who used the Internet on a daily basis, only a few of the girls used the Internet often and two of the families of girls didn't even have the Internet in their home. I was a bit disturbed by this. I believe with the right kind of parental supervision the Internet can be an incredible tool for good. It opens up a world of opportunity. I think we all have a lot to learn from each other!

This last month has been filled with church and community involvement. It's good to be getting out of our little bubble. Leif has made a great impression with the faculty as well as the students at the schools in town. He works with their lunch system. But he is also their Character Counts instructor. This is a program that teaches the kids about different positive character traits and how to be a person of good character. Leif is able to visit with each of the classes of the K-4th grades. He has really enjoyed the opportunity to interact and teach the kids something of value. They love him too! EVERYONE knows Leif!!!:)

Jakob is growing up more and more every day! This evening as we were driving in the car he started naming the names of the months. We had no idea that he knew them. Obviously preschool is sinking in. He has a really bright mind. His thinking skills are sharp as well as his memory! We sit and watch his dance class each week so that we can work with him on the different moves throughout the week. I am thrilled that he remembers the names of the different positions and steps. Jakob is a lot of fun! He's moody. But So Am I!!:) His excuse is that he's four years old, what's mine!!??;)

Caleb is a light in our home. He is content most of the time. I love to see he and Jakob interact. They can get each other rolling with laughter. Jakob has tried this week to get Caleb to wrestle with him. I growl at Jakob for squishing Caleb, but Caleb just smiles. Caleb is very mobile! A lot more then Jakob ever was at 5+ months. I think it was because we put Jakob in an Exersaucer when he was 41/2 months and Caleb's Exersaucer is still in transit after being purchased. So Caleb has had a lot more experience rolling around on the floor. I have a touch of OCD and it;s hard for me to just let him roll around on the dirty floor. But I have no choice really. He will roll across the whole room if we let him. This afternoon I laid him down for his nap and he Would Not settle down. So I finally went in to see what was wrong. He had rolled over on to his stomach and had his face smashed up against the rails. Poor guy! Last week he some how wiggled out of his swing seat! I came in to get him so we could go pick up Jakob from school. He had been fussing, but not hollering for me, so I let him be. I opened the door and panicked at the sight of an empty swing seat. I looked down and Caleb was on the floor on his tummy. He looked up at me with the look like, "So ya gonna pick me up or what?" I felt so bad! And grateful that he wasn't hurt! CRAZY! (Sorry if I already told that story, can't remember...)

Our little house is really becoming a home! I am so grateful for all of the help from my sweet husband as well as our good friends who have just handed over lumber and also their time and strength to help us build two new rooms. Caleb's room now has carpet up on the walls. It really does make a difference in the amount of sound going in or coming out. Leif and I also have a walk in closet now. I LOVE It! Our bedroom space feels like a bedroom now, not just a side part of the whole house. It is really nice!! Throughout the next while we'll continue to build and beautify. I'll keep you posted.

I think we're all doing well right now. I am getting out more and finding my whole self again. Leif is doing the same by sharing his light with the community through his church calling (Primary Chorister) and his job at school, Jakob is learning and growing so fast it's hard to keep up. Caleb is growing as quickly as he can so he can communicate with us and play with his big brother. We're in a good spot right now... It would be fine to keep it that way, as far as I'm concerned.:)