Update

It’s been a crazy long time since I last did one of these babies.  Not sure I remember how.  It’s a little painful for me to think about all the things that didn’t get updated the last year or so, hopefully I’ll be able to fill in some gaps, but for now we’re moving forward. 

Joshy is 4 years old.  He is currently in preschool two days a week and a “Let’s Play Music” class taught by my friend, Sarah Asplund.   He loves both of them.  He’s always had such an interest and ear for music, I love that he gets to do this class.  It’s a brilliant curriculum that teaches these young kids so much while they think they’re just playing.  I love it.   When he’s not at preschool or music class,  or running errands with me – he’s with Daisy and Eliza Keller.  Daisy and Liza are two little girls who live right next door.  Daisy is just about 10 days older than Josh and Liza just turned three.   Josh is pretty attached to me, that can be so rewarding as a Mom, but I hope this year he can gain more confident standing on his own.  He is a bright, sweet boy.  We love Josh.

Benjamin is getting closer and closer to being baptized. He’ll be 8 in April.  It’s really starting to hit me, and I think he is feeling like he wants to be ready.  He’s supposed to read for 20 minutes each night when he goes to bed.  I noticed that all on his own, without even saying anything about it, he started reading the Book of Mormon for a few minutes and then reads from a library book.  That impresses me so much, what a great example he is to me.  He is playing basketball right now and loves it so much.  He has so much physical ability and coordination.  It’s so fun to watch him really be good at the things he enjoys.  He also randomly will sit down and color or make something and spend a long time getting it just right.   He’s probably the most introverted of all my kids, he kind of just loves to have some down time.  We love Ben.

Nate is just getting over a bad cold with a miserably sore throat.  He does not like being sick.  He was stuck home from school for 3 days and while I’m sure he didn’t miss the schoolwork, he really missed the social scene.  He always has a vision of what his day is going to be, who he’ll be hanging out with.   He has such a cute group of friends and they have all become good friends with the girls.  They also all have crushes on each other.  So far, he’s been pretty open with us about who he likes.  The other day he mentioned a girl and referred to her as his third crush.  I asked him about two girls he’s talked about before and which one was 1st and which one was 2nd.  He hesitated and then explained that he wasn’t sure anymore because they had each told him the other one was mean.  (Girl A told him that Girl B was mean and then a few days later Girl B told him that Girl A was mean).  He was quite sincere and I could tell he had serious reservations about the possibility of them being mean.  I was so happy to know how much that mattered to him.  He is such a sweet boy.  We love Nate.

Abby has really taken the whole junior high thing quite well.  She is blessed with a kind of quiet confidence, security and a great group of peers.  She has a whole handful of friends who live close that she absolutely loves and has so much fun with.  She often organizes huge outings of 15 girls or so to meet and go shopping at our big new shopping center right here in Farmington called Station Park.  She plays the trombone and really loves it.  She is very diligent about practicing each day and has amazed us with her progress in just a few months.  She had never touched a trombone til their summer camp.   The band instructors are a married couple and they are so talented, they have produced an excellent band program, but also really emphasize that they want band to be a great, fun, social experience.   She has her ups and downs, but for the most part is still our sweet, helpful girl.  We love Abigail.

Anna is in 10th grade at Viewmont High.  I still can’t believe we have a high schooler.  She loves the flexibility that having an A day and B day give her and is enjoying being older with a bit more freedom.  She just tried out for the high school musical.  They’re doing Fiddler on the Roof.  She sang “How Lovely to Be a Woman” for her audition and felt good about it.  They don’t have dance auditions til Dec. 2nd, so I’m guessing it will be awhile before she knows whether or not she made it.   She really hates auditioning and was so nervous, so I’m really proud of her for going for it.   She also tried out for a solo part in one of the choir numbers at school and got it!   Half the kids in our ward go to Davis High, so it’s kind of sad that they’re all divided.  She’s hoping to branch out and get to know some new people at school.  The other half of her friends are still in 9th grade, they’re the girls on her soccer team.  She’s such a good girl, we are so grateful for her goodness.  I’m also so grateful for how connected she is to her siblings.  The other day I came home from running kids around and heard laughing and chatting.  I walked in to see Anna, Abby, Nate and two of Nate’s friends laying around the front room.  It was so cute to see them all enjoying each so much.  We love Anna.