Back to the Land of the Living

We're alive! I think I can now way we're all on the mend. It's been a crazy last couple of weeks. Between Shane and me getting some nasty cold, and Savannah getting a stomach bug, the babies and Lincoln have somehow emerged unscathed. We rarely get sick, so rarely in fact that Savannah didn't even know what throwing up was. She told me she "spit up", because we're all tooo familiar with what that is! After a day and a half of spitting up she's doing great. My head is nearly clear, nearly meaning I can almost breathe and can almost hear out of my ears again. Yay!

So, please accept my apologies and I will begin our updates now...

Shane is now the Elders Quorum 2nd conselor along with the Teacher Development Coordinator. He's enjoying working in Midland for the time being, and will shortly be helping Rhett set up a new building for Choate. Starting in December he may start working out of town a little bit. This new schedule allows(?) me to do bedtime several times a week by myself...oh joy! :) His beloved Longhorns are still in the top 5 on both polls after giving up a loss to Texas Tech. Yes, they gave it up, they really felt that the Red Raiders needed that win, for some stupid reason. He's happy that the yard is now dormant for the year, this opens up time for more important things like....hmmm, I'll start my honey-do list soon! :) Kidding, he's already got one.

Lincoln is done with fall soccer and enjoying a few nights a week free. Indoor soccer starts the beginning of the year. He enjoys scouts, playing with friends, torturing and aggravating his little sister with love, and helping me. He is doing great in school and just finished the 4th Charlie Bone book. He's looking forward to seeing his Dad over Thanksgiving, when Chris comes to share the holiday with us. Lincoln still wants to be either an engineer or a geologist. He loves playing with his magnetix and k'nex.

Savannah is still a firework. She's giving me more and more glimpses of what she's going to be like at 12-18 and I'm scared out of my mind. She's very headstrong and so am I. It's going to take everything I have to not just ground her now until she's 18. She's a great help when she's happy, she loves playing with the babies and loves to be part of Lincoln's play dates too. She just wants to be involved in everything, and she's a great cuddler. She wants to believe she's a Disney princess, right along side Belle, Aurora, and Cinderella. She's learning to write her letters and she's really smart.

Landry is a great baby. She's pretty patient, more cuddly than Cael and loves to laugh. She's not growing teeth or wanting to be mobile, but she loves to eat and tolerates pretty much anything. She loves to pick on her brother by taking any toy away from him and loves to poke and prod at him as well. However, the minute he tries to do the same to her she screams and throws a hissy fit. It's been like this since we had our 20 week ultrasound and saw her kicking his head. She's passively in charge.

Cael is all but crawling. He'll be there any day now I'm sure, and I'm not quite sure I'm ready for it. I think he'll crawl for a few days, get bored and decide to walk. He's got 5 teeth, Landry has none. He loves to use his teeth to tenderize anything that come in their way, ie; peoples' fingers. He's got a smile that looks like he's about to tell the worlds funniest joke, or pull the world's biggest prank. He wakes us up every morning by jabbering. He's all muscle, absolutely no fat. He's a pickier eater than Landry, which is why she's gained on him so quickly.

I am staying busy taking care of the kids, for better or worse. I still enjoy being home with them every day, though on a particularly bad night I'll dream of my old job and how good it was there. I'm freezing every day and yet I'm very, very thankful I'm freezing in Texas where it does warm up for the afternoon, rather than freezing in Utah, where no matter how many layers of clothing I wore it was never enough. I haven't had to pull out any space heaters...yet. I enjoy trying to cook new things for dinner every day, and I'm grateful that my family has such tolerant tastes. What other family raves about lentil soup? I've been able to expand my cooking skills to include yeast recipes now...who knew!?! I enjoyed the week long visit from my mom over Halloween and wish it was possible to just blink and have the family and friends that we miss closer. The kids were so happy to have her here, and we look forward to another visit sooner than later. I'm enjoying being the relief society visiting teaching coordinator/secretary. It's a good calling for me, particularly because it's a huge help in getting to know people in the ward. I still feel fairly isolated, with no friends, but mostly it's because I just don't have time to get out as often as I would like, or if I have the time to get out I have to gauge whether it will be worth the effort of hauling three kids three and under out...I vow to be a better friend, I need a social life!

Anyway, that's the update for now. I figure this will fulfill the forementioned blog of substance that I promised. If I forgot anything, let me know, k?