What's New

So one of the reasons I finally decided to go private is that we have had a lot of changes going on around our house. Fortunately they're all good. As many of you know we had round two of unemployment last February and with the economy being in the state it was finding a job proved to be quite a difficult task. So much so that Tj began looking outside the aviation field. And so after quite the year we're excited to announce that Tj is now working for the government in the Department of Justice. We're really hoping that this will bring more stability to our lives even as it tips our lives into more chaos. He started training at the beginning of January and so far really likes it. But his training will take him away from us for periods of time which is kind of a bummer. We're really feeling fortunate that we've gotten to spend so much time with him this last year now that we don't get to see him very much lately.

The kids in Key Largo- silly faces and all.

In the meantime the boys and I are trying to stay busy. Over the Martin Luther King holiday we tagged along on a day trip with our good friends The Schrieners down to Key Largo and the Everglades. It was a bit anticlimatic but the kids had a good time and it was fun to hang out together. I was really surprised (and honestly a bit terrified) by how many alligators we saw in the Everglades and how close they were to the path- as in they were right on the path! I didn't take any pictures of it but it was pretty surreal. I know Josh thought I was being a bit dramatic but until we were safely back in the car I didn't breath easy. Have you ever seen how quick an alligator moves?!

Joel learned the hard way not to take Vance on
when Vance has a wand. Joel got poked near the
eye and now has a pretty good shiner
(and peanut butter all over his face).
What goes around comes around, right?!

Joel continues to go to preschool one day a week. He has a friend named Luke there and they love playing "Star Wars" while they wait to be picked up from school. As far as I can tell this involves pretending to fight with light sabers and falling to the floor. Joel also became a "Sunbeam" at church. This is the age where they can go into the big Primary. He loves singing and answering questions. His teachers have their hands full with about 9 three year olds. I don't know how they keep their sanity. But Joel loves it. I get to do the music in Primary and I love watching him sitting in the front row singing his heart out! He is so funny and constantly amazes me at the things he remembers and makes me laugh at the things he says. One of my favorites is when he doesn't know something he says "I can't know". I LOVE that. One thing I don't love so much is how he picks up on EVERYTHING I say. The other day he was sad and Vance went up to him and asked what was wrong and he said: "I don't want to talk about it right now. I just don't want to talk." Bless his little heart! One of my friend's little girl learned the 13 Articles of Faith last year at 3. I figure with everything Joel remembers maybe I should put that memory to good use. So the last couple of days we've been working on them one at a time. He already has the first one down and is now learning the second one.

This is a typical Vance picture.
Man, that kids loves his blanky!

Vance is still quite the character. Man, that kid keeps me on my toes. I think the worst part about it is that he's so funny but it's usually when he's being naughty. It's really hard to discipline him when I'm trying not to smile. He's still my little cuddler though and I have to admit that I LOVE that he still snuggles me and always wants me to come sit with him. He still LOVES books. Man that kid is a bookworm. I do love it though and try to take the time to read to him whenever he brings me a book. On the downside he has figured out how to climb in and out of his crib. I know that I'm SO lucky that I made it past 2 years old before he learned how but now there's no keeping him in. So I almost always find books in his crib in the morning. He also is ALWAYS picking things up. His two newest phrases come from Nama and Pa: "Holy Moly!" As in, "Look there's a tree, HOLY MOLY!" So random. I'll have to get video of him saying it. It makes me smile just thinking about it. The other one is "Seeya, wouldn't beya!" As in "See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!"

Anyhow. That's life for us right now. Tj's grandparents fly in tonight and are staying with his parents for a couple of weeks so it will be nice to see them. And the boys and I are going to AZ at the end of this month for an extended stay so we're excited about that. Lots of changes going on right now. But life is good.