Turning 35

 It was a strange thing turning 35. leading up to my birthday was an incredibly busy season. Javier and I both coached 2 soccer teams this spring with not a lot of wins or positive comments from the families, Ive been flaring pretty badly for the past 3 months with unfortunately a downward trend. The pain usually only lasts 20 minutes or so in the mornings but its been pretty much throughout the day lately, difficult to move around at all in the mornings and evenings. Add to that the busy end of year season with all its concerts, parties, etc. and I was left feeling pretty depleted. I started the day with a prayer in my heart, wondering what does turning 35 mean? What should I be learning from this day? These are the things I have been learning over the past few days since:

1. I have a lot of wonderful supportive people in my life. This was my best birthday ever! Javier and the kids decorated the house with balloons, dropped all their activities to take me out to dinner and generally made me feel wonderful! I had so many friends reach out with calls, texts, and visits! I was literally busy the entire day responding to sweet kind supportive loving messages! It filled me up top to bottom with gratitude and love. I felt like that gift came from God too. It felt like part of the lesson he was teaching me is that I am doing better than I think and that he loves me for the efforts I am making already.

2. Every service matters, even the ones that feel so small. In a lot of ways my work is very small. I sometimes feel that I want to do something important and I get frustrated that I don't have the time or energy to do it. I feel that this is a lesson Im supposed to be learning but to be honest there is still a question mark on this one for me. I will keep studying and thinking about it to see if its true.

3. Sometimes the lesson we should learn is just patience. I was thinking about my disease. Sometimes I feel like if I was more organized or could think clearly I could figure out how to fix my sickness. What I realized is that its not my fault if it doesn't go away right away and the meaning I am looking for in this suffering might just be that I am learning patience. I am learning it too. I feel like I am able to bear this affliction up with ease like the people of Alma.

4. Something is not nothing. Sometimes I see that my efforts are imperfect and I feel like I'm doing nothing. It's not true though. My time is so limited. There is not room for all the big rocks that need to fit in the jar each day. If I only have time to send a quick text or minister just once a quarter instead of every month like I wish I was doing, or complete only half the things from my primary to do list, or make dinner at 8 instead of 6; it is like my widow's mite. I am doing what I can and even imperfect efforts are efforts that God can bless. I learned this thinking about the Princes. They are primary activity leaders and they are busy and pregnant and adhd like me. They probably only have half their activities and sometimes parents and leaders complain about that but I think they are the most effective leaders we have! Their activities are different than what the other leaders do. They were Sammys leaders and really inspired him in a way that no one else has. They show great love for both the kids and the gospel. It's like how there is no one way to be a perfect mother but there are infinite ways to be a good one. There is probably also not one right way to fulfill your calling but a million ways to make a difference and each person has their own gift to give. I want to remember this one and try to serve in a way that respects the unique gifts I have to share instead of trying so hard to serve in the way that I think would be most like how others do.

 Leo has been so funny! Every single thing he says makes us laugh. He loves to pretend and he is always seeing monsters or dragons or spiders that we need to fight. 

Sometimes he is the monster and he will say, "Stomp, stomp, stomp!" as he lumbers toward me and then of course he eats me. 

The other day he put his nose an inch away from mine and said, "Mmmm, yummy nachos!" Then he started pretending to take bites out of my face. 

Today was valentines day and our Hometeacher brought all the kids a little box of chocolates. Leo opened his up and one after another he pretended to eat the chocolates and then threw them over his shoulder.

Funny quotes from our trip to Ecuador in 2022

 The pilot announced we had landed

Leo: was that the mandolorian?

Charity: we are about to land

Leo (panicked): do we have to jump??

Esther and Leo mostly stayed in our room during the trip where it was cool and they could watch paw patrol in English. They were both in the throes of culture shock and they did great considering all the changes thrown at them. At one point Esther said tearfully, “Ecuador is ruining my life!” Everyone thought that was so funny.

This post is put together two years after the fact. I wish I had recorded more of the day to day experiences of that trip. It was beautiful for all of us though. The kids connected to their cousins more than ever before and it was fun to see so many similarities. In a way it was like finding a long lost part of themselves that they didn’t know existed. I wish with all my heart we could get to Ecuador more often 😢

 Aunt Cherie is Leo’s nursery teacher. Leo saw her the other day and called out excitedly, “that’s my nur-cherie!”

When Leo is wearing  footie pajamas he likes to tuck the cool things he finds into them. He slips them in at the Neck and they end sliding down to his feet. I’m the morning he remembers exactly what he is stepping on. He will say, “get this heart out of me!” Unzipping his jammies, we find Phoebe’s locket :)

Esther looking at a friends wedding pictures “someday I want to get married too! But there’s just one problem. I don’t have any white shoes!”

Leo: “Frick or freat!”

Leo being spidey all day every day, telling me, “Gwen, let’s swing to the store!”

Esther teaching Leo

Jesus made our eyes do we can blink and see. He made our nose so we can know what’s for dinner and sniff

 Esther had a birthday! Esther is incredibly determined. She knows her own mind and cannot be persuaded. She is graceful by nature. If you saw her or talked to her you would think she was a princess, unless she was upset and then she might be screaming in a very un-princess-like manner :) Esther is incredibly kind. She takes such good care of her little brother and anytime she gets a snack she gets one for him too. She plays toddler games with him every day and she loves to make him laugh. When Esther is playing she loves to fill a bag or basket with small random things and deposit them all over the house. She is also a hard worker. She can do a dinner chore all by herself and she loves to show me how clean she has made it. Esther hates school so far. Everyday we have had a long tear filled time getting there. I hope she will come around soon. She loves to learn though! When we go to the library she picks out piles of non fiction books and squeals with delight when she finds one about an animal. She LOVES animals. She wants to do an experiment every day. I love the time I have with just her and Leo every day while the big kids are at school. It feels like such a gift! I love my sweet strong girl!

Leo at Disneyworld

 Leo wants me to sing the mandolorian theme song as a lullaby. He sings along with me and corrects me

Leo asks the kids, “wanna fight me?” Then he launches fists and kicks as those sweet big brothers and sisters spin him over their shoulders and make sound effects. Shrieks of delight fill the house.

Leo has learned the Daniel tiger songs. If anyone ever mentions a grown up they hear,”grow-o-nups come back”

Me: leo when we go to Disney world you will get to see Elsa and Anna!

Leo: yay! I see Elsa and Anna

Me: you will get to see the Mulan...

Leo: no want see pick a nose Mulan!

Leo’s favorite game is the sacrament. He will say a prayer and then pretend to bring bread and water to everyone

Leo on the plane to the flight attendant as he walked away: “excuse me sir. I have to drink soda but I can’t drink soda but I have to go home...”

In the line waiting to get on the plane talking with another passenger: excuse me sir, I want candy.

On the airplane with a piece of garbage: I have to give sir!! 

It took me forever to understand he wanted to give it to a flight attendant. 

Leo on the plane pointing to the sleeping people nearby: Is she dead? Is he dead?

As I’m trying to keep Leo from running in front of the flight attendant Leo yells panicked: Daddy she won’t let me go!

Leo on the safari. “Elephants!!!! I see the Elephants!!!! Phoebe you see elephants!!!! Sammy you see Elephants??? Maxy you see elephants????? Esther you see elephants??? Daddy you see elephants???? Mommy you see elephants???? Wow!!! Hi elephants!!!!!”

He threw his shoes as far away as he could every chance he got

Leo: I want to run away

Sammy: but if you run away you might get lost

Leo: “ I want to run away and get lost”

Leo: can I run away

Leo: I want a cracker.

When I give him a cracker for both hands he’s content but if I only give him 1 he screams and crushes the cracker. And threw all the pieces away then picked them up one by one and crushed each piece

Leo slipped on some water. When he came out and told us about it he pointed to his foot and showed me how it slipped, “ and then I died!” “ my foot killed my head”

Playing 20 questions, Leo cries every time it wasn’t a robot. Sammy: is it a robot? Javier: no it’s not a robot. Leo: No! It is a robot!!!

“No it is pluno!”

Leo was hitting Javi. Why are you hitting me? I banging drums. 

Leo hitting Javi. Daddy your hurting my hand!

Esther loves to dress up and whether she is wonder woman or jasmine, Leo will always call her by her dress up name. “Are you jasmine?” Then for the rest of the day he calls her that in all their playing. The other night I put on a new nightgown that was pink with some lace on the edges. Leo: “mommy, are you a frincess?” 

 My son is now a teenager! Max is a wise soul! For years now I’ve been asking his advice in difficult situations and taking it too. He is so calm and clear headed and he has a creative way of thinking that sees solutions I can’t.  Max is definitely the smartest person I know and the most interested in learning. Ever since he learned to read he has loved reading and he has read many many more books in his short life than I have in mine almost 3 times as long. Although he loves a good fiction series, something that always amazes me about Max is that he can sit down with a long encyclopedia of chemistry or a nonfiction account of the Mars rover and just devour it for pleasure. He has read most of the books we own several times. He is unconventional and doesn’t seem to worry a bit about what anyone thinks about him. I am so jealous of this confidence! He is a hard worker! His ADHD makes some areas of his life very difficult for him but it is a superpower in other ways. He is very compassionate and nonjudgmental! Max is so funny and fun loving!! He almost never complains. I am so proud of this dear boy! Happy very late birthday sweet Max!!

 Mother’s Day fills me with so much gratitude!! Gratitude for my sweet mother and mother-in-law, for my grandmothers and grandmothers in law, for my children’s aunts and cousins and teachers, and for my friends! They all mother alongside me!! All the women I have known throughout my life whose examples have helped me to grow and learn and for the future mothers all around me who inspire me with their goodness!! I love you all so much!!! Most of all I am so grateful for my 5 precious children, that immense gift I could never deserve. Happy Mother’s Day everyone! ❤️❤️❤️

 Happy birthday dear Sammy! The boy who loves babies and has already learned how to reason patiently with toddlers. The boy who will climb to the very top of a 50 foot tree without a moment of fear. The boy who wants to do his hair just like grandpa’s. The boy who reads 500 page books in one day...almost every day. The boy who helps me so much around the house I could never get along without him. The loudest boy in the whole world. The boy who wants to learn everything. That hardworking,driven boy! The boy who used to lose his temper but rarely does anymore. The boy who read the whole Book of Mormon on his own, cover to cover without anyone telling him to do it and started the next night on the Old Testament. My sweet son who told me today he is getting too old to be babied. Happy birthday to you!

Phoebe's baptism

Yesterday Dear Phoebe Ruth was baptized on her 8th birthday. It was such a special, wonderful day! Because of the. pandemic we had very few people there in person, just our family, Mimi and Grandpa, Dad, Grandma, Mark Sitton, Natalie Hansen, Libbi, Seth, and Eli, and Merri Carlson the Primary president. Then so very many loved ones and friends watching on a zoom link. All the Boise family, Olivia, the Tangs, The Betheas, the Mills, The Fishers, Jesse Puderbaugh. Then so much Ecuador family which was the coolest part! Phoebe had all three sets of Ecuadorian grandparents there, Tio Cristhian, Fabian and his family, Tia Zabrina, Tia Nayce, and other friends. 

Max and Sammy both shared their testimonies. They were sweet and perfect. They both spoke directly to Phoebe and told her how proud they were of her for deciding to get baptized. Max said he knew the church was true and that he loved Phoebe. Sammy told her he knew that it would help her to grow closer to God like it had helped him to. During his testify Leo walked up to the front of the room and Sammy picked him up and finished his testimony with Leo in his arms. It was so sweet. 

Tio Cristhian bore his testimony over zoom. Mama Ruth gave a sweet prayer in Spanish. 

Mimi gave a great talk about the three "bears of baptism" to bear his name, to bear one another's burdens, and to bear testimony. She explained bearing one another's burdens by giving examples of times when Phoebe can help someone and giving her a can to represent each experience. Then she said that if with all those cans in her arms if Phoebe felt burdened that others would help her bear her burdens too.

Javier told a story about a little boy who saved his sister from a dog that was attacking her. He said that he didn't even hesitate before stepping between her and the dog but felt that if anyone should be killed by the dog not should be him and he would save his sister. He said that he thought about the scars that the little boy would carry all his life on his face. This reminded him of the Savior in two ways. One that the Savior was so brave to choose to be our Savior and that the Savior chose to keep his scars on his hands, feet and side to remind us of the sacrifice he did for us. 

Phoebe knew she was going to be singing a song in Spanish all by herself and she was nervous. After she was baptized she told me she didn't feel nervous at all anymore, just calm and happy. She was just radiant.

After her baptism she sang her song, "Cuando yo me bautice" and it was so beautiful! I am so proud of her for working so hard to learn that song in Spanish and for being so courageous to sing it all by herself. She is fearless and faith-filled, and so talented!

Uncle Seth spoke last. He said that Phoebe is so smart, that he could tell from interviewing her that she really understood what she was doing and that she would do so well. He told her she would make mistakes too. He said that he knew from experience the joy of being forgiven. He told about his baptism day when his hair was sticking up so he cut that part off and then had to have his head shaved. He also told how after being baptized he felt so clean and pure and then when he got home he was mean to his sister and he knew he had sinned. He learned about repentance and that he could be pure and clean every time he repented.

Phoebe was so happy all day and it was just a beautiful wonderful day!

 

Sunday afternoon

 Here I am sitting the couch. Esther (5) is jumping around next to me and telling me jokes like, "What is white, and that is a couch and grey, grey, grey, and brown???  Answer: It's a Balloon!!" I laugh my head off because she is so cute :)

Just in front of me Max and Sammy are whacking each other with pool noodle lightsabers, (they aren't holding anything back either) making loud cracks and yelling at each other at the top of their lungs as they laugh their heads off. Max's voice is cracking all over the place. He's probably making the most of that because he's enjoying all this growing up stuff :) Leo jumps into the fray with a balloon and yells, "1,2,3,4,9 GO!!!!"

A moment later he gets stepped on, unfortunately, predictably and comes to Mommy crying for snuggles and kisses. Now the boys are actually angry with each other. Now Esther is acting out a longer joke play and she tells me not to take my eyes off her. She completely ignores all the yells from the boys and talks in her normal voice to me ducking under the swords as she acts out her story. "Mommy, now its time to laugh!" Max goes to get Leo some milk and he is happy again, the boys resume their game.

Phoebe is quietly reading in the corner. Wally is curled up next to me on the couch. Just every Sunday of all time :) 

 Esther hoarding random things like strunchies toys books and makeup under her pillow or carrying them around in bags or purses or boxes.

Esther crying during the Coronavirus, “I miss Hallie!!” Me: oh Esther I’m so sorry! What do you miss most about Hallie? Esther: “she has such fun toys!!” Then bursting into fresh sobs

My thoughts whenever I see someone during the pandemic. “They are standing so close. How do I casually back away from them without giving offense? Do they think I am paranoid for wearing a mask? Many of the things they are saying are untrue. Do they hate me for believing in the pandemic

Phoebe: I know how to make a sparkler in the wilderness. First take a stick, a long one. And then put on a hot dog. And then burn it on fire!

Me: hmm what would be a good natural consequence for this?

Max: you know whenever you say natural consequences we are like “woohoo! We’re not getting punished!”

Sammy: so naturally we’re getting punished?

Esther: can I give a cookie to my teacher

Leo can I give a cookie to myself

Esther: animals fill my heart with love

Leo: and blue birdies make my heart grow super big like ginormous Venom!

 Sometimes when my kids are fighting, I make them switch places. 

"Sammy you be Phoebe for a minute and Phoebe you be Sammy." Then I ask them to continue their argument. They learn a lot from this exercise. It helps them to really hear what the other sibling has been saying and to gain some empathy.  

Could we all do this for a second?

Could we take a moment and put ourselves in the place of our political adversaries and just argue their points in our imagination for a minute?

What are their fears?

Who are they trying to protect?

What injustice are they trying to correct?

What vulnerable group are they trying to support?

Why is that important to them?

Does their life experience make their perspective make more sense?

Do they have different challenges or experiences that make certain fears more relevant?

If you are not able to do this, maybe you haven't been listening very well this year. 

It is so tempting when our emotions are running so high to frame current events in terms of "Good and Evil." Is it really that simple? If we all took a step back from that radical black and white thinking, maybe we could have conversations that included more phrases like:

"I feel this would be best, what do you think?"

"Thank you for sharing your perspective, I hadn't thought of that."

"Your experience is different from mine. Thank you for sharing with me!"

"Is there some common ground we can both agree on?"

"I can see you care deeply about our country! So do I!"

"Where could we compromise?"

"How can we make this work for everyone?"

"I wonder if you have thought of this implication?"

"I would be upset if I had that experience too"

"Your concerns are valid and I know you are doing what you think is right!"

I believe if we can take a step back and a deep breath, we will see that we really do ALL love this country!! Then we can start to move forward out of this mess and see each other again the way we really are, as human beings trying to survive a very difficult time and make sense of a lot of overwhelming conflicting information. 

This post is for me more than anyone.

"Love can make the difference" -Gordon B Hinkley

Give thanks

Day 1: Leo had a birthday! I’m so thankful for this sweet two year old and all the joy and love he brings to all of us! I am also so grateful for the love and kindness all his big brothers and sisters show to him each day! ❤️

I accepted a challenge to post something I am grateful for everyday for a week. I am challenging all my friends too if you want to participate 🥰

#givethanks

Day 2: I’m so grateful for Javier and for our marriage. I’m so grateful for all the ways that he supports and serves me, shows patience and humility. He is such a hard worker and he is constantly striving to be a little better and to do a little more. We have been through a lot together and I feel deeply how lucky I am to have found someone willing to walk through this life with me in good times and in bad and to work towards that best goal of eternal marriage with. He is my very best friend and I love him with all my heart❤️

Day 3: I’m so grateful for my parents and for my parents in law! These four precious people have taught me so much and continually give so much love and support to our family! I love them all so much!! 

Day 4: I am so grateful for our dear grandparents! My kids are so blessed to have 5 living, loving, amazing great grandparents! They show us so much kindness and acceptance! We feel their love and we love them deeply! We are so grateful for all the sacrifices they have made to love, teach, and care for 3 generations of children! ❤️❤️❤️ My sweet Grandma and Grandpa Hansen have been gone for awhile now but I feel their love and presence in my life. I am so grateful for their legacy of faith and love!

Day 5: I am thankful for teachers! Im so thankful for all the amazing teachers in school and in church who not only prepared and taught me but who also cared about, encouraged, and shaped me into a better person! They opened my eyes. They broadened my horizons. They loved me. They served me. They led by example and gave me wonderful examples to emulate. They grew my confidence in myself and in the world. I think about them often and I know I am more because of their tireless efforts❤️

I am also so deeply grateful for all my children’s teachers. When I really start to realize all they have done for my kids tears come to my eyes. They have helped to raise them! They have reached them in ways I could not, they have built their confidence in their place in the world and their competence within it. 

Homeschooling my big boys this year has been such a gift, I love this time with them! But it also has opened my eyes to what incredible experts we have access to at other times. Phoebe is in virtual school this year and listening over her shoulder has filled me with awe about just how kind, empathetic, and skilled her teacher is. I love her! I love all the dear teachers who have sacrificed for me and our family!

This year especially I think of teachers sacrificing their own safety and well being for their students. Whether they would rather be remote or in person all teachers this year are sacrificing incredible amounts to help our children and I honor and admire them for their incredible selflessness and resilience to keep going in spite of so many challenges and core level frustrations. You really are heroic!

#givethanks

Day 6: I’m so thankful for our siblings and our children’s cousins! If I count my in laws (and I certainly do) I have 16 brothers and sisters! I don’t have a picture of Ignacio yet but I can’t wait to meet this new brother! I love them all dearly and I #givethanks for their goodness, wisdom, patience, and love!

Day 7: Im so grateful to all the healthcare workers, doctors, nurses, receptionists, radiologists, respiratory therapists, anesthesiologists, and so much more. You have saved our lives so many times! Whenever I see you I am either terrified or feeling really stupid. You forgive me my incompetence, you explain the same concept a thousand times, you validate my fears. Without you I would have lost every one of my family members multiple times except for sweet easy Phoebe(My only child who was blessed with good strong lungs). You sacrificed so much to choose this career of saving lives and helping people and to gain the knowledge which makes you so good at your work. You are a super hero at all times but this year you have shown a selflessness that has awed and inspired us! 

You truly #lighttheworld  ❤️❤️❤️

Leo just before his second birthday

 Leo is almost two and he is so funny and talented he amazes us and keeps us laughing all day long. 

He loves the Mandolorian. He grabs my phone out of my pocket and asks one of his siblings to, "Open it". If he is allowed to watch it he would watch it all day long. Whenever baby Yoda eats something. gross or whenever someone asks him what he thinks of baby Yoda, he will pretend to put something in his mouth and say, "Ew gwoss!!!" with a thoroughly disgusted face to match. He will use his fingers, any long stick, play guns, play swords, tiny lego guns, the mop handle, etc and point it at you with a mad determined face and start yelling "pew pew pew" iIf the kids pretend to die after he shoots them he will throw himself on the ground next to them and die dramatically with them. He came up to me with a little lego gun today saying pew pew. I thought he was just showing it to me so I was like, "Wow cool Leo!" he started saying, "its not working" over and over and got frustrated. I asked Sammy, "What is it supposed to do Sammy?" Sammy told me, "Oh he wants you to die Mommy, he's shooting at you." He was right! haha!

Hamilton came out on Disney plus July 3rd and our family went Hamilton crazy! Leo loves to dance and he loves to sing the songs. He has many phrases memorized and he loves to rap them and dance awesomely! "After the war I went back to New York" Its awesome!

Leo continues to just absolutely adore Wally. In the mornings he will climb up on our bed and rub his face on Wallys furry face. Best friends. We watched Scrappy for a couple weeks and Leo was the designated ball thrower for Scrappy. One day he fell asleep on the floor and Scrappy brought his ball and set it down next to him and cried for like 10 minutes.

Leo still loves to play and watch soccer. He learned to drop kick the ball around 18 months. He caught Pneumonia a month or so ago and was very sick and asthmatic for a month and the only thing we could do to calm him down or to get him to allow us to give him his nebulizer treatments was to show him a soccer game. It is crazy how much he loves it from such a little age. He is happiest when he has a ball to kick. For many many months a ball was the only toy he had any interest in at all.

He loves to sing too. Esther plays princess songs and she and Phoebe sing nonstop. So Leos favorite songs apart from Hamilton are "Into the Unkown" "Let it Go", "Someday my prince will come" and he belts them out at the top of his lungs. It is so cute and amazing!

Sometimes if someone else is singing Leo will tell them to "Shut up" its funny but I wish we could stop laughing at it.

June 2020

What a time to be living! Coronavirus has been like a beautiful traumatic fun break from life! We have loved every minute except the scary news and uncertainty. I have discovered I love having the kids home. Homeschooling is the super best ever.
The killing of innocent black men this month has sparked nationwide protests for a movement called Black Lives matter. Javier and I went to a protest in Boise. It was a beautiful experience. I know I will cherish that memory all my life. I feel very optimistic about this movement creating meaningful change. I hope so much that it will.
Leo kicks everything. The only toy he has any interest in is balls. There are several around the floor all the time and he walks around kicking them and shouting, "Goooo-yazo!!" We gave him his first toy car, he kicked it. He finds a nerf bullet on the ground, he kicks it. He will kick anything and the boy is good at it too!
When Leo spills something on the ground, he finds a towel and cleans it up. Tonight he spilled some milk in the dirt and used his blank to dry it up :)
Leo loves to give kisses and hugs but for some reason he likes to gurgle when he kisses your cheek. Hilarious!!
Max has grown a foot. He's almost as tall as me. He is very into dungeons and dragons right now. He is always creating new characters and reading the rulebook.

                                 Coronavirus 

                                         By: Max Bucheli 3/19/2020

             The coronavirus or COVID-19 is a new disease and it is really scaring people. It is extremely contagious and lots of people have it. I have nothing to worry about because no kids have died and it usually only affects people over 80.  Everything is shut down except grocery stores, pharmacies, and of course, hospitals. I am worried for people but I am exited that schools are closed and I'm  doing home school. It is likely that either I have or have had the coronavirus
 

                        

September 2020

 Esther hoarding random things like strunchies toys books and makeup under her pillow or carrying them around in bags or purses or boxes.

Esther crying during the Coronavirus, “I miss Hallie!!” Me: oh Esther I’m so sorry! What do you miss most about Hallie? Esther: “she has such fun toys!!” Then bursting into fresh sobs

My thoughts whenever I see someone during the pandemic. “They are standing so close. How do I casually back away from them without giving offense? Do they think I am paranoid for wearing a mask? Many of the things they are saying are untrue. Do they hate me for believing in the pandemic

Phoebe: I know how to make a sparkler in the wilderness. First take a stick, a long one. And then put on a hot dog. And then burn it on fire!

Me: hmm what would be a good natural consequence for this?

Max: you know whenever you say natural consequences we are like “woohoo! We’re not getting punished!”

Sammy: so naturally we’re getting punished?

October

Max bore his testimony on Sunday and said, “ I have recently finished reading the Book of Mormon and now I have a goal to read the New Testament and what ihave learned from this is that i know that Jesus lived and that he still lives now and that he loves me!”

Phoebe was having bad anxiety about school. She would cry worrying about forgetting something or being late and getting in trouble. We started talking about anxiety and teaching her some strategies and she is doing so much better! I am so glad! 

Leo 15 months

Leo makes us all laugh so much everyday. We watched the Hurd’s chickens a couple weeks ago and he learned to say “chicken” it’s so cute! He puts everyone’s shoes on all day and we hear him clunking around in my huge shoes or sometimes two bowls on his feet or a roll of duct tape 😂.One reason he’s so anxious to always wear shoes is that he wants to be outside all day long. Once he gets out there he toddles all around then yard, sometimes playing with the girls, or the boys or the dog, but his favorite is to sit in the middle of a vegetable bed and dig with his little shovel. He could play there  happily for an hour. It is the cutest thing!

Leo loves music and he loves to dance. As soon as he hears a melody he starts spinning and dancing and he gets so happy! Ever since he was a tiny baby, Esther could calm him down when he was upset by singing him the song,”when the duck walked up to the lemonade stand” no matter how hard he is screaming, he will stop and listen to her when she starts singing. Leo sings himself now too! The first thing I heard him sing was the unknown voice riff from frozen 2. It is the cutest thing!! On Sunday for our first week of home church because of the Coronavirus Leo was singing along with the hymn. Oh sweet boy!

Leo loves soccer! A week after he learned to walk he was kicking a ball around and now a couple months later he has already got some pretty amazing ball control! He is not very interested in most toys but he loves to kick a ball around the house or yard.

The other day Javier called his mom and as soon as Leo heard the telltale ringing of the phone he es n as fast as his cute little legs could carry him into the room and started jabbering nonstop to the phone. We laughed so hard!

Leos asthma this winter has been almost completely better. I’m still giving him a little inhaled steroid when he is sick but he hasn’t really had any trouble. I’m so grateful! Esther has also had a wonderful winter for asthma with very few and mild flares.

Leo is a lover. When I lay him down for a nap he will wrap his arms around my neck and lay his head on my shoulder and fall asleep within 5 minutes. It is the sweetest moment each day, I love it! He loves to give big squeeze hugs around the neck at other times in the day too.

Wally is Leo’s doggy twin. Those two love each other so much! Leo doesn’t mind a bit that Wally playfully bites him and Wally doesn’t mind a bit that Leo pulls his hair. They get so excited to see each other and they play all day.