Getting Settled

I have not blogged in so long and time has flown. I've been wanting to do an update for a while now. So, here's the scoop.

Sharrid has been a trooper. He has been commuting about an hour and fifteen minutes at least everyday to the academy for the past six months. He graduates on Friday! We won't know his schedule until tomorrow probably. He could have any two days off and either day, swing, or graveyard shift. He has put in for a transfer to go from Indian Springs to North Las Vegas. Hopefully he'll get the transfer as soon as possible. That would cut his commute time nearly in half and our gas expenses as well.

I have been keeping busy. We have been in limbo for a long time and it has been hard to make a routine with anything. Obviously I have not been blogging and I have been reading my current read, The Maze Runner, at the slowest rate ever, but I have been reading a book everyday with Marcelus, working on his math with him, and also his Let's Play Music work. I have been working with Amar'e on baby food. He is now 5 months and is eating fruits mixed with oatmeal. We started plain oatmeal about a month ago and he never liked it, so about a week ago I finally started adding fruits to it to make it a little more tasty. He's still not the best with a spoon but not bad. I have been learning how to coupon shop and I love it! It is definitely a hobby of mine. I love the deals I get, the goals I have made, and heck, who doesn't love free stuff? I have even been dreaming in coupon language! For now all I really do is get two Sunday papers a week and check the weekly ads for matches. I've only been doing it a few weeks but I have already started to collect things for our new place so I don't have to get everything at once when we move in.

Speaking of that, we found a great place and will be moving in on Saturday. It's a place we could be for a while. It's right next door to the house that I grew up in and right across from the elementary school, also right around the corner from my parents house. It is basically the best location ever. I'll be close to my parents, close to the school, and close to my friends. I can't wait to get into my place and get things situated. Being at my parents' for six weeks hasn't been bad. To be honest the worst part has been trying to find a place for what little we brought. I set something down, and it doesn't go there and it just flutters the house because there's little things here and there everywhere. It'll be nice for everything to have a place again. We'll get our new contact info out sometime soon after the move.

We've been so blessed throughout this moving process with so many tender mercies and unexpected blessings. There have been too many to count and I feel great about everything. I'm excited to be here in the valley with so many great people old and new. We have had a rainy storm come through and really cool the place down. I don't think we'll return to hot weather. Now it definitely feels like Fall. The football games have been great and coming into the Holidays is exciting. All the blessings big and small have really strengthened me spiritually and I loved conference. I'm also helping a friend try and re-activate in the Gospel and all of this combined has turned it up a notch for me. I feel really blessed and on fire right now. I just feel really great and happy right now. I love being back in the valley. I was able to see my grandparents a couple weeks ago as they stopped by on their way to the cabin. I hadn't seen them for a few years.

Marcelus started school here the Monday after we moved and has been progressing rapidly. He is reading books and doing multiplication. He writes his name well and counts to who knows what...in a nut shell, he's miles ahead of his classmates and his teacher can't believe how smart he is. She was going to send him home with supplementary work to try and keep him challenged but now said she is just going to try in the classroom. She is going to have him read books and take comprehension tests and stuff. I work with him a lot after school. He reads a new book everyday from the library or our collection, he does addition, subtraction, and multiplication . He knows how to add and subtract double digit numbers on paper, and we are starting to work on telling time. His classmates are learning colors, shapes, cutting, letters and sounds, counting to twenty, matching, and learning how to write their names. Marcelus learned all of that in Preschool. I am so glad he went to preschool. His teacher was great! I don' want to raise him a grade or anything but I am hoping he can stay challenged. I think I am going to have to continue working with him at home a lot for this though. His teacher can only do so much for him individually. At any rate, he is doing great, too good. I'm trying to keep up with him ha ha

He loves to go to school. He makes friends really easily. He is a social butterfly! Connor chases Marce everyday. Connor loves to chase, and Marce loves to be chased. It is so funny to observe everything when I drop him off. Boys chasing girls. Boys chasing boys. Two girls walking hand in hand along the grass. Circles of girls already making cliques. A bunch of kids playing at the playground. It's so funny to see them interact. It's a little scary to think that after this year, Marce will be free to roam and play on the big kids playground! He's such a smart kid and well beyond his years. I should not be worried about him.

Amar'e is growing like a weed, still looks a lot like daddy and is very vocal! He screams and yells and squeals whenever he can. He is now turning all the way around and he is getting on his knees and rocking. I think he'll be crawling in the next few weeks. He's not sitting up yet but that will be soon too. Amar'e has been teething since we arrived here in NV and he has finally popped his bottoms through!

Not much to report on Phoenix. I guess he's the one that has changed the least. He loves to drop Marce off at school with me because he gets to play until the bell rings, then we walk back home. He cried the first week but now knows that he can't stay and that Marce will be back.

I've been working out every other day and can't wait to start up a weekly routine I have planned out doing something different each day. I'd like to get in good shape so I can train for the St. George marathon. I don't know if I want to run it soon or after all my kids are born, we'll see.

Well, that's the best I can do on an update. Hope all is well with all of you. I'm looking forward to seeing the Willard family at Thanksgiving this year!