An Update

Sharrid is still begging to be transfered to the North Las Vegas women's prison. We know there's openings but we also know how a prison system works so he is trying to be as patient as he can. We talked about getting a local job to end the commute and even with a campaign to make that happen, he's worried about the money end of it...and I understand that. That would save us hundreds in gas money and free up a lot of time, but it would also be undoubtedly less secure. I think Shar will hold out doing this crazy hour and a half commute. He is now working a swing shift with Monday and Tuesday off so we are going to my parents ward in the meantime. He's starting to reach the end of his rope so I really hope this transfer happens soon. He's just not happy and I understand why. He has very little time with his family and home, a tough job, a super long commute, and a system that won't comply easily, on top of which he cannot accept a calling and go to his own ward. We are praying everyday for the transfer.

On the flip side I am doing very well. Marce walks to school everyday. I can walk to my parents house whenever I want. I go shopping with my mom. My sister also helps get me around and my quality of life couldn't be better in my current situation. I am loving coupon shopping and have been building up a supply of food and toiletries. I have also started working out and running. I got to see my best friend, Julie, this month. I go to my brother's home basketball games and can't wait for the HS track meets! I am coahing Marcelus' parks and rec basketball team right now. I am reading fabulous books and even writing and composing a little bit of music. Life is good for me. I just need my husband to be happy ;)

The boys have been riding their new bikes everywhere and they love going outside to play. Marce rides his bike like he's been riding for ten years! I think he's just naturally athletic. They have been in a Cars 2 "mode" since we got the movie and that is the number one movie at out home theater! They love to take their cars and race them around the carpet making up scenerios. Marcelus is learning the game of basketball playing for his first year. He'll play baseball in the spring! He is in the second semester of "Let's Play Music" as a Blue Bug and loves it! He is learning so much in that program and I am super impressed with it. He's going to be a great piano player in the near future! Marcelus' "advanced" situation has been difficult for us to deal with. He has undoubtedly regressed at least in his reading. Part of that is my fault because we aren't reading hardly at all at home. The one verse he reads almost every day during scripture study is not enough. We are starting to pick him back up in that area. His math is where the problem has really been from the start. The teacher doesn't even know what to do with him. Students don't become part of GATE until 1st grade, and even then, I don't know if he'll be challenged enough on the whole. I thought about talking to the principal but haven't yet and don't know if they can do anything for him. In the meantime I bought a computer program that has all the curriculum from Pre-K-HS Graduation. Marcelus has a profile and does online work and the program keeps track of it all. What he has done, how much time he spent, correct answers, incorrect answers, trouble areas, ect. everything. It has reports on everything so you can easily guage the progress of your child. I'm having him work on there nearly everyday to keep up on his math. It's not just plain math either, it's everything from measurement, grouping, positions, fractions, counting, patterns, money, time, ect. We have access to every grade level but I have started him in Kindergarten work to see where he's at myself and start him out easy. As you are working a particual "worksheet" if you are doing well, the questions increasingly get harder or more challenging so the kids stay engaged. Marcelus loved it the first day and did not want to get off. He earns gold medals and mystery pictures on his gameboard. He loves the little "awards" he earns. It is a fantastic program called IXL. And I thought it was well worth the money I spent to keep him challenged with what he's best at. Now that the math is taken care of, we just need to find the time to read more!

Phoenix loves to ride his bike too and just needs to work on his braking! Phoenix is potty training and doing pretty well! I am happy with the results we're getting! It's so nice to have it down to one in diapers. Phoenix has been growing his hair out so we can do corn rows, so hopefully soon we can get it done! He recently graduated from Nursery in church but having a bit of a hard time with the transition :( He's doing great though and growing up fast!

Amar'e has been fighting a cold the whole winter but we finally took him to the doctor today and he said it was just a surface cold and nothing to worry about. So on we go. Amar'e is 9 months in a few days and is hard to feed. He is getting more teeth and is almost ready for anything but not quite. He refuses baby food so we have a hard time coming up with "real" food he can eat all the time. He took his first steps days ago but is still not considered to be "walking".

That's the latest from us. I hope I didn't forget anything!