Updates

Again its been too long. Too much time has passed since I've blogged and I feel overwhelmed at the amount of information I'd like to pass on...
My job is going well. I've begun to feel comfortable in the role that I'm asked to play as Family Advocate. I enjoy working to help these women become more independent and to help their children survive the transition with as little scarring as possible.
On the job front: Lowell very likely is going to be offered a job on Monday! :) We're very excited! Because of this exciting development and also just because he wants to, Lowell's dad will be coming down to stay with us for the winter. He was anxious to get away from the cold Olancha winter and will be very appreciated here as a live-in babysitter. Lowell will be working graveyard shift so he'll have to leave for work before I get home. Chug will be there with the kids and can also possibly help get them ready for school in the mornings. Because Lowell's job is on the far eastern side of Phoenix, we are going to look to relocate. We've been looking anyway at houses... It is very possible that we may buy a house in the very near future... Please be praying about this for us!! Anyway, this new job will pose quite a commute for Lowell from our current location on the far west side of Phoenix. My school and work are pretty centrally located, so I think my commute will stay the same, I'll just be driving westbound on the freeway instead of east.
The kids are good. Nathan presented a social studies project on India last week. Each of the students completed their project and then stood up in front of the class (and the parents who attended) and presented their information. Thankfully, I was able to make it! Nathan's body said that he was nervous, but when I asked him afterwards, he denied it. Irregardless, he did a great job! :) The teacher was very impressed with the quality of their work as well as their oral presentations.
Chloe is going to be singing with her class at the Fall Festival in Buckeye next Friday. I'm completely bummed that I am not going to be able to attend, but Lowell has promised to tape it for me. Her class is going to be hosting the goldfish toss booth as well as the picture booth and they'll be singing "De Colores", a spanish song about colors. Chloe loves school and is thriving. She's so smart and has shown great athletic ability! In PE when they race, Chloe only has one other girl who provides competition. And often, she beats a majority of the boys too! Nathan has even stopped racing her because she beats him every time. :)
Jillian is doing great too. She loves staying home with Daddy because he spoils her rotten. She's also learning a lot - both from us working with her and also from her siblings. She's mastered the concept of "counting on" which is a kindergarten (or higher) level skill. For example, if you're adding 5 and 6, before you've grasped counting on, you'll first count 1,2,3,4,5 and then 6 more. After a child has learned to 'count on' they will start with 5 and then count 6,7,8 etc.. She loves to add and has started grasping subtraction as well. She doesn't have all of her letter sounds down yet so that's what I'd like to work on next.
School, for me, has proven very trying these last couple of weeks. With the potential of moving looming on the horizon and with Chug coming down to stay, there have been a lot of extra projects to accomplish around the house in addition to my already jammed schedule. My homework has definitely suffered. There were a couple of mornings when I honestly should have been doing my homework, however, that I blew it off in exchange for a couple of hours of playing with my babies. And I don't regret it for a moment... That being said, I have decided to only take one class this quarter. With this being holiday season and with Lowell beginning a new job, there are going to be too many transitions for me to be able to do work that I will be proud of. And besides that, if I'm paying all this money for these classes, I'd really like to learn something!! :)
Last week we got a special visit from my friend Britany, her husband Stony and their neice Kizzy. We met at Grand Canyon so that Britty could see all the changes they've made. The kids played on the lawns and we just enjoyed some time together. It was way too short and I forgot to take a picture of us but it was still wonderful to see them! Hard to imagine its been 7 years since I've seen one of my dearest friends... Its another reminder of how important it is to take the time to stay in touch... And that's why I'm blogging now! :)
I appreciate all you bloggers out there - Diggie, Kristin, Moron, Britty, Leeda... I love feeling like we're connected even though hundreds of miles separate us. So thanks for taking the time because I really do love reading about your families. And thanks for stopping in to see what we're up to. We love you each and miss you all!