Making It

It seems like our To-Do list is never-ending these days. At the same time, it feels good to be accomplishing so much. We are being productive and living each day to the full. That never hurt anyone!!

But in truth, all I want to do is sit down and read my book. It is Unbroken, as I mentioned in my last post. I am 70 pages in and what a good story so far... If only for more free time! No respite for the weary.

I know I keep saying this, but we are almost done with our Engaged Encounter talks. Last night we had a Star.bucks date and headed out to edit over coffee while a sitter put our kids to bed. What a treat that was... Tonight we'll sit down and read through the changes we've made, edit some more, and *hopefully* send the last two talks to our editors-in-chief tomorrow. They are in their 60's and laugh at us like we're crazy people. I think they knew we were procrastinators, but not this bad! ha! :)

After talk-writing, we'll hit our interview write-ups. Both of us accomplished four interviews on Saturday morning and afternoon, respectively. It made for a long day, but we've decided it was totally worth it to get them all done at once. The students met us at the library down the street in 45-min intervals. Now we have to write up a summary for each interview. It is our goal to have those done before we head out on Friday for Virginia Beach and the EE weekend!

Aside from all this hum drum, the kids are doing great. MG is starting to talk up a storm; carries any bag around as a purse (who taught her this?! :); and seems to love having a drink with her at all times (hello, Mimi!) Her diva behavior has quieted, I'm glad to report, and we have our little darling back around. She is very independent and plays and waddles all over the house. I usually follow and find her destructive path, but for the most part, she is a gem. We *LOVE* our little lady. Can't wait for it to be our "girls" come May.

J is either a dream or a pistol these days as a 3yo. When he's sweet, he's an ANGEL. When he's a pistol, he's as stubborn as the dawn! Little does he know, his mama can be MORE stubborn. ha! He is pal-ing around more with his older brothers these days and plays nicely, but gets frustrated easily and loses his temper. Oy! We had our FIRE Catechesis today and enjoyed a traditional Seder meal as we learned about Moses and the Israelites. J did such a nice job and tried every unique food on his plate, especially enjoying the lamb. He is *by far* my most adventurous eater. I love how he has carved out his own unique spot in our family.

T is doing well and navigating life "in the middle" these days. Part of this is learning how best to annoy his brothers. lol. He succeeds at this very well, but is also very obedient when I ask something of him. He is probably my most reliable child at the moment--he has good attention and follow-through and always seems ready to help. What a treat he can be! I know hugs and snuggles are in order for repayment. He is by far my most physically affectionate child. He is reading now and working his way through both reading and math books. His ability with numbers is keen as he's already grasping M's work (usually faster than M) and multiplication a bit. I'm a little nervous that kindergarten next year will be boring, but hopefully they can find ways to challenge him. He seems to be a happy learner regardless of the subject.

M is working hard at the piano and attempting to do so with fewer complaints--how nice this change has been. His school work is going well and we're noticing smoother out-loud reading. Now, how to motivate him to want to do it on his own...?? I wrote a bit about his bed-wetting in a post over at BC on Friday. We are hoping to buy an alarm soon and get this conquered before the baby comes. I wouldn't say its a super stressor at the moment, just something I want to continue to monitor, especially as he's become more aware of it. He had an *awesome* week last week completing his responsibilities at home and enjoying his privileges... Just tonight he was looking to plug in his alarm clock so he wouldn't wake up late in the morning. Good boy. He bears the weight of the world on his shoulders sometimes and I'm often encouraging him to relax... Oh, to imagine that 7 is right around the corner. Hard to believe for my big, little man. I love watching him love his little sister these days--they are developing quite a special bond.

So that's life in our G world. A bit of a week's end update, looking ahead to a wonderful week. We humbly thank you for walking this road with us. We don't claim it's easy or perfect or even pretty, at times. But we are blessed to walk it with good friends and family. We send our love to you.

God bless,