24/7

Life is good! I feel so blessed and I absolutely LOVE this time of year.
The season was made more beautiful this past week with Aunt Alli's visit.

It was such a blessing to have her help and spend time with her. We enjoyed beautiful walks through the brilliance of Fall's glory of Red, Gold and Orange trees. Pictures only tell half of the story, but crunching through leaves and breathing in the fresh air does something to your soul.  I LOVE IT!
Alli and I agree, it is one of the most beautiful seasons of the year.

As life marches on I find great joy in the 24/7 routine. Granted, by the end of the day I am truly tired, but the beauty is that I get to get up and do it all over again. For that, I am grateful.

The kids are doing well. Kaidence and Chase continue to make progress in school. I just attended parent teacher conference and was so pleased to see how well they are doing. They are both excellent readers, each reading a few levels above what is expected. Kaidence tested at the top in spelling and Chase got 100 percent on his comprehensive math test
(I'm certain he takes after his Dad).  Besides the normal day to day drama with friends and school bullies, life rolls along just fine. They are such fine helpers at home. I don't know what I'd do without them.  Imagine having an independent 7 year old get up bright and early to make breakfast. I'm not talking cold cereal either; this girl can make some pretty good scrambled eggs.  As much as I try to slow her down and remind her that I'm the Mom, she occasional steps in and to her credit does an amazing job.  Chase loves to haul wood in the house, take out the garbage and he can make his bed neater that anyone I know.  Both Kaidence and Chase have proven their talent to change Eden's diapers without even being asked. They love her so much and won't let her cry a second if they can help it.

Sophia surprises me everyday with cute expressions and sometimes point blank questions. This girl does not beat around the bush about anything. She is one determined little person. When she's not mad at me, she is busy drawing pictures for me and telling me how much she loves me. ;) She keeps us all on our toes. One thing that is kind of funny is that when she gets her chance to say family prayer she uses it to great advantage in asking Heavenly Father to please help Chase not be mean to her and for Kian to listen and etc. etc. It causes quite a stir and she doesn't skip a beat, not even with her eyes open and her siblings glaring at her. :)

Kian is still in heavy weight training. He is one mighty little big boy.  We are trying to channel all his energy and sometimes this means locking him in his room.  I finally purchased some of those door knobs that make it hard to open. So far, so good. He'll probably figure them out next week.  He is so cute and like I say, that is a good thing because he has about sent me over the edge fishing things out of the toilet lately and rolling in the mud whenever he gets the chance.

Eden, well she is such a little breath of fresh air around here. When she's not smiling, she busy blowing out her diapers and making cute sounds, we just can't stand it. She is so darn cute. She is getting so chubby that I'm pretty sure the Halloween costume I was worried would be too big is going to fit just right.

We all got our flu shots last week and so we are ready to brave the winter. We sure hope and pray that we have a better one than last year.

Sunday Afternoon

The weather is absolutely crazy here.  Last week I was building fires and this week I turned the air on when the temperature reached 80 degrees inside.  Weatherman says it will cool down to the 30's tonight so a cold stretch is in view.

I decided I'd try exercising in the morning and for motivation sake asked Chase and Kaidence if they would like to join me. Chase was up at 4 a.m. today asking about Yoga and I finally held him off until 6:15 a.m. I'm surely in for it now because they had way too much fun.  I might learn to like Yoga if I get to be with these 2 happy and ambitious monkeys in the morning.

At the beginning of October I started teaching again, adding 4 piano students and 1 guitar student to my group. I have a total of 9 amazing young people including Kaidence and Chase that I get to work with. There is so much joy and satisfaction in teaching. I feel so very blessed to have this opportunity and I hope my students are enjoying it as much as I am. We have already started working on Christmas music and getting ready for a recital in December.

Mill Creek Pumpkin Patch

there were so many pumpkins to choose from...

2 a.m. in the morning and this is where I find Jonathan and the baby

Jonathan just started a very difficult rotation  and he is already tired.  It will be a grueling 3 weeks, but then he'll have a week vacation. He has a good attitude about it and is learning a lot.  I think he will be just fine. We are both living on prayers. :) Thank goodness for that.

I can hardly wait for the General Election and casting my vote for the Romney/Ryan ticket. I believe this is the first election that I have actually been well informed and up to date on the issues. Even Jonathan is getting tired of hearing about it. One thing for sure is I know my mom is proud of me.  I have finally broken out of the bubble she accused me of living in during college and happen to know a few things regarding current and world events.  God Bless America! This is truly a remarkable place to live and we must ever guard our freedoms that were so valiantly fought for. As citizens of the United States, I believe it is not only our privilege, but our responsibility to vote and defend these freedoms that we enjoy.

Well, that is enough of my 24/7 life for today.  Happy Fall Everyone!!!!