Catching up

We've been very busy lately, but in good ways. Karlo has been staying busy with work, which is a blessing in this economy. His company usually puts on a christmas party, but decided not to this year so a few of his co-workers are putting something together anyway. That should be fun! He's also been busy with "Scouting for Food" and "Friends of Scouting" plus the normal scout activities. He'll be gone on a camp-out this weekend so it's time for another mommy/daughter movie night! We'll have so much fun!(When the girls go to bed!)HaHa! Abbie has been busy with school and she had her first homework assignment that we got to help her with!! Maybe I'm lame, but it was so exciting!

She is also growing like crazy lately! I know her pants fit just last week because they were in the laundry, and now they are about and inch too short!! And, she put on her church shoes last sunday and they were suddenly too small! I don't know how we are going to keep up with this girl! Abbie is always keeping us on our toes and making sure we all know what's going on too. Her primary teachers moved and since there are only three little girls in her class, we decided to combine her class with another one. So, on Sunday, I told her what was happening so she wouldn't be anxious about the changes. Then, as the primary president was quietly releasing the junior primary to their classes after sharing time, Abbie raised her hand. Sister Patten very patiently asked what she needed and Abbie proceeded to explain to everyone exactly what she needed to do now that her teachers were gone. Very precocious indeed!

Kallie has been growing as well and learning new things every day. We have started potty training recently and it's going surprisingly well. I really hate potty training so I've put it off for a number of reasons. But, money is getting tight and diapers are expensive so we decided she's ready. She loves to sit on the potty and we give her smarties when she goes. But she also has a stubborn streak that shows itself occasionally. This morning I realized that her diaper was dry after sleeping all through the night. So, I asked her if she wanted to go potty. That was my mistake! Never ask a two year old if they want to do something you want them to do! She, of course, said no and I continued to try to persuade her to sit on the potty. By the time I convinced her she had wet her diaper. By the look on her face and the attitude she was giving me, I'm sure she did that on purpose just because mommy was trying to make her do something!! She does love to go on the big girl potty in every public place we go to. Today she very willingly went at the doctor's office! Yeah Kallie!!

Kallie's appointment with the cardiologist went great today. She got an A+ on her exam and is scheduled for her next echocardiogram in April. She has been doing great at gymnastics(physical therapy)and is starting occupational therapy next week! It makes my life busier but I don't mind when I know that we're doing what is best for Kallie.

I have mostly been busy running kids from one thing to the next and trying to keep up with housework in between. I am also involved in a local women's choir and our Christmas Concert is coming up! If you live in the area, I'd love to see you there! It's December 6th at 7:30 at the Caldwell High School Auditorium. My newest obsession is the Twilight book series! I didn't think I'd like them when I first heard about them but then I was convinced to read them(thanks Mom) and now I'm hooked! I know the movie comes out tonight but I think I'm going to try to finish reading all the books before I see it. I know that my wonderful husband will be very happy when I'm done with "those stupid vampire books" and back to paying attention to him!

One last thing I wanted to mention was what I learned this week! I went visiting teaching and my partner gave a wonderful lesson from a talk given at the last general conference. The thing that stood out to me, that I wanted to share, is that "Life is hard, but the gospel is simple". I've been thinking about that and the trying times of the world right now and I know that if we can live the simple teachings of the gospel we can withstand the pressures of the world.