January 2018

January was not our favorite month. We spent the first half of the month trading sickness. Daddy got the worst of it and was in bed for nearly two weeks. Influenza is no joke this year. It hit us hard. And it left Mommy pretty exhausted trying to take care of everyone.

Right after the kids went back to school, they had a day off. I took them to Kids Town and then let them get ice cream and french fries at Arctic Circle. Daddy was too sick to join us, but he was happy to have a quiet house for a few hours so he could get some sleep.

Even while Joey was sick, he still wanted to play. His usual spark wasn't there, but he was still up and about as much as he could be. He would literally play until he dropped from exhaustion every day.

 One day the boys had both fallen asleep before 11:30 a.m. - and they both slept the day away.

 Joey perked up one afternoon and helped his little robots give each other kisses. See his kissy lips in the picture? He is interested in kisses and hugs lately, and really likes to blow kisses to everyone.

 Joey's other passion is splashing in the bath tub. He likes to wear goggles and pretend to swim in the tub. We might have to stop letting the boys bathe together. They either end up fighting or we end up with a puddle on the bathroom floor.

 It was a long, hard month of not having friends over. The boys fought a lot and we got cabin fever. Thank goodness for our new toys from Christmas to help break up the boredom.

 We ventured outside on a fresh snowy day. The boys got to slip and slide on the trampoline, we made snow angels, and Mommy pulled the boys around the yard in the sled.

 We love making messes in the tub with bath paint. It makes Daddy nuts, but Mommy doesn't mind because the mess is contained and the clean up is easy.

 We started a FHE schedule that includes the kids in the process of planning and execution of our lessons and activites. For the first week, Tommy was assigned the treat. He helped Mommy bake and frost a chocolate cake. He was so proud.

 Lily gave our first lesson. She taught about the Plan of Salvation and she was very nervous. We hope these opportunities to teach and plan will help the kids as they grow.

 By the third week of January we were all feeling much better. Everyone had a lingering cough, but we weren't exhausted or contagious anymore.

 We had spaghetti for dinner one night. Joey put a noodle across his nose and said, "Look, I Papa!". We all took turns making noodle mustaches. Annie's Fu Manchu style is my favorite.

 We got better, but then our friends were sick....more days stuck at home, just Mommy and the boys. When the going gets tough, the trains get going. We are really good at making elaborate track systems now. We just miss our cute engines with faces that we left at the Wanners after Christmas.

 Can you believe it is January and we have hardly any snow? Our daily highs have been between 38-52 degrees. It feels like Spring. Maybe all the snow will hit us in February and March. We haven't even gone skiing yet this winter.

The thing Mommy was most excited about was our first Relief Society as a new presidency. We had an amazing turn out. My friends showed up in force to be supportive. We did a speed dating style activity called "Cocoa and Convos". We had a hot cocoa bar and fruit infused ice water, all the sisters got a drink, found a seat, and we drew questions to ask each other like - tell me about your happiest childhood memory, what is one food you've never tried and why, etc. Some were silly, some were serious, some were spiritual. After two minutes, everyone moved one chair to the left. It was so much fun and we got great feedback on it. Not bad for such a simple activity to put together. One down, 36 more activities to go.

My other big Relief Society accomplishment was reorganizing visiting teaching. We had big gaps of sisters not going visiting teaching or being visited. I did a series of visiting teaching interviews and had the sisters select a morning/afternoon or evening route. With all that information, plus special requests from the sisters and the bishopric, I spent four weeks slowly and prayerfully rebuilding our visiting teaching routes. One of my friends is a Relief Society president in another ward and she said "Visiting Teaching is like a baby - sometimes it sleeps quietly, sometimes is cries all day long, sometimes it is cranky and demanding, sometimes it keeps her up at night, and sometimes it is peaceful and happy". So many sisters thanked me for taking time to seriously address their concerns and try to meet their needs. I pray they will catch the vision of how important visiting is, and just do it.

Tommy came to me crying and saying his tummy hurt. He thought he would throw up. I set him up with a blanket and pillow so he would be warm and close to the toilet. He curled up on the floor and slept for four hours. Once he woke up, he was completely fine. Thank goodness. He was motivated to get well because he wanted to go to astronaut day at preschool. He barely made it.

 Joey now fits Tommy's old super hero costumes - to be honest, they are already a little snug. This guy just keeps getting bigger. His favorite is Spider-Man because he likes the mask.

 Tommy and Joey are still doing their Sound Beginning music class every week. They are learning so much and I think it will help them be more successful in music when they are older, which will hopefully help them stick with piano when most boys quit. Fingers crossed!

 Jeremy's dream of owning multiple income producing properties came true this month. We signed on a little old house in Rigby. It has two units to rent out. We are still finishing the basement so we don't have pictures yet. So far we haven't had any interest and there is a lot of work to do. Hopefully this isn't a huge money pit mistake. Only time will tell.

That's all for us. A lot of sickness, a lot of service, a lot of stress, and a lot of silliness. We sure hope February will bring renters to our house, health to our family, and opportunities to grow in love.