Dennis: Dennis has been waiting for his job to really start and he finally got a desk with a phone this past week. It's crazy how his unit knew he was coming but had nothing for him when we got here in May. He is being sent to several classes, thankfully all in the local area, over the next few weeks so that will keep him busy (and likely bored). He has found a hobby in building things. He built Emily a bed which turned out amazingly and continues to look for other projects he could do (or is that me looking for projects for him?) :-) He was promoted to staff sergeant a few months back and is a supervisor now. This is a new challenge for him, but I'm sure he will be a great supervisor. He hasn't received a calling at church yet, but he's keeping busy by sitting with Jacob in nursery trying to get him adjusted to going each week. He finally got all the paperwork done and is now officially a college graduate!! He earned his Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Hawaii Pacific University. He had all the credits before we left but it was expensive to request the degree so we were waiting until we got our moving money for that.
Sarah: I am enjoying the last few weeks of this pregnancy. I have been in a lot of pain with this one, but it will be totally worth it when I get to hold this little guy in my arms in 5+ weeks! We took a trip back to Texas/Oklahoma recently and I am still trying to recover. That 24+ hour drive at 8 months pregnant really is hard on the body and I have been struggling to get back on track. But, today is the day, I'm telling myself. We will start back to homeschool on Monday so I've got to get tackle the mess that is the schoolroom/craftroom. That seems to be the one room in the house that gets neglected when I'm cleaning because it is so overwhelming sometimes. So, I am setting aside today to try and tackle that room. I am almost finished up with my current class, Contemporary Auditing II. It ends on Monday. I am really happy about being done with this class as it means I am one class away from graduating, but I am really nervous about the next class, Advanced topics in Accounting Research, because it just seems intimidating. Plus, it is the final class in the degree plan and so I'm a little scared to find out how heavy the workload will be. At least it is my last class and I will be done 5 weeks from Monday. November 1st to be exact. I cannot express how much I am looking forward to being done with school for a while. This has been a long time coming and it is so great to be able to finish up before Benjamin joins our family on Nov. 2.
Denny: Denny is so smart. He speaks so well for his age and he is really not shy any longer. It's so fun to see him blossom and come out of his shell. He started soccer this week and really enjoys it. He was one of the first kids there and he just ran to the field and started kicking the ball with his coaches. This is a big improvement from Hawaii because he was hesitant and didn't really get too involved at first in sports. He is so excited to be on the "Monsters". His first game is tomorrow and I will try and post some photos of the game. He recently got his eyes examined and they are not doing so great, so we got new glasses and we continue to patch his left eye to hopefully help strengthen his right eye. He is doing so well in school and is always asking me to do more school. He is his own worst critic though and gets frustrated when he doesn't think he's doing something right. Usually this is when he's drawing a picture based on the story we read that day and he doesn't think the picture looks right. We've had to deal with the tears and I usually send him to play for 15 minutes and then come back and try again. I love homeschooling and the freedom it gives us as well as the opportunity it gives me (yes I'm selfish) to see my children learn and be able to help them learn. It's just amazing! Denny is in CTR 4 at church and he really likes his class. He is the only boy and of course a ladies man. He has always been more comfortable around girls so it isn't surprising to me how comfortable he is in this environment of all girls. He really enjoys church and usually wants to walk himself to class rather than have Mom or Dad go with him.
Emily: Emily is talking so much clearer. She was a slow talker and even when I could understand her Dennis had a hard time a lot, but he realized recently how much clearer she speaks and expresses herself. She is an emotionally charged child, but she's getting better and we're working with her on managing her emotions better. She loves to do homeschooling with Denny and wants to do what he does, but with her being nearly 2 years younger she really isn't ready so I try to find activities that correlate with what he is doing but at her level. We are working on her learning to write her name and her capital letters. I have found it a little difficult to teach such different ages but at the same time I think it helps her to learn having her older brother beside her. Emily is in nursery and getting better at being there. She is still really shy and it's hard for her to come out of her shell and make friends although she calls them all her friends anyway. She enjoys nursery more and more though and I'm sure in the next year she'll come out of her shell just as her older brother has.
Jacob: Jacob is into everything. He really enjoys playing with trains and pushing his car around the house. He still isn't talking and the doctor wants to see him in 3 months if he continues not to talk. I am not too worried because Emily did the same thing and now she talks all the time. He somehow communicates what he wants without talking though and he understands what we say to him, so I'm sure talking will come soon. He is still dealing with separation anxiety and we can't really leave him anywhere without a breakdown. He does not like others to try and hold him or even look at him most of the time. This has been a challenge with trying to get him to go to nursery and Dennis has been spending a lot of time in nursery with him. If I go then he is way worse than if Dennis takes him. He is a very passionate child though. He is so loving and is his Daddy's biggest fan. Dennis cannot get in the door without picking Jacob up each day. Jacob has recently learned how to wrap his arms around our necks and squeeze so now Dennis gives him piggyback rides all the time and Jacob wants me to do the same but that's not happening. I'm trying to get him adjusted to not having me pick him up because after the c-section I won't be able to pick him up for a few weeks and I don't want him to take that out on the baby. He really loves babies though, and I'm sure he will be very loving to Benjamin.
Benjamin: We decided on a name for baby #4: Benjamin Walter. Walter is his grandpa's middle name. He is a very active little boy in my tummy and is getting so strong. He gets the hiccups a lot and that is kind of funny. He likes to kick Daddy at night a lot too. We are really excited to meet our newest family member. He will be arriving by c-section early November 2 if he sticks to the plan. :-)
So, that's an update on all of us. I cannot promise anything, but I will try and post some new photos soon. Someday I will have a lot of time to post things, but likely not much to post about because my kids will be grown and gone. Ha ha! For now, we hope you are all doing well.
i miss your adorable little family!
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