We are going to try this a little different. Back in the day we used to have a family newsletter that we wrote in once a month. I'm going to see if I can keep up with that a little better.
Slade's Fun in the Sun, January 2012
Most of January was spent getting settled into our new house. We love it so far. I'm trying to decorate a little differently than our old house. I want to be brave and do modern/hip things, but I find myself being drawn back to what I know and what is safe. So far we had only purchased the big ticket items like the couch and dining room table (which were safe choices), so hopefully I can be more brave with the art work and accessory items. We went the first couple of weeks without any window coverings, but the beginning of the month we got shutters and they look great. We have really only had one issue so far with the house. The heater sometimes will blow cold air, which isn't ideal in the winter time, but we have been working with the builder and contractor, so hopefully we can get it fixed soon.
We celebrated my Dad and Kim's birthday with a dinner over at Mariah's house. For a gift all the kids are pitching in and we gave them a gift certificate to get a family picture taken. The last one the Bill Beesley familhy had, was taken six years ago, so we figured it was about time for another one.
Our ward split three weeks after we moved in and I got called to be the second counselor in YW. I had just gotten out of my calling as Laurel advisor and was looking forward to RS, but it looks like I need to improve my "game" in YW, so I'm back in. I'm trying to have a better attitude and put my best foot forward in this calling and so far that seems to be working. Plus now I'm dealing with the Beehives, which are always a fun and loud group. For some reason I just didn't feel like I connected well with the Laurels in our last ward. Being a counselor is a lot busier than being an advisor. We have church and Wednesday activities and meetings and are often exchanging texts and emails through out the week, but again it is all about the attitude. And I'm trying to have a good one. :-)
I attended a girls luncheon that my Aunt Linda put together with all the girl cousins. It is always fun to get together and see everyone and get caught up.
The boys, to be perfectly honest with you, have been driving me a little crazy lately. :-) Some days of the week I find it necessary to put them in "structured playing time" which is playing upstairs in one of their bedrooms for an hour or sitting them in their booster seat and letting them watch "Elmo", Seasame Street while I get some stuff done around the house. The funny thing is Owen or Caleb alone is manageable. And they don't get into near as much mischief as the two of them together.
We have wood or tile floors on 90% of the main floor and so we bought a rumba, which is a robot vacuum. It is saving my life, I didn't know how I was going to keep the floors clean, but I just turn it on and away it cleans. The boys are OBSESSED with it and that is putting it lightly. Whenever they are awake, they want me to turn on the "on on" as they like to call it. I will be sitting at the counter or getting ready in my room and they will come and grab my hand drag me over to the base and wait for me to press the on button. I usually turn it on in the morning and let it clean my floor, but there have been times that the vacuum will be in the kitchen and the boys will be playing in the entry and so I'll turn it off cause I think no one is paying attention. A few seconds later they will both come running around the corner saying "on on" with a look on their face like, "why did you turn that off we were still paying attention to it." They will follow it around the house for about 5 minutes, but then just ignore it, but if I try to turn it off, I don't hear the end of it. There are some days I have to hide it because they want me to turn it on so much. They will roam around the house looking for it, asking "where is it?"
Their speech continues to improve. They are getting really good at repeating words, so if I'll say a word like cupboard, strawberry, etc... they will try to repeat it. They are also getting a lot better at identify objects they already know the word for. They still grunt and point a lot, but the therapist we work with says that is normal, and to just keep giving them choice when they can't come up with the word for what they want on their own.
Mike has been working and is already gearing up for tax season. He usually doesn't get home until 6:30/7:00 and the other night he didn't get home until 9:30. Mike also got a calling. He is the CTR 5 teacher.
I've been going back to the gym. My sisters and I signed up for the Little Red Century bike ride which is in June, so we figure we need to start training and get "into shape". We have also been doing some craft projects. We made a cute Christmas wreath that Mariah found on pinterest and I painted and decorated the letters, L-O-V-E with scrapbook paper and embellishments for a Valentines decoration. I love having them live so close. It is fun to be able to get together for these types of things and not have to drive far to do them.
We had a follow up eye appointment for Caleb and the Dr. said it looked good and is healing how it is supposed to. We have another appointment in six months to just check and make sure it looks good and that he can see correctly out of that eye, but we are glad that this seems to have taken care of the problems of his "wandering eye".
So there you have it. Until next month (hopefully).
