warm Sunday dinner

Finally, I have a little time to sit down and write a few "notes" about last week...

Without going into any details, Nathanael has realized that he needs to do his homework even if he can Ace his tests!!  Travis and I honed in on his "currency" and we have seen dramatic improvement!  Only time will tell...

Lindsay enjoyed the start of the soccer season.  Her team won their first game 1-0 and Lindsay was the one that scored the goal.  They lost their second game 0-2 but she felt really good about her individual performance!  She didn't make the Student Council for next year but I am so pleased that she is confident enough to put herself out there!  I regret not having more confidence in myself at her age to try to do more things that I had an interest in-I am pleased that my children all seem to be more confident than I was and that is a great thing!

Ethan asked for and received a mini-doughnut maker for Christmas this last year.  This week he has been "The Doughnut Maker" by putting on a Krispy Kream hat and making batches of mini-doughuts!  They are especially tasty with a little Nutella on them!  Ethan has been telling me lately that he wants to be a chef when he grows up.  Why not?  He loves to experiment in the kitchen!!

Clarissa has been "practicing mommy" this last week.  She has asked me to babysit her dolls several times.  When she gets home, she grills me to find out whether or not I have fed her children and taken good care of them! 

Zachary has been learning so much lately but he has also tried to give me a heart attack!  He has been saying so many new words and also signing to communicate some basic wants.  It has been so fun to watch him grow and develop!  He says, "hello", "let's go", "I love you", and "thank you" (Sometimes they are a little hard to understand-but most of the time I get it!)  I just cannot ask him to do it on demand-he is as stubborn as all my others!  However, he is definitely my most wreckless child!  Last Saturday he almost made himself pass out throwing a fit, fell down the stairs and cut his mouth, fell off a step stool, and tried to drink some dishwashing rinse!  In all cases, I was quite near-I did not just leave him to entertain himself!  He is going to make me turn gray and I realized that I need to be right on top of him every minute!!

My "moment of joy" came this week when we were eating dinner at my parents' house just after general conference on Sunday.  My mom finally sat down to eat dinner and my dad leaned over to her and whispered, "Very good Dearie!" referring to the dinner of course!  Then he told her that he loved her!  What a good example!  They have been married for 37 years!  I felt so grateful to have such great parents and it gives me something to shoot for in my marriage.  Thanks Mom and Dad!  (Lindsay saw this little exchange as well and said that she thought that it was really cute.  She said that it is cute when people are young and when they are older.  I then asked her about the middle-age people like her dad and I-she didn't say anything and looked away!  There was my answer! Middle-age couples-especially Mom and Dad-are not cute!)

Cathy