Jon Mark is busy with work, but we love it when he's around. He's fun with the kids and makes up fun games for them to play with him. Recently he bought a bunch of foam swords. He put them in chairs on the other side of the room and then the kids had to race to get a sword and be on the look out for limbs getting lopped off (in a pretense sort of way of course). We love him! We recently decided to sign the boys up for tackle football, I think Jon Mark will enjoy watching them.
Joshua is becoming more responsible. He's been great at getting himself dressed and ready for school without me having to hassle him. He loves building with his legos and collecting Pokemon cards. I think some of the joy of that has been taken away since school has banned the cards. On New Year's Grandma told Joshua that she would give him $2 if he swam the length of Papa Mac's pool. Joshua was so excited and brought extra clothes with him and everything. Everyone was chanting his name and making a big scene. He chickened out at the last second and I felt bad for him. I could tell he was disappointed in himself for letting his fear get in the way. He hid in the house for awhile (although he'd never admit to hiding). I went to check on him and told him that it's okay that he not give into peer pressure when he's uncomfortable doing something. That's actually a good thing. Sometimes it takes more courage to do that than it would be to do the task, whatever it may be. I thought it was a pretty good speech. But, then he turned to me and said that I was missing the right lesson. I should be teaching him to overcome his fears and not give into them. So, I guess that I'm not even sure what the right lesson was that had to be had.
Mercedes is a sweet girl who wants to do what's right. Sometimes her passions get in the way and we have to redirect her anger. But, she is the first to notice something that needs to be done and she does it. She tries to help me cook and clean more than the others. She's always got a new crush. Right now it's a boy named Jared and he has curly hair and glasses. I love her innocence.
Luke is funny. I asked him the other night if he liked playing with girls better or boys. I asked because he only ever talks about playing with one girl named Annalissa. He said, "Girls!". I asked him why and he replied, "Because they're so pretty to look at. Especially when they have long hair." Oh, boy! I worry about this one. He is a good boy, though.
Hannah says funny things that make everyone laugh. The other day she kept asking for neosporin. It took me a while to realize that she really meant lip gloss. She also said to me, "mom, do you know what I HATE on my pickles?" I said I didn't know. She said, "DINNER!" She was recently spotlighted in primary. She gave the following answers: her favorite food is blueberries, her least favorite food is dinner, she wants to be a butterfly when she grows up, and her favorite song is I Am A Child Of God.
Caleb is so adorable. We've been concerned recently about whether or not he's had seizures. His deductible is $6000 so it hurts a lot. I believe he's fine, but then again, it's difficult to not have him tested. He just had an EEG done and that was so sad. He cried and cried. I knew he didn't understand why his mom and dad weren't saving him when he was so scared. It broke my heart. He knows how to pray and folds his arms so well. He says AMEN at the end in the cutest way. Sometimes it sounds like M&M. He can repeat almost everything. I love the way he says, "I love you". He sings twinkle twinkle and jingle bells. He loves his Halloween pj's and his "ho ho ho" ones.
