January

It may be the year of the Rabbit, but in our house it has started as the month of Zachary. Today, the last Sunday of the month he walked with Brian down to the Primary room, sat in a chair by himself and made it through the two hours without any incident. Contrast those scenes with some classic snapshots of the last month….the child loudly saying during the Sacrament Meeting closing prayer, “ I am NOT going to Primary…crying, crying loudly in Singing Time… keeping his little feet planted firmly on the ground in the chapel, not wanted to move them one inch because he knew where he was going… Yes, prayers are answered.

Even in the co-op preschool I do with him he has let me go out to the car to eat my yogurt for half the time. Baby, baby steps have made for a few large strides the last few weeks.

Potty Training is the other milestone we have started work on. I remember how much I dislike this aspect of child rearing. At least with the other boys there was always a younger sibling around that we had to be home for naps or other such “scheduled” events. We are accustomed to being free spirits now, we can go and do things, errands, airplane watching, park playing, whatever it is, whenever we want. So to be home all week has been a little stifling on our systems. He’s done great and actually, when all is said and done may have been my easiest one yet. It pays to be patient and wait.

Brian and I were talking the other night about Zachary. At times we focus so much on specific behaviors to improve, we don’t notice others which are rapidly growing and developing on their own. For instance, Zachary can conduct a Family Home Evening, by himself, and knows the specific order our family does things in and what to say. He has started praying independently and can make accurate statements in his prayers about events that are going on, people who are visiting or use appropriate language. Of course, we have plenty of random and off the wall statements, but it is fun to watch these aspects of his little persona develop.

My friend Laurel told us about Kids Rock, which her kids have participated in Denver. PF Changs Rock N Roll Marathons have started a program to encourage exercise, health and wellness in children. They encourage the kids to run 25.2 miles prior to race day, on race day they run the last 1 mile to complete their marathon. They run their race on the actual course, with all the fanfare and excitement of the marathon. The boys had a great experience and are all ready to race next year. We timed them the week prior to the race and they were running from 9:30 Brandon to 10:00¬ –Andrew. Race day they all ran 1 minute less than their best so all ran sub 9minute miles. We were proud of their efforts and seeing something through the end- a long term achieved goal.

January also brings Pinewood Derby. Matthew’s entry was “Streak” a low profile thin silver…well…streak. Matthew had a great time building his car this year, which he did by himself. He really got into working on his car and spent quite a bit of time sanding his car down to smooth silkyness, he has the patience to work small details and enjoy the process of building. All the boys in the pack had a fun morning, the atmosphere in the gym was like night and day with our previous ward. (Our previous ward had some serious derby families) Fun. Friendly. Genuine enthusiasm. Matthew’s car streaked down the track to fastest in the Pack. In typical Matthew fashion his response when called up was a smile and two nods of the head.

My SIL, Dawnelle, sent us some National Geographic Puzzles for Christmas. During New Years I sat down to start the one of Mt. Everest. What a bugger of a puzzle!!! Dawn, not to be confused with Dawnelle, got sucked in to it on a Saturday night when she was supposed to be home preparing her RS Lesson for the following morning. We kept chiding her to somehow tie the puzzle into her lesson. She asked Andrew what she should teach the sisters- his response- just teach them how to build a puzzle.” Wise beyond his years. Wouldn’t we all love to know exactly how to build this puzzle of life? I spent most of the month, on and off working on the puzzle, and did finally finish it, with no picture to prove its completion. Dawn beautifully tied in the puzzle to her lesson, and I thought about it over and over as I was trying to put these little pieces together. These are my thoughts of how putting together a puzzle relates to life. We know what we are supposed to do to be happy= we know how the edge pieces go together. Knowing is pretty easy compared to doing. Putting (doing) the middle is the tough part. You try a piece, and it doesn’t work, you try another, and another and another…Finally you find one that does. But it takes effort, thinking, and a certain stamina. Take for example, reading scriptures with your kids… you try one way, and then another, then a different time, and then a different room, a different way of laying on the floor, a different lighting in the room (you get the idea)…finally you find the way that works for you. For us its 6:40 in the morning- Brandon is ready to get picked up for orchestra at 7:00 and the other three come down in their jammies. But you don’t give up just because you can’t find the right piece. It’s there, you just have to try something new. I had a love/hate relationship with the puzzle- I was compelled to finish it, but it would drive me nuts because it was so ridiculously hard. As in life....I am compelled to be good mother and wife, but some days it is ridiculously hard!!

Brian went to the Tostitos Bowl with a few guys from the ward - we looked for him in the nosebleed seats but couldn’t ever find them.

We celebrated Brian’s birthday, somehow with the whirlwind of January it came up on us faster than we expected. Thank goodness for Amazon Prime’s two day shipping which 90% of the time is overnight for us, due to their warehouse somewhere in the Phoenix valley. It’s saved my hide a few times. He’s a good man and I am a lucky woman to have him around. I appreciate his sacrifice and dedication to all that he carries on his shoulders and always with a bit of humor ( in true Brian fashion).