Now that the grandparents have received their pictures for Christmas I can unveil the gorgeous school pictures of my kids. I didn't want to ruin the surprise for the grandparents, but I have been excited to
show them off.
January 2nd started off with Jeremy getting his blood drawn so we could re-evaluate his food allergies. Waiting for the results was harder than getting the blood drawn.
January 3rd, the boys went back to school while Naomi and I had a girls day at home. We did a little shopping to get her some new denim (she is growing way too fast), went out to lunch and then hurried back home because it was only 21 degrees outside. Brrrrr! She helped me clean carpets in the bedrooms upstairs and we did a little laundry in between reading fun books and laughing. It was a great day.
January 4th, Jeremy and Steve went to work on his Eagle project and came back almost immediately. The pile of sand was frozen solid. I was a nice excuse to stay in and stay warm for the day.
January was the month of basketball for Nick. We practiced once a week and had a game every Saturday. The season started off very frustrating with Nick learning the rules and the moves. By the end of the season he had it down pat and loved playing with his team.
January 5th Sister Cobb and I got our new group of Sunbeams. It was hard to see our old class move up without us, but this will be an exciting and fun year. We have a great group of kids. I was exhausted by the time the two hours was up, but I had the new season of Downton Abbey to keep me going!!!
January 6th, Steve left for Knoxville to help Bradden and Sunny move into their new place. He left extra early because of a huge storm in the Appalachian Mountains. He wanted to have plenty of time to get through that and arrive before the moving van. He didn't need to worry because Bradden and Sunny had gotten caught by the storm people were calling the "Polar Vortex" and what they thought would be a two day drive actually took them three to complete.
January 7th we had a record low in the morning, 6 degrees. Both CMS and LNC schoools were on a two hour delay. In the spirit of the extremely cold weather, I took the kids to see the movie "Frozen" that night. It was a huge hit and our new favorite. When we got home, Naomi said that her stomach felt funny. She then went upstairs and threw up. Yup, the curse of Steve leaving town and something happening to one of the kids still holds!
January 8th there was another 2-hour delay due to the extremely cold morning temperatures. Naomi didn't care when school started that day because she was home sick with an upset stomach.
January 9th, Nick visited the orthodontist for the first time. He needs braces! Both boys within six months of each other. YIKES!!!! Before the braces could go on he needed to have two teeth pulled. He is excited about having straight teeth, but not thrilled about all the pain that will come with it.
January 10th we went to our friends, the Mullers, for a home cooked dinner. It was a great night. The kids played and the parents talked. We even got to take Justin home with us for the night. BONUS!
January 11th we helped clean the church, Steve coached the Young Men's basketball team, Naomi went to violin lessons, we all went to Nick' basketball game, Steve and I went to one of his co-workers wedding openhouse, and then we took the kids to diner that night because I was too tired to cook anything.
January 12th I got to speak in church. They asked me to speak about how to create a Christ-centered home. I had a lot of fun writing that talk because it was something I was very interested in doing in our own home. It was a bittersweet day because our ward was split in order to create a new ward. I will miss the families that are now in the new ward, but the work of the Lord is going forward and that is exciting. This is the fourth ward split we have had since we moved here.
January 14th Nick had two teeth pulled. He really hates the dentist and the teeth that needed pulling (his canines) are the most painful to have pulled. He was a trooper though. They had to give him several shots of Novocaine to keep him numb. Apparently, the more upset you are the faster your body burns through the numbing medicine. I learning something new.
January 15th we finally got the results of Jeremy's allergy blood test. The results are encouraging and we are ready to move onto the oral challenge phase. The last test we did was when Jeremy was in second grade. His egg white then was 1.02, now it is .32. His whole egg was also 1.02, now it is .22. His milk number then was 3.86 and now it is .47. That is a significant drop in the numbers, but is it enough to be able to tolerate these foods in his daily diet? We shall see.
January 16th Nick got his braces on. He liked them for the first several hours and then the pain set in. The poor kid ate nothing but smoothies, apple sauce and yogurt for almost a week before his teeth settled down.
January 18th Steve and Jeremy helped Ryan with his Eagle project. Ryan needed to finish up before his 18th birthday which was in one month. It was crunch time, but they all had a great time putting in the lights on the main walkway at Hind's Feet Farm.
Naomi, Nicholas and I took lunch to the group and brought Jeremy home so he could get ready for the dance that night. He was exhausted by the time he got home that night. But it was a good exhaustion.
January 20th they finished Ryan's project and worked a little bit on Jeremy's. I took lunch to the crew again and then had them all over for dinner that night since they had put in a whole day of hard work.
January 24th Naomi came down with a really bad cold which included a high fever and very sore throat. She did nothing but lay on the couch for five days. She was so sick that she didn't even go to her best friends birthday party. That tells you how bad it was. Poor thing.
January 25th Jeremy went to the temple with the youth. Nick played a great basketball game and felt good about how much he is improving.
January 29th Naomi was finally feeling well enough to go back to school and school was cancelled because of a snow storm. The kids loved that day. We went sledding at the golf course on our pieces of cardboard which worked incredibly well. In fact, our cardboard was better than several of the sleds! All the church activities were cancelled as well and we all got to have a night at home together.
January 30th CMS was cancelled again, but LNC had a two-hour delay. It was another play day for Naomi. We had the Tufts girls come over and hang out. It was a great way to end a very busy January.
