Once again, I can’t believe it has been so long since I’ve written.  I’ve attempted to write on a few occasions but by the time I actually get some quiet time at night, which is usually fairly late because our children just can’t seem to settle at bedtime despite our attempts at implementing a fairly rigid bedtime routine, I either have to wake up early for work the next day or I’m just flat out too exhausted to stay up and put coherent thoughts down on paper.  But today I feel fairly good so here it goes!

I guess you would say the past three months have been a time of personal growth for our family.  William was having some problems at school, which prompted David and I to take a step back and keep him home a couple of days a week so he could have more quality time with us.  We also had to examine our parenting style with him and make some adjustments to fit his personality better.  So far so good because he has slowly been bouncing back to his usual goofy self.  Nathan has been doing well at school lately, although reading is still a big struggle for him.  I started going back through some of my lessons from when I homeschooled him and have been working with him at home again to help.  He’s making a lot of progress and the biggest hurdle is helping him with confidence and frustration level but it’s moving in the right direction!  Colin is doing great as usual although we’re trying to get him to slow down with trying to “destroy” his brothers all the time by turning himself into a Power Ranger.  His greatest thrill in life lately is defeating William and Nathan with his Power Ranger moves.  Lol!  And Owen is doing great too.  Not walking yet and I think it will take another month or two before he starts but every once in a while we catch him standing next to furniture without holding onto anything for support.  Once he gains some confidence, he’ll be off!

I’ve also been doing a fair bit of self-examination when it comes to my relationship with my husband and kids.  There has been a huge divide between my patience level and ease while at work versus home.  At work I feel like I have an endless fuse and rarely get frazzled or overwhelmed but at home I tend to walk through the door or wake up feeling on edge and irritated.  After a few serious talks with David, I realized I needed a bit of spiritual makeover.  I started reading a book by Thich Nhat Hahn about mindfulness, emotions, and applying it to daily life.  I’ve studied mindfulness a lot in the past but obviously needed a refresher!  His way of writing really resonated with me and while I’m not done yet, I am looking forward to reading more of his books.  I also started reading the book Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves.  So far it has been insightful and is really helping me change the way I interact with my kids and break some deep seated habits I’ve developed with parenting.  Overall, I think I’ve made progress and am motivated to continue moving forward!

David is doing well too and thankful for the warmer weather coming back.  He rarely complains about the cold but growing up in Hawaii and getting used to winters, even mild ones like we have in Texas, don’t really mix well together!  Suddenly he’s back to talking about kayaking and doing more outdoorsy things.  I must admit that my tolerance to cold has decreased after years of living in California and now dealing with our 7 month Texas summers.  I’m feeling much brighter with the warmer weather and longer days.  When I get off work and drive home with the sun setting, sometimes I can’t get over how happy I am to be living in Texas.

After taking the boys to the dentist yesterday, we went to the Rodeo and fair.  We all had an amazing time!  Next year though I am vowing to finally own a pair of cowboy boots and wear them.  We are in Texas after all!