The Bold and the Beautiful

It is my favorite time of year. We are celebrating autumn and Halloween. We have been to some parties and are enjoying as much of it as we can. Last year, Samantha was so disappointed that no one else dressed up. If some of you recall, that was a stressful time for us with our Layton home and I was pregnant. So THIS year, we are redeeming ourselves! Donny is a zombie pirate complete with flaking skin makeup. Mason is a zombie soldier (boys and their zombie fetishes!? Whatevs), I am a fancy buccaneer pirate, Sam is my first mate and little Jozlynn is nothing related to zombies or pirates; she is a lamb. Maybe I saved her from the hungry zombies....?

Little girls are much harder than little boys. I think I'd prefer loud and rambunctious over whiny and cry-ey. But we certainly are prettier, aren't we? ;) This little kindergartner is showing more signs of being strong willed and determined. I am proud that she can boldly ask for what she wants. It is my job to now teach her how to embrace her strength and use it wisely. Having that guidance while young will save her years of drama and self doubt. Just the other day she started to try and write a note to her friend. I was so excited that she tried it on her very own! She knows all the letters and their sounds, days of the week and most of her numbers. She is now ready for site words and simple spelling. She is catching on quickly. Her parent teacher conference went well and she has improved since first of the year testing.

Jozlynn is such a balm to my soul. She is still so calm and sweet that I'm glad our last baby ended up so good natured. She JUST started crawling this last weekend and sitting herself up as well. We can get some shrieks out of her every now and then but she still doesn't laugh out loud much....but don't get me wrong, she laughs a lot; it is just quiet. I know most babies are food obsessed but she really, really likes food. She has this radar that is so tuned into food that it's insane! Oh well, such a big girl really needs lots of food to keep growing, eh?

Mason got back from competing with his drama group down at the Shakespearean Festival in Cedar City. He says their group got trophies in every category and best overall score called the Sweepstakes. He is doing well and we are excited to see him get some leading roles in future! I'm not sure if he is shy around us with his singing voice, or what. But when he sang for me the other day, I was quite surprised as how good he sounded. We are thinking of going to New York with his drama group at the end of next school year and I would LOVE to share that experience with him. He just informed me today that he is "dating" a girl. We'll see....school function dates and maybe we can start some parent chaperoned dates as well.

Donny is involved in a weight loss program at work. They are competing for a "sweet prize" given to the winners at the Christmas party this year. His company does give some great stuff so we are excited to see what it is. He says he's not lost any weight but his pants are drooping something fierce! He has been working on making homemade kefir and sprouts. And my desk is almost finished!!! Yay for a husband finished project. :)

I have been continuing to write articles for supplemental income for a marketing firm in the valley. The articles are flexible and the amount of work is as well. That has been such a great thing to have since I've been sick. I'm staying as optimistic as I can about this disease but it's starting to wear on me now. It's been over two months since I got sick and I've several more weeks of treatment to go. Some days are good and some days are bad. Please keep me in your prayers that this treatment works and I am able to completely eradicate the Lyme from my body. I started playing the guitar several months ago and have really enjoyed it. I finally can accompany myself with a few learned songs!

We are continuing to get our home outfitted with plants, pictures, furniture and decor. My new dishwasher will be here tomorrow in fact! We have become dedicated to building our food storage and emergency preparedness. We have some food, 3 - 55 gallon water drums and the next thing on the agenda is 72 hour kits.