Community

About two weeks ago, John and I were asked if we would help our ward's 'Lost Sheep' committee try out a few things. When it's our bishop asking, we always know that there is a specific reason that he has been directed to ask us. So we agreed, and got our assignments. 4 people. No luck.

But as I've been thinking about those that have chosen to leave the church, I've been practically smacked in the head by all the reasons to stay. And not the obvious that are most important in the eternal perspective, but the day-to-day things that the church and our ward provides. I think that I can sum them all up in one word. Community. There hasn't been a day in over a week that I haven't had things to do with members of the church. Some have been regular playgroups, a ward activity, a visit from visiting teachers. And some have been things that I've done with friends, a baby shower, a swim lesson we signed our kids up for together, an informal craft night, etc. I can't imagine having such a full life without this huge group of friends that are almost put in your lap. And I can't imagine chosing to leave it! I just feel so blessed.

Wa Wa

That's "Woof Woof" for those of you who haven't heard Ethan barking like a dog. He even sneaks an F on the end occasionally. We are also working on quacking like a duck!

A Good Hour

Ethan is quite a terror. He is so active, and has learned how to use chairs to climb to new hieghts. We have gone from rarely saying no, to saying it every few minutes. But on Thursday, we had a good hour.

It started after Ethan refused to eat lunch in his high-chair. He wanted to sit at the table. So I got out his booster seat and fed him lunch at the table. He was sooo happy. I even got to eat all of my own lunch! (I have pretty much given up on eating unless Ethan is asleep or distracted to avoid the whining and fits. Also, so that I get to eat more than 3 bites of a meal.) We sat across the table and ate. Ethan was swinging his legs and humming while he ate. So nice.

When lunch was over, the peacefulness continued. Ethan did so many cute things that I can't even remember them all. He danced around with Baby and his musical microphone. He helped me with the dishwasher and laundry. He even pushed around the Swiffer Flick-it, cleaning the living room floor! We played hide and seek. He told me a story. And the list goes on.

It was nice to have a good hour to make up for the week of craziness.

NO!

We don't really say "no" to Ethan. Our house is really baby-proofed, and he's a good kid. But we've had a hard time at church and at playgroup when he tries to do something he shouldn't. So Ethan has been hearing "no" a little more than normal lately. And he learned it fast! We now hear no as the answer to almost any question. He also says "yes" or "umm" in response, but he prefers "no". Even if he means yes, he says no. And it's the cutest little "no" you've ever heard!

Time to say a prayer

We haven't really been stressing that Ethan should participate in prayers yet, but he figured it out yesterday. We were playing, doing nothing related to praying, and Ethan stopped, folded his arms, and stared at me. So I folded my arms and said a short prayer. Ethan clapped and was so excited. This repeated three more times before Ethan's attention moved on to other things. Then, after John came home, Ethan tried it again with Dad. So, because it was monday, we had a little on-the-spot FHE lesson on prayer. Ethan even tried to close his eyes! Really he was squinting at us, but it was so cute. Eventually, the excitement of it all was too much and Ethan would yell and laugh during the prayers. Our little guy is growing and learning so fast!

He didn't cry???

That's right. Our little punk, whose been obnoxious for us, didn't cry when we left him for a day. Not once. We put him to bed friday night, and drove up to Maine for John's birthday. Ethan woke up saturday and spent the day with Grandpa G. and his family. No tears. It apparently took him a few minutes to decide that it would be ok, but that was it. What a weird kid. On the other hand, it means we can do this kind of thing more often! Woo-hoo!!

Now about our trip. We went up to Maine where I'd booked the suite at this quaint little hotel. We had dinner at restaurant out on the docks while a local band played upstairs and the dining room cleared, leaving us to enjoy a wonderful dinner alone. Then back to the hotel for the whirlpool tub (the reason for the suite). Skipping till morning, we slept in as late as we wanted and had breakfast at the hotel. Then out for some shopping! (This was actually John's idea!) We were hoping to make it further up the coast to walk along a beach, but John's jean hunt took quite a while, so we just hit a few other shops, had lunch, and headed back to our boy. It was so great to get away and relax!

OH! A few people have asked about our friend's little boy, so I thought I'd pass on the news. After the second dose of chemo, they couldn't handle putting his body through it, so they contacted yet another specialist for yet another opinion. (All the others said the same thing.) This one was in SLC and wanted to redo the scans, so they headed out about two weeks ago. The scans were CLEAN! No more spots on his little bones. They will redo the scans again in a few months to make sure, but our friends feel like they can start breathing again. And Ethan is excited that his friend is back in the game.