Tim, Sasha & Family: January 2013

Sunday, January 20, 2013

We just had a big breakthrough with Teagan. For the past few months he has hated taking baths. He screams and cries and tries to get out of the water. Yesterday we had a family date night and went swimming. At first Teagan look like he was going to cry when he saw the water. I held him for a good five minutes walking in the water before getting him wet. We slowly got his feet wet and gradually his body was wet. After about 15 minutes, he was all smiles and splashes. I could tell he was comfortable with the water because he longer wanted to be held facing me. He wanted to turn around so his back was against my chest and he could see what was occurring in front of him. It was great. We had such a good time. Then today when Tim put Teagan in the bath, he was so happy. Not one tear of sadness was shed. This makes me so happy. I don’t want any of my children to be afraid of the water.

This past week for achievement days, Jacinda made cinnamon bread. It was a big hit and we ended up making some more for the family. It is like making cinnamon rolls but you leave it as a loaf. Jacinda is big into making things, crafts, food, etc. You give her a recipe or instructions to a craft and she will go right ahead and make her project. Just this morning she was asking for brads to make a moveable paper doll. I am happy to foster her creativity….I just need to get the right tools.

It is common for me to think about the upcoming week during this Sunday evening. I just realized that my dad has a birthday on the 25^th. He will be (oh wow!) 75. I cannot believe he is that old. Seriously I love my dad but I thought he would have been gone by now. The food he eats and how he treats his body is unfathomable. I guess that all that juicing in between his ice cream and junk food snacking is aiding to his longevity. I wished I saw him more…. I wished the kids saw him more. But I realized we cannot have everything we want.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Yesterday Jacinda was baptized. I am so pleased with her decision. She truly loves Jesus and wants to be good. My other kids are trying to be good also. However, they are still young. In the beginning of the baptism, as brother Brinkeroff was conducting and reading the program, McCabe turns to me and says, “can we go now? I am bored.” I laughed and told him that this is a special day and we are here to watch Jacinda get baptized. He then was quiet because he realized there was no way I was leaving.

Xadia had the opportunity to give the opening prayer. I went to the front of the room to assist her. I knelt down to be at her ear level; however, she decided to kneel also. I then proceeded to whisper in her ear and she started to whisper also. She was following my example. I thought it was really cute but most importantly I was happy she had the faith and courage to give a prayer in front of so many people. When it was time for Jacinda to be baptized, Xadia was not quiet at all. The moment she came out of the water, Xadia yells, “that was awesome dad.” Sure….now she is loud.

Christmas was fantastic. We spent it in California with family. The kids were in heaven. Every day they got to play with their cousins. There was so much to do. We got to see the lights at the Mission Inn, go hiking on Mt. Rubidoux, and see the rose parade. It was warm and very lovely. Meanwhile in Utah it was dumping snow. On the way home somewhere near Cedar City the temperature was 15 below zero. Getting out for gas was painfully cold. Every time I got in the car I felt like my knee caps were going to pop off….thank goodness for heaters.