1. John has almost finished our house plans!! That means the next step is that the plans go to the engineer, and once they've been engineered they go to the city to get a permit, to sub-contractors to get bids, and to find a loan. That'll be fun in the current financial situation of America! John is still working for Harvest Park, so that's great. He still has work, and the kids have school, so all is well with us in the housing market.
2. I am working on midterm grades; I have hundreds of papers to grade, and here I am blogging.
3. Jackson has lost hearing in his left ear. We don't know how or when, but he can't hear in his left ear. We are taking him to a specialist on October 15th, so we'll know more then. Since Jack has learned about his ear, he has shouted at his siblings less. I think he realizes that not everyone is talking about him. He listens closer, and he plays quietly more often now. I have noticed that he still talks to himself quite loudly, and I can hear his games and pretending with his Lego. It's very sweet; he's very sweet. He has not complained even once about not being able to hear well. I do know that knowing about his deafness helps him understand things at school, at church, and at home differently. He's more introspective: He thinks about things and why they are. He's always done that, but in the last few days he's thought more and more about things before he speaks.
4. Alyxandria is so delighted to be in kindergarten. She's such a gorgeous diva. She has become amazing about all sorts of things---hair, toys, drawing, school. She's a genius with lyrics (and why wouldn't she be?!) and she's delightful about what stories she tells us about her schoolmates. My favorite time of the day is transferring her from preschool to kindergarten. She, Holly and Kyler tell darling stories about their fellow preschoolers and giggle about what will happen at school that afternoon. She adores having her hair special---braids, pony tails, and colored hairspray (they sell it in PINK, and GLITTER at Halloween time). She loves playing "designer" and matching her shoes, clothes, and socks. She also helps Asa and Max be stylish.
5. Asa is the real man. Going to preschool has improved all things cute about Asa. He speaks so much more clearly, and he loves, loves, loves playing with other kids. He understands "friends" and he loves reading books. His favorite food is a hot dog in any form, and he'll dip any sort of hot, corn, or pancake dog into liquid like ketchup, mustard, or maple syrup. He's a hoot at the end of the day. He's still so tired when he gets home from school, and he'd love to nap: then he has a hard time staying in his bed at night. He's put himself to bed, but he'll sneak out of bed just to see what we're doing. I remember doing that, and Xandri sure did her share of sneaking.
6. Max is simply hilarious. He understands no and does exactly the opposite because he knows he shouldn't. He loves climbing things---and has fallen off of what I would consider quite high places. He'll climb somewhere and then scream and scream to be rescued. He's a flirt and he eats like a small pony. His grin is incredibly infectious, and he bites like a vampire (but he's no Edward Cullen!) He has 2 ridiculously silly huge upper 2 front teeth and only 3 teeth instead of 4 on the bottom. We love him madly.
That's our current stituation! Hope you and yours are doing well!
