Ben and I just had our 11th wedding anniversary and I started thinking that maybe I would be better at keeping up a blog instead of keeping up a journal (which I have never done very well). So a little about our family. Ben and I were married August 8, 1997 and have five children Andrew - 10, EmmaLeigh - almost 8, Melinda - 5, Gordon - 2, and Becca 8months. We recently built a house in Eureka, Utah; the little town where we both grew up and where we decided to raise our own family. We live right next door to Ben's parents, which is quite the opposite of what most people would think. I love my in-laws and they are quite often my lifeline when Ben is gone, which happens frequently with him being in the National Guard. I'm proud to say that he loves my family too, and does quite a lot to help my widowed mother who also lives here in Eureka.
Ben is a very talented mechanic and he works full time for the Army National Guard at Camp Williams. He loves his job except when it requires him to be away from home for extended periods of time. I'm very busy at home with the children and with various other volunteer positions and church callings.
Andrew is our oldest, he's not exactly what you would call your average ten year old. When he was in pre-school we discovered that he had some kind of learning disability, but we're not sure what. We were told that he has autistic tendencies, but he's not autistic, another term we heard was Asperger's Syndrome, but he didn't quite fit that either. Not to complain, he does very well keeping at almost grade level, but it is semi-frustrating not knowing what is really wrong with him and thinking that we might be able to help him more if we did know what was wrong. Right now they have him classified as a communication disorder and he is getting the help he needs, but my underlying fear is that he will always be a little bit different than the other kids, and kids can be cruel. For the most part the kids in his class accept him, but they are only in the fourth grade and you never know. He either doesn't notice that he is different or doesn't care, he is best friends with everyone and isn't embarrassed by his mom and dad like most ten year olds; that is a definite up in my life. He even lets me give him hugs in front of the other kids.
Gordon presents one of our other trials in life. We were so excited to be having another boy, a brother for Andrew, and one more fishing buddy for dad. Then shortly after he was born we discovered that he had Hirschsprungs Disease (HD). To make a long and detailed explanation very short, he couldn't poo by himself because part of his intestine didn't work properly. A few operations later the non-working part was removed and now he can poo, but it's more than the normal child does and we're not sure how long it will take us to get him potty trained. I'm always telling people that he is trying his best to make me forget that he was ever sick. He is a very active little boy, and gives me a run for my money daily. He likes to investigate everything and lately has discovered an artistic streak involving markers and almost every flat surface in our house.
Becca is our youngest and just over 8 months old. She has recently discovered how to crawl and pull herself up to stand against things. A lot of people are quite impressed because she is on the smaller side, but I just tell them she has four older siblings to keep up with and she's in a hurry to do it. She also provides me with one of my challenges in life, by refusing to sleep through the night. I have mixed feelings about this since she will be our last baby and it's kind of nice to hold on to the baby a little longer, but feeling like a zombie most of the time makes it quite challenging to keep up the house and family like I should.
Ben is a very talented mechanic and he works full time for the Army National Guard at Camp Williams. He loves his job except when it requires him to be away from home for extended periods of time. I'm very busy at home with the children and with various other volunteer positions and church callings.
Andrew is our oldest, he's not exactly what you would call your average ten year old. When he was in pre-school we discovered that he had some kind of learning disability, but we're not sure what. We were told that he has autistic tendencies, but he's not autistic, another term we heard was Asperger's Syndrome, but he didn't quite fit that either. Not to complain, he does very well keeping at almost grade level, but it is semi-frustrating not knowing what is really wrong with him and thinking that we might be able to help him more if we did know what was wrong. Right now they have him classified as a communication disorder and he is getting the help he needs, but my underlying fear is that he will always be a little bit different than the other kids, and kids can be cruel. For the most part the kids in his class accept him, but they are only in the fourth grade and you never know. He either doesn't notice that he is different or doesn't care, he is best friends with everyone and isn't embarrassed by his mom and dad like most ten year olds; that is a definite up in my life. He even lets me give him hugs in front of the other kids.
Emma is a sweet, smart, happy little girl. She loves school and dancing and especially her best friend Sydney. She is a great helper with the baby and toddler in our family, and always makes me proud. We do have our disagreements, but it is mostly because we are a lot a like and I'm working on trying to be more understanding with her. Unlike Andrew, she probably isn't that far from being embarrassed by her parents. I can't believe that she is ready to be baptized in a couple of months, but like I said I'm very proud of the little lady that she is becoming.
Melinda is in Kindergarten and absolutely loves it. She has a lot of friends and is very excited about learning how to read and write. Mostly she loves to use her imagination, she and her best friend and cousin Elizabeth can pretend just about anything; they are almost always princesses, but they are also heroes, space travelers, fairies, and anything else they can think of.
Gordon presents one of our other trials in life. We were so excited to be having another boy, a brother for Andrew, and one more fishing buddy for dad. Then shortly after he was born we discovered that he had Hirschsprungs Disease (HD). To make a long and detailed explanation very short, he couldn't poo by himself because part of his intestine didn't work properly. A few operations later the non-working part was removed and now he can poo, but it's more than the normal child does and we're not sure how long it will take us to get him potty trained. I'm always telling people that he is trying his best to make me forget that he was ever sick. He is a very active little boy, and gives me a run for my money daily. He likes to investigate everything and lately has discovered an artistic streak involving markers and almost every flat surface in our house.
Becca is our youngest and just over 8 months old. She has recently discovered how to crawl and pull herself up to stand against things. A lot of people are quite impressed because she is on the smaller side, but I just tell them she has four older siblings to keep up with and she's in a hurry to do it. She also provides me with one of my challenges in life, by refusing to sleep through the night. I have mixed feelings about this since she will be our last baby and it's kind of nice to hold on to the baby a little longer, but feeling like a zombie most of the time makes it quite challenging to keep up the house and family like I should.
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