More often...

I have decided I need to blog more often so I can remember what we do on a weekly basis.

We signed Jared up for Little League this past month (April) with a team of children like him.  Everyone on the team has special needs - be they physical or mental.  And they are all close to Jared's age.  Each game only lasts about two innings before they kids have all lost interest and are playing in the dirt and running around the field.  It is SO FUN to watch!!  Jared's team is called the White Sox. 

Jared hated his first game so much!!!  He cried and was angry for almost the whole game.  We took him to the playground afterwards and that helped.  The next game, we didn't tell him about until we got there.  He was crying at the beginning but was happy by the end.  He was given his uniform at this game but wouldn't wear it.  Game three - he was happy the whole time and wore his uniform - Yay!!  Success!!   And just the other day we passed a park and Jared saw some kids playing softball.  He asked if it was his turn to play and I said not yet.  He was disappointed!  I am so excited that he likes the game now!!   Hopefully we will be getting video footage of it next week.  This past week it rained so we didn't bring the camera.

Last Saturday, May 1st, Richard and I ran in our first 5K run/walk.  I was so nervous!!  It was wonderful, though!!  I hope I get to do another one!   At the beginning of the year, I was quite overweight and my good cholesterol was too low.  It's supposed to be between 40 and 60.  Mine was at 27.  I was told I needed to lose some weight, exercise 30 minutes a day, change my diet, and take some supplements to help get it corrected.  So far, I have lost 30 pounds, I have changed my diet, exercised 30 minutes a day pretty regularly and am doing much better.  I had my blood tested again and my good cholesterol is at 44!  Yay me!!  I am so excited!  I still have some weight to go, but I'm getting there.  Setting the goal of the 5K race was to help me keep motivated for exercising each day.  And it helped a lot!  Richard and I ran it in 33 min and 40 seconds.  We finished 35th and 36th out of a hundred or so runners!  Not bad for a half-cripple!  The doctor who did my broken ankle surgery a couple years ago was there.  It was good to see him.  All in all, it was fun to run and I'm so glad Richard was with me!  I love running with him.  I love doing anything with him - he's just a wonderfully fun person!!

On the day of the race, it was freezing outside!  I was afraid it was going to rain, but it didn't.  It was just cold.  The weather stayed dry for our race.  Then, later that evening we went to Jared's baseball game and it was raining as we arrived but then it let up, the sun came out, and it was beautiful through his whole game.  Then, as soon as his game was over, it went right back to overcast and rainy!   We were so blessed!!

One of the ladies I used to serve with in the Primary Presidency has been in the hospital for almost 4 weeks now with one of her little daughters.  My heart aches for them!  Kayelee, their little daughter is believed to have HUS - which is quite dangerous!  Her kidneys are not fully working and her body is having trouble producing red blood cells amongst other things.  It has been a tough road for their family but they are so strong!!  Kayelee is one of the strongest spirited children I have ever met!!  If anyone can make it through all the blood transfusions and such that she has had to have, it would be her!!  She is such a trooper!!  She is doing better but still not able to come home yet.  Hopefully soon!  They are such a wonderful family!!  We just love them so much!!

Tonight we are going out to the church orchard to thin apricots.  Lots of work to do.  I'm excited.  And the weather is nice enough to go!  That's even more exciting.  It has been freezing lately!  It's still cold but the sun is shining and one of our neighbors is even outside in shorts!  Looks like summer might come afterall.

Rebecca is almost done with her 3rd grade year and she hasn't missed a single day!  If she can make it through the rest of this month until the end of school, with out a day missed, she will win a brand new bike for having perfect attendance!  I hope she makes it!

Emma is learning all kinds of new words - right along with Jared!  It is so fun to listen to the two of them talk!  Jared asked me the other day, "Mom, can we go to the moon?  I need a rocket!"  I love that he knows he needs a rocket to get to the moon!  If I had  had one on hand I would have taken him to the moon immediately!  Loved it!

We were watching the Princess and the Frog a while back and the beignets that they make in the movie looked yummy so we decided to try and make them.  We got all the ingredients together and were set to make them after church.  Rebecca walked up and told her daddy - "Hey Dad - Mom's gonna make some man-catchin' beignets today."  I heard Richard say, "Oh really?"  I about died laughing.  I didn't know I was doing that!  My intentions were just to learn to make beignets - I wasn't trying to catch a man.  But, Richard liked them, so, I guess the "man-catchin'" part worked.  =)

That's all I can remember for today about our family happenings over the last little while.  As I blog more often, the posts will be shorter.  =)