Weekly Updates!

Well friends and family my parents are gone again on another mission. We are excited for them and know this will be a great experience for them. Other than that though the only positive thing that I can think of is that I have to do a better job of keeping my blog updated. This is how my parents will keep up with my little family while they are in South Africa for the next 18 months. Mom and Dad,
We miss you like crazy already and want you to know that we think and pray for you daily.
This week was pretty normal for all of us. I got a couple of nights out because of great activities. The Law Partners (this is the spouse association for the Law School here) put on a great forum/devotional on Wednesday. The speakers were fantastic and really uplifting. They had some great thoughts which helped me reflect on how Garrett and I need to remember that the most important thing is our devotion to our Heavenly Father. During school it is easy to get caught up in the future but we need to remember that we can serve here and now. I think this helped me remember that Heavenly Father is mindful of us and has a plan for us. We are willing to go and be where ever He needs us. We look forward to knowing where that may be. On Thursday night I went to a Stake Relief Society meeting which was equally inspiring. I don't know if I really can handle that much inspiration in week. I again felt the love of my Heavenly Father. I also was able to reflect on how lucky I am to have such an amazing husband. He works so hard and does so much. I feel blessed to have him and can't believe how much my love for him has grown over the last few years while we have been back here in school.
Speaking of Garrett, he has continued to work hard at school work, team work, finding a job, working on his thesis and spending time with me and the kids. Either he has gotten better at balancing all of these things or we are more used to his intense work schedule, either way things are going really well. Last week he had his second interview with Apple but found out that he didn't make the final cut. It was hard to hear but we are staying positive because we know that there is something great out there for him and us. He worked SO hard on the abstract for his thesis paper this week. It was nice to see him turn that in on Friday night at 10:00. He took time to go on a bike ride with the family, paint with the kids and take me on a date. During this he still managed to get in 4 hours of studying. He spends a lot of time with Dell-a (that is what I have named his computer. He is still sporting the Euro-hawk, in case you were wondering. :-)
Jenna is going and learning so much these days. She likes kindergarten but feels like it takes her away for too long during the day. Cooper, Ryder and I feel the same, at least most days. :-) She is smart, in fact sometimes she is a little too smart for her own good. She just turned six last month and still has her mom's crazy fascination with rainbows. She is beautiful, fun, and is getting used to the idea that this baby is going to be another brother. (She only cried a little at the ultrasound.) She loves to read and is really good at it. Some days I have to really work to get her to put the books down. She loves to ride her bike and really enjoys the nice weather outside so that she can get out and ride. She is looking forward to a new bike this summer as she has out grown her bike by quite a bit. She loves to play with Cooper and is a really good helper with Ryder. She reads them books and even does Ryder's breathing treatments for me in the morning when things get a little hairy. I love this girl and really enjoy watching her learn and change in so many ways.
Cooper is such a sweet boy. He really loves to do what is right. He is fun to watch as he learns knew things. He is not afraid to make mistakes and is pretty good at learning from them. He is doing really good in preschool. He knows all of his letters and sounds and writes his name incredibly well for a 4 year old. It will be hard to not send him to kindergarten again this year. He has a lot of energy and we continue to channel that energy. He really enjoys gymnastics on Thursdays and I love the chance for him and Jenna to move those bodies. The kids have started helping me cook dinners during the week and he is really good. He likes to get out his cookbook and help "read" the recipes. He is really fun and has a really contagious laugh.
Ryder has grown up a lot lately. He is using so many words and signs that it makes life interesting. Sometimes it makes it easier to understand him and sometimes it does not. Some new words lately were green, yellow, crunch (captain crunch), I don't know, bye guys, Nenna (Jenna), Two-ter (Cooper), Me, Dadda, Papa, Go, hat, Wow, Mo (No), & Chalk. He is all over the place too and into all sorts of trouble. He found the powder the other day and made quite the little mess. He is running, climbing, jumping off things. I worry about his safety almost every day. He learned how to get into the pantry and get out the Captain Crunch cereal. (He doesn't even mix in a non-sugar cereal with it, which is required at my house. :-) We have to now keep it on a higher shelf but since he learned to say "crunch" it is a little hard for me to resist giving it to him. I think he still has me wrapped around his little finger. (Does this get worse with every child? Because if it does I am worried).
Our little guy is still growing strong. We learned at the ultrasound that everything looked really good. We are about 22 weeks along and my body does excellent job of creating big and healthy babies. I was hoping to stay smaller this time but ... no such luck. As you can see I also am sporting a new haircut.
Well there is enough for now.
Love,
The Barnums