Jacob's Birthday

I can hardly believe our baby is 1 year old!!! We enjoyed Jacob so much today. He seemed so happy and excited. Jason and Keith picked out a walker/push car to give him. He loved all of the attention of the day. David, Rebecca, and Jason each gave him a stuffed animal. Jason baked a cake for Jacob. After giving him his own cake, he stared at it, scowled at it, tasted it, then didn't want anything to do with it. Instead, he reached for the cantelope and green beans. I thought it was interesting that the sugar didn't even appeal to him naturally. It's interesting to thing that an appetite for such sweet foods is something learned in society. Anyhow, the rest of his party was alot of fun. We went to the park afterwards. I enjoyed the day so much with my family. I was a little sad to see Jacob's first birthday come and go-realizing that he is probably our last baby. Yet, how many people ever get to experience the joy of seven first birthday parties? Our little Jacob is such a joy. He is starting to talk. He tries to say everyone's names. The funniest part is the tone of voice he uses when he says their names. He is starting to stand on his own and walk when he is holding onto something. He loves to be held and rocked. He enjoys going for walks and likes the swings at the park.

House Hunting

I hesitate a little to write this after many failed attempts, but we put an offer on another house today. It is a small home on 40 acres in Oronogo, MO. The property is absolutely amazing! It has fruit trees, pasture, a creek, 2 ponds, etc. It has several buildings and fenced areas for animals. The possibilies are endless. I really hope it will work out. But if not...we have been blessed beyond measure just to have the gospel and each other. My parents have the oldest 4 kids in St. Charles. LaMonte, Ben, Sarah, Jacob and I came to the Joplin area to go house hunting. I have really enjoyed the time with the kids.

Diving

Today the kids had a diving class at Laurel Park. I really enjoyed watching them. Keith and Rebecca are diving really well. David dove for the first time. Ben was so cute! He would strike the funniest poses as he jumped in the water. LaMonte was telling me about the team pictures for swim team yesterday. Almost everyone had a team suit on except Ben. His suit was bright orange. He was put in the front/center of the picture. Everyone was lined up along the side of the pool. LaMonte hears the photographer calling out, "Will the boy in the front row with the orange swimsuit please face forward?" Then, "Will the boy in the front row with the orange swimsuit please make normal faces?" In every sense, Ben was definately the center of attention!

Little Mermaid

This evening Rebeccan, the Activity Day girls, Tracy Pulley, some other ward members, and I went to the Muny to see The Little Mermaid. It was an outstanding production. My favorite songs were "Under the Sea" and "Posituvity" The latter was sung by the seagulls as they taught Ariel how to walk. I especially enjoyed the time with Rebecca and the other girls. Rebecca is very sweet and sensitive to the feelings of others. The weather was perfect. The show was excellent. It was a very nice...very late evening.

Ben

Today there were lots of dark clouds gathering in the sky. In the distance, rays of sunlight streamed through. Ben pointed this out to Jenny. "Look," he said pointing to the rays of light. "It looks like Jesus landed over there!"

Swim Meet

Tonight we had our second swim meet at Laurel Park. It was blazing hot, but we had a great time. Keith and Rebecca were our only swimmers this time. They both got first place in their first events. Jason is at scout camp this week. I really enjoy going to the swim meets. It is fun to cheer for the kids. It is nice to be together. It is fun to meet new people.

I have been studying about the importance of opposition. Just knowing how we should act is not enough. If there was no opposition, we couldn't be righteous. It is empowering to know that WE have the right to chooe.

Balloons

Today Jenny and Jeff had a birthday party for Savannah. It was really cute. They had lots of helium balloons. After the party, the kids were releasing them with notes tied on. Jenny asked Keith what was on his note. Ben told her Keith was sending a note to Jesus. When Ben got his balloon he went charging out the door to release it saying, "I wonder who will send it back to me." The only problem is, he didn't put any note with it...even when the other kids told him he would need one if he wanted someone to find and return it. He is so cute!

Sarah has been sick this weekend. It breaks my heart to hear her coughing and crying. I slept on the couch holding her upright last night.

Jacob is growing so quickly. The most random things will really tickle his funny bone and get him laughing. He laughs really hard when he hears the book, "Mr. Brown Can Moo Can You?" Today he was cracking up when Sarah was giving me high-fives. For some reason, he also thinks its really funny if I tell him "No" especially if it is because he bit me. Jacob really is such a good, happy baby. He is starting to stand on his own.

Jason finished his math goal after working hours and hours this week. I was proud of his determination to stick with it. He leaves tomorrow at 4:30 AM to go to Scout Camp. I am going to miss him.