Short Update

This last week was a long week. It, of course, was rainy and dreary and muddy for most of the week (common theme these days). It was a bit warmer out for most of the week so the boys got out and played more which was GREAT. The puppies are now eating solid food really well, but I am having a hard time getting them to drink water and stop nursing so much. So, we have started separating Sandi from her puppies more and more. She happens to be the type of mommy dog that will not make her puppies stop nursing on her own. The idea of course is that by the end of this week the puppies will be 6 weeks old and completely off mommy. They are really cute and playful now, but also getting into more and more stuff and demanding more and more attention. It is definitely time to start finding homes for all the little ones.

Russell has been attending a middle school program at church on Wednesday nights. The first couple months he had a really good time, but the last couple weeks he has been struggling. After the Bible study portion is over all the boys head down to play basketball in the gym. Well, most of the boys that are friends with Russell have not been there the past couple weeks, and the boys that are playing are mostly older boys who really make no effort to include Russell. He has been very frustrated.

Ezekiel has been going through what I call an angry phase. For the past couple weeks he seems to get instantly angry about everything. He has been yelling a lot and just not getting along with anyone very well. Finally the past few days have seen a little improvement. I am hoping we have seen the last of that for a while.

Caden has been doing awesome with his potty training. He went 4 days in a row without a single accident (during the day). He even slept all the way through a couple 3 hours naps without an accident. He is really getting the hang of it. His speech has been getting so much clearer and he is speaking in sentences now. It is so cute. He has also learned how to say Sorry since he has needed to say it a lot lately. Thankfully he is very receptive to discipline.

We posted the last of Chris' school work for this term -- WHEW. If he does as well on his Final Exams and Papers as he did the rest of the term he will get A's in both classes. It is very difficult to manage his school work while he is deployed. His internet access is not always available or reliable. Chris starts his journey home in less than 2 weeks, but will not be home till at least 20 Mar.

Next week Russell and Zeke will spend the week preparing for standardized testing. The following week they have testing. Hopefully all will go well. They have both been doing well in their school work and Zeke has shown major improvement in several areas. As strict as WV is on testing I am just praying that they do well enough to pass the WV standard.