Stephens' Family update
Well a lot has been happening around here. This may get boring. i've divided everything by basic topic. Skip whatever you'd like. My feelings will not be hurt.
Health - We were all really sick about two to three weeks ago with that nasty virus that's running around Wichita. The one that makes you expel fluids for both ends. NOT FUN! Rich started it and Nathaniel and I closed it out. Not pleasant. Not pleasant. Not pleasant. Since then Ella and I both ended up with sinus infections. Yippee. Hers has pretty well cleared up. Thankfully her coughing has stopped. Bad luck for me, mine has started. My voice has been on vacation to some foreign land since Sunday and every time I have to talk I end up talking so disciplining the kids has been interesting.
Family (kids) - Ella started "school" a few weeks ago. She's going Monday and Friday. The place seems pretty good and I really like her teacher. To make it even better, one of the girls I met at that other scrapbook group takes her daughter there too and she's in Ella's class and a former coworker has a nephew there too. They all seem happy with the place too. We're hoping to get her in for one more day in order to make it a little easier on her. Right now, it's miserable leaving her. She wants me to stay with her and I guess worried somewhere in the back of her mind that I'm not going to come back for her. Every time I pick her up she tells me "I cried in my school today, Momma. You came to get Ella." When I ask why she cried she tells me it's because I'm not there. She even said she wanted Nathaniel to go with her the other day. Miss Kathy says she normally cries for a few minutes after I leave but then gets excited about what's going on. From her description it sounds like Ella seeks her attention a lot but Kathy doesn't seem to mind. She's being described as the teacher's helper. But at least tonight she mentioned playing with another girl by name. So maybe we're on the right track. We've put her into this because we think she needs more socialization and to build more independence. She had her first program on Monday night and was too nervous to stand with the rest of the kids on stage. (This after singing "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" every day all day since her first day of school. I'm working on getting a video of that. You have got to see it. She's good. But I suppose it could just be a mother's pride.) So I stood behind the risers and held her up so that her daddy and grandpa could see her peeking out. She still didn't sing. I finally put her down and just sat on the floor back there. By the end, she was trying to peek from behind the curtain on the side of the stage. Maybe next time... Nathaniel is doing well. He's cutting his 5th tooth which explains why I've felt chewed on lately. He has started to walk really fast (almost can be considered a run). Yesterday, I saw him walk backwards though I don't think he really knew what he was doing. Tonight, he stood up on the ottoman and walked right off of it while Rich watched. We cannot keep him off the furniture now. He pushes things up to it and climbs up. So I guess we'll see how smart he really is if he repeats that one again. The Christmas tree is up and both kids are doing a fantastic job of leaving it alone. Nathaniel occasionally gets a hold of an ornament but he's doing well with be reprimanded and leaves it be for quite a while before he gets drawn to it again. I think there really is only about one incident a day.
Family (Rich) - He's staying busy. Looks like he may be finding himself a new line of work. He's been renovating rental and other residential properties for a family and now they have more work. And then last night, he was talking to an old coworker from the Eagle and looks like he has another job lined up too. I'm not sure that this is what he wants to do for a career. But the experience will be great. He's learning so much! The down side to this is that our house is on hold. He had to stop to work on that other family's project and then started getting our duplexes ready to paint. Now that the weather has turned on us, the painting has stopped and more projects for that family have rolled in. At least that means money in our pocket to pay bills and hopefully finish our own house.
Work - My coworker started her FMLA leave on Wednesday. She was supposed to be going in to be induced at 5:30 that evening. (She's a week overdue.) Have yet to hear how everything is going, which is beginning to make me anxious. One more week of trying to finish up the slow stuff before we are in the middle of close again and this time I;ll end up buried for two weeks since it is quarter end. We'll be audited in January as well by one of our groups of Federal regulators. But luckily, Gina was able to get all of the schedules ready before she left to begin her maternity leave.
Friends - Only a little over a month ago, we had five friends expecting bundles of joy and now two are delivered, one is hopefully here too and the last two will be joining us in February and April. My! What a wonderful time it is. I think of these babies and friends often. And wish each strength and love.
That's pretty well it. I'm sure there's more.
Health - We were all really sick about two to three weeks ago with that nasty virus that's running around Wichita. The one that makes you expel fluids for both ends. NOT FUN! Rich started it and Nathaniel and I closed it out. Not pleasant. Not pleasant. Not pleasant. Since then Ella and I both ended up with sinus infections. Yippee. Hers has pretty well cleared up. Thankfully her coughing has stopped. Bad luck for me, mine has started. My voice has been on vacation to some foreign land since Sunday and every time I have to talk I end up talking so disciplining the kids has been interesting.
Family (kids) - Ella started "school" a few weeks ago. She's going Monday and Friday. The place seems pretty good and I really like her teacher. To make it even better, one of the girls I met at that other scrapbook group takes her daughter there too and she's in Ella's class and a former coworker has a nephew there too. They all seem happy with the place too. We're hoping to get her in for one more day in order to make it a little easier on her. Right now, it's miserable leaving her. She wants me to stay with her and I guess worried somewhere in the back of her mind that I'm not going to come back for her. Every time I pick her up she tells me "I cried in my school today, Momma. You came to get Ella." When I ask why she cried she tells me it's because I'm not there. She even said she wanted Nathaniel to go with her the other day. Miss Kathy says she normally cries for a few minutes after I leave but then gets excited about what's going on. From her description it sounds like Ella seeks her attention a lot but Kathy doesn't seem to mind. She's being described as the teacher's helper. But at least tonight she mentioned playing with another girl by name. So maybe we're on the right track. We've put her into this because we think she needs more socialization and to build more independence. She had her first program on Monday night and was too nervous to stand with the rest of the kids on stage. (This after singing "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas" every day all day since her first day of school. I'm working on getting a video of that. You have got to see it. She's good. But I suppose it could just be a mother's pride.) So I stood behind the risers and held her up so that her daddy and grandpa could see her peeking out. She still didn't sing. I finally put her down and just sat on the floor back there. By the end, she was trying to peek from behind the curtain on the side of the stage. Maybe next time... Nathaniel is doing well. He's cutting his 5th tooth which explains why I've felt chewed on lately. He has started to walk really fast (almost can be considered a run). Yesterday, I saw him walk backwards though I don't think he really knew what he was doing. Tonight, he stood up on the ottoman and walked right off of it while Rich watched. We cannot keep him off the furniture now. He pushes things up to it and climbs up. So I guess we'll see how smart he really is if he repeats that one again. The Christmas tree is up and both kids are doing a fantastic job of leaving it alone. Nathaniel occasionally gets a hold of an ornament but he's doing well with be reprimanded and leaves it be for quite a while before he gets drawn to it again. I think there really is only about one incident a day.
Family (Rich) - He's staying busy. Looks like he may be finding himself a new line of work. He's been renovating rental and other residential properties for a family and now they have more work. And then last night, he was talking to an old coworker from the Eagle and looks like he has another job lined up too. I'm not sure that this is what he wants to do for a career. But the experience will be great. He's learning so much! The down side to this is that our house is on hold. He had to stop to work on that other family's project and then started getting our duplexes ready to paint. Now that the weather has turned on us, the painting has stopped and more projects for that family have rolled in. At least that means money in our pocket to pay bills and hopefully finish our own house.
Work - My coworker started her FMLA leave on Wednesday. She was supposed to be going in to be induced at 5:30 that evening. (She's a week overdue.) Have yet to hear how everything is going, which is beginning to make me anxious. One more week of trying to finish up the slow stuff before we are in the middle of close again and this time I;ll end up buried for two weeks since it is quarter end. We'll be audited in January as well by one of our groups of Federal regulators. But luckily, Gina was able to get all of the schedules ready before she left to begin her maternity leave.
Friends - Only a little over a month ago, we had five friends expecting bundles of joy and now two are delivered, one is hopefully here too and the last two will be joining us in February and April. My! What a wonderful time it is. I think of these babies and friends often. And wish each strength and love.
That's pretty well it. I'm sure there's more.