Another busy week

I think I need to do a better job of updating the little day to day things on here. So here is what is new with us.

Dallin is really enjoying his new job. He is finding lots of ways to make things move faster and more efficently which is great. He is fantazing about a bike he wants to buy that he lovingly calls "the other woman". For those of you who don't know Dallin loves to ride and but his bike was stollen awhile back and so he has needed a bike for awhile. They just need to be cheaper though. He is having a great time in the yard and has been very busy with projects around the house. For some reason we have been having a leak down in the basement and he has been searching like crazy to figure out where the leak is coming from so we can get it fixed. I am trying not to stress about it. He has also been trying to fix our sprinklers and keep things looking good.

Porter is having lots of ups and downs. It has been hard on him not to be in therapy but good in other ways. He has been in therapy since he was 18 months old and I am loving him just being able to be a kid right now. He is struggling to figure out how to play and mostly begs all day for a show or just taunts everyone around him. But his aggression has not been bad which is great. He must be having a really hard time in primary because I have been pulled aside quite a bit wondering what on earth they can do for him. So I may be observing for a few weeks to see what the problem is. More than likely it is just him testing them. Maybe it is just because we have gotten so used to his hard times but I am noticing they are not wearing on me as much as they used to, which is great. He has made two friends across the street but a little girl down the street does not like him at all and tells EVERYBODY how mean she feels he is. GIRLS! He is big into dragons and knights right now and I have been reading him a lot of books about that and it makes him happy.

Nickelle is doing good. She is bored. She too has not figured out how to play on her own. More than anything I think she is just scared to play alone with Porter. She wants to do everything with me and has been in her share of trouble lately. I have to keep reminding myself she is just three because I have been treating her like the oldest and needing her to do a lot to help me. When she can't do it I have to remind myself she was not meant to be the oldest and I need to remember that. She tries hard and is so sweet. She loves the temple and talks about it all the time. She can't wait to get married there someday. She tells me this all the time. It has been so fun for her to make some friends and to have cousins. This is the first time ever she has had a friend. Everytime I see her playing with other kids I just about cry with happiness because she has always been asked to go everywhere with Porter and finally she can just be a kid.

Bennett is cuter than ever these days. He points at everything he sees and is starting to say more and more everyday. His newest word is dude. He always amazes me how quickly he picks something up. It has been much faster than any of our other kids. He has discovered the rocking horse and can spend an hour on there before he needs to get off. He is quite and can get into everything so I am always thinking "where is Bennett"? He has really been getting into the toliet a lot and he loves to throw everything in the garbage. I have him off the bottle now I just need to work on the pacifier and I am not excited for that. He loves to play outside and loves to run in the sprinklers with the big kids. You can just see how much he wants to be able to ride a bike but he is just too little still, but he loves watching the kids. He is so fun.

Brinley is just the sweetest thing. She is smilie and easy going like Bennett. She seems to take what she can get from us and doesn't complain about what she can't get. She is beautiful in everywhere. She has this feeling about her that is hard to explain. You hold her and she is just so calming. I never get to hold her enough and feel like I can hardly spend time with her in the day. So in the evenings Dallin and I hold her for a couple hours. She sleeps through most of that but we just need to be able to be with her more. It has been really tuff to have two babies right now, but I feel blessed that they are both so easy going. What would I do?

I am loving Utah. I am loving this house. I tell Dallin almost daily I never want to move. I am not the kind of person who really wants a big home or exspensive things etc... I have never been that way. But I feel like my home is beautiful and just what we need. I love it. Plus I never plan on us outgrowing this home. 4 kids is plenty for me. I love my kids but my plate is full. It will be really good when school starts to have a little more one on one with the other kids. I feel like they all have had to give up so much of me so that I can help Porter and I look forward to having some time where I can let them know how much they too mean to me. What a tremendous blessing to have our family a little more balanced now. I am really liking the ward and I love the neighborhood. Everyone has opened their arms to us and have been incredibly excepting of our family. My neighbors have been wonderful with the kids and have helped me so much with Porter's constant desire to escape. Everyone is on the look out and help him to stay home. I have been really overwhelmed with all the kids and ALL the housework lately. I wish they were just a little older to help some more. I think I just need to remember that more. Dallin has made sure I am getting out some on my own and that helps me quite a bit. I usually go to the library or the store, but just to do that alone is such a treat. It also has been so wonderful to be around so much family. I love getting to see them and also to help out. We have been blessed by other people so much but sometimes I think because of our situation no feels like they can ask us for help and for Dallin and I it means a lot to us to be able to do that. We need to be needed too. For that reason we really hope we can get callings soon. I just think they have no idea where to put us because we both have a baby on our laps. I am sure they will figure something out.

One last final thing. We sold the house this week. It will all be final in August and we pray nothing will come up that will make it fall through or something. But it feels great to have that last chapter closing. We have been so blessed this summer.