October 2015

Jackson is 9!!!  He had two small birthday parties this year, one with school friends and one with church friends.  After cookie cake and presents at home, we brought his school friends to the church (ironic) to play dodgeball, basketball, pickle, and 4 square.  It is an athletic and competitive group—they had a blast!

The church birthday party was so chaotic (5 families) we didn’t even get a picture, but the chili and 2nd cookie cake were delicious, and I think everyone had fun. 

I’m so proud of Jackson.  I feel like we have a strong relationship and I’m very thankful for that.  This month he accompanied Taylor (who sang a solo) on the piano.  I was nervous but they did beautifully and the Spirit was strong.

It was actually pretty funny, during the middle of her solo, Taylor caught the eye of her 1st grade teacher (pictured here)—and gave her a huge, less than subtle wink!  The whole audience was chuckling. :-)

Taylor lost her first tooth this month.  And was visited by the tooth fairy, who left her a sparking/glittering dollar bill!

Taylor has also been begging for a pet.  This puts me in quite the dilemma because I am NOT an animal person.  We’ll probably get a puppy/dog at some point but seriously know nothing about dogs.  For any dog lovers out there:  we would like a dog that is:  short haired, hypoallergenic, small to medium size (large enough to go jogging with me, and protect us—big bark), a good swimmer, smart, cute, and cuddly.  What breed/mix of breeds do we want??

“Dad, I could stay here for hours.” 

This month I had the chance to come demonstrate to Tay’s class how to make apple pie.  Grammy’s famous recipe!!

She also ran her first race (1 mile)—she was one of the top 5 girls!

The biggest highlight of the month was going to Roanoke, VA to see my cousin Scott get married.  The rehearsal dinner was delicious, and quite touching thanks to his mom’s toast.

 

 

 

And the wedding was so fun!  We were all so thankful the rain held off!  Scott was dapper and Meghan, his bride, was truly stunning.  We enjoyed dancing and catching up.  The venue was perfect and beautifully decorated.  (We missed  you Uncle Tom!!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stunning right??  I was a little nervous about it, but we let Jackson and Taylor fly with my dad (and his co-pilot) up the the wedding.  Grant was so upset when he was left to ride 8 hours in the van with us, we had to promise to let him ride home on the plane (taking Jackson’s spot).  They did great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh they also have a really cool ‘Pinball Museum’ in Roanoke we were able to check out!

 

 

 

And October wouldn’t be October without Halloween!

This year we had Percy Jackson, Anna Beth (Percy’s sidekick), a BYU/Vandy football player, and a Red Sox player.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On to Grant, now that he can ride his bike, that is all he wants to do.  It motivated us (Scott and me) to get on Craigslist and buy our own bikes.  We have since enjoyed several family bike rides (don’t worry he usually wears a helmet!).

During our bike ride along the belt line, we stopped at every park along the way.

Grant even rode his bike at the Annual Ordner Construction 5K.  This race is organized by Jeff each year and this was a banner year—earning $30K for Family Promise of Gwinnett County this year!!!  Proud of little Bro!!

The most dramatic part of the race had to be the final stretch when Scott battled it out with one of Jeff’s friends for third place.  He finished just short, then almost died, and now claims that because he started the race 30 seconds after the rest of the group so that he could transition Grant off to my dad, the third place title for Jeff’s friend needs an asterisk next to it  ;-)  He was very proud of his time…the first thing he did was send it to his brother, Jay.

In other Scotty news, he has been home all of October.  I can not tell you how wonderful it has been.  It is so much more fun to get creative with my cooking/dinners when I know someone will appreciate it!  We tried this black bean burger recipe recently, and now we are both obsessed with it!

After Scott finishing the restaurant case, he has been on proposal work.  He is working on a big proposal for a company here in Atlanta.  So fingers crossed it sell and he is the assigned Principal!! 

Grant is doing great with his reading and math.  Such a snuggle bug.  Still incredibly picky eater.  Lives on: cheese toast, fruit, carrots, celery, Chick-fil-a, hot dogs, honey roasted peanuts, yogurt, and sweets.  That’s it!  One year now with nothing new added to the repertoire!!  Oh and string cheese-how could I forget.  At least we have some protein and veggies in there…

Lastly regarding Grant, he did he first race (1 mile) this month and we were surprised at his determination/toughness—he never stopped once and passed a lot of the kindergarteners and 1st graders who were participating.  Jackson stayed with him and encouraged him the whole time.  A memory I won’t forget!

Pierce had minor surgery this month.  Between all the tonsils and ear tubes, this was Dr. White’s 4th surgery for our family!

We are hoping these tubes will help with a lot of things—less ear infections, better balance so he can start walking (14 months now), and that he can hear better—so he can start talking a little bit.  Turns out getting rid of the constant fluid in your ears is helpful across the board!  And yes, that is our surgeon, not a cowboy!  To his credit, it was the day before Halloween.

It has been so rainy in GA, but when it is not, Pierce’s favorite thing to do is sit in the front yard with a bucket of balls and take them out, throw them, crawl around and pick them up, then repeat!  Keeps him occupied forever!  This is typically where he can be found as I make dinner.  I’m sure the neighbors think I’m crazy when they drive home and see a baby unaccompanied in the front yard!  For the record I usually keep the front door open and check on him every minute or two.

We had an incredibly fun date night this month—just something new!  In our ward, we have a couple who instructs at Cross-fit.  So one Saturday they hosted 6 couples for a competitive, team building, and quite challenging evening.  Right off the bat they had us do 7 minutes of squat jumps/wall throws (with 10lb medicine ball) alternated with burpies (sets of 10).  I found out that 7 minutes is a veeerrrryyy long time when you are racing!!

This month I embarked on a thorough look at all the private schools around Atlanta.  We have now toured all the school we are considering (worked out so well that Scott has been home so he can tour with me).  Our top choice has changed several times over the course of the month, but a clear favorite is starting to secure it’s place at the top.  I feel like this is a fairly important decision, so I am trying to stay very perceptive to the Spirit.  I want the kids to be where Heavenly Father wants them to be.  Stay tuned!!!

Okay, October brings General Conference!  I am still working my way through all the talks, here are some favorite quotes so far:

Exaltation is our goal; discipleship is our journey.  --Uchdorf

Simplify.  --Uchdorf

It will all work out. –Marriott

No love in mortality comes closer to approximating the pure love of Jesus Christ than the selfless love a devoted mother has for her child. –Holland

Believe in God and yourself. You are doing better than you think you are.       --Holland

One day all of these mortal burdens will pass away and there will be no more pain.  --Oaks

The future of your faith is not by chance, but by choice.  --Anderson

I promise that each faith-filled step will be met with help from heaven.              --Bennett

There is nothing noble or impressive about being cynical. Skepticism is easy — anyone can do it.  --Uchdorf

When you do your part, the Lord adds His power to your efforts.  --Eyring

Great courage will be required as we remain faithful and true amid the ever-increasing pressures and insidious influences.  --Monson

Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time for one will dispel the other.  --Monson

One man or woman who is willing to testify when the world seems to be going in the opposite direction can make a difference.  --Schwitzer

As Latter-day Saints, it is time for us to testify.  --Schwitzer

We have to go beyond concepts and exalted words and have a real 'hands-on' experience as we live together in love.  --Chistofferson

Small efforts sustained over time can produce significant results.  --Durrant

Love,

TFK

September 2015

September started with Labor Day at the lake!  My parents were in Greece, so the house was open.  Scott has remained close with one of his favorite companions from the mission, Jeff Cuthbertson “Cubi.”  I adore his wife Jess, and our kids are similar ages/genders, so it works beautifully.

Apple picking after church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The board finally hit the dust! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fire got away from us :-/  Thank goodness for good neighbors who ran out to the dock to warn us (we were on the boat).

On the way home from the lake we stopped to hike Tallulah Gorge. The next weekend I made caramel apples from the apples we picked for all of our friends.

Grant Grant started pre-school this month.  He goes 3 mornings a week to Chamblee Methodist Kindergarten (CMK).  His teacher is so fun!  Ms. Patti Payne has already had them finger painting with chocolate pudding, making apple pie, and mixing colors by rolling golf balls through paint. 

The only hang up is that he doesn’t like using the bathroom at school because “It’s a baby potty” (smaller/lower toilet).  So after a couple of days of swerving to the side of the road and letting him pee in the grass on the way home, I finally got smart and bribed him—Chick-fil-a ice cream for going potty at school!

 

 

 

From 1-2 pm every weekday is my hour with Grant.  During this time Pierce is sleeping and the kids are at school.  I try to read to him, have him learn some aspect of reading, something involving math, basketball, soccer, and bike riding.  And this has been a big month for him!  He has learned how to ride his bike without training wheels, knows all his blends, and is getting pretty good at soccer and basketball.  Thankful I have this time with just him before the kids get home in the afternoon. 

Pierce’s month was a little more rough.  He got a nasty double ear infection that landed him/us in the ER with a 105.2 fever.  Scott was out of town and when the thermometer read 104.1 I had seen enough and loaded Pierce into the van at 8:30pm.  Luckily our babysitter came right over and Jeff relieved her at 10 or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He is still so happy and sweet.  We are trying to savor every moment with our final baby.  He is now 13 months and hasn’t started walking so he still seems more baby-like—which is fine by me!  Instead of crawling every where he prefers to bear crawl on his feet and hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taylor is full swing into soccer.  She moved up a league this year and has been surprisingly aggressive! 

She has now started cruising through the Percy Jackson series.  Unfortunately, she has completely adopted the Greek gods/goddesses as deity that she worships.  “I know you don’t believe in the mythology gods, but I do.”  I tried not to freak out when she added “And I don’t believe in Jesus Christ.”  non-reactive parenting, non-reactive parenting, non-reactive parenting.  So hard sometimes!  Scott just laughs and tells her she is exploring, I’m hoping he’s right and it’s just a phase.

Oh and as if that wasn’t shocking enough, she insisted on having her favorite boy (Reef) over for a play date.  I have a feeling I’m in for a ride with this girl!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jackson has a good group of peers.   Feel blessed that they both are having a great social experience.  Jackson is playing soccer, and practicing basketball two nights a week in the ‘hood.’  It’s making him tougher, and very aggressive as well.

Jackson got his first poor grade (75) on a math quiz.  It kind of woke us up!  I’ve always completely taken his math performance for granted, but now I’m on high alert!  He and his friend Hamilton are in the highest group in a grade above for math, and if they don’t maintain an A they head back to 3rd grade math.  Fortunately the only times he is missing problems is when he’s careless/sloppy.  His last quiz was a 90—missing a problem bc he didn’t estimate before multiplying.  He’s getting there!!!

Oh, and Grant’s level of idolization for Jackson has reached an all time high.  Tall socks and all!

Now that the company out in AK is fixed :-) Scott has moved on to fixing a restaurant company.  And although the partner on this case is very effective, he is so much more laid back than the last partner.  Which makes Scott more laid back, which makes me more laid back, which make us very appreciative towards BCG.  We have also had to do some “research” by trying out this restaurant and all of its competitors.  I think it would be prudent to test multiple locations!!

Grant took this picture, so we don’t have a perfect shot of Isabel, but one can still tell how gorgeous the newest addition to the Douglas clan is!!

And I got released from my calling at church and got a new calling!  Instead of Shepherding Chair (welcoming new families into the ward), I am now the Beehive Advisor (12-13 year old young women’s teacher).

I have never been in Young Women’s, so I am very excited to figure out how this program works.  I will have 6 girls I get to teach, and I want to be a great leader to them. 

I’ve talked to a lot of friends from around the country about how to be influential in these girl’s lives and what I keep hearing is “just love them.”

Other than that, just trying to keep up.  The week Pierce was sick, I completely fell off the early morning scripture reading train—and I could feel the difference!

I actually finished the book for book club this month—Tuck Everlasting.  Let’s forget that this is at a 4th grade reading level and no more than 150 pages, and focus on the fact that I actually accomplished that!  This month we are reading Isabella: The Warrior Queen.  21 hours on audible, which would be a miraculous feat.

Here is one quote from a talk given at church, that basically says we are happy when we’re working.  I believe it!

Lots of love,

TFK