A year past: This is a long one!

I can't figure out where time has gone, but I am usually a day late and a dollar short!  However, regarding this blog, it has been a year!  Sheesh!
I want to write, but often times, I am too tired to sit down and share all of the experiences, good and not so good. 
So here we are at the current day, Monday, May 30th, 2011!  I am so thankful to have had the day off, with the kids home!  I am totally counting down the days until school is out for the summer and we do not have to focus on all of the deadlines that come with children in elementary school!  And I can NOT for the life of me, figure out how my own mother, survived each school year with 9 of us!
Madison has just finished her 1st grade year and has had THE best teacher around (thus far, in my opinion)!  She is such an easy going child and has had a busy year of learning, reading, testing, projects, and her most loved activity: SOCCER!  What a champ she has been!  She has continued to excel in reading and loves to read anything from the "Babysitting Wars" to "Ivy and Bean"!  Although I am NOT partial to the AR testing, I do like the idea that they have to be accountable for the comprehension in what they are reading and Madison has done very well on her tests!  She really LOVES to read such a variety and hardly ever complains about the books her teacher sends home!  In fact, often times I will find her and Brooklyn cuddled up in bed together reading books!  She is my little book worm!
Jacob just finished his kindergarten year!  He too, has had one of the BEST teachers this year!  I have been so pleased with both of the teachers for the kids and really am nervous for what next year will bring!  However, I know they will both do well! Jacob is a charmer at school and loves the social aspect of school!  It took him about 3 months to appreciate and enjoy his teacher as he came to realize he could NOT talk whenever or where ever he wanted!  He has really excelled in reading and taken pride in bringing a new book home from the library!  I love that not only his teacher, but the librarian too, look out for his interest and let him choose books he will enjoy! It has sure helped his reading ability!  For the most part he is reading beginning chapter books really well! This year, he finally made a decision to officially write with his left hand~yeah!  Up until kindergarten, he would swap back and forth and it was really hard to help him learn the correct way to write. He is very much a LEFT/RIGHT learner and is brilliant because of it!  He really thinks things through and analyzes almost every encounter in his life and the enless possibilities that are out there!  He is so kind and sincere and my favorite quote from him this year was shared by another teacher: when in the library, he often tells the other kids to "hold your book like you hug your momma!"  I love this side of Jacob and can often find him wanting to cuddle up and read or watch a show! 
Brooklyn has "SURVIVED" another year of preschool with me!  Academically, she is very smart and has begun to read a variety of words!  She is always asking how to spell a word and tries to sound out many words in her environment! However, she is VERY co-dependant and will RARELY leave my side, thus resulting in a very frustrated mom at preschool!  So, we are looking for options for this fall for her!  I love this little girl and enjoy rocking her to sleep each night (yes...still rocking 3 1/2 years later)!  She is my little cuddle bug and always needs to rub my arm for reassurance and relaxation!  She has had a very trying year of learning what is appropriate behavior and what is not and that she is the LITTLE BOSS, not the BIG BOSS!  Thus she has spent many minutes with her little nose on the wall, trying to find her place amongst all of us BIG people! 
And that leads me into my next paragraph!  Brooklyn can't WAIT to be a big sister and finally be the BOSS of someone else!  I'm not sure this baby knows what will be in store for it!  We are having baby #4 come in September and will be so excited to find out what color of hair and what sex it will be!  We love the curiosity of NOT knowing what it is right now!  We are already known as the neopolitan family with our blonde, brown, and red-headed children...so we will have to see what kind of ice-cream flavor will come next!
Dave has finally swapped over to day shift and it is AMAZING!  For the last month, I feel like we finally have our family back and Madison is VERY excited to see him every night instead of Saturday's!  He has been THE most supportive husband this pregnancy and very understanding!  I love the fact that I have one of the BEST husbands around!  Although he isn't able to attend church with us, he holds and honors his priesthood and sets such a wonderful example for our children and myself.  He is generally, the kindest, most patient and understanding father and often reminds me to see life through the eyes of our children.  He recognizes MY need right now for breaks in the evening and is often found in the kitchen preparing dinner, doing dishes, loads of laundry, putting kids to bed, and wrestling little ones!  I LOVE this man and am so lucky I have him in my life!  There is never a morning he leaves for work without coming and kissing my sleepy body good-bye, or an evening he doesn't walk in from work and heads right to me to kiss me hello!  He literally brings the sunshine into my life!
As for me...I am hanging in there, trying to get a grip on the last few months of hormonal ups and downs!  I am SO excited for this little one to arrive and also to see Madison get baptized this year!  WOW!  I am looking forward to enjoying the summer with my kids and spending time in Twin Falls with my family!  My grandpa turns 90 this year and the entire family is heading up at the end of July to celebrate with him!  I remember all of the family reunions at the "beaver-ranch" and how much fun it was to get together with all of my cousins!  As adults, we have not had the opportunity to all get together for many years and I look forward to this summer and getting all of the cousin's and thier children together again!  We have such a large and wonderful family!  Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for starting this wonderful heritage so many years ago!