Luke Durst

We have been having a few days of serious reflection. A family from church is going through an unimaginable situation right now. Their 5-year-old son fell out of their bonus room window (25 feet up) onto their concrete driveway. He is doing well considering the accident, but certainly isn't out of the woods yet. It has been a good experience to talk to our children about it and the power of fasting and prayer. Today was the first time that our children have fasted on a day other than Sunday. We all anxiously wait for the text message telling us that there is an update from the hospital. We wish there were more than two each day, but are grateful for modern technology that keeps up up to date on his situation and progress. It is wonderful to hear the faith of a child as Evan prays for his friend that, "his broken head will get better and Luke will not die." He says it so sincerely. As a mother I can't imagine the emotional stress of it all and I have been hugging my kids just a little tighter each day. We continue to pray for the Durst family and the doctors that are watching over little Luke.

It's February already??

Wow, this year is cruising by faster than usual. I realized it may be because I am mentally blocking out most of my days in this apartment. The only thing that bothers me is the noise level. I know that one day I will miss the noise (Mark's mom tells me this), but for right now I wish the volume was turned down just a little! Everyone is adjusting just fine and I am grateful for how quickly we can have the whole place spotless. The down side to that is as soon as Adam carries 2 toys from the bedroom to the family room it looks like we haven't picked up for days. Oh well!!

This last month I have been very grateful for my vacuum sealer. I am able to buy quality meat in bulk at a great price and repackage it into family size portions. It is so worth the time and effort so we can enjoy good dinners. Next time we get chicken I will put less pieces in the bags because I have found that there are too many leftovers. I am also surprised how much I can get into our shoebox size freezer. I got 20 pounds of hamburger and 40 pounds of chicken. I had to put 6-7 bags of chicken in a friends freezer, but everything else fit.

Brett is doing well with Driver's Ed. He has drive #3 today which will include parallel parking...I guess we should have practiced. He is happy to tell us when we do something "illegal" like when Mark doesn't signal early enough (5 seconds before you change lanes - really???) or when I don't hold the steering wheel with two hands. Mark has yet to ride in the car while Brett drives. I guess that will come with time. He has signed up for Track, which starts in a week and a half. He's never done it before, but wants to run sprints. We got Brett registered for EFY this summer. He will go the last Monday in July in Provo. I know it will be a good experience.

Erin is finally growing a little bit, although we are sure she will be our shortest child. Her feet are as big as mine, and much to her dismay, I'm not too good at sharing my shoes. She is looking forward to turning 14 so she can attend the Youth dances.

Kehli is enjoying her Jazz Funk dance class. She can really move that body! Her DARE essay was chosen from her class to read at the graduation ceremony, but she declined because she was too scared to read it in front of the whole school. That made me sad, but she's getting better with her shyness. It has taken years for her to go to dance class because she didn't want anyone watching her. We really try to help with her self confidence.

Kendall wants to do Girls on the Run this spring. It will be good for her. She's a crazy girl!!

Evan is happy to be back with Teacher Michelle, but misses his friends at McKee in Salt Lake City. He will be happy to be back in Spanish learning next year and I'm sure will be very "helpful" there. We attend the Kindergarten meeting next week and he will be tested for the Dual Language program soon.

Adam has turned from my sweet little baby to my little busy boy. He's like a little tornado, leaving a disaster where ever he goes. He and Evan play good together and he is patient with all the kids when they want to tote him around still. He LOVES dogs and pretends to be one often.

Mark is busy with work and we are grateful for his job that provides for our family. We are finishing up house bids and will call the city next month to see if they are willing to work with us on the fire sprinkler issue. If not, we won't start building until this summer. I'm trying not to think about having to wait!!