What a summer so far! Boy, have we been busy. Kaden and August both can ride their bikes. August still has the training wheels on, but he learned to pedal finally! Kaden has been doing great and despite the heat, he insists on going out every day (even if it is 103 degrees) right before his bedtime to get a few minutes in.
The boys are taking swimming lessons this summer and having a fun time! Both are doing very well. Kaden needs a bit more time to get used to the idea of it, but he is determined not to let the water intimidate him. August insists on spending his time under the water much to the chagrin of his teacher.
August is keeping the Spirit of Christmas alive. This one never ceases to amaze me. There is not a week that has gone by that he doesn't talk about how much he loves Christmas and how wonderful Santa Clause is. He has a little stuffed bear that has a Santa hat on it and that is the toy he can be seen with night and day. For the last month or so he insists on wearing his Christmas PJ's. ...and it is the middle of July?!!!
Lately he has been wearing a blanket for a cape and wants us to call him King.
Our business continues to do well. At one point last month we thought we lost it all in one week, but miraculously, (Praise God!!) it turned back around for us and become all the more stable. Laurel is hard at work and almost finished earning her CFRE (
Certified Fund Raising Executive)title.
We also have spent a considerable amount of time researching and studying our diet. After reading Dee McCaffrey’s book “
Plan-D, The Amazing Anti-Diet” we were able to completely eliminate processed foods from our diet, mainly white sugar and flour. There is far too much in the book to write about, but by eliminating so much of the synthetic, manufactured food products from our system and getting the nutrition found naturally in food, we have both lost weight without any other means. McCaffrey's bottom line is that much of the ingredients found in food these days are the cause of many diseases, cancers and has very little nutritional value to begin with. The good news is that we didn't have to change our budget to do it! ...and we had a small budget to begin with!
Last, I still hope the Police Department receives a grant to hire this fall, but I have been allowed to go to an academy which will be spread out over 10 months (classes are Saturday, and two evenings) to become a Reserve Officer. So, we will be very busy when the academy starts in September.
Christian
The boys had a great time helping out. No one wanted to help daddy outside, however.
We bought a little tree that the boys decorated upstairs. This will be the tree that they will be able to decorate with the ornaments that they make at school.
This was a tradition in Laurel's family.
For Thanksgiving, we drove to Mesa and brought Laurel's parents over. They were delighted to visit our house, see the decorations and for the Thanksgiving Feast. With two round trips equaling close to 5 hours and cooking the dinner, it was a bit exhausting, but enjoyable. With both her parents 90 years old, we see them slipping pretty fast so we try to make the most out of our time with them.
