Hello Family and Friends! I have found a few minutes to look back at our blog and realize it has been over 6 months since I last posted any updates. Life has taken us by storm but we are enjoying the journey. A lot has changed in the past 6 months.
I'll start with Brody. He has turned 2 in all sense of the word. His official day was October 2nd, however this last week he realized what it means to be "two". We won't say he is terrible but he certainly has become quite a "tornado", meaning he finds all kinds of ways to cause chaos! We love him too much to say he is "terrible". He is always a little light in our home and each family member has a special relationship with him. Brody has a name for everyone except himself. Of course Jerry and I are Mom and DA DA and Tyler is Tyder, but Maycee is DA, Clay is Bubu, and Laynee is Claaa. We don't know where he has come up with these names but they are very clear when he wants to get our attention. We have recently had to remove a couple of drawers in the kitchen because he climbs up and gets the keys out of the cabinet where we keep them. He know which keys start the quads(and how to start them), the different trucks and which ones don't work for anything. It makes him mad when we give him those! 
A really funny story that happened recently did not start out so fun. Brody and I were sitting out front on our bridge sending the kids off to school. He lost his balance and fell off backwards. Of course he needed stitches on his head so we headed off to the ER. When they put stitches in little one's they put them in this papoose wrap so they can not squirm all over. Well, not only did Brody not squirm.....he fell asleep while they were stitching him up. They realized it when he started snoring! Funny boy.... he brings a new level of comedy, crazy and cohesiveness to your family. All the other kids are doing well too. Tyler just finished Cross Country season. He had a great
season and finally found his inner drive at State Finals. We have been telling him he has more in him but he has not been willing to reach for it. He has a big day coming up the end of this month so we decided to bribe him a little to "encourage" him to perform. We told him if he placed first for his 
team(which he is totally capable of but has not done all season) then we would knock off the extra days he was going to have to wait to get his license. OHHH, he did it!! He beat his personal record by 41 seconds and the kid that usually beats him, he beat by 27 seconds. That may not sound like a lot but in running it is HUGE! He received the "Hotwheels" award at the team banquet. Now the bar of expectation has been raised. Life with a teenager is fun and challenging but we are enjoying watching him grow into a young man.
Maycee is really coming into herself also. She has found a love for baking. She is always finding something new to treat us with. She 
pours through all my cookbooks and finds new and fun recipes. She started learning how to bake while spending time with Pat, Jerry's Grandma, in the kitchen. Pat taught her how to make fudge and banana bread. The rest is history. Maycee is now the official birthday cake baker. Today she attempted her first two layer cake and made the cake from scratch (not a box). Uncle PJ directed her on how to put the two layers together and put a filling in the middle. It turned out really good. Who knows what her next creation will be. She wants to learn how to sew. She and I are going to take some classes on how to work the sewing machine. She wants to make purses and blankets. That girl is the peacemaker in our home! She absolutely amazes us. We are excited to see her transition into a teenager. 
Clay is staying busy with all the boys in the neighborhood. He has more friends than all the other kids combined. On any given Friday evening or Saturday afternoon there will be about 6-8 boys filtering thru our house and backyard. Clay is taking a break from sports for this season but will be back in full swing when Little League starts up in the spring. He is currently working with a trainer to keep up his "skills" so he is ready for a new season. Clay and Brody have a fun relationship. Brody loves to ride on Clay's shoulders and go for quad rides in the back yard. Clay takes him "off roading" over the berms and under the orange trees. They have a ton of fun going 3 miles an hour...haha. In this picture they were playing in the irrigation. Clay was "babysitting" for me while I got some chores done.
Laynee is our little miss busy body. She was baptized last month and was so excited. Laynee loves to write in her journals (yes, more than one) and read in her new scriptures. She strives to be the best at everything she does. She is dancing several hours a week and currently rehearsing to be in the Christmas play at school. Dance keeps her busy with performances and competitions. She has taken a break from piano but still loves to play. We are hoping to find time in her schedule to allow for lessons again in the beginning of the year. Maybe with Tyler driving we'll have more taxi time for transportation services. I'm sure he will be be chomping to find places to drive to. I have not decided if I am excited or nervous about the idea. Laynee had a super fun birthday. It is one that will go down in the memory books....Ponies dressed up like My Little Pony's. What more could a little girl want than for imagination to come to life. It was a fun celebration.
Jerry and I are staying busy playing tag team as we do hand offs and run different directions to make every one's schedule work. Sheena, Jerry's mom, has stepped in quite a bit to help also. I have gone back to work two nights a week and have also started working in real estate again. Sleep is a hot commodity for both Jerry and myself. His alarm goes off around 4 am and the lights usually turn off around 11pm, if we are lucky. Sometimes my lights don't turn off until around 7am. It's a little crazy but we are making it work and occasionally finding time for a date night. We are looking forward to a quick get away to Colorado next week. We are going to attempt the slopes and then cuddle up in front of a fire. We might even catch a few extra hours of sleep.
I'm not sure we knew what we were signing up for when we started this large family idea. We are definitely learning a lot about life.....we are not in control...only facilitators of a greater plan. I find myself often on my knees in my closet looking for direction and pleading for peace. Seriously though, Jerry and I would not change a thing about our large bru. They each are discovering their gifts and talents and fine tuning them for future good. We love watching and discussing how they are growing and how special each child is to us.
Hopefully this gives you and idea of what has been happening the last several months. We have a lot coming up in the near future so I will try to do better about posting more updates.
