August 2008 Update

It’s a…..nother Boy !!! I am a little disappointed due to the fact that I was sooooo hoping for a girl, but I can look to the fact that he’s growing well and really healthy to keep myself excited about it. I have 4 months to get used to the idea of having 4 boys! I told Rhett I was going to come home and spend some quality time with our dog because she’s the only other female around! He just laughed. Other things that are looking up is that my pregnancy has been going really well and I’ve only gained 3 lbs so far! I am feeling great, other than the tiredness of course. I find that if I sleep in as long as possible during the morning, then I don’t feel like I need a nap during the day. When I do end up napping, then I can’t fall asleep at night. What a lovely cycle that becomes!

Rhett has started looking for work again. With the announcement that AT&T will be moving their corporate headquarters to Dallas, they have been outsourcing some projects…namely the one Rhett was hired for (he’s a contract worker). In the last few weeks he has been moved to 2 other projects. He’s still working, but we just don’t know what the future will bring, so we’re getting ready for anything! A couple of weeks ago Rhett was released from his calling in the Sunday School Presidency and called to be a teacher in the Primary, teaching the 10 year olds. This means that our whole family is in Primary on Sundays now!

Austin started taking piano lessons on Tuesdays after school from a friend in the ward. Ever since we brought the piano home from my mom’s house, he has been intrigued by it and LOVES to play “heart and soul” (or at least he tries a lot!). I’m glad he’s finally learning something else to play. Austin started 3rd grade on August 25th and loves it so far. His 2 best friends since First grade are in his class, so that makes it especially fun for him. His teacher (Mrs. Smith) is out on Maternity leave until the beginning of October, so he has a substitute (Mrs. Bibb) until then. I met them both at the school Open House and they both seem really great! His only qualm so far about 3rd grade is that he has to take the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge & Skills) test this year. I’m sure he’ll do great, but he’s a little nervous. Good thing we have until March & April to worry about it!

Logan and Carson continue to keep me on my toes during the day. They usually don’t wake up until about 8:30am, so that’s nice! I usually go back to bed for awhile while they watch TV or play. Luckily, they are very good to stay out of trouble while I catch a few “Z’s”. The rest of their day consists of trying to see if every toy that we own will all fit in the living room. I have these 6 Rubbermaid drawers filled with all of our toys…all organized of course!!! Logan & Carson love to dump them all out to use the bins to sit in, play on, etc. What a mess that becomes. I recently started threatening to throw toys away if they’re not cleaned up within a certain time frame. You should see how quickly they move then!

We spent Labor Day weekend with the Texas half of Rhett’s family. Melissa & her family and Robert & his family all came from Austin. Rhett’s mom has been at Melissa’s house helping out since Grace got sick, so she came also and we had a great time with everyone. We all got a chance to go to the Temple, which was nice because we haven’t been in awhile. We followed them back to Austin on Sunday night to spend Monday at their house since Grace had to be at the hospital for a medication dose. The kids all have such a great time playing together, and Austin’s comment the moment we left was “now I’m going to be bored!” That seems to be his mantra lately.

Overall things are going well for our family right now. We are all in good health, so that’s something to be grateful for. We’ll just have to see what the Lord has in store for us next. Please keep us in your prayers!

Later -
Rhett, Maren, Austin, Logan, Carson & Baby Boy (probably Jackson???)

P.S. Our niece Grace is almost done with her cancer treatments. She started her 5th (and hopefully final) round of chemo yesterday. She’ll be evaluated in a few weeks to see if the cancer is gone or not. Their family blog is updated often with her details. Feel free to check it out at http://rmcluff.blogspot.com/

Here's a super yummy recipe to try. Enjoy!

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

1 can white corn (drained)
1 can yellow corn (drained)
1 can Black beans (drained)
1 Avocado
1 Tomato
Green Onions (sliced)
Green & Red bell peppers

Dice veggies small and mix everything together with 1 packet Good Seasons Italian dressing packet. Chill and serve with tortilla chips ("Scoops" work best!)