Well, I haven't written on our blog for 5 months so I guess it's time. We have had a crazy summer. With both of us working our lives seem so much more complicated. David also helped coach his sister Ashley's softball team this summer. That took a lot more time then we every imagined and David didn't get to go to all the games and practices. He has always wanted to coach a sport (esp soccer) and now we know he can't do that until he's done with school.
The pics are a little old but our camera is misplaced and it has all of our pictures from the whole summer on it. The first two are from when we were working on our house in March and the last one was Cassidy eating spaghetti in the front yard in April.
Cassidy is growing up so fast. She is 20 months and tons of fun. She is also dabbling in the 2 year-old behavior (not so fun). It's very interesting to try to get into their mind and understand why they are behaving the way they are and what they are trying to accomplish. If we remember to take the time and think about these things then we get a pretty good idea of how we should react. She is understanding time-out now. She cries and it's so sad but it has been effective. At every stage since she was about 9 months I keep thinking that she can't get any busier and then I wake up one day and she's busier. She definitely keeps us running. She is in a copy cat stage right now. David and I will be having a conversation and one of us will sneeze and from the other room we will here her try to sneeze. One day we were playing out in the yard and I heard her coughing behind the house. She likes to play with the dog food and water so I thought she probably tasted the dog food. I went back there and her face was all wet and the ground around the dog's water dish was wet. It took me a minute and then I realized that she was drinking from the dog's water bowl. I was laughing so hard. I had my cell phone so I told her to take another drink and I got a picture. It was almost the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. She is such a blessing to have in our life.
David is back in school this week. He really like NNU. He is in a program that is designed for working family students. So usually they don't overwhelm you with too much busy work. His classes are 5 weeks each and the semester is split into 3 sessions. The 1st 5 weeks he only has one class and it's a theology class. He really loves it and is enjoying learning about another religion. So far they have been very respectful of other religions in the class, however one of the books he had to read specifically stated that mormons are a cult. That was a little uncomfortable. David's job at Citibank is going really well. He really likes the company but doesn't like being on the phones all day. They have many opportunities for advancement. They have a manager in training program that he is hoping to get into within the next year. The plan is that he can get some manager experience before he gets his degree so that he has the experience to go with the education. Citibank has been really good about working with his school schedule. He is also working 4/10's. So he has 3 days a week off. This has really improved our family time. David is still in the elders quorum presidency. He is really having fun with that. They plan an activity every month. Sometimes it's for the whole family some times just the guys. October is his month to plan the activity and he is planning a husband/wife activity. He is planning a Halloween Costume Dance. This is so unlike him. He never wants to dress up for Halloween and he hates to dance in public. I'm so excited. David has a facebook account and he thinks it is so awesome so if you have facebook as well they look him up and become his friend.
I am really starting to enjoy my job at St. Luke's. Some nights it's really hard to say good bye to my family but when Cassidy is having a 2 year-old day I'm really glad to go to work. I am working on the Telemetry floor (a cardiac unit). I have always had a lot of interest in the heart so this is totally my passion when it comes to nursing. I am only working part-time (2 nights per week). I also have a small job that is 3 days per month doing foot care at assisted living facilities. We only work 9-12 hours a month but I really love the people I work with and the patients are so fun. I am still the Young Women's President in my ward. It has been 1 1/2 years, I am finally getting everything figured out. I have really good girls for the most part and we haven't had too many big problems to deal with. I am really enjoying being a mother this last year. The first few months with Cassidy were a difficult time but now that we are past that and beginning to forget the difficulties I am loving motherhood. I also really love this age.
Speaking of being a mother. As many of you know having a family does not come easy for us. So we have decided to adopt. We are completing our paperwork this month and will be ready soon. There are many different ways to adopt. We have applied through LDS Family Services and we are also looking into the states adoption program. Through LDS Family Services we submit a profile and pictures for birth parents to look over. The birth parents then get to select who will adopt their baby. Through the state the children are removed from a home for some reason and if the biological parents are not able to get their children back then they are adopted. In this case the state picks the adoptive parents. The state frequently has sibling groups and I think we are willing to take a sibling group of up to 2 kids with the oldest only around 2 years old. We are asking for everyone to keep us in mind. If you know anyone who is considering placing their child for adoption we ask that you contact us and we will be happy to send them a copy of our profile or they can find us through LDS Family Services. We are really looking forward to expanding our family. It's time to grow.
Well, I think this is plenty long enough. Hope all is well with everyone. Have a great fall.
Love,
Cheri
