Loving Life!

Well, it's official.
You know how there are things that you are inherently good at, then there are things that you want to be good at? The things you are inherently good at are the things that come naturally, that you don't really have to work at. But, the things you want to be good at are the things that take too much effort or time and you might be able to keep up for awhile, but then your attentions are needed elsewhere and those things just slip through the cracks. Here is my list of things I wish I were good at:
1. Being clean and tidy, naturally. I have to work at it. I think that's why it's such a struggle anyway.
2. Sewing and other crafty things. People I know are so wonderfully artsy, crafty, and creative. It's just who they are! By the time I get all the supplies, buy the fabric, make sure my sewing machine is in order, read the instructions, cut the pattern; I'm too exhausted and impatient to pay attention to whatever it is I'm trying to make. And then I look at my little man and feel all guilty for doing something that doesn't include babbling in his sweet little face and shaking a toy to make him giggle.
3. This really was supposed to be a simple list, but for some reason I'm writing way too much. All this was to say that I'm not inherently good at blogging.
I know people who effortlessly keep up their blogs.
They always have wonderful pictures of their families, projects, posted lists, funny stories, etc.
Many times during the day I hear or see something funny or take a great picture and think "I should blog about that!" And then 2 weeks pass and I've forgotten the details, or the camera is on the other side of the kitchen and I don't really want to go get it.

Oh well.

Until I somehow figure out how to make blogging part of my DNA, you're going to have to deal with my massively long posts with a billion pictures to make up for my MIA status!

We are enjoying life as a family. Basketball is finally over! I am enjoying getting to have Matt home on a more regular basis/schedule. I know he enjoys getting to spend more time with J too. Our nights are pretty routine and could be classified as boring to our former selves, but we are soaking it all in! Evening treatments are done by Matt which means I have a good 45 minutes really to myself. Also, thanks to a dear friend, I have switched to a great schedule which lets J sleep through the night, I wake him up at 6 am (instead of 3 am) to feed, then put him back to bed while I stay up for the day. It's given me an extra hour and a half of "me time" before my day starts. I try to spend a big chunk of this time with the Lord. The days I start this way sure are different than the days I don't. I also try to spend some time with Matt before he leaves for work, which is so great.
J is doing good. He has had a cold for the past 10 days which is still freaking us out, but I think he's on the up and up. We've added a percussion treatment and have had him on a steroid. I'm glad tomorrow is the last day of the steroid, I think it makes him feel frustrated. The nurse said it makes older kids feel a little angry. I don't like the idea of my (soon-to-be-6-months!) little man having roid rage. But, it is the nature of the beast I guess.  We switched back to the enzyme he was on before and have been happy with the switch back. He is up to 14 lbs 11 oz!
We try to keep a pulse on what's going on in the CF community without making it a huge focus of our lives, and this week there was some really exciting news. Here's the link to the article. Basically, they've been trying to figure out if it's possible to treat CF at its root cause, not just treat the symptoms. This drug, VX-770, is proof that it can happen. Dramatic results came from those on the drug, and it will be available in 2012, as long as the FDA approves it. The study was for the G551D mutation, which J does not have, but they are currently in phase 2 of clinical trials of this drug working in tandem with another drug, VX-809, to treat people with two copies of the DeltaF508 mutation, which is what J has. Wow, I am so thankful there are people who are willing to give their lives to find a cure for this horrible disease! I hope that soon CF stands for Cure Found! We are forming a team, Jason's Journey, for the Salt Lake Great Strides walk! There will definitely be a post coming soon with all the deets if you're interested. :)
Anyway, here are some recent pictures of our little man. We took a break from solids because it was a bit of a battle and because he was sick. I didn't want to overwhelm the poor little guy. I started solids again this week and they were a huge success!! Sweet potatoes are his favorite. We've been trying to get him to eat some avocado mixed with applesauce too... he's not so sure about that, as you'll see in the pictures. We're going to try bananas this weekend too, and hopefully peas next week. Yay for new foods! By the way, I am LOVING the Beaba Babycook. It is wonderfully easy. And, just to get an idea of the savings, I made 17 servings of organic sweet potato for $2.00. Yup, this thing is going to pay for itself in no time!

My valentine!

Our gifted son.
He was getting tired of holding up his head.
So he pulled over a toy and rested his mouth on it.
Rockstar!

My new fave picture of Scout! He's so good with Baby J.

Grandma and Grandpa got him this ridiculously fun contraption for Christmas.
They just brought it over this week, and I think you can tell he's in love with the frog.
Much like his love affair with his seahorse.

I LOVE THIS LITTLE MAN!

Hey, that's not so bad!

Umm... yes it is.

Anyway, there you have it. A quick snapshot of our life!
We are still staying inside for the most part while the icky wiles of RSV and the flu hit the outside world! After seeing how rough just this little cold has been, it makes the last 5 months of sequestering totally worth it. Our days are full. I'm enjoying being able to cook more, keep up on housework during the week so our weekends are cleaning and laundry free, and reading more. I am currently taking a class called Perspectives and I'm really enjoying it. There is a lot of reading, but it is good. It's so wonderful to learn about missions and why an organization like Hungry for Life is needed and important in building the Kingdom of God. I'm currently getting some on-the-job training for planning a trip to Guatemala, which has been fun and a lot to take in, and I've only had to do a few miniscule things. Looking forward to having some wonderful Canadians come to visit and train me in real time!

Hope you're doing well if you're reading this post, and I'm leaving you with a few verses from the book of James which has been encouraging to me! Hope you find some encouragement from it too!

James 4:16-18 'Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created'