The Hampster Wheel.

What does a girl do when insomnia is her pal?  Write a little ditty on the blog?  Check! 

So life has moved on and we are settling (again) into our new (again) ward.   Today after church I was feeling frustrated and began whining at my husband about how I always feel like an outsider.   The husband then told me to stop being irrational, and so I did.  The problem for me is that I'm a slow settler.  We're talking sloth slow here.  In the past seven years we've bumped around the world at a rapid pace; barely taking the time to loosen the ol' boot straps before tightening them again to move on.  It's tiring for me.  My poor sloth-self can't catch a break and potential friends seem to blur by me as fast as I blink.  I regret that a lot.  Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to have met as many awesome people as we have through the years, and in each scenario we've all been bolstered and educated by the distinct culture of each place. Only sometimes I miss being with the same faces year after year.  Having a history with the same crew.  Feeling like one of the natives for a while.    I will say that although it isn't the lifestyle that I always imagined for me and my family, its been a great blessing for us all.  I'm not entirely sure if we're getting off of this hamster wheel of change, but at least I'm getting a hang of it right?  Okay enough of this stuff, let me catch you up on the crew. 

Owen:  He's a trooper.  I'm constantly impressed at how well he does given all of the physical limitations his health brings.  He's working with a cardiologist and some other folks to see if we can't improve things for him a bit in this department.   Lately he's been interested in astrological stuff that I can't begin to explain here. He's also been getting into cooking.  I love this, and it's fun to try out some of Owen's culinary creations.  He and Dylan have been rocking out together and have recently begun to come up with a band name.  They both really want to post covers onto YouTube which I will share when it happens.   Owen harbors a love for diet cherry dr. pepper, movies, and walking the two Chihuahuas. 

Dylan:  The boy is a 6th grader.  He's doing well at school which causes me to heave a huge sigh each weekday morning.  At last!  I can't even believe how awesome the whole school situation is right now!  Dylan is very into Boy Scouts and has spent several of the last weekends earning merit badges. Dylan also enjoys holding the Aaronic Priesthood and takes his duties very seriously.  It surprises me how excited he is to go to church a half an hour early every Sunday to set up chairs.  I'm sure that in 50 weeks or so, the gloss will have worn off and he will be moaning but for now, he is into his duty.  Dylan also loves Minecraft, dance music, and cracking really bad jokes.  He is one of he few people that I've known who makes braces look good, can't get enough of wearing shorts and flipflops, and he's getting into girls.  He went to his first middle school dance last month (or "Stand" as he called it because there was no dancing done at all.)  and told me how good a certain girl looked all dressed up.  Thankfully for me he's completely embraced the idea that a young man doesn't really "date" until after a mission and he's cool with being just friends with girls until then.  Yay!  Let see how long that lasts ;)