Our Crazy Life

Well, all is going well in the Lopez home. Pretty crazy with 5 kids around, but good. Having a teenager has definitely put our house into a bit of chaos, but in a good way. He's a great kid and we really enjoy him. So here's the news by kid.

Billy, 14, gave a talk in Sacrament meeting on Sunday. He was really nervous and woke up that morning saying he couldn't do it. Jason was so good and talked him through it and wrote down his talk for him and it went so good. He looked so handsome, and was articulate and even went 3 minutes over time. I was so proud!!

Elana, 9, is enjoying opportunities I'm not sure she's ever had before. Piano lessons, part in the primary program, homework assistance, choir at school, field trips, etc. Normal, everyday, 9-year old stuff. I have to say that the three kids right in a row (ages 9, 8, and 7 next month) is a bit of a challenge. Especially the two girls who are either best friends and conspiring together, or sick of each other and trying to get some space. It's fun.

Connie, almost 8, is doing great. She loves having Elana around and is even enjoying having a big brother to get on his nerves (which she really does good at). She and Elana tease him about girls a lot. He really doesn't like it. Connie is improving in her reading and I think it is helping her a little for Elana to be a good reader. Connie is excelling in piano. She really seems to have a natural feel for it. She loves to practice (how long do you think that will last?) and is really doing great!! She's growing more beautiful everyday and we can't believe she's going to be baptized next month!

Kyler is actually struggling with the adjustment. I think it's brought a whole new level of chaos for him to get used to. He's doing well, but whiny a lot. I don't think he could care less about having two more children in the house, but does talk to Billy sometimes. The other night I was sitting in the back porch and he came out and sat with me and talked to me about school. It was just a sweet moment with just he and I. He's a cute and loving boy.

Ethan is a booger. I love that the two extra children go to school all day too, so that I still get my 5 hours of just Ethan time. I love the one-on-one attention I've been able to give him and all of the love I get from him. He's very loving and huggy. We love him. His new thing is playing peek-a-boo with everyone. He puts a blanket on his head and pulls it off and says "a-boo". It's so cute!!

Well, I think that's the latest. Enjoy these few pictures of Billy and Kyler and Ethan. The one of Billy is from his ordination into the office of teacher and the one of the other two boys is from a little ride-on car in Walmart. Ethan loved it!

Our newest blessing...

Well, our lives have drastically changed this week. To shorten a VERY long story, we have a family in our ward that has hit rock bottom and lost everything. They have four children. Jason and I both feel very drawn to these sweet chilren and have grown to really love them very quickly. To help them in these tough times for them, we have taken two of their children into our home. We couldn't take all four and two of them have special needs, so we have the other two.

The first is a 9-year-old girl. Her name is Elena and we think that she is the sweetest thing. She is polite and loving and intelligent and wonderful. Connie is so very excited about the whole thing and it was hard to get them to sleep last night because they were so excited. (Plus, we were trying to work out the logistics of it all with the parents and bishopric)

The second is a 14-year-old boy. Somehow this boy has come out of a really tough situation as a shining example to his parents. I hope they can see what a good kid he truly is. We struggled of this decision a little, but after some prayer felt very at peace. We know it's all going to be a bit of adjustment, but feel blessed with the opportunity to bring love and stability to these tender spirits.

Pray for us! We're excited, but timid in the responsibilty this all brings. All of the sudden we are parenting 5 children and one of them a new experience. We'll see how it goes. I'm sure Heavenly Father will guide.

Kyler's big news.

Kyler started 1st grade this year which means spelling tests. It's a bit of a stressful adjustment. His teacher started a method where if they get a 9/10 or 10/10 on the pretest on Monday, they get a challenge list of words. Kyler got the challenge list this week. I was concerned because he really doesn't like to work at his school work. Well, I set up a little spreadsheet for him to study on. It had the words and I had him type them five times each. I set it up so that every box had a different fun font in it. It was funny. He called me over everytime he began a new word, Mom look at this one!

So, the big news is that he got all seven words right!!! When the kids get perfect scores on their spelling test we take them on a special date. We started this last year with Connie because she struggles a bit with spelling. He's going bowling with Daddy this week. He's VERY excited.

Ethan's Playground

I thought I would post these cute pictures. When we got the swingset the people were also getting rid of a sandbox that was under it. We took it, but then started thinking about the amount of sand Ethan would eat if we filled it. So we cleaned it out and filled it with balls. Ethan loves it. It's out on our porch, so when the weather is right I can just open up the house and let him have fun. The afternoon I took these pictures it was REALLY hot outside. We had just come back from an exhausting afternoon on the bus and we were HOT. So, we put up our kid pool (which is too deep for Ethan) and Ethan's baby pool in the porch. I was cracking up at the little playground he had out there. Take a look.

The Walking Man!!!

Well, the day has come. I forgot to post this, but Ethan started walking about 2 weeks ago, and is now full-force! Walking everywhere. For now I like it better because he's a little slower than crawling, but I know that in a week my life as I know it is over.

The kicker is that he walked during the adult session of Stake Conference. Yes, that means we weren't there!!!! Luckily my very smart nephew who was watching him at the time had the presence of mind to video it for me. I guess that means Kyler was the only one we got to witness walk. Connie did it with Grandma Connie while I was out with a friend, and Jay was at military camp. Little Cheaters!!