Here I am, finally making myself sit down to record some of the things that have been going on in our lives the past six months. My life seems to get busier and busier, and so I generally get to only those things that seem most urgent. Since the guilt has been building for the last three months or so, writing is now on the “urgent” list!

Our biggest and best news since I last wrote is that we have a sweet new baby. Jonathan David was born January 18^th, weighing 8 lbs 4 oz, measuring 21 inches. He was born nine days early, just hours before his scheduled induction and after a relatively quick and uneventful labor. I was so grateful for meals from family and neighbors, as I developed what I now think was an epidural headache and a stiff neck shortly after coming home from the hospital. I was in serious pain for about a week and pretty stiff-necked for about a month. I don’t quite have my full range of motion back, but I will say that going through sickness or injury always makes me grateful for my otherwise good health.

The kids are officially on summer break now, as of May 25^th. Steven and Daniel finished all their projects and exams early so that they could accompany Hugh to Germany, where he has some business meetings. They are still there now – they will have been gone for about three weeks by the time they return next week. We miss them, but I am glad they have this opportunity, and hopefully they are making lots of great memories together and will take lots of pictures so the rest of us can experience their trip vicariously.

Steven just finished his junior year of high school with a bang – shocking me with a 4.0 despite very challenging classes. Not that I didn’t think he was capable, just that up to this point, he hasn’t been extremely disciplined! He took several AP exams, and hopefully he did well enough to earn some college credit for next year. Steven and Daniel just finished the soccer season playing for the high school team, and thanks to a couple of dedicated, demanding coaches, are much stronger and better players than ever before. Steven turned 17 while in Germany with Hugh; we have yet to celebrate his birthday with him when he returns! Steven likes to listen to music and read in his free time, but most of all he likes to talk to/be with his girl friend, Dawnika. Steven is almost always willing to run errands for me or wash the dishes (his one requirement being that he be allowed to listen to music while he does.) Steven only sometimes enjoys his near-celebrity status with his younger siblings – they really respect him and often greet him with hugs. I am grateful for his reasonable, rational approach, his desire to be good, and his pleasant personality.

Daniel just finished his freshman year of high school, also with straight A’s! Wow, I am impressed! These guys have worked hard this year! I have been researching scholarships, and found that Utah offers a substantial scholarship (the Regents Scholarship) to every student who completes certain core classes with A’s and B’s, so I am making sure that all of our children are on track to earn that. I was happy that Daniel participated in student government this school year because he is so quiet at school, but since there are so many classes he wants to take, he opted not to participate next year. I worry that other than his compulsive bugging, Daniel is pretty quiet and introverted, even at home. On the advice of his soccer coach, Daniel took a weight lifting class this year. He is a better player all around, and though he won’t admit it, he has some pretty mean biceps now! Between early morning classes, 2-3 hour soccer practices after school every day, and homework, Steven and Daniel haven’t had much leisure time this semester. When Daniel has free time, he likes to play video/computer games, write games with Adobe Flash, and read. Daniel was sad when we found another home for his dog, Jacques, at Christmastime, but it has worked out well and I feel very much at peace with that decision. We watched Jacques when his owners went out of town over spring break, and will be doing so again for three weeks during the summer.

Julia is my best helper with little Jonathan. She is the one most likely to say “yes” when I ask for help, and usually the first one to break down and pick him up when he is fussing and I am otherwise occupied. Julia spent the very first day of spring break in early April having her wisdom teeth removed and a ligation done, which entailed peeling back the gum tissue on the roof of her mouth and attaching a bracket and small chain to a wayward tooth, integrating it into the wires in her braces and, hopefully, gradually bringing the tooth into its correct position. She spent the rest of the spring break (plus some) recovering from the procedure, then had some problems with infection in the incision area, then came down with a bad cold which wiped her out and in turn caused a double ear infection and an eye infection. Wow! But she is finally feeling better and she is tough, and we are grateful for dentists and doctors and medicine, because think of how much worse it would be if we didn’t have them! Julia is always very conscientious about her schoolwork, and she maintained all A’s every term this year. Way to go, Julia! One thing I love about Julia is that she is not afraid to try new things. She loves projects like looking for and trying new recipes, running a “restaurant” in our house, teaching a cooking class to her siblings. Julia and Natalie have been sharing a bedroom since we reorganized everyone in anticipation of Jonathan’s birth, and their bedroom is usually the cleanest one in the house!

Michael turned 12 years old on April 4^th, thus happily graduating from Primary (the children’s organization at church) moving up to the Young Men’s organization and becoming a deacon. Michael doesn’t understand why, as a 7^th grader, he should still have to learn about English, science, and history. (He likes math okay, though he thinks it’s too easy.) He would much rather spend his time playing Plants vs. Zombies (doesn’t that sound like a practical scenario that could benefit him in real life?) Michael has been so cute with Katelyn and Jonathan – they bring out tenderness in him that I’ve never seen before.  Michael got it into his head that we should go to Disneyland this year. He got on the internet and researched ticket prices, hotels, approximate gas costs for our van, then made a Powerpoint presentation. He also talked about how this would probably be the last time our entire family could go since Steven will be graduating next year and going off to college, then on a mission. He talked Hugh into it pretty quickly. Hugh asks for very little, so once he said he wanted to go, it wasn’t hard to convince me. So because of Michael’s “awesome skills of persuasion” (and our otherwise frugal spending habits,) we are planning a trip to Disneyland in October. Oh – and Michael just showed me that he barely finished the term with straight A’s, after some work on his part to follow up on missing assignments and asking for extra credit work to help him reach his goal.

I guess I really haven’t written for a long time, because Alyssa also had a birthday since I last wrote. She got a baby brother for her 10^th birthday in January (four days early, but she was very excited.) Alyssa is often willing to hold Jonathan and/or fix Emily’s hair when I ask her. She objects to her current roommates Matthew and Emily, so she is lobbying for a change (which becomes difficult as our family grows and our house size remains the same.) Alyssa loves to get things out and make things, but not clean up – and her resolve to change her messy ways will determine whether we make the room change or not. It has been a difficult year in school for Alyssa socially. Some days she was the most popular girl in her class, and then other days, her friends would ignore each other and make her choose sides, and she often felt stuck in the middle. Fourth grade seems so young to start all that drama; I really hope next year she can start with a whole new group of friends who don’t play those kinds of games. Alyssa auditioned for and was given a spot in the elementary show choir. She has a good voice and natural grace, so I could see this being a great thing to help her break out of her shyness and build confidence.

Natalie is such an interesting little person. She loves to play Tetris and is a voracious reader – we struggle to find enough books for her. She is very cute and smart. Her teachers tell me she is competitive, that she likes to be the best and the fastest at everything. But she has a very short fuse and is unnecessarily unpleasant much of the time. Ironically, she is often one of the first to express thoughtful gratitude for little things that others may take for granted. She is a quick learner and has been working hard at piano, and can now play at least half a dozen hymns fairly well.

Matthew was sad to finish kindergarten a week ago. He often talked about the daily soccer games he would play during recess when his team would crush the other team. He has a quick mind for math, but has been sluggish to catch on to reading. I know he could be a great reader if he wanted to be, but he has resisted my efforts and my efforts have not been enough because I have so many other things/people that demand my attention. Matthew loves to play card games, especially Ultimate Queens (which Steven made up) and Nertz. Matthew and Emily and I usually play at least one or two every day, and Matthew usually beats me. He also loves electronics, whether Plants vs. Zombies on the computer or Angry Birds on Hugh’s cell phone. Matthew is our Drama King, which is always ridiculous, sometimes humorous, and sometimes exasperating. He likes to exaggerate what he hears “What did you say?! We’re going to eat dinner in 10 …hours? I can’t wait for 10 hours, I’m going to die in here!” and what people do to him (I could shove him across the room with my left pinky finger when he is in drama mode.) But he is a cute, energetic boy, and while we have our challenges at home, his teachers and friends’ parents always tell me he is very well-behaved.

Emily is generally pretty easy-going, small enough to still want and need more attention but big enough to be somewhat independent, and thus sometimes overlooked. Maybe because of this, she sometimes gets attention by being persistent(ly annoying.) She thinks she owns Grandpa and/or Grandma Dosdall whenever they are around. She is pretty adaptable at playing with either Matthew or Katelyn, and she likes me to read to her and play games with her. She struggles with words sometimes, like when describing Katelyn’s eye “confection” or Jonathan’s ten feet (toes). She told me the other day that “Waspes are the baddest kind of bee ‘cause they can sting you again and again.” Emily puts up with some abuse from Matthew (who will get rough with her if she does something that frustrates him,) and Katelyn (because she’s two and she still thinks her preferences are the only ones that count.)

And then there’s Katelyn. She is definitely two (and a half!) Initially, she was very welcoming of Jonathan, then went through a jealous stage when we would hear such things as “Stupid Baby!” and “We don’t hit Baby, we kick him!” She does pretty well with him now, and though she obviously felt displaced and resentful of him for a little while, she is almost as popular with and adored by her siblings as she was pre-Jonathan, even though she is quite the troublemaker. She talks a lot, and with lots of expression, often using her arms to add emphasis to what she is says. She can count pretty reliably up to 10 or 12. She wishes she could play card games with the big kids, so instead she has learned to sort out the multiple decks of cards we mix up during play. I love to hear her sweet little voice singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the ABC song. She has her own little Katelyn accent. Anything that ends with an –er sound, she says “ah” instead, like, “I huwt my finga.” Or “Now it’s betta.” We cannot always understand what she is saying, and sometimes we wish we could not understand what she is saying  - “You a jerk!” (pronounced joke) or “Nice going-ah, Mom.” (said in a sarcastic tone, not an encouraging one.) But she can also be so sweet, giving out free hugs and “I love you’s” and she is cute even when she’s being rotten. Okay, except maybe that time when she found a sharp knife left in the dishwasher, and decided to see what would happen if she repeatedly poked it into the new leather storage bench in my bedroom.

Jonathan was slow to gain weight at first and so I have supplemented his diet with formula as often as he needs it, but he is now a strong, perfectly plump little four month-old. He looks like a Wilkins with his red hair and light complexion, slightly deeper-set eyes, and long (future-piano-playing) fingers. Because I think he is probably our last baby, I am trying to really treasure and remember everything about each stage. I had thought that at some point I would feel done having children. I don’t think I will ever be there; I think I’ll have to console myself with thoughts of many future grandchildren. Jonathan is so sweet and smiley and cuddly, I just love to hold him and look at him. Natalie recently accused me, “You’re in love with that baby!” to which I responded, “Yes, I am!” Then she and Alyssa both quickly agreed that they are, too.  Some of the novelty and thus the willingness to help have worn off since Jonathan was born, but all the kids really like him a lot. He rolls around and is learning to grab things – toys, faces, hair (much to Alyssa’s chagrin.) He is constantly gumming and drooling on everything he can get up to his mouth, especially his chubby little hands. Other than his given name, the kids and I call him Jon-Jon and Jonny; Hugh calls him “Whine-man.” Jonathan had his first cold recently, and it was a bad one; I am so grateful he didn’t catch it a month earlier because I really wonder whether he would have been strong enough to survive it. We are so grateful he is healthy now. Whether his nature or nurture, I don’t know - but Jonathan likes to be around people, be held and interacted with, and he handles chaos and noise well. He fits our family well, and we are so grateful to have him!

Hugh keeps busy at work with an ever-increasing load. At home, he plays lots of card games with Matthew and Emily, and is Katelyn’s favorite diaper changer since he always makes it fun by playing one of several songs on his phone that he customizes for her. (Sponge-Bob-Stinky-Pants and The Hey Song/Stinky-Poo are a couple favorites.) Hugh decided he was too fat (he said that, not me) and has been waking up even earlier (now 4:15) to exercise each morning before work. He has cut back on the amounts and the types of food he eats. I wish I had his self-discipline – it’s too bad wishing is not enough to make it so!

I perpetually feel like there is just not enough time to do all the things I need to do, but I am generally happy and very grateful for my blessed life and the things I am learning.  My Relief Society responsibilities require some time and mental effort, but mostly I worry about whether I am doing enough and doing the right things for my family. The silent auction I was co-chairing was cancelled when the school’s performing group won a spot at a national competition in Washington D.C. and our venue was taken away – and I am not complaining! It was a huge load taken off my shoulders.

One last thing I wanted to mention is how great it has been to have my parents close. My mom and Jeannie have continued to watch the little kids each Friday so that I could volunteer at school and then take a couple kids out to lunch. I always mean to take time out for dates with the kids, but until we started this arrangement, it was very hit and miss.  My dad is always willing to fix whatever is broken around our house. He unveiled his latest creations on the last day of school: a merry-go-round that can be pumped by the riders, and a zip-line spanning about 150 feet. I think it is very sweet that this most frugal of people is willing to spend countless hours and hundreds of dollars to make something he thinks his grandchildren will get a kick out of. What awesome grandparents they are!