February has flown ...

Nearly every day passes with "update blog" left un-checked on my to-do list. I thought I'd make it easier on myself by just posting photos, but I don't even have any recent ones! So here's a little update about what's been going on. Em's 30th birthday was great! My friends met me for lunch at Mcdonald’s to let the kids play (exciting, I know) and that morning David has gluten-free muffins and donuts from a specialty bakery (and gluten-free cupcakes for later!) Then he planned a surprise date without kids to a fancy steakhouse, and even ordered lovely pink roses for our table. Mom and dad sent a custom-framed picture of the Savior and many people sent sweet cards. David's birthday “present” to me was a flight out to visit my sister Becky in D.C. in April! Without kids! Emily also enjoyed a weekend away with girlfriends. Good friends make the world such a happier place. Then ... we all had a wicked stomach flu. When it came Emily's turn, the accompanying stomach pain landed her in the ER. Emily was so grateful to David who worked from home and took over with the kids that weekend. And to friends, who helped watch the kids the first day. Gratefully we are all feeling better now, except for Bria who has some lingering tummy troubles (one month later!) but we are visiting doctor's to figure it out. Needless to say, Em's Valentine’s was uneventful, spent on the couch, and she was so sad to miss all the parties, heart-shaped pancakes, romantic candle-lit dinner and love-pons she'd planned. But the kids enjoyed school parties and lots of cute candy. David has been working really hard at JCP. His analytics group has been getting high visibility, and his findings have been shared with the CEO and Board of Directors. The work days can be long and crazy, though. Liam is doing great at potty training! Still in diapers, but tells us when he has to go potty. We have Thomas the Train and Cars underwear for when he's ready to make the diaper-less leap. Cali is enjoying preschool, playing playdoh, helping mommy in the kitchen, and singing in primary. Last week she gave her second Primary talk about how Heavenly Father loves us. Bria is learning a lot at Kindergarten and making some wonderful friends. She especially enjoys art and imaginative play (along with Cali, they play anything from puppies to Barbies to house to puppet shows). Well that's us in a nutshell. Wishing all of our family and friends lots of love.