January in a Nut Shell

It seemed like most of January, on and off, looked a lot like this. . . . .

We were sick for most of it, just catching colds one after another. So, we didn't do much this month. We did manage to have some fun at home though and Brody accomplished another big milestone in his life.

On Jan 26th, and just shy of 4 1/2 years old, Brody learned, in one hour, to ride a bike without training wheels! All it took was borrowing the neighborhood kid's little bike to learn on. We have lot of boys in our neighborhood, some younger than him, and they all knew how to ride without training wheels. The boys were fast and always doing tricks. So, Brody was pretty determined to learn. Once he tried out the little bike, it didn't take long at all. Now he is a pro trying to do tricks on his much bigger bike. He is obsessed with his bike and has to be outside riding almost everyday rain or shine. We are so proud of you Brody, great job!

We also had a little fun inside in January. Piper got a dress up Tutu and flower headband from Grandpa Brown for Christmas. She loves to dress up and feel like a princess. She also loves hanging with her big brother.And being very silly. . .We also watched some movies, snuggling with our new blankets. We watched a few movies that the kids had never seen before. We have lots of Disney movies that Brody refused to watch, claiming they were too scary or had little interest in them. Now, he was pretty happy to watch them and he loved some. We watched Little Mermaid, Bambi, Beauty and the Beast, and Iron Giant. The kids love Bambi and Iron Giant probably the most right now, but Piper definitely knows who her princesses are and still loves Belle and Ariel.

Other things that happened in January:

I got curtains for my sliding glass window! I love them so much! It was quite a challenge putting them up and after a lot of frustration and fighting, John and I finally got them up.

- We also spoke in Sacrament meeting in our new ward at church. I talked on Simplifying our Lives taken from President Uchtdorf's talk, 'Of Things That Matter Most' (amazing talk!) and John spoke on Personal Revelation. We had two really amazing and long youth talks before us and then a musical number by the Relief Society before I spoke and when I finished, John only had 5 minutes left. He managed to shorten his beautifully and still hit the major points and stories of his talk. All seemed to really like it, so that was good. I also didn't have any mess ups, like fainting or lightheadedness, like the last time. When we were asked to talk, John nicely told the bishopric member that I have a problem with fainting. (Thanks John) He pretty much scared him and was very concerned for me. I had to ease his fears and tell him I would be fine and that it was only one time, but he still seemed concerned. John sat with the kids while I was speaking and said, as I was talking, I kind of switched my weight and stumbled on my words for a minute. The bishopric member sharply turned to look at John, worried that it was going to happen that moment. John was dying inside at his reaction. We also had our home teachers watching my every movement as John was so kind to let them know too. It is all a big joke now, but yet still a real fear. It is over now and we can relax for awhile! It never felt better :)