Winter is Here!!

Last weekend, the Kansas City area got hit with VERY cold weather. It made for some cozy days and nights, though, as we all stayed in and tried to stay warm. We tried (somewhat comically) to play board and card games with the kids, and decided that maybe that vision of a Rockwell family evening playing games in front of the fire on a snowy evening will be better realized in a couple years. :) We have been very thankful for the 4 wheel drive on our Durango--our street is basically a huge sheet of ice, and getting into our driveway is a somewhat harrowing experience. Although our storm pales in comparison to the piles of snow Grandpa and Grandma Carlson have in Colorado, it's apparent that Old Man Winter is here!

I started teaching my Assessment course last week, and it's been a bit of a struggle getting things up and running. The beginning of the semester kind of snuck up on everyone, resulting in lots of last minute chaos with scheduling for Jewell's beginning nursing majors. I have 42 students in my class, and teach in two class periods and three lab sessions weekly. It keeps me busy, but I love it! I am teaching my students a new language as they learn medical terminology, and we started in this week with how to assess a client's head, eyes, ears, nose, and throat. It is such a joy to watch the students use their stethoscopes for the first time and begin to explore the realm of nursing after two years of general education courses. Working with these students and seeing their enthusiasm serves as a great reminder of why I became a nurse and how thankful I am that God has led me into this profession where I have the privilege of impacting the lives of others. This week I will also be orienting juniors and seniors to my N-Clex (the state licensing exam for nurses) prep courses, in which I monitor everything online, which is great! Those two courses will officially start next Monday, and then my entire course load will be up and running. Whew!

The kids have done great with transitioning into Mom being at work. We have two beloved college students, Dena and Maggie, who come to the house to watch the kids while I am teaching. The kids LOVE both of these amazing young women, and I feel so blessed to have them in our family's life.

Brandon is keeping busy at work, preparing to go out of town for the first week of February to attend an IBM conference. He'll be going to New Orleans, which he's not real excited about, but I think it will be interesting to hear how everything looks post-Katrina.

Well, the two weeks of Phase One on the South Beach Diet are over--THANK GOODNESS. Brandon lost a couple pounds, and I lost about 4 pounds. Not great, but clothes are fitting much better, and now we're moving on to Phase Two, which involves adding some of the "good carbs" back in. Better, but still difficult for sweet-a-holics like us.

I packed up Connor's 3T clothes the other day. It was a bittersweet moment for me. I look at him and can hardly believe how BIG he's getting. We're still trying to teach him how to stand up for himself, and are so thankful that he is well-liked by other children. His kind heart and playful imagination are bright spots in our world. Here's a pic of him in his new firefighter garb that he received from Cara and Collin at Christmas.

Our baby girl never ceases to amaze us. Her verbal skills are quite good for her age, and we're hearing a lot of "I want to do it myself", or, "Can I walk?" when we're carrying her. We're working with her using conflict resolution skills other than hitting, and always enjoy seeing her hilarious bedhead in the morning or after naps (sadly, even after combing it, it doesn't behave much better...ah, the joys of a toddler mullet!). I've pasted a picture of her post-nap 'do for you, but it is hard to fully grasp the style by just looking at the photograph. :)

We hope your week is going well. Stay warm and dry and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate "Carlson style" (that is with LOTS of marshmallows). :)