The little red hen, a little red head (and some stockings)

My sister requested an update from my siblings and me because apparently we haven't been doing our duty of keeping the updates flowing quickly enough. And she is right. I haven't done very good at updating the blog lately. So, here are four items of concern lately. I'm sorry if this is lengthy.

Lets start with the first picture. This boy. I can't really give an accurate description of him. I could say he was defiant or independent or funny or expressive but none of those words really give you a great picture of life with Eli on a daily basis. And, since I can't find words to express it, those words will have to suffice.

Eli feels everything to the full extent and he expresses those feelings that way. We play a game at nap time where I ask him if he wants a kiss and he says with a smile on his face, "No." And then I kiss his face all over a billion times and he giggles and laughs and says, "More. More" And then says, "I want you to go out." Alrighty then.

I love when Eli shows his affection and bestows compliments like, "You are the bestest mommy ever!"

But, like I said, he feels all emotions intensely. So there are times, more often than not, that he becomes so difficult. I often feel I am just not equipped to deal with this little boy and unfortunately, the worst of my personality and mothering skills emerges. For instance, he told me a few days ago that he wanted to cut my head off. I hear comments daily of, "I'm going to run away" "I not talk to you" and "I not like it/you." And then he usually threatens me with something like, "I'm going to cut your legs" or today, hours before it was time to eat lunch he threatened, "I'm not going to eat lunch then."

I'm just really surprised by the amount of personality that can be housed in one little body (he's not even 3 yet!) and really at a loss most days of how to deal with his crazy, non-compliant behavior. The biggest concern is that normally I would count this as a stage. However, if it is in fact just a stage, then it is a stage that has lasted since the day I gave birth to him.

The second picture is of the stockings I just finished. This was my first time sewing stockings. It was a lot of fun and I started them a few months ago. Previously, when I had a sewing project I would start it and then try and do some on my own but since getting pregnant, projects have taken me much longer to complete. I'm not super in love with the fabric but I do like them--they are cute and fun. I'm so grateful that I have friends that know how to sew and can tutor me in these things! (P.S. The green striped blanket is not for decorating purposes. It's because our fireplace is broken and it lets in quite a bit of cold air so we used the blanket to cover it and keep the air out. Tacky, yes. But just imagine how much warmer it makes the room!).

The third and fourth pictures are of Mike's new obsession. Something I really love about Mike is that he receives and follows promptings from the Spirit much better than me. While I am floundering about trying to figure out if that voice or feeling really was the Spirit, Mike just feels something and then moves on it. On the other hand, Mike also gets kind of obsessive about things--example: making cheese, money, writing stories, religious stuff, telescopes, candy making, etc. His obsessions last for a few months, maybe a year and then he moves on to something else. He still enjoys his previous obsessions, he just doesn't spend EVERY WAKING MOMENT THINKING ABOUT IT.

Mike's current obsession is food storage. He began talking about it every day for awhile and finally just jumped at it and bought a freaking ton of food storage and plans on buying the same amount until we have finished getting our year supply.

I asked him if this was a prompting or an obsession and neither of us know but since having a years supply of food is counsel from the Prophet, it doesn't really matter if it's an obsession or a prompting--we still need to do it.

We have worked on our food storage before and had/have quite a bit but we moved to Ohio and discovered that there is no storage space here but in the garage. We figured since we were only going to be here a short time we would wait until we moved to our new home (which we would buy with storage space in mind) and then get more serious about our food storage. But, Mike is determined to get it now.

I feel a little bit like the story of The Little Red Hen is playing out in our home. I agree with Mike and have always wanted food storage but because we had planned and discussed getting more later, I haven't felt the same urgency Mike feels and therefore, it seems to be less important to me. Mike has canned the majority of the food pictured above on his own in our kitchen. I have felt guilty about it but he generally decides to do the canning when I am already involved in something else (like exercising or planning a lesson) and therefore, I feel like I might be justified in eating the dough while Mike gets the bread. Though, he has done the canning and will probably do the grinding of the wheat but I will almost definitely be the one making the bread so maybe I can eat a portion of the bread as well.

So there you have it--a very long update. I understand my sister is often bored at work so this should provide enough update for her to fill in her hours of boredom.

(and in case you are wondering, this doesn't even begin to touch the surface of thoughts that run through my head...I'm sure you weren't wondering because you probably already know that...In fact, Mike took me on a date this weekend and at one point he started laughing at me and was amazed at all the various things I have to think about. I tried to not talk for five minutes and it was very hard for me...)