Happy October!

Here's the latest in the Cook household...

Last month John received his Arrow of Light award. It was very exciting!

I really would like a different camera. Pictures on this camera come out so dark sometimes!

It was cute to see him cross the bridge. He had to salute his boy scout leader, salute the flag and step off and do the scout handshake with his leader. He was so serious about it. It was like watching a military man. Too cute.

I love that our ward gives the boys these arrow plaques in honor of their acheivement. John really did work hard for this award and I'm proud of him for it. We hung it above his bed.

Speaking of John's bed, I'm working on plans to get this kid his own room. I have all three boys in one bedroom. When they were small this was... okay. Now that they're getting bigger, it's starting to get impossible. John is getting to that age where he needs some quiet place to retreat to, and his brothers don't always cooperate on that front.

I've been using the other bedroom as an office. The office is stuffed full of furniture: a huge desk, a small desk for the kids, three bookcases, my great-grandmother's small upright piano and my other great-grandmother's cedar chest.

It took a little creative thinking to figure out how to get John his own room, but this is what I came up with.

I figured out if I got a small desk to put where the fish tank used to be (in the living room), then switch to a laptop so I can get rid of the huge desk and my ancient, semi-functional desktop computer, we'd make room for a bed for John. My mother kindly agreed to store the piano and chest at her house. I'm combining my books onto the one tall bookcase, leaving one in the room for John to use, and moving the third into what will be Ben and Chris' room for them to use. John has agreed to share some of the space in his room. The tall bookcase with my books will stay in John's room cuz there's really no where else for that to go. I'll put a small filing cabinet on the floor of his closet as well. Other than that, he'll be all set.

Because this plan requires funding, John agreed to having his own room be his Christmas gift this year. This took zero persuasion on my part. John is VERY excited about getting his own room.

So, stage one began last weekend.

I bought an inexpensive but (I think) pretty writing desk from WalMart, which I picked up after Brian got the kids on Friday. I didn't say anything to the kids about this, wanting to surprise them. I figured I'd put the desk together Friday night since we had conference all weekend (loved it!) and I had plans Saturday night.

Here's the before picture:

Here's after:

Let me be more specific. This is 37 parts, 93 screws, 52 nails and 6 hours later. You wouldn't think a desk like this could possibly have 37 parts, but it did.



My hands were pretty sore from tightening all those screws but still, I did it all by myself and it felt GREAT!

When the boys got home Sunday night they were so excited. Totally worth all the effort.

Other updates:

Christopher had his follow-up appointment with a new cardiologist who I really love. He's doing just fine, no more episodes. The plan is to keep him on the medication until he's a teenager and then do that relatively minor procedure to correct the problem. There's really no way to know for sure if he's outgrown it other than to take him off the medication and wait and see. I've never felt comfortable with that plan and this new doctor thinks it's risky too. The idea of his heart stopping one day just does not give me joy. Call me weird. Anyway, Brian and I both feel good about this new plan, so barring any new developments that's what it will be.

For those of you who are interested, I wrote a semi-personal post for the America Jane blog stating my intentions for the future of that blog. I really had to think about where that blog fits into the life of a single mother.

In general, we're doing fine over here. It's been six months since Brian and I separated and 2 1/2 since the divorce was final. Brian and I are very amicable and working well together to raise our children, for which I am grateful. They say it takes at least a year to recover from a divorce and I believe it. But the six month mark felt like a good milestone for me. While there's still healing and adjusting to do, I think the worst is behind me. John as well. Ben and Chris, being younger, are experiencing things differently. I think the reality of it all finally hit them last month. But all three of the kids are doing a good job talking about their feelings, which really helps. I'm proud of them.

Again, I just have to express my gratitude for the outpouring of support I've received from so many people. Your words of encouragement and comfort mean a lot to me. More than anything I have felt sustained by the Lord and I know I am in His hands. All in all, that's not a bad place to be.