Valencic Family Newsletter

December 31st, 2007 edition

Hey, it's only been 2 months AGAIN this time!

We are now definitely in winter weather, with wind chills below zero expected for New Year's Day tomorrow.  It's cold!  We have had snow and ice over the last few weeks, but enough warm days that the roads stay mostly clear.

Tom and I are still doing all the stuff we were doing before, parenting, callings, job, homeschooling, yardwork, housework, playing, and life in general.  We just got our van tuned up really good, good brakes, etc, but now the battery died.  So we aren't going anywhere til we get a new one. 

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and will enjoy a happiest New Year!

Michael is now 11 years old and officially a Boy Scout.  He is signed up for Merit Badge university in January and enjoying all the new things he gets to do.  He is doing 5th/6th grade work right now for school and is completely fascinated by the world of electronics.  He still loves Legos and Magnetix, as well as his new electronics experiment kit he got for Christmas.  His site is here.  It is newly updated with pictures.

Benjamin is 9 years old now.  He loves helping with his baby brother and isn't so keen on schoolwork this year.  He's in 3rd grade and things seem to take too much time, to him.  He loves jokes and biology.  He also loves his bike, science, being outdoors, being active, Transformers, Legos, Harry Potter, running, jumping, and many other things including.  He is loves being a Bear scout and being able to do more in scouts.  His site is here, and is now updated with new pictures and such.

Emilie is 7 1/2.  She loves homeschooling.  She is now in 2nd grade.  She is excited (still) about being baptized next April.  She is also excited about a new baby at that time, and hopes and STILL prays that the baby is a sister, not another brother, even though the ultrasound says otherwise.  We know she will love him anyways.  Her site is here.  She is reading well and getting to be more help every day.

Nathanael is 4 1/2.    He is my first child to constantly ask me questions about where something comes from, what does this word mean, what does this say, what do these eat, where does this go?  His site is here.  He loves his Primary class and his teacher.  He can sing "The Spirit of God" from start to finish from memory, and "Lord, I would Follow Thee".  These are hymns we've recently learned as a family.  He is still learning to read, still knowing too much, and still good at playing with everyone.

Samuel is constantly talking.  He is almost 3, in January.  I will update his site when we get new pictures.   He has a huge imagination and is just a joy.  Most of the time.    He loves using his imagination to constantly be someone new or do something interesting.  He knows all his ABCs and can count to 100 with very few mistakes.    He loves Blue's Clues and Sesame Street.  His site is here.  A recent funny.  He got Superman pajamas from Grandma for Christmas.  He walked around saying, "Superman is a superhero.  He has a red cape.  I thought he might have a green cape, but it's red."

Timothy is now 13 months, almost 14.   Here is his updated site. He babbles a lot more now, says Mama (which could mean Mom, Michael, or milk...) and Dada, as well as a lot more unintelligible sounds right now.  He has a great giggle which he uses all the time.  He loves his family, and we love him!  He has 8 teeth, which makes him a grump some nights.  He loves his blankets and stuffed animals.  He always wants to carry one out of his bed in the morning or after nap time, though not always for long.  He knows how to work the mouse, geotrax remotes, and video game controllers.  He also is way too tall and way too fast.

Baby 8 is wiggling constantly.  You can get to his site here.  The next doctor appointment is January 10th.  We did find out this baby is MOST LIKELY a boy according to the November 16th ultrasound.  I suppose he could possibly still turn out a girl, but that's only a slight possibility.  We've seen way too many boy ultrasounds to be wrong, but I guess it could happen.  We have no names, though we have ruled out quite a few.  We are 6 months pregnant and are not sure where the time has gone with only 3 months left to be ready for a 9th household member... lol!   The crib is worn out from 7 other babies, and maybe a nearly 3 year old climbing in and jumping... or other kids climbing on or under... but we have other options for now. 

Please call, write, email, and/or visit anytime.

Remember that April is going to be busy with family events, and would possibly be a good time to come visit.  Let us know!  (blessing and baptism!)

Love, Tabitha, Tom, Michael, Benjamin, Emilie, (Joseph), Nathanael, Samuel, Timothy, and ??