We just now got started updating here...
(having to start from scratch on EVERYTHING almost, at least here and the
Main page... plus a new baby's page!)
I do have 5 rolls of film all taken since Michael's
birthday in November, that we will have to scan and put on our site for everyone
to see. This includes all the pictures from our trip out to California
and Utah and Illinois and back.
Well, news on us.
Tom is working hard, resets and inventories were this past month, glad
those are done with. He's doing well with all of his stores, but summer
is a slow time for books/movies and nothing good coming out this year. It
will improve by the end of the year, I'm sure.
Last update to the newsletter I was pregnant... I am now busy with 4 children
6 and under, plus I am still busy with www.Parenthoodchat.com and www.parenthoodplace.com , volunteering
my time to help other parents. Stop by anytime! There are great
things going on! Tom helps out too, the people who work to make this
site great are some wonderful people! And our friends!
Michael is busy learning all he can get his hands on. Also taking
a kind of Summer vacation... but it's not that different from our normal
year. Our library is again doing Summer Book Camp, with lunches and
many different topics to learn about. We missed all of June, but since
we got back we were able to attend one session about Yoga. Emilie and
Benjamin got the most involved, while Nathanael hung out with one of the
librarians and Mom and Michael joined in. Michael is really into cooking,
whales, animals, and "science". He loved meeting his penpal Kayla in
Colorado when we got to spend a day at her house (their moms were college
friends). It was exciting to him to meet someone his age who also homeschools.
Recently he has gotten a lot better at helping, feeling that he is
big enough to do all the things I ask and more, he asks for other ways to
help me. He loved travelling across the country, but is glad to be
home.
Benjamin likes family, friends, someone to hold him, dancing, someone
to hold hands with, a buddy, and talking to someone. Right now that
really doesn't need to be one of his siblings since meeting all his extended
family. He likes making friends. He loves building things, telling
stories, reading books with Mom, talking on the phone, drawing, helping,
and library story time with his favorite librarian. He is learning
how to read, mostly on his own with Mom's support (I have no set way to "teach"
a child to read- Michael learned without my knowing he could read, and Benjamin
is wanting to do it himself, asking me questions along the way) We
like ABC books and books with "Ben" in the title. He is very skilled
with numbers and math concepts. He is wonderful with Nathanael and
loves to sit and talk to him for long periods of time. When he was
first told Nathanael was born, he said IT'S SPRING! Because I had told
him that our baby would be born in the spring. When he was told that
it was spring, on Spring Equinox, he wouldn't believe them, since the baby
wasn't born yet.
Emilie is 3. She potty trained in June, but is retraining now after
a month long trek across the United States. She talks all the time,
and after going to 3 receptions/open houses, talks about "MAWWY" and getting
"MAWWIED in the TEMPO". (Marry, Married in the temple) She wants to
get married, gets a blanket and ties it around her for a wedding dress, builds
wedding cakes out of lego blocks, and tells me she's going to grow up and
get married tomorrow. I smile, because I know it will seem that fast
when it happens, looking back. Her hair is still red, still curly,
her eyes still dark. She loves wearing pretty dresses but watch out,
she can get dirty with the boys any day. She loves worms, toads, butterflies,
ants, bunnies.... dolls, her white bed from Grandma, her blanket that Grandma
Gogo made for her when she was a baby (it has Precious Moments and geese
on it, she calls it her duck blanket). She can almost spell her name,
knows most of the alphabet, and counts pretty well. Her page is
HERE. (will
be updated soon)
We all remember Joseph and still enjoy sharing his story with those who
come to our home or ask about our 4th child. His story and his spirit
are still touching lives, and hearts.
Nathanael is smiling up a storm, sucking on his fingers, holding his own
hands and anything else that he accidentally grabs. He's 3 and a half
months old. He loves playing on the floor, swinging, eating, being
held, being played with, being talked to. He has a very easy
going personality and just wants to be loved by anyone near him. He
doesn't feel well right now, between the illness going around our family
and possible teething, but otherwise still is a happy little boy.
His birth was prevented from being a home birth by his paternal grandparents
taking our oldest three for the two weeks before his due date. The
reason for this was my quick deliveries and not being able to get someone
there in time to get to the hospital. And thank goodness for this!
Click on Nathanael's page
for more details.
Please visit or email or call! We're all here!
HUGS
Thank you all for your love and support.
Tabitha, Tom, Michael, Benjamin, Emilie, and Nathanael
Click here to return to our site.
Click
here for our
newpictures site. (updated Nov 16, 2002)
Click here
to go to our Homeschooling page. (updated Sept 19, 2002)
Click here
for our Halloween site.
Coming soon, our cross country trip page.