October 11th, 2005 Edition
I can't believe it has taken this long to update.
That's what we get for having 5 children up and running around making
our lives more complicated, eh?
We are loving every minute of it.
As usual, not a whole lot *new* going on here, same old family fun that
just keeps going, and going, and going...
(ok, who let the Energizer bunny out again...)
We accepted the prophet's
challenge in August and started reading together as a family on
August 1st. We are now in the middle of Alma. The kids are
all doing great with reading, though Emilie doesn't read yet, she does
try to follow along and helps out. Nathanael carries around the
Book of Mormon board book and calls them his scriptures and likes to
point out King Benjamin... and laugh. He couldn't believe
Benjamin was in the book. Just wait til we get to Samuel the
Lamanite hehe.
Our area of Texas is cooling down, with lows in the mid 30s the last
few days.
It feels like fall! The locals say that we can expect the first
freeze around Halloween.
Our garden has produced one good sized pumpkin, one good sized
watermelon, countless tomatoes,
lots of miniature Bell peppers, and a handful of jalapenos. Oh,
and lots of peas, cucumbers, and green beans.
I call it a success, and we will try for a larger garden next
year. (Did anyone else know that crickets love tomatoes? ew)
Tom's job is going well, he still occasionally has to travel but some
of those are accomplished with no overnight stay!
He has been to California, Denver, and Arkansas, as well as a longer
conference in Dallas. His calling as Ward Mission Leader
keeps him busy and
the ward is getting excited about missionary work, it is great.
Tabitha is, as usual, busy being Mom and wife as well as homeschooling,
housekeeping, now gardening, and keeping up with friends and
family. Primary Sacrament meeting is this coming Sunday, keeping
us busy. We are more involved with the local homeschool group
this year and enjoying the field trips and such.
Life is good.
Michael is nearly 9 years old, and technically in the 3nd
grade, although most of his skills are at varying higher levels
depending on what you are looking at. He is a Wolf scout and has
lots of arrow points earned. He enjoys working on scouting and is
looking forward to being a Bear scout after his birthday. We are
starting the Pizza Hut Book it
program for reading as well as Braum's Book Buddies.
He loves to
read, learn, play and help. I am so proud of him.
He loves
his Primary class and reading his scriptures. His page is here. He loves Calvin and
Hobbes, Star Wars, Legos, Harry Potter, being a detective, and a big
brother.
Benjamin is now 7 years old and can read the Book of Mormon
fluently.
For some reason other books still test his confidence. He is
officially in 1st grade, but doing a lot of 2nd grade work and does
math alongside Michael. He is looking forward to turning 8 and
being able to go to Cub Scouts and be baptized. We are very proud
of Benjamin as
well. He is a huge help with Samuel and doing what I ask.
His
page is here. He lost
his first two teeth this summer but had to have them pulled, as he was
getting his permanent teeth in behind them.
He loves homeschooling and is very quick to learn new skills.
(oh, and the reading incentive programs aren't bad either lol)
Emilie is 5 1/2 years old. She has now started Kindergarten and
is doing very well.
Her favorite part is being able to participate in the Pizza Hut Book It
program and earn pizzas for meeting reading goals, although
Kindergarten doesn't count in the Braum's Book Buddy program. So
she will be sad when the boys get ice cream... next year, Emilie!
Another thing she loves is finding paper dolls to
print and color and glue online.
She is also taking ballet at the local community college and
loves dancing. She wasn't too thrilled that
her class included tap dance but has decided she likes both now.
She took Summer term and now is taking Fall Semester as well. She
loves her teacher and is doing well, we think. Her page is here.
Nathanael is now 2 1/2 years old. He is amazing us every day with
his vocabulary and his new skills. He can start a movie in the
VCR without asking for help. (did I mention we are not thrilled
with all these skills?) He can turn on the kids' computer, rename
some files, and start a Blue's Clues game. He can get things out
of the fridge, including eggs. He can find a chair to get what he
wants off the counter in the kitchen. He can stand on a table to
"fix" the top. He tells me, I won't fall and bonk my head,
Mom. (sound familiar anyone?) He has blonde hair and dark
grey-blue eyes. He is sweet as can be, but does throw tantrums
when he is overtired, frustrated, or angry. His favorite thing to
do is play cars, but he will do anything the big kids are doing.
He knows most preschool skills, loves coloring. His page is here.
Samuel is now 8 1/2 months old. He can sit, crawl, stand, cruise,
nearly walk, and says Dada, Gaga, spits like a pro, and get into
trouble faster than you can say his name. He loves Cheerios,
sweet potatoes, mom's milk, pizza crust, Trix (sigh), shoes, Cheerios
again, bananas, rice, corn, Cheerios, and anything on the
floor. Oh, and anything of Nathanael's. Nathanael is
not sure what he thinks of this, but for the most part loves "baby
sammel". He shares a room with Emilie and will wake her up to
talk to her. He loves being able to roam through the house to
find everyone. We're keeping baby proofing to a maximum, and that
includes Legos (ack!) He does appear to be a momma's boy, but Tom
swears it's just when he's hungry LOL.
His page is here with
lots of new pictures
and updates.
That's it for all of us, hope to hear from our friends and family soon!
We hope everyone is doing well and look forward to seeing you whenever
we can either make it out to visit or when you can make it here.
President's day weekend 2006 is the latest we'll see almost everyone,
right? Give us a call if you will be out in our direction, we are
a LOT closer than usual. We have room for friends and family to
stay, just let us know!
HUGS!
Love,
Tabitha, Tom, and family
Michael, Benjamin, Emilie, Nathanael, and Samuel
plus Joseph in heaven!
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