Yesterday I sent a family update via e-mail to family and friends, and since I connect with so many through blogging I thought I'd share it here as well.
Dear Family and Friends,
2013 was an eventful year for our
family! Our sweet little Abigail was born in April and has been a
constant joy. In July and August we went through the stressful experience
of selling our house and relocating so we could be closer to Jim's employment.
He'd been commuting an hour each way for the previous two years. We
rented a house initially, then in October bought our newest home.
November was consumed in house repair because our new house needed some major
work, and we finally move in the week of Thanksgiving. It's been a
whirlwind in some ways!
Jim's job here with John Deere has
continued to be a huge blessing. He enjoys his work, has a wonderful
team/ manager, and the company is so good to us. We are very grateful for
such good employment. It has been wonderful living closer to work as
well. Jim is relieved over the shorter drive, and we enjoy the extra time
with him. Jim is serving as Cub Master in our ward right now and is
enjoying the chance to work with the boys. He's never served in Cubs
before so this is a new experience for him. The other leaders tell me
that he is awesome with the boys. I can believe it; he really has a way
with kids.
I have been keeping busy with the
kids and home. I'm relieved that our big house projects are finished (for
now) and that we don't have another move coming up. If I could have it my
way, we'd never move again! (Dreams do come true sometimes...) I'm
grateful for all that we've been through, though. Our new house is a
century old farm house just outside of town set on three acres and surrounded
by farmland. It's beautiful and so peaceful here. Before we moved
in, we painted the entire interior of the house, replaced all the carpet,
installed a completely new HVAC system, and SCRUBBED way too many hours.
In short, the house was extremely filthy when we bought it. Otherwise
it's a great house. Our closest neighbors have been so friendly and
welcoming. They even plowed our long driveway for us when we were snowed
in (they own a snowplow company)! I'm really enjoying our new
ward here; the women have made me feel welcome and included in so
many ways. I am so grateful for them. They have really lifted my
spirits during stressful times in these short months. I'm
currently serving as the Primary pianist which is so fun because I get to watch
my kids in Primary; I love playing the piano too.
Logan, age 7, seems to be
reaching a new level of awareness and ability. He spends most of
his time reading and is starting to surpass us in his understanding of
certain things. I find it really amusing when he uses new words that he's
learned in his books. One day he approached me and told me about the
'hoar frost' outside. I knew the term, but Jim had never heard it.
The best part was that he was entirely correct! He mixes up the meanings
of the things he reads sometimes and has said some pretty funny things as a
result, too! We can always tell he's thinking, though. He's become
really enthusiastic about LEGOs this year and has pulled his younger siblings
in with him. They spend hours creating things. For Christmas, Logan
received giftcards to the LEGO store. We took a weekend trip to
Minneapolis and included that as a stop. He used his gift money to buy
white LEGOs so he could build temples. What a kid! Logan is such a
strength to our family. He is a hard worker and helps me a lot with his
siblings and around the house. He has a testimony and is excited to be
baptized this year; he already has it all planned out even though it's months
away.
Annie, age 5, always seems
to be just behind her big brother, but she's super independent too. She
has taken off with reading this year, and spends hours every day in her
books. She particularly enjoys reading out loud, so Alex is usually right
next to her listening. We've also been seeing a great tendency with her
to aim for perfection in the things she does. At times that is
frustrating for all of us because she gets upset when she doesn't perform as
she wishes (i.e. writing, drawing, comprehending). She also has a very
quick intellect, and gets impatient easily as a result. All this makes
for a motivated and bright little girl! She continues to show us how
very feminine she is in the things she is interested and concerned with.
I asked her one day recently if she liked clothes or toys better, and her
response was that she likes them equally. She usually has a dress up
dress over her clothes and loves to feel pretty. We gave her a fancy
dress for Christmas instead of a toy and she wasn't a bit disappointed.
She is a very tender and sweet little person. She blesses our family so
much with her sweet nature.
Alex is my little fireball. At
three years old he is discovering so many abilities and testing how much
control he has over his world. He is extremely stubborn and sweet at the
same time. He loves to sit on our laps, and he's usually on his teacher's
lap at church. He's so affectionate that way. I haven't been doing
anything academic with him this year, but I keep discovering that his siblings
have taught him things like counting or less typical colors (he asked me for
something 'peach' the other day...). He is following our family
pattern of loving books. He actually won't sleep without at least twenty
books in his bed. Usually he has more. He has entered the
question phase too. He asks a lot of questions, or else
makes statements and follows up with, "Is that right?" He
wants to do everything that Annie and Logan do. Thankfully they include
him most of the time, but when they don't he turns into a human wrecking
ball. He is the very definition of 'rough and tumble
boy'. Alex also continues to be our family comedian.
He is so funny and has the most infectious laugh.
Abby will be nine months old on
Sunday, and I can't believe it! She is the sweetest little thing, and is
so content. All she wants is to be around people. She'll sit on the
floor and happily watch everyone or play with toys for hours. She smiles
at strangers and even lets them hold her! I've spent so much time just
enjoying her this year. She's on the verge of crawling and I'm not sure
I'm ready for that! I love this cuddly content phase so much! It's
fun to watch her personality emerge. She squeals and giggles when she's
watching her siblings, when I turn on the bath, or when she sees that it's time
to eat. She LOVES her big brothers and sister and they love her
back. It's so neat to watch how they gently care for her and play with
her. She is just happy...all...the...time. The only things she
doesn't like are shoes and hats; she's good at removing both. :)
I hope everyone is doing well!
Becky
