I'm laughing at myself as I post this blog. I wrote this at the beginning of December. We decided to not send our usual letter and instead have family and friends come here to read it. However until today, I realized I forgot to post it! And for some, Christmas cards are going out today. Probably the latest I have ever sent them but we figured everyone loves mail, or rather good mail that isn't a bill. So even though they are late, we still hope everyone had a great Christmas!
Merry Christmas to all!
What a year 2013 has been. Last
year both Jonathan and Noah’s basketball teams went undefeated and we
celebrated while we could knowing an undefeated season is rare. We had a summer of some new firsts for the
boys. Jonathan tried his hand at track
& field for the Sunflower State Games.
It was an eye opener for all of us.
We tried to urge him for long distance races but he wanted to try the
dashes and did. He was one of the very
few kids there that did not belong to a track club. So while he did not medal in anything he did
finish and that was all we told him to try and do. When ending the 200 meter he finished with a
smile on his face. He said all of the
kids are so far ahead of me I look like such an amateur. During the mile run, one girl actually lapped
the other runners. Noah’s basketball
also played in the Games this year. They
were a good year younger than any other team and because of the rules Jonathan
was actually allowed to help the team out and play. The kids didn’t win but played really hard
and played some really great teams from across the state. This past summer Katie also had to get her
tonsils out. So the summer was pretty
dull for the boys with Katie in recovery but they said they still had fun.
Caleb is in Kindergarten this year and doing great. For a quick update on him, when he was two he
received services through TARC because his speech was delayed and he
transferred right into the public preschool to help him progress before
Kindergarten . He made great strides. It was during our time with TARC that they
suggested we get him tested for Asperger’s, a form of Autism. We decided not to get him tested at that time
and see how preschool went. It went
great so we held off. Now that he is in
school all day we have revisited the idea of testing. He is doing great however some new signs or
characteristics have come to light. So
we started the process and “passed” the first steps. We now have an appointment for January 21st
when we will take him to KU Med in KC.
By the end of the appointment we will know if he does or does not and
have all of the information we need to go from there. He is still a lover of trains. I think they have come out with about fifty
new trains in the Thomas collection! J He played tball for
the first time this past summer and loved it!
Katie is very excited to possibly have a baseball player. We thought about trying his hand at
basketball but he has no interest at all.
He said, “no thank you. I will just play baseball.” He cannot wait to have his practices
again. He does a great job at all of his
brothers basketball games. As long as we
take trains and coloring books he can play for hours. Recently Jonathan has had to get glasses and
Caleb felt really left out so we bought him some cheap frames from Walmart
right off the wall. They are only for
looks but they make him feel included in the family and he looks pretty
cute. He wears them all day and is very
careful with them. He is still a very
picky eater but the doctor says all of his tests show he is a healthy boy, so
we try and not worry so much. Noah had a
really great opportunity to “loop” with his 2nd grade teacher into 3rd
grade. They have a big class and need a
4th teacher and she was given the opportunity to move with
them. She is such a great teacher. This past summer the class was able to attend
her wedding and now this year she is
expecting her first child. It has been
so awesome for the kids to experience such big events with their teacher. Even at the age of 9, Noah has a very tender
heart. He is always thinking of other
people and how he can help them. He
literally will get paid for doing something really big and extra around the
house and he always wants to go and give it to someone else that could really
use it. We love his generosity. There have been many occasions if he could
give the shirt off his back he would, or rather if we would let him. He is still in basketball and singing. He loves both. Jonathan is now 11 and wearing glasses. One
of his best friends had to get glasses last year and he tried to get glasses
then and was so excited when he had to get them this year. One day we will remind him of that. He has been given a nickname by his
basketball team, Jonnie. He is still
very much into basketball. Watches it
and plays it whenever he can. His ball
handling has improved this year and we have been working on leadership skills,
something good to learn at any age. He
is very witty and has become a bottomless pit.
He is always hungry it seems.
This past spring we went to the Human Society and met our newest member
of the family, Max. He is eight years
old and a Yorkshire. He fits our family
perfectly and the boys love having a dog.
He has become a momma’s boy and follows Katie everywhere, and often
whines when she has to go somewhere. He
does really good with the boys and has basically trained us. Heath celebrated 10 years this past spring at
Payless. We are still very thankful he
has a job that he enjoys. He follows his
Hawks and Broncos year round. Katie is
still finishing her degree at Nazarene Bible College, taking the classes all
online. With the teens and children at
church the Lord is showing her how to lead.
We love that our boys get to see and experience ministry up close. I am sure every Pastor feels they have the best
youth, but Katie is pretty sure that she does.
Every day of every week she gets to be a part of some pretty
extraordinary youth. We pray that over
the next year, as you seek God’s guidance and wisdom, you have one of the best
years. Merry Christmas and Happy New
Year!
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