This week is exciting at our house, with my parents finally getting settled in their new home (just 1 mile from us) and my brother and his family here to celebrate Christmas with us all. 11 of us jumping between 2 houses for 10 days - happy chaos! R is delighting in nightly sleepovers at Nana Betty's house while the nephews are crashing here with our boys.
Big J will be turning 8 tomorrow and is enjoying his last day as a 7-year-old playing Wii with his cousins and baking Christmas cookies. Tomorrow we will use up some Red Lobster gift certificates we have been hording for a special occasion and we will be making his request of mushroom swiss burgers for whatever meal we eat at home.
Little J is into Pooh Bear (called "Bow-Pooh" since any bear is a "bow") and Elmo these days. Wonder what he will think of Christmas morning and what surprises he might find under the tree? I don't think he has a clue about what is going to take place at Nana's house on Tuesday morning yet, so it will be a blast to watch him discover it all!
We'll spend Christmas Eve preparing food for a more relaxed Christmas day, attending a service at church, then probably eating take out Chineese for dinner. It looks like Rick's parents will be here for a bit of the day too, so we will be in glorious grandparent overload and the kids will be beyond thrilled! :D
I've just launched a brand new blog this month. Please stop by www.InnerBeautyGirls.blogspot.com for free drawings, beauty tips and tricks, book reviews and more. :)
For anyone who hasn't received our Christmas letter (why don't I have your mailing address then?) here's a bit of our current family newsletter:
In recap for those of you who have missed recent Saake happenings, we moved into a new house in Dec. 2004, my first book was published in May, 2005, and we added a new Bundle of Joy to our family in Jan. 2006, after another long, complicated pregnancy. Little J was our only true “preemie” but outweighed Big J and almost matched R’s full term birth weights.
We are still homeschooling. Big J will turn 8 just before Christmas and in 3rd grade. After 4 years of patiently waiting, he’s finally getting to take violin lessons this year. He is also fencing (yes, as in sword fighting) and taking an interest in Spanish. He still enjoys cooking and is continually developing new recipes and dreaming up television program ideas he wants to create for Food Network. He stared in a baseball-themed musical this past spring and has a great imagination for story writing. He is very comfortable and outgoing in social settings and equally content to spend several hours at a time playing “Super Heroes” alone in his own make believe world. He’s thrilled to finally be able to share his bunk bed with a little brother.
R is our pretty pink princess, through and through. She loves baby dolls and dress up and ponies and music and anything artsy. Her ballet teachers moved last year and she is still bemoaning this loss, so we’ll have to look for a new creative outlet for her in the spring. If she hears anything set to music, even once, she will memorize it and sing it over and over and over. We have started Kindergarten on a very gentle schedule as she’s not yet 5, and plan to spread K and 1st out over a 3-year period as we did with Big J. Starting to read is a very exciting accomplishment this past fall! Learning to share toys and attention with a baby brother has had some moments of frustration, but overall R loves being a big sister and often seems to think she is Little J’s second Mommy.
Little J is a tenacious almost-2-year-old with a great sense of humor, contagious giggle and snuggly hugs. He adores animals and always thinks he wants to pet them, that is until they get close and he screams and recoils! Meeting the “real” Elmo was particularly traumatic since his beloved stuffed Elmo doesn’t walk around nor ask for hugs. Our “Jer-Bear” is currently mastering the big boy potty and enjoys R’s school lessons almost as much as she does. Any time he observes words, he shouts out with great enthusiasm, “I, I, I, A, E, I!” to indicate his thrill of discovery that there are actually letters there. Music, or anything with a rhythm that he interprets as music (like the trash truck emptying cans up and down the street), will set him to dancing instantaneously.
Rick has been with rgj.com 10 years this January. He is currently filling in as interim Online Director. Work keeps him very busy, but we did have a chance to take a wonderful family trip to Disneyland in May. He also enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Alaska for 10 days in August, returning in time to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary with a beautiful dinner at our favorite restaurant here in Reno. It looks like he may get to welcome in the New Year either preparing for, or recovering from, shoulder surgery after tearing a rotator cuff last summer.
I’m staying busy with homeschooling and a few online businesses. Currently I’m focusing on selling Affordable Mineral Makeup after finding something I can wear without allergic reactions. I’m also keeping several blogs, networking and promoting my book, and jotting notes for future writing topics. It’s been exciting to finally find a local writers’ group that I’ve really connected with, as well as building several wonderful online relationships. I have many more ideas than hours or energy will allow, especially as I’ve struggled again a lot more with my health this past year than I have for a long time. I’ve spent the fall working with a homeopathic doctor and am on the waiting list for a international research study on CFIDS that will be headquartered right here in Reno.
What a special time we had celebrating Rick’s grandma’s 90th birthday last month, gathering across the generations with special pictures taken of Gram-Gram with all 9 of her great grandchildren! And our kids look forward to much more time enjoying grandparents now that my mom and dad have moved to Reno. I’ve been praying for them to be able to move here for about nine years and am beyond thrilled that it has finally happened! We’ve said a few sad goodbyes this year as well, to Rick’s grandpa last spring and my grandma just this week.
Another year has come and gone. Praying that it has been a year of joy and blessing for you and yours and that the year ahead will be wonderful. Please drop us a note or an email!
May your celebration of Jesus' birth be one of special joy!
1 comment:
Hey! Your description of Kiddos---especially Ruthi---sounds like I could have written it about mine!
Anyway....you've been Carded:
http://mom2ways.blogspot.com/2007/12/youve-been-carded.html
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