Well, enough with the neglected blog guilt....here comes a little catching up. If I can remember what we've been up to! Buckle up....it may be a long ride!
We are feeling pretty settled in here in Derby, KS. It's a great town to live in that is very safe and family oriented. I wish there were more restaurants, but it's probably good that I have to drive 20-30 mins up to Wichita to eat at my favorite places. I LOVE that everything in Derby is about 5 mins from my house. (I would eat out every day I'm sure, if I only had to drive 5 mins.)
Isabel is in first grade this year (she turned 6 in Aug) and just SO grown up. She gets very annoyed if anyone wakes her up, she likes to "sleep in" even if it's until 7:30 or 8am. We still take her up to the dual immersion school in Wichita. For first grade she has English literature, Spanish literature, Spanish Math/Science, PE, Art, Computer, Library and Music. Her handwriting is starting to look really good and she loves to read Boxcar Children books. These are little mystery books about four siblings who are very hardworking and mature. (GREAT examples for her!) She read THREE of these little hundred page books in a week and we are so happy that she enjoys it so much. Since Isabel is already six I thought we need to practice bike riding more. We had Joseph come out to see her go for 3 seconds without me holding on. I suggested he try it with her. He let go and she rode down to the end of our street with him running next to her. (I always spend so much time trying to teach our kids something and then he waltzes in and helps for 2 seconds and the kid does it perfectly! After being a little jealous, I guess I'm just glad that she can ride.) I'll be excited for spring and summer and all the bike riding we can do.
Ansel turned four in November and is learning to be a GREAT big brother. He is getting good at sharing with his little brother, being kind and being a good example. I started doing reading lessons with Ansel and he is catching on so much faster than Isabel did. We are already a third of the way through the book and we are so proud of his hard work. Ansel and I are also doing a little parent/child pre-school this year for 2 hours, one day a week. They have a lot of fun projects and learning activities for us to do. Ansel was very shy at first, but quickly got over it and started participating with the group. We also had a blast at his pumpkin patch field trip where they had a huge slide, wagon ride, train ride, giant parachute trampoline, and zip line. Ansel LOVES tools and fixing things with his dad and can patiently sit and help much longer than any of the rest of us. The boys just got a wooden train set for Christmas this year and Ansel loves to build the track and drive on it. Ansel loves to do little gymnastics drills with me and is pretty coordinated. I hope to do little classes for him and his friends this year because I know he'll enjoy it a lot.
Lincoln turned two in November and is our little wild man. He is such a character and is always putting on shows for us especially at the dinner table. He makes silly faces, does little dances and anything he can think of to make his siblings laugh. Lincoln also LOVES to play with trains and watch train movies. He has a blue engine that he calls Thomas (even though he is not Thomas). Lincoln also really likes to play with Buzz light year action figures when he goes to other people's houses. We just started potty training him a week ago and boy is he stubborn, like Isabel was. He has been making some good progress and I hope he'll be ready to get back into our daily routine again next week. Lincoln is SO animated in his facial expressions and the things that he says. He is very loud (not like our other children) and he'll always sing his answers to you. My favorite is when he changes his answer in the middle of his "song." He'll say: "NNNN...YEEES!" He has started reading the scriptures and saying his prayers (by repeating after us). It's very cute and he loves being involved in those activities. Lincoln also LOVES his letters which he learned on starfall.com. He has just learned how to move and click the mouse all by himself which he is thrilled about!
Joseph got switched to a new group at work again and is really enjoying the change. I'm so glad that his schedule still allows him to pick up Isabel from school for me most days. Joseph continues to explore his talents and interests in his spare time. This included fixing our furnace when the heat stopped working one Saturday morning. I have to admit I was pretty nervous when he started tinkering around and taking it apart. It only took him a week and a $13 part! He continues to watch sports (much to my dismay....but I try to get into a few NE football games and Heat basketball games to be supportive.) He still likes to learn songs on his guitar and the piano we scored on craigslist this year. He writes occasionally for American Thinker and was published in a Harper Collins anthology book edited by Jonah Goldberg. We had to cut our big summer vacation to Lake Tahoe a little short because Joseph ran for State Representative in the Kansas House and we needed to get back to campaign. It was very busy with Joseph going door to door at least four hours a day and all the new things we had to learn. Joseph came in second in the three way race. He ended up getting more votes that we thought he needed to win; the turn out was SO much more than anyone anticipated. A week after the primary Joseph got called to be a seminary teacher for our church. So, during the school year he meets with about 25 high school students to study the scriptures from 5:45-6:30am. It is time consuming and challenging, but he is really enjoying it. This year Joseph got a little over a week of Christmas vacation and he put himself to work. He painted our entire upstairs (except for the bedrooms). I think the hardest part was picking the color. We had to get about 8 sample colors before found a GREAT pale green that reminds us of our old house. Joseph also ripped up our carpeted dining room, living room, hallway and linoleum kitchen and is putting in a hardwood bamboo floor right now as I type! I've been getting so fed up with having him occupied every minute of the day, being physically exhausted and the house being torn up. But as soon as I saw a few boards laid down, I realize it's SO worth it. It looks amazing!! We'll see if he can finish up before he has to head back to work on Monday. I have my fingers crossed!
Well, I don't know what to say about myself. I've just been mostly running things from behind the scenes and trying to enjoy every day. We had a great vacation to Lake Tahoe where we got to relax, have fun and spend time with a lot of my family. The drive out there was pretty long, but we are so glad we were able to go. Flat Kansas does have AMAZING sunsets, but I do enjoy the forest, mountains, and lake at Tahoe so much! This year seems like it has been so busy for all of us. It's been fun doing school with Ansel and I help out in Isabel's class every other week. We are expecting a baby boy at the end of January and are having so much trouble deciding on a name. With our first three children, the pregnancies were really not a big deal. I would be more tired, but be able to continue my normal responsibilities without any difficulty. This time has been different....We found out I was pregnant a week after we decided for Joseph to run for State Rep. So, in addition to being pregnant I had much more responsibility as a campaign manager and no time from a husband to help out. I think those two months just wore me out a lot and then I got sick a few days before the primary and have pretty much been sick ever since. We had a lot of illnesses go through the house and pass from person to person, but mine seemed to drag on forever, wear me out and cause me to not sleep. After consulting with several doctors, it seems apparent that I will continue to have these problems until the baby comes. I just take it a day at a time. It's nice to have a break from our normal routine and it feels good to get things done around the house.
As I reflect upon this past year I am so grateful for all the experiences that we have had and the things we've been able to do. We are so blessed and I know that the Lord has been mindful of us. I also know that when do what the Lord wants us to do, things work out better than we could have planned on our own and we are happier. I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and have a wonderful New Year!!