“Come thou long expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee.”
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee.”
It seems that is was not too long ago, when I was sitting down to write last years letter. How the time does pass, with now 3 little ones in the house to keep up with. I can’t say that I actually ever feel like I’m caught up with them, but I certainly do try!
That said, the biggest news this year in our family, was the arrival of our baby girl on April 27, named Elise Meredith. She was overdue, so we spent a few days anxiously awaiting her arrival. We had a doula (birthing coach) with us this time, and her birth went so much better than the boys did. I’m still not sure that I’m used to having a girl yet, as I was just starting to get comfortable with the thought of boys. So far no girl traits have shown themselves, other than massive quantities of pink around the house. She is trying to crawl these days, but I’m hoping that she doesn’t succeed until the Christmas tree is gone for the year!
Luke is now a big 4½ year old. He is a typical first born (pleaser, thinks he’s an equal with Dad and Mom) and keeps me challenged. As a middle kid myself, I don’t understand him much of the time, but Greg does as he is also a first born. Luke is excited to learn anything, and we’ve been working with him on various subjects. We plan to home school, so are using this year to review curriculum and learning styles to see what will work best for our family.
Our James is 2½ and there is never a dull moment with him around. The best word to describe him would be “random”. You just never know what to expect, and usually he is unintentionally making us laugh. He’s been a late talker, so is just starting to put words together. His sentences consist of words like “none coal ucgh” (he doesn’t want any ucky coal in his stocking). He gets his point across quite clearly, despite his limited vocabulary. He dotes on Elise (he calls her NaNa) quite well, which pretty much always makes her cry because he’s so “in her face”.
This year we have delved into two new areas that we haven’t been before. Chickens and wood stoves. They both have involved much learning, and we are still eager to learn more. The chickens now give us plenty of fresh eggs, and we may expand the numbers next spring to include broilers (meat chickens). The wood stove has given us plenty of work to do, as well as toasty radiant heat. The stove has a window in the door, and we love just sitting in front of the fire all evening and watching it flicker (the kids pretend it‘s TV).
We also were able to purchase a full size truck (needed mostly for the wood) and now plan to go to Arizona for Christmas where we have also acquired a camper to bring back with us. We’ve had many camping disasters with kids and tents, so are hoping this will help solve that problem. The price was too good to pass up, and now it gives us an excuse to head for sunshine when it’s at the rainiest here. We’ve been here 4 years now (in the Pacific Northwest), and I feel like I must be finally getting acclimatized. The other morning I woke up to a gray day, and wasn’t even disappointed. That had never happened before. So, we’ll see what my thoughts are come March, but right now, it’s all okay! (oops, change of plans...my Grandma Staudinger passed away, so we'll be headed to Alberta, Canada for Christmas instead. Feeling sadness for the loss of her, but rejoicing that her battle here is done, and that she's gained the victory through Christ!)
That said, the biggest news this year in our family, was the arrival of our baby girl on April 27, named Elise Meredith. She was overdue, so we spent a few days anxiously awaiting her arrival. We had a doula (birthing coach) with us this time, and her birth went so much better than the boys did. I’m still not sure that I’m used to having a girl yet, as I was just starting to get comfortable with the thought of boys. So far no girl traits have shown themselves, other than massive quantities of pink around the house. She is trying to crawl these days, but I’m hoping that she doesn’t succeed until the Christmas tree is gone for the year!
Luke is now a big 4½ year old. He is a typical first born (pleaser, thinks he’s an equal with Dad and Mom) and keeps me challenged. As a middle kid myself, I don’t understand him much of the time, but Greg does as he is also a first born. Luke is excited to learn anything, and we’ve been working with him on various subjects. We plan to home school, so are using this year to review curriculum and learning styles to see what will work best for our family.
Our James is 2½ and there is never a dull moment with him around. The best word to describe him would be “random”. You just never know what to expect, and usually he is unintentionally making us laugh. He’s been a late talker, so is just starting to put words together. His sentences consist of words like “none coal ucgh” (he doesn’t want any ucky coal in his stocking). He gets his point across quite clearly, despite his limited vocabulary. He dotes on Elise (he calls her NaNa) quite well, which pretty much always makes her cry because he’s so “in her face”.This year we have delved into two new areas that we haven’t been before. Chickens and wood stoves. They both have involved much learning, and we are still eager to learn more. The chickens now give us plenty of fresh eggs, and we may expand the numbers next spring to include broilers (meat chickens). The wood stove has given us plenty of work to do, as well as toasty radiant heat. The stove has a window in the door, and we love just sitting in front of the fire all evening and watching it flicker (the kids pretend it‘s TV).
We also were able to purchase a full size truck (needed mostly for the wood) and now plan to go to Arizona for Christmas where we have also acquired a camper to bring back with us. We’ve had many camping disasters with kids and tents, so are hoping this will help solve that problem. The price was too good to pass up, and now it gives us an excuse to head for sunshine when it’s at the rainiest here. We’ve been here 4 years now (in the Pacific Northwest), and I feel like I must be finally getting acclimatized. The other morning I woke up to a gray day, and wasn’t even disappointed. That had never happened before. So, we’ll see what my thoughts are come March, but right now, it’s all okay! (oops, change of plans...my Grandma Staudinger passed away, so we'll be headed to Alberta, Canada for Christmas instead. Feeling sadness for the loss of her, but rejoicing that her battle here is done, and that she's gained the victory through Christ!)
Much love to you now at Christmas time, and may God richly bless you in the coming 2010!!
Greg, Rachel, Luke, James & Elise
