Parker and his friend, Tyler, on a warm, windy January day.
I thought it might be nice to do a little family update post, to let you know what we are all up to, and for my own future reference.
Neal has been working hard, as usual, at his office in Bedford. He is going on four years working at the group practice down there (which means we have lived here almost as long!). The practice recently moved locations, and is now housed in a nice, new office space. The old building has been torn down to make way for a freeway widening project. One less eyesore on the face of the planet (that building was horrid)! He has a birthday coming up on the 29th, and is enjoying lots of hobbies, as usual. He replanted our garden for the winter and we harvested a wonderful little crop of salad greens before the batteries ran out on our electric fence and Trooper made his way into that part of the yard. Trooper quickly made work of the garden, digging it up beyond recognition. Neal has purchased a new battery pack and will be re-re-planting the garden soon. Neal loves to make fresh pasta, and has also tried his hand at homemade cheese and yogurt. He is ambitious in the kitchen! He continues to care for his little menagerie, which now includes two poison dart frogs, five geckoes, Audrey's snake, Parker's two hermit crabs, and various insects for feeding all of these animals (roaches, fruit flies and crickets). Neal is thinking about taking up beekeeping and is looking forward to baseball season (Go Rangers!).
I have been busy with all sorts of things as well. I am still Primary President, and the change of the year is a major task in Primary. I believe we have everything sorted out, though we are working on a Great to Be Eight breakfast next Sunday for 30-40 people. I really enjoy being in Primary, though, and wouldn't trade it for anything. My counselors, Stephanie and Chris, and my secretary, Jill, are all such precious friends to me. I am always grateful for their support, ideas and hugs. I'm also helping with the PTA at Florence (Parker's school) again this year. I head up the Box Tops collection/grocery rewards/Six Flags ticket efforts, as well as co-chairing the little committee which publishes students' books. It's fun, and I've met some great people working at Florence. I work in the library once a week at Audrey's school, reshelving books. I am looking forward to Institute starting back up again next week; I attend the once-weekly class at church and love that little mid-week gospel dose. I'm still reading a lot, and try to get through one book a week. Sometimes that's easier than others. When I have a spare moment here and there, I like to watch one of the lectures I have downloaded from
Great Courses. For now, I have chosen the course Foundations of Western Civilization. I download each 30-minute lecture to my phone and watch them when I am waiting in carpool lines or baseball practice, or am otherwise stuck in the car. I am trying to get to the temple once a month, and would love to go twice a month, which is my goal for 2012. This year, I also want to get my bedroom redecorated. It is still just a conglomeration of furniture and things from our previous homes. I want to get it in better shape so I can relax in it more often!
Audrey is a busy girl, but never to busy to read. She still plows through a few books a week, which is now made easier because of her Kindle. She is finishing up a 37-book series called Warriors, with a few others thrown in if they are nearby. She will literally read anything within her arms' reach, which is wonderful! Audrey is in fifth grade and continues to earn straight As every quarter. She is a great student and a wonderful girl. We are hoping to keep her innocent as long as possible, but the world creeps in big time in fifth grade! We are doing our best to be there for her as her world gradually changes as she approaches her teens. She plays the piano beautifully and rides horses once a week, generally. She took a bit more than a year off from horseback riding, but the newfound proximity of our friends' horses and instructor have given that hobby a resurgence. She is also involved in Destination Imagination again this year. Her team is called Kinexx, and they will be competing at the regional level mid-February. She is still very sad about the loss of her friend, Twiggy, but we have started talking about a new bird. Maybe sometime this spring we will have a new buddy for her. For now, she is great friends with Trooper and spends lots of time with him outside.
Parker has been living it up as an 8-year-old boy, enjoying life and taking it easy as only Parker can. He is such an easy-going kid, and a pleasure to be around. He's never in a bad mood and is always ready with a hug and a cuddle. He tried out for and made it onto the 9U Pony Elite Baseball Team here in Keller, so he'll be playing on the Keller Indians this Spring. (The Indians are also the high school mascot here, so we're hoping it's a good sign. Parker would love to play baseball in high school!) He is taking piano lessons also, and is slowly but steadily learning how to play! Parker is involved with Destination Imagination this year, too. He participated in first grade, but took a break last year. His group is called The Beatles, and he has some good friends on his team. They will compete the same day Audrey does, in February. Parker is excelling in third grade, earning straight As and compliments from his teachers on his behavior. We are so proud of him, as the rowdy types in his class take lots of patience and skill to deal with! In his spare time, Parker likes to play catch, ride his bike and shoot his air soft guns.
Miles is doing great, too. Our kids have all been blessed with such good health, and we are so grateful for that! Miles is in Pre-K this year, at Northwood Learning Center. His teachers, Miss Natalie and Miss Lisa, are wonderful and he is crazy about them. He has made some fun new friends this year and is learning all sorts of things. He is getting better at reading, and is working on subtraction at school. His very favorite things to do are to build with Legos and to draw. He loves to draw pictures of knights, baseball guys, flags of the world, and eagles. He is pretty talented, and I love to find his little creations all over the place. He loves to work on puzzles and play Uno, too. We signed Miles up for teeball again this spring, so practices should be starting up soon. He can't wait! He is one of only two boys in his church class, where he is reliably reverent, which makes me so happy.
Blessings abound here in our family, we are so grateful, and hopeful that 2012 will bring more happiness, more rain and more time with our families and friends.
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