Luke swinging and Hannah at school

Luke just recently learned how to swing! He climbed on the other day and asked Hannah to push him. By this age, Hannah was still afraid to try it for a long time. But Luke the fearless climbed up and wanted to swing like a "big kid." I can't believe how much he has grown. He is all boy! He loves to climb, run, swing, play rough, and especially loves to play tackle with daddy.


Hannah is really starting to do better now with school. She still whines about doing some things, like reading and math, but when it comes right down to it, she is really starting to catch on. We are over half way in her kindergarten year of homeschooling. We go about 4 days a week now.

In the next few pictures, Hannah was doing a science experiment with different sizes of straws and making a flute. Her and Luke both had fun playing around with it.


Perhaps one of the better surprises yesterday was how well she was reading her "Dick and Jane" book. Mommy and I bought this book several years ago as a novelty because we both learned to read with it. Now, after many frustrating hours of "reading" with Hannah, she is getting it. Here she is reading to mommy and Luke. She was laughing at "Baby," one of the characters in the book. Isn't life grand with your family? These are the moments we all cherish with each other.

Luke turns 3 and a trip to the Cleveland Zoo

It is so hard to believe that in a few days Luke will be three! He has already been through so much and has come so far along with his cleft lip and palette. His speach continues to amaze us all the time.

Here is a picture of his favorite character, Thomas the very useful train. Luke loves watching Thomas and anything that has to do with cars, trucks, machines, or your typical "boy" stuff. He is certainly all boy!

We asked Luke what he wanted to do for his birthday. He said he wanted to go see the animals. So we went to the Cleveland Zoo. Despite some of the construction going on up there, it was a fairly pleasant day and very few people around. We didn't have any problems seeing the animals at all. In fact, most of them were out in plain sight. Usually we go when it is a hot day and the animals are trying to stay in the shade or in their hiding spots, but not this time.

Both kids really had a lot of fun. They were so excited the night before that they hardly slept, we almost decided not to go. But in the end we did and had a lot of fun. The best part of the trip was the drive back home. Both kids fell asleep shortly after we left, and well, daddy fell asleep the quickest. Poor mommy had to drive us all home and still stay awake herself. God was with us.

In the second picture Luke is being all "cool" like riding on daddy's shoulders. This is one of his favorite positions once he is up there. He perches and looks around.

The bottom two pictures are of Hannah and Luke climbing on some artificial termite mounds from the Australia area of the zoo.

The only dissappointing thing about the trip was that Hannah never got to see any elephants. It appears that they are completely redoing the pacaderm building by tearing it down, which they were in the process of doing while we were there. By the time it is done in 2011, it will be 4 times the old size and able to have more elephants as well.

On a personal note, I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much lately, but hopefully now that things are finally getting settled down, I will be able to do more. Blessings to all of you. Papa Eagle. (John)

Luke's love of living dagerously....

Okay, for those of you with children, you know there is a huge difference in the way boys and girls act and behave. Our dear children are no different. This past week, our son, Luke, truly caught on to the act of sitting properly on the swing in our backyard. He now sits like a "big boy." When our daughter started swinging, she wasn't too sure about it at first and hated going very high, especially after a few falls on the hard ground below.

Our son? Not a chance! He is already saying "Higher daddy, higher!" The boy has no fear. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing at this point. The only thing he fears is a spanking, or so it seems. (We don't typically spank him very often at all, unless he has just pulled his sister's hair or bitten her arm.) So when we threaten him with a spanking, that is usually all it takes to straighten him out. Or at least while I, daddy, am around.

Mommy on the other hand has a harder time with him. He just doesn't seem to want to listen. Now far be it from me to admit this, but I think it is a "guy" thing showing up already at an early age. After all, do we as men really and truly listen to our wives like we should? Do little boys listen to their mommies? I think this is one of the hardest lessons we could ever learn in marriage and parenting. It isn't until something goes wrong that little boys come running to their mommy's arms for the love and support that we all need. Forget daddy, mommy is a much better hugger and snuggler when little boys are sick or hurt. But when it comes to doing crazy stunts, the boys always seem to "show" off for their daddies and long for their attention.

So what does that say about our Heavenly Father? Are we willing to really listen to His voice prompting us to follow Him in our hearts? or are we often times like husbands and little boys pretending to listen, but not really hearing the common sense God gave to our wives and mothers in sharing with us. That is why we need to really listen, to really hear what God whispers in our hearts and minds as we journey through life. We need to yield to God everyday, not just when we get hurt, but before we get hurt so we don't have to suffer the pain and consequences of disobedience. Life is too busy and so full of ways to distract us from our true purpose here on Earth. Are we really listening? Are we really hearing God's voice calling us to obedience? Or do we blow it all off until we get hurt by some of life's unfortunate and often cruel dealings.

So how do we really hear and listen to God's voice? We study His word, the Holy Bible. It isn't a series of many books that have no relevance for today's life. It isn't old fashioned or obsolete? Not at all. It is life and hope in a dark and weary world. It is the difference of facing the world full of energy like a little child versus being fearful of all the bad news we are constantly being bombarded with. The more I read and study the Bible, the more I am amazed at God's perfect love for all of us.

Not long ago at the Christian school I work for, all of the middle schoolers were pulled into a large room and shown a video byLouie Giglio. "How Great is our God." (You can see a portion of it on youtube.com or godtube.com) This video showed the Greatness of God and how we were created, not evolved, by a loving God. How do I know this? Maybe instead of telling you, you should check out the above video for yourselves and look up "Laminin." Perhaps one of the most phenomenal videos I have ever seen. Laminin is the protein adhesion molecule that literally holds our bodies together. It is found in everything we were created to for. God holds us together, from the beginning of time with this tiny protein that would make many evolutionist cringe in their seats, because there is no denying that our bodies, our earth, our universe was fearfully and wonderfully made to "listen and hear" about God's great love for all of us "sinners."

And the Beat Goes On...

Well, school has started at the Ross household and summer things are winding down. John is enjoying his new position at the Christian school as computer teacher along with the 5 on-line courses he teaches. Needless to say, he is very busy (not to mention he is Jr-high youth leader and Adult Bible Fellowship leader).

Hannah is getting back in the school groove better than I thought. We did some school off and on over the summer so it wasn't a complete shock. She loves to learn certain things but still doesn't like to have to work to hard at anything one thing. She also started back at gymnastics and is on the big equipment now learning "big girl" moves (as she calls them).

Luke is potty trained, I could shout it from the mountain tops. I am very proud of him and it was very painless. He is a smart and growing boy. Lately his favorite thing to say to me is, "Mama, you're my best friend." It doesn't get any better than that.

My washing machine broke today in the middle of the first of 5 loads of laundry, this with company coming. I got a little bent out of shape and then God reminded me of something. I need to learn the difference between an inconvenience and a tragedy. I am ashamed to say I acted as if it was a tragedy. I am thankful though to be forgiven and to learn.

Camping Out

We recently enjoyed a wonderful camping trip to the Hocking Hills in southern Ohio. We had great weather and the different sights we saw were breath taking. We did a lot of hiking and playing, as well as bonding as a family.

In other news, we are gearing up for the school year again. Not only in continuing kindergarten with Hannah but John will also be teaching at a local Christian school this fall. He is excited and we are getting his class room and such ready. Hard to believe that it is almost back to school time.

We are thankful to God for the new job and the wonderful vacation. To think that H made all of those beautiful mountains and caves just for us to enjoy.

Something's Fishy

A lot has happened since last blogging. Part of the hold up is the fact that we have lost our camera and therefore had no pictures to inspire a blog. I should write anyway I know, but it seems more boring.
The kids have been up to wonderful good things and are as cute as ever. As you can see from these pictures they did a little fishing lately. For father's day we spent time at the Shira's. They have a stocked pond and Uncle Aaron taught the kids to fish. They both caught at least one and here they are with their prizes. I'm not sure exactly what Luke is crying about but I remember overall he had a good time.

In other news, Hannah completed a week of Safety Town and VBS this summer. She also finished her gymnastic program with a big show. She did well and her costume was very cute. If we ever find our camera we will post some pictures.

We took a small vacation to New York to spend time with my Grandmother and pick up our new camper. We are very excited about that and can't wait to go camping soon. The kids had a good time playing with their Great-grandmother whom they didn't know very well. I think they made fast friends with her though.

Luke has grown a lot this summer. Not only in stature but in language and skills. He remains very silly with a great sense of humor. The other days he was yelling out "I'm Stuck!" When we finally found out where he was we knelt down to see him under our bed. As I lifted up the blankets and looked under I hear a happy little voice say, "Hi, it's me". It doesn't get cuter than that.

We have had a lot of fun planting a vegetable garden and watching our tomatoes grow. They are doing well as are our new flowers. We continue to work on the bathroom and are confident that it will be finished before New Year. The summer is flying by as always with wonderful memories. Thanks for taking time to share in them with us. We always welcome emails and comments about your lives.

Fire in the hole!

We had the opportunity to visit an open house at the local fire station. Of course the children had a good time and learned what fire and ambulance trucks look like. They played some games, got snacks and balloons, and met many firemen.

As you can see from Luke's hat, we have high hopes for him. Not that I want to put unrealistic expectations on him but he's a smart kid, and so far Hannah still wants to be a tight-rope walker. Not much of a retirement for us with that income.

What toilet paper?

Notice how all of the toilet paper is in the bowl and none of it is on the roll? We are potty training a little boy, no further explanation necessary.

Little frogger

It has been a while since I took this picture, also since we have blogged. I guess you could say that we have been busy with usually spring outside work and recovering from our unfortunate microwave malfunction. I believe the house is beginning to smell like normal again and I am thankful for that.

Anyway, this was taken at a local park and the kids had a lot of fun watching these frogs in the pond and on land. There had to be almost a dozen of them in this tiny pond. Because the kids are older this year, they are taking notice of more things. Spring has been very exciting for them as they have watched each new plant come up and bloom. They have really enjoying exploring the bugs and worms in the back yard and even made a little ant house a few weeks ago. They remind me to slow down a little and take a look around me.

Luke has really enjoyed playing in the dirt of our new garden. All of us helped stake out and till up a new plot for a vegetable garden. Luke and Hannah had a dirt fight one day (as all good children will) much to my dismay. It is a good experience for them and tomorrow we shall plant our tomatoes, peppers and pumpkins.

Hannah is doing well with school. Her reading is improving and she is gaining self confidence. She also learning to add and measure; she really seems to like math. She has memorized two very simple piano pieces and is proud of that. Her gymnastic show is in a few weeks. She has been practising very hard to get her cartwheels down and mostly lands on her feet. She will be moved up 2 classes in the fall and loves it. She still has her heart set on being a tight-rope walker and she knows that her gymnastics will only help her achieve that goal.

Back home

Time for an update: We are back home and have been since last Thursday night. Below is a picture of the offending microwave and the hotel room. Our house still doesn't smell quite right. It is a mix of chemicals, a little sour smell once and a while and the ionizer smell. I'm trying to get used to it.
We are still trying to get everything put back away. The cleaners brought back all of our textiles and shoes and such Monday; 10 huge boxes full. Makes me think we have to much stuf. It is a good time to sort it out but it was not in my time schedule. We are also still dealing with the insurence company. They are being a little lazy about all this and doubtful at the things they need to replace.

We are still very grateful that this whole affair wasn't more serious.

This is Hannah's new hair cut. She had decided a while ago that she wanted it shorter. After getting used to it, we love it. Here is what HJ herself has to say, "I love my haircut and it's so best. It is so great. My mom and dad love it. I love all of you very much."

We are currently a displaced family. Due to a microwave malfunction, we have a lot of smoke damage to our house. Currently it is unlivable. We are here taking out what doesn't stink to move into a friends basement for a while. We are very thankful that no one was hurt but are facing a long cleaning and restoration process. Please pray for us as we adjust to a new living situation, financial stress and decision making.

A week at home.

Mommy had off from work this week.
I don't do this often but I tried something new and took a week off from work and stayed home. No stressful trips to pack for and long hours in the car. Just a nice week at home with my family. It was lovely. The stress of work melted away quickly (at times replaced by the stress of children) and I was filled with excitement over being able to spend the whole week home.

On Tuesday we did take the kids to the zoo (picture at left). The weather was wonderful and all the animals were out sunning themselves. The kids had a great time as did my sister-in-law and her daughter. Hannah's Eli, (stuffed elephant) also had a good time visiting her relatives.

In other news, we are moving ahead in the remodeling of the bathroom. It has been torn apart since mid-January and I am about to go nuts with it. We have finished painting and all that is left in to put up bead board, a new floor and counter top. Not much at all really. My dad is coming this week to help out a little with everything. When we get it done we will put up before and after pictures so everyone can be amazed.

My husband and the church youth group took part in a wonderful activity last night. The youth group was divided up and warned that they would be followed and perhaps captured in the course of the night. They went out to dinner and then to certain secret places for worship services. During the service the government (actual marines from our church) captured certain youth and interrogated them on what they were doing and about their faith. Of course this was only a mild representation of what underground churches all over the world go through daily. It reminded the youth that they are blessed to live in a country that has freedom of religion (although at times that freedom is being threatened) and made them aware that everyday Christ-followers are being imprisoned and killed for their beliefs. To hear the youth speak of it afterwards, it made a huge impact on them. They were left with the question of whether or not they would stand up for Christ under threat of death. We all need to ask ourselves this question. Are we ashamed of our faith or willing to loose everything for the glory of God?

Jesus gave everything so we could know the glory of eternal life with God.

Easter blessings

As you can see, our two darlings had a wonderful Easter. We were with their Grandparents out of state and were able to participate in the Easter egg hunt at their church. Hannah found the golden egg which enabled her to receive a special prize. She was very excited.
In other news, Hannah is doing well with school. We are having a bit of a time motivating her toward reading. She did ask the other day why reading was so important. If only she knew how the whole world would open up to her if she could read. She did come up with a new word yesterday. We were coloring and when she picked up a blue crayon to color with she said "this color looks a bit lakish, like the color of a lake". I thought that was pretty smart.
Lukie is definitely his very own person with his two favorite saying of late being, "leave my alone" and "I do it myself". I was reminded of another interesting habit of his the other day, he likes to hide in my closet. There is nothing very exciting in there but clothes and shoes but he will sit in there in the dark for a long time and be very content. He often traps our cat Molly in there with him and I'm sure he tortures her. She is blessed with long-suffering however, making her our more spiritual cat. When Luke finally lets Molly out she tears right out of the room.
In the week before Easter I came upon several conversations about death and dying. The thread that wove them together was this, the people had no hope. No idea or certainty of what would happen to them or their loved one after death. This lack of hope fills me with compassion, just like it did another man 2000 years ago. Many times in the New Testament the Bible states that Jesus was filled with compassion when he saw the people because they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). I have never lived without hope. My parents and the church I was raised in, taught me at a young age about hope. My hope is in the Lord. Because of his great love for us, he gave himself to take my place, to reconcile me to a Holy God so that I could live in paradise forever. I have no fear of death, I have no discouragement in life. Jesus came so that I could have life, and have it to the fullest. What a wonderful gift. Praise God, my Redeemer lives!

Our first year of Pre-K is completed!

HJ proudly displays her first graduation certificate! She did it! She has come a long way in our first year of homeschooling. Okay, so if you are really paying attention, we didn't exactly take a full school year to do the activities. She was doing so well, that we doubled up on our time with her and completed things in about 2/3 of the time. Now when our DS LA starts to do the same curriculum, we may take things a little slower with him. A lot really depends on the child and what they are truly capable of doing. So with that in mind, my wife and I have decided to start today with HJ's kindergarten program. Now comes the really fun stuff of trying to add in math, reading, science, language arts including a handwriting program, and lots of reading. This next year we will again continue using Sonlight Curriculum. Some of the fun books we will read include a lot of Dr. Sues books, House at Pooh Corner, Cappybobby, Wizard of Oz, and lots of others.

For a complete look at the material we will be using, follow the link to the Sonlight Core C page.
http://www.sonlight.com/cp-c.html Here you will find helpful info on the types of books and programs we will follow. We are kind of using the Core ultra program with some modifications. Basically we chose a few different programs like the math (Horizons) and handwriting (Righting for a Reason) versus the ones that were offered.

On a different note about our son, he continues to amaze us! He has come a long way already since he birth. His speech is progressing wonderfully! However don't try to call him anything but his real name. If we try to say he is "silly" or a "monkey" his response is, "No, I'm just Lukie!" Boy does he get emphatic about it too. He has taken to his real name and nothing else will do. He is also Mr. "I do it myself" stubbornness. I'm not sure where he gets it from, perhaps Papa Bohrer? Or maybe it really is a combination of his parents, but I'll never really admit to it. Well, that's about it from the Eagle's nest for now. And thanks to my sis-in-law for the idea of the background. They have a neat giraffe on their blog. Have a great day and blessings.

It's Snow Fun

As you can see we survived the big blizzard. Andrea got stuck at work for a few days but after we were all home yesterday we had a lot of fun playing with the kids. This is Snowy the snow man. Luke got his little feet buried under the snowman for a while but had fun helping us build him. We also buried Hannah in the snow and when we suggested leaving her there, she said that she would get so cold icicles would hang from all over her. Anyway, as much fun as we had, hopefully it will be the last snow if the season.

We are almost done!

Can you believe it? Hannah has almost completed all of her preschool course. Within the next day or two, Hannah will have gone through an accelerated pace and will complete an entire year's worth of homeschooling. Okay, so someone may say that aren't you rushing things? Well, sorta, but I think Hannah deserves a great deal of credit herself. We have been homeschooling about 24-26 weeks now, and will have completed a 36 week program. Hannah was doing so well with her workbook pages and learning the alphabet, that we started doubling up on the weeks. We covered the same material, and did not skip a thing, we just took some of it quicker. About all that is left now is a few more workbook pages and reading 6-7 more short stories.

On another issue though, in lieu of California's appellate court decision yesterday, I (John) am greatly concerned with the current state of homeschooling in that state. Yesterday, the court made a huge mistake in declaring that homeschooling is unconstitutional. Three activist judges have decided to go against the US Supreme Court and many other decisions by trying to change the constitutional rights of parents by saying that the state is a better parent and that all children within the state should be schooled either in a public or private school, but homeschooling is not permitted. For more information, I would urge you to check out and follow this story from the Home School Legal Defense Association's website, or listen in to Focus on the Family this Friday, March 7th, for an update by James Dobson and Mike Ferris, founder of HSLDA. The website is http://www.hslda.com/

Recent visits

We had a wonderful visit recently with Andrea's parents. Luke especially enjoyed some quiet time with Grandma reading books. John, Papa and I got some work started on remodeling the bathroom. It will be a long and messy job but we got a good start.
You may be wondering about Luke's head. He fell into a cabinet drawer and cut it open. His scar will match the one both John and Hannah have over their left eye. Thankfully he is healing well.

Missing teeth

As you can see, Hannah lost her first tooth today. She did very well with the whole thing even letting Mommy finish pulling it out at the end. She is very excited about her visit from the tooth fairy.

Growing Up

Luke is growing up. He has moved into a toddler bed and loves it. So far he has not fallen out of it either. He is also learning to use the potty and does very well with it. He doesn't always tell us when he has to go but considering that we weren't trying to teach him, he has done very well. It is hard to beleive that my little boy is this big. His speach has really come a long too. He is easier to understand and speaking in sentences.

Hannah will be starting her kindergarten work in a month. She breezed through pre-school and we received her kindergarten curriculum in the mail last weekend. We are very excited about it and know she will do well.

Water Fun

A few weeks ago, Nana and Papa took all of us to an indoor water park. Obviously the children had a wonderful time. The toddler pool was the perfect depth for them to walk, play and splash around in. It also had two water slides that Hannah must have gone down 50 times. Luke enjoyed playing in all of the little water spouts but did not like the slides.

As for Hannah, she has this to say about the experience, "I loved the water park. I liked swimming and I liked the hotel room. I loved the pool and the bucket tipping on everyone. I loved the purple slide. I liked the blue slide too. Daddy took me on the river and so Nana went to the water park with us and she loved the water park too. Uncle Seth, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Patrick, Ms. Tara and Uncle Aaron all helped me learn to go down the big purple slide. They played with me a lot."

John and I had a wonderfully relaxing time. Half of the time, other people were watching the kids and we could relax and enjoy ourselves. It was a much needed rest and a beautiful time spent with our extended family.

Gift of Good Health

Both children had check-ups this week. Hannah had her regular 5 year old check-up and was thankfully found very healthy. We of course, think she is doing great.

Luke had his annual visit at the Cranial-facial clinic. He saw all 8 specialists and all are very pleased with his development. His speech is advanced for his age, his hearing is perfect and he is exceeding all expectations. He will still face more surgeries in the future, as soon as a year from now perhaps. Right now however, we are very thankful for our two little miracles.

Christmas

These two kids are the best Christmas presents ever. They looked very beautiful for Christmas eve service.


We had a wonderful Christmas season this year. Although much busier than sometimes, it was still full of joy and family and the wonder of Christ's birth. I can't really say that I can understand how or why God would give up a perfect place like heaven to come live in such a sinful and wretched earth just so he could know us and die for us. Love like that is to wonderful for me to understand. I except it however, I could do no less. There is no one that has ever lived, or will ever live that will love like that. It is a divine and perfect love that can only come from God.

Certainly one of the highlights of Christmas was being able to share it with my sister and her family as we have not been able to do in many years. All of the children enjoyed playing together and we all enjoyed making new memories together to share.

Little boys

"Lukie was such a mess. He got marker all over himself, but I didn't help him. I went up stairs to get a drink and when I came back down, Lukie was covered in marker. So then I went to talk to my Dad about it and he took some pictures of it. Daddy asked me if I helped Luke but I didn't. I didn't help Lukie draw marker all over himself." -HANNAH

Just for the record, Luke was dressed when this occurred. To enjoy the full effect however, John took his clothes off for the picture. Typical little boy, all mischief. He's a lot of fun though.

Birthday Girl

I need to catch up a little bit. In the last month we have had a wonderful whirlwind trip to Florida, 2 birthdays, Christmas, New Years and multiple illnesses. As you can see from this picture our little princess turned 5. She had a quiet but nice birthday. She enjoyed her presents which had a princess theme and said of her gingerbread cake, "It's exactly what I wanted!" Unfortunately, mommy missed most of the birthday with the stomach flu.

It is hard to believe that my little girl is 5. She is so full of life and energy. She is smart, creative, funny, loving, silly, sassy, whinny, and delightful. We are trying to sort out her learning style and encourage her to learn in the way she does best. She is a very hands on girl and likes to learn things rather than being told about things. She has always been inquisitive and even more so now. She often wonders about things to the point I have no further explanation. Learning how to channel this energy and curiosity is a challenge.

Hannah loves a multitude of things, mostly people though. She much prefers being around her family than playing by herself. She is very socially inclined. She loves girlie things like pink, and princesses and such but can be all boy too, playing with trucks and wrestling her father. She continues to enjoy gymnastics and is getting good at tumbling. We are very thankful to God for such a wonderful little girl.

Thankful for a safe and fun trip!

Well, today officially wrapped up a week's stay in Florida. We managed to have fun in Walt Disney World with my wife's family. Like, it would be anything but fun! It was an awesome time! A time to share with one another, especially Bob, Sheri, and their three kids, whom we haven't really seen for over two years. (They are missionaries in SE Asia). We all had a great time, but are very exhausted. We made it to all four of the WDW Theme parks, spent time at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, met lots of characters, took in three parades, three fireworks displays, and tons of other stuff. Some day you will have to see our 575+ pics of the week.

But the most thankful thing about this trip was our safe return home. When we left Florida this morning to head back to Ohio, we were met with a bumpy ride in the flight with some serious turbulence from the storm that just started to hit our area. By the time we were in Akron, ready to land, we had to circle around for a second attempt because of the snow/ice conditions on the runway. My poor wife was really terrified even after we landed safely. In what should have taken us a little over an hour to get back home, it took us almost 2 1/2 hours to get from Akron to our home. The roads were so bad, that our top speed was about 35 mph on good stretches of road, and about 20 mph for most of the travel. My hands were white by the time we got home because of clutching the wheel for deer life. Okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but seriously, it was pretty bad out there, but we are glad to be home, safe and sound. Now I'm about ready to hit the bed. So good night all, I'm sure we will post some pics soon from our recent trip to WDW.

John

What Hannah has to say about Thanksgiving, a direct quote:

"I want you to know that all about Thanksgiving. That you shouldn't be so grumpy about Thanksgiving. This is from your friend Hannah.

I ate turkey and some other stuff, some mashed potatoes and stuffing, it was good. And after all that eating I played and played with Daniel. I want you to really know that Thanksgiving is loving, sharing and being nice.

I am thankful for the food, Grandma and Papa, Nana and Papa Shira. And of course what I am thankful for is the sun and Christmas and God, and that he sent his son to the earth to live with us. That is a present and I really wanted you to know that.

Goodbye and thanks for this day."

More miracles

Luke had his ear tubes replaced today. I know it is a minor thing but any surgery has potential to be serious. Luke did very well considering he couldn't have lunch and his surgery wasn't until 4:30pm. He played well waiting at the hospital and didn't even cry when they took him back. The anaesthesiologist told us that Luke was sitting on the operating table and when he asked him to lay down he simply said, "No". That's my man, he knows his mind. He was a little crabby afterwords until he got everything off and was dressed. He also did better after some dinner. We are thankful to God for his care of Luke even in this little thing. Luke's great disposition today was due to everyone's prayers.

Fun filled fall frolic

Here are our two kids enjoying a fun filled fall frolic afternoon at our home. The kids really enjoy being outside when the weather permits. Lately we have had some cold rainy weather. We piled up the leaves at the end of the slide and both kids had fun sliding into the pile. We also made another pile that Hannah and Luke had fun running into the pile and hiding in the leaves. I'm glad I had the camera ready this time.

Yesterday, Luke started to realize his own name. He named off mommy, daddy, and Hannah and then said, "I'm a Lukey." It was pretty cute. It never ceases to amaze me how kids grow and develop even in their self-awareness. He would often look at pictures of himself and say "baby," but now he is started to realize that his name is "Lukey." His speech and words are becoming clearer each day. Although he often goes around saying, " 'ello" for just about everything. So it does take some time trying to figure out sometimes what he is trying to say.

Last week for Hannah's gymnastics class, she was the only one who showed up. The other two or three girls must have been out for "all beggars" night. Last Thursday was "Trick or Treat" night in the area for the kids in town. We have chosen not to really celebrate Halloween with our kids. It just isn't the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago. Neither Andrea nor I feel very comfortable with all the negative influences that have been going on with this particular day. We are also having a hard time in giving the "Evil One" a special day when it goes completely against everything we believe in. We don't mind dressing up and pretending. Hannah does that all the time. But we object to witches, demons, and other occultic costumes that we did see a lot of that night. But I see I've digressed way to much. What I really wanted to mention was that Hannah had a very special night at gymnastics by being the only one in her group to show up. She had a lot of personalized attention and even got to go out on the main floor with all the "big" girls. She got to really try a big balance beam, the trampoline, the uneven bars, etc. She was pretty tired by the end of the day, but we had a lot of fun watching her.

After gymnastics, I took the kids out to eat supper at Wendy's. Now this was a "treat" for us, because I usually come back home and make a late supper. But since it was "Trick or Treat" night in our area, we went out and still had some "treats." The kids got to see "Wendy" or at least an employee dressed like her; she was handing out some candy and toys to the kids who stopped by. Then we went to Walmart, where the kids got some more candy. So even though we didn't go out in costume or to get candy, we still had some.

On the homeschool front, Hannah has now learned sounds for: a, b, f, i, k, m, and t. We are trying to "blend" sight words with Hannah so that she can start reading soon. She really enjoys doing the workbooks and reading "Berenstain Bears." She also likes playing outside, eating ice cream, and having fun with Luke.

Well, I guess that is about all for now. We'll post more latter as thing continue to happen around here.