What's the Latest?

Hello, everyone! Life has been happening with a vengeance, like it does for everyone, I suppose. We're settling in nicely and still making the transition happen in our new state. Here's a mini-update.

The Man of the House has been doing a great job as the lead teacher for his new Lutheran school. He has great ideas to implement and great plans for the future. When we had a parent-student volleyball game this fall (we miss you all, Texan Eagles!), it was deemed a great success and lots of fun. It is very strange not to be in the middle of basketball games and state tournaments right now, but he has goals for an athletic program to begin in the near future. We're proud of how hard he's working.

Miss A cried a lot over the first few months. She really missed her friends from Texas. Our going back and forth didn't help her much emotionally, but now that we're all here for good, she has really settled in. She has made good friends and we're having the conversation often about how boyfriends aren't happening for a LONG time. She began a volleyball program through the city and had a great time. We were very proud of her for wanting to try it out, even though she had never played and didn't know any of the other girls.

Curly Sue is with Little Guy every day for preschool, which is interesting, but she's also settled in and seems to be clicking well there, also. She's rocking the academic part of school and loves carrying around a notebook to draw and "write" in. She jumped right back into ballet classes, which she loves, but asked to try soccer next month for something new. The girls are being baptized together on March 19th - Curly Sue has been asking for a while. We're very excited for our Texas family to come join us for that special day.

Little Guy played in a soccer league this fall, and will start back up next month - yes, with Curly Sue on his team. They just can't seem to get away from each other! We are SO proud of how well he's doing in school. He never was happy at his daycare center as a baby. He is the shyest of our four, and having been home with me for two years, and with our sweet church friend Mrs. C for almost two years before that, we weren't sure how he would do on that first day. But he LOVED it, and we hear he is a great listener. He's really working hard on his letters and numbers. (Finally - you were right, Sharon F! It came!) His favorite thing to do is play outside and burn off his energy.

Brown Eyed Baby Girl is no longer a baby. What a big girl - 18 months now! She is running all over the place, loves play dates, loves library time, loves "coloring", loves books... basically just loves the world! She turns on the charm for everyone around her and always has a smile. We've sat her little potty in the bathroom for a while now, just to have it out so she can become used to it, and she has been asking a lot lately to try to go potty in it - and sometimes she does! Not officially potty training yet, but maybe we'll be starting that soon! Her absolute favorite things are dogdees (dogs) and babies.

I'm trying out some new ventures as well. It has been a dream of mine since I was little to be a writer. I carried around a blank book constantly, filling it with poems and stories, and I wrote plays for my friends and classmates all the time. I loved making my own newspapers and printing them off for my family to read. I would be so happy if this dream could come true. In my spare time now (ha!) I have been writing pieces and submitting them to various outlets. I've been featured on two blogs now (herviewfromhome.com and sisterdaughtermotherwife.com) and will have an article appearing in an upcoming monthly foster care magazine. I am continuing to pursue all of this to see if something bigger could happen. (On a side note, if you have any contacts with any publications seeing posts or freelance work, please pass it along!) Thanks for the prayers and encouragement! It's a bit scary to follow your dreams, but a whole lot of fun as well!

Other than writing, I've been subbing at two schools, with my name recently added to the sub list at one more school. Baby and I play in the mornings and then pick up the preschoolers for lunch. I've joined a women's Bible study and we're attending a small group for families every other Wednesday at our new church. I'm attempting to start a book club - we'll see how the first meeting goes! Life is definitely not boring!

Fall and winter in Colorado were beautiful. I was NOT one of the people wondering when the snow would be gone - I love the cold weather with hot beverages and sweaters! For the record, it IS virtually gone from everywhere but isolated shaded spots in some people's yards. We are seeing temps of 50's and 60's for the foreseeable future, but nobody thinks we're completely in the clear to start celebrating spring yet.

So, anyways, there you have it. A brief update on all of us. Thanks for thinking about us. Texas people, we miss you, and Colorado people, thank you for welcoming us! We're very blessed!