I emailed my mom this week with some family news. Out of simplicity, I'll post it here for any of you who are interested in what we have been up to lately. Maybe I'll even put a picture or two up.
Hello!
Things are going well here! Busy, but fun. We had our first official family council tonight and it was very interesting. Since last year, we have been trying to do individual interviews with the children on fast Sundays. Today, the day went to quick, so we decided to have a "family interview." We asked the kids what they thought we were doing well as a family and areas that we can improve. It is so fun to hear their different perspectives and to work through things together. The main points were: 1) Emily and Makayla need their privacy, so Ricky and Andrew are not to go in their room with the door is closed. If they are changing and they really do not want the boys walking in on them, they have to go to the bathroom to lock the door. 2) We are going to work on morning family prayers with a purpose. Different groups of our family leave the house at different times, so we will say multiple morning prayers, but thought it would be helpful to have a "prayer list" where family members can write about concerns they have or tests coming up for the family to pray for them. 3) After dinner kitchen clean up isn't working smoothly. Everybody needs to work. Rick is going to make a chart where we rotate to be sure everybody gets a chance to load the dishwasher. I know there was one more thing, but I can't remember it now. It is really fun to watch these kids grow up and how their different personalities meld with one another in an environment like a family council.
We ordered a new dining room table, but somehow we ordered the most popular large table the company makes, so we will be getting the new table the second week in December. Good thing we have the other little table in the dining room now. I also have our old card table out to sit at to do homework and eat snacks.
Rick is excited about the new Eragon book coming out. A few months ago, he pre-ordered it and began rereading the series so he can be ready! He is on the 2nd book right now. The other night he said, "These books aren't as great as I remembered them being, but they're still good enough to read." I hope the last book doesn't disappoint.
I laughed out loud when I read that Grandpa wants to be in charge of the lawn mowing. He cracks me up!! It's good for him to have something to do. Just make sure he doesn't drive too fast!
Halloween here was fun. Somehow, we luck out with great weather every year. The tricky part is that Sean insists on walking everywhere now. Even when we walk the kids to school in the morning. We have to plan extra time so that he can walk. He's not too slow, but those little legs can only go so fast. On Halloween night, Ricky and Andrew got kind of impatient with his slow walking and "talking to pumpkins" so they went ahead with Rick.
What else has been going on? A lot, I guess. I just haven't updated our blog. Emily is on the junior high swim team and she is doing very well. She had her first meet on Halloween and competed in 3 events (more than any other "new" swimmer). She loves swimming.
Rick is coaching Makayla's basketball team. They aren't competing yet--just practicing and getting to know each other. Rick is a very good coach and very positive with the girls. He makes basketball fun.
Ricky is happy and busy as usual. He is looking forward to turning 8 and getting baptized.
Andrew is going to preschool 3 days a week at a Christian preschool. He likes it well enough--especially art, but he is such a home body and he LOVES pajamas. He changes into pajamas right when he comes home. He is already learning how to spell and read. He seems to just pick it up. He memorizes little scriptures at his preschool too. It's cute to hear him recite Bible verses.
Sean is cute as ever! He is talking more and more. He is very loving and sweet. He loves to play outside and LOVES to go on walks. Like all toddlers, he can be very stubborn when he wants to be, but overall he goes with the flow.
I guess that's a little update on everybody. We got family pictures a few weeks ago. I haven't decided which one is my favorite, but I'll attach a few for you to see.
Love,
Bonni
Video of Emily's first swim meet on Halloween:
Hello!
Things are going well here! Busy, but fun. We had our first official family council tonight and it was very interesting. Since last year, we have been trying to do individual interviews with the children on fast Sundays. Today, the day went to quick, so we decided to have a "family interview." We asked the kids what they thought we were doing well as a family and areas that we can improve. It is so fun to hear their different perspectives and to work through things together. The main points were: 1) Emily and Makayla need their privacy, so Ricky and Andrew are not to go in their room with the door is closed. If they are changing and they really do not want the boys walking in on them, they have to go to the bathroom to lock the door. 2) We are going to work on morning family prayers with a purpose. Different groups of our family leave the house at different times, so we will say multiple morning prayers, but thought it would be helpful to have a "prayer list" where family members can write about concerns they have or tests coming up for the family to pray for them. 3) After dinner kitchen clean up isn't working smoothly. Everybody needs to work. Rick is going to make a chart where we rotate to be sure everybody gets a chance to load the dishwasher. I know there was one more thing, but I can't remember it now. It is really fun to watch these kids grow up and how their different personalities meld with one another in an environment like a family council.
We ordered a new dining room table, but somehow we ordered the most popular large table the company makes, so we will be getting the new table the second week in December. Good thing we have the other little table in the dining room now. I also have our old card table out to sit at to do homework and eat snacks.
Rick is excited about the new Eragon book coming out. A few months ago, he pre-ordered it and began rereading the series so he can be ready! He is on the 2nd book right now. The other night he said, "These books aren't as great as I remembered them being, but they're still good enough to read." I hope the last book doesn't disappoint.
I laughed out loud when I read that Grandpa wants to be in charge of the lawn mowing. He cracks me up!! It's good for him to have something to do. Just make sure he doesn't drive too fast!
Halloween here was fun. Somehow, we luck out with great weather every year. The tricky part is that Sean insists on walking everywhere now. Even when we walk the kids to school in the morning. We have to plan extra time so that he can walk. He's not too slow, but those little legs can only go so fast. On Halloween night, Ricky and Andrew got kind of impatient with his slow walking and "talking to pumpkins" so they went ahead with Rick.
What else has been going on? A lot, I guess. I just haven't updated our blog. Emily is on the junior high swim team and she is doing very well. She had her first meet on Halloween and competed in 3 events (more than any other "new" swimmer). She loves swimming.
Rick is coaching Makayla's basketball team. They aren't competing yet--just practicing and getting to know each other. Rick is a very good coach and very positive with the girls. He makes basketball fun.
Ricky is happy and busy as usual. He is looking forward to turning 8 and getting baptized.
Andrew is going to preschool 3 days a week at a Christian preschool. He likes it well enough--especially art, but he is such a home body and he LOVES pajamas. He changes into pajamas right when he comes home. He is already learning how to spell and read. He seems to just pick it up. He memorizes little scriptures at his preschool too. It's cute to hear him recite Bible verses.
Sean is cute as ever! He is talking more and more. He is very loving and sweet. He loves to play outside and LOVES to go on walks. Like all toddlers, he can be very stubborn when he wants to be, but overall he goes with the flow.
I guess that's a little update on everybody. We got family pictures a few weeks ago. I haven't decided which one is my favorite, but I'll attach a few for you to see.
Love,
Bonni
Video of Emily's first swim meet on Halloween:
(I attached family pictures to my mom's email, but I'm out of time right now to upload more pictures. Stay tuned for family pictures another day . . . . )
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