Christmas newsletter, page 1

Here is a copy of the newsletter I sent out this year; it actually covers two years:

A lot has happened to the family in the past two years. Many changes have taken place.

The year 2005 dawned cold and crisp in North Central Montana. The kids celebrated New Year’s day sledding on the local sledding hill in Choteau. Just over a month later found the kids and me on a train bound for Florida.

We arrived here on February 10, and moved into a small RV behind my parents’ house. Three days later I began online classes, working first toward an Associate’s degree in Business Administration, then toward a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communications: Graphic Design.

 

Of course, while I was going to school full time, I was also home schooling the children! The year 2005-2006 was Timothy’s 8^th grade year, Jennifer’s 6^th grade year, and Daniel’s Kindergarten year. We had several memorable adventures throughout the year.

Some of our adventures included our Five in a Row studies. We enjoy reading the books, like: Miss Rumphius; The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Grey Bridge; The Salamander Room; Truman’s Aunt Farm; and Mirette on the High Wire. We also enjoy Beyond Five in a Row studies, such as The Boxcar Children; Sarah, Plain and Tall; and biographies of famous people: Thomas Edison, George Washington Carver, and Helen Keller.

One of our favorite parts of our Five in a Row and Beyond Five in a Row studies, is preparing the meals that go along with each book!

The younger boys and I have been involved with a special little Mommy and Me group. We have done activities there such as going to a fire station, having birthday and Christmas parties, even going as a group to Rainbow Springs State Park.

That summer, Timothy and Jennifer went to summer camp, at Camp Kulaqua. The camp is really nice, and has a little zoo there. They also have a water park, which the kids really enjoy during camp! And, of course, there are horses to ride. Jennifer was in junior camp, and Timothy was in teen camp. They weren’t even there during the same week! But they had a great time, each of them. I was nervous at first about sending Jennifer, because of her diabetes. But after meeting the camp nurses, I felt confident she was in good hands!

In August, 2005, my mother became very ill. My folks were traveling for the summer, and were in Canada at the time she had one of her asthma attacks, so Dad brought her back to the States, to a hospital in Maine, for treatments. While she was there, she contracted a nasty intestinal infection, called C-dif (short for some big long name). It totally wiped her out! She ended up in the hospital for 3 weeks, then Dad had to fly her home. She had to have home health nurses come in to check on her. The kids and I did our best to care for her in the ways we were able. It was months before she felt like eating, and she lost a lot of weight during that time.

The older two went through a series of Bible studies during the fall and winter of last school year, to prepare for baptism. But before they were able to be baptized, the pastor accepted a call to another location. So, they are still awaiting baptism.

Last Christmas time found us spending a week in Gulf Shores, Alabama, with my parents and my brother, Norbert, and his family. It was a very pleasant, relaxing week--and great for the kids to spend time with at least one of their cousins. I wish they could spend more time with all of their cousins.

In February, I took Timothy to Forest Lake Academy, near Orlando, to attend Academy Days. This is a time when 8^th or 9^th graders can go check out the academy, to see if they would like to attend the following school year. Timothy had a great time, participating in all the activities, having a tour of the campus, sleeping in the dorm, and eating in the cafeteria. I was impressed with the program they offer, but I don’t really care for the location. It is too close to a very busy road! Also, they don’t have much of a work/study program, so the cost is a bit prohibitive.

In March, Jennifer went with my folks to Branson, Missouri, where they spent a week with Norbert and his family and some of his wife’s family. Jennifer was able to spend a week with four other girls and no boys!!! She relished that!

While they were gone, we went to Camp Kulaqua on Sabbath, for camp meeting. We visited the little zoo, and had fun seeing inside the Three Angels Broadcasting Network truck, which was there to broadcast the meetings.

The following day we went to the Civil War Re-enactment near Crystal River, Florida. It was definitely something for boys to enjoy! But this mom enjoyed it, as well!! I think it will become an annual tradition for us!!

The end of March found the kids and me on our way to Tennessee, for my 25^th high school class reunion. On our way, we stopped over in Atlanta. We went with a group of home schooling families, who also use Five in a Row, to the Atlanta Zoo. That was a lot of fun!

Also while we were in Atlanta, I met one of my classmates, from my online college classes. He showed us his little cubicle way up in the Home Depot corporate building, in the advertising department.

We had an absolutely wonderful weekend at Laurelbrook, the school I graduated from in Tennessee. It was great to see my classmates, some whom I hadn’t seen since we graduated, and many whom I hadn’t seen since our 10^th class reunion. My kids had fun getting acquainted with children of a couple of my classmates, too. This was also Timothy’s chance to see the school, and begin the application process for the following school year.

In May we participated in the physical fitness challenge with a group of other home schooling families. The kids did their best! Timothy and Jennifer both received awards for participation, and Daniel earned the National Challenge award! Grandpa was proud of them all!

Memorial Day the kids and I took a trip over to St. Augustine, to go to some of the forts. We ended up going to the lighthouse, but we couldn’t go up it. Steven is too short yet! Then we went to the Castillo de San Marcos, which is the oldest fort in the nation. It was fascinating! On our way back home, Timothy had his first lesson in changing a flat tire! He did a good job, too!!

I obtained my Associate’s in July, 2005, graduating with honors. Pin It Now!