Christmas Letter

Here is the Christmas Letter that we did not send out this year.. we actually sent no Christmas cards except to those who mailed to us. Perhaps next year we'll be a little more organized!

This year has been a fun one for us, although quite busy. It seemed that 2006 had just started when we found ourselves up to our eyebrows in softball. We also tried our hand at camping and loved it. Our first trip was to Myrtle Beach due to my grandmother's illness, then we had a wonderful time at Lake Wateree, SC with other Christian families for a large-family campout. We're hoping to do it again this spring, probably in the NW part of the state. My grandmother did pass and she's sorely missed. The girls still talk about her often. Charlotte's middle name, Virginia, is from her.

After spring we had summer upon us. We had a great vacation at Pipestem State Park, WV and plan to go back next summer. They had horseback riding, geocaching, oodles of fireflies, and more. What we didn't have was water and electricity, but we managed! The children want the same lot next year so they can play in the field again. It should be interesting having the littlest one with us!

In the fall, Charlotte and James started soccer through the local Upwards league. It is a Christian league. Bethany played fall softball... and I started a full online courseload through our local college - 4 classes (Statistics, Civil War, Ecology, Fiction) and one lab (Ecology). THAT added a new dimension to our lives, but I'm so glad I did it. I ended up finishing with A's in everything except a B in Ecology. I'm happy with that.

Jim: He is still enjoying his job, tho they've been incredibly busy this last quarter. He's also helping to lead a small family fellowship on Sundays. His bass playing continue to improves - although he is loud - and the kids love to hear it! He is hoping to start some model trains with the kids.. currently we have a small set sitting on our kitchen island, waiting some plywood. It's N scale so it has tiny little trees and signs that go with it. He is also the one that picked the name Elijah if we're blessed with another son.

Bridget: I'm starting to get busy with nesting. I'm SO excited to have a great Christian midwife and planning our first home/waterbirth! It will be nice to be with my family immediately after baby is born, instead of missing them while in the hospital. I plan to work on some CLEP credits while taking time off from school, I'll resume that in January 2008. I hope to start on my Dear Jane quilt with the girls after the holidays. I'm also wanting an Ulli Storchenwiege. If any of my dear family want to contribue, just let me know ;-) In my spare time I'm driving Jim batty over girl names. We liked Lucy a lot, but couldn't quite settle on a spelling and such.. so it appears that Eleanor "Ella" will be the choice if we're blessed with another daughter.

Charlotte (11): She is permanently attached to her violin. If it isn't Christmas music, it is contemporary Christian music.. if it isn't that.. then it's something from the book, or by memory, etc. She loves it. She's also quite the reader and recently fell in love with the Eragon series. We did go to see the movie which she declared "Awesome!" She's zipping through 5th grade, but not a huge fan of long math problems. When playing "Bible Baseball" she is the undisputed queen of all Beatitude knowledge.

Bethany (8): She has discovered a love for creating things. If she isn't sewing then she's designing her own game. It is pretty complex with a rule book, markers, gameboard and so on. Recently, she led a Bible class for James and Joseph, which they both eagerly attended. Her big love is softball and she's waiting on it to resume this spring. She is in 3rd grade, tho she often forgets and tells people she is in 2nd grade. I'm guessing that is a normal pitfall of homeschooling! She is still playing cello and went up to a 3/4 size this year. She's unable to carry it, so Charlotte carries the cello while Bethany plays the violin. I do believe she will be our only cello player - I doubt if I could fit another one in the vehicle!

James (6): He is my quirky, fun-loving boy. There's very little that holds his attention for long, except for his Garfield comic books. He has memorized a lot of them and is hoping for more books. He still claims he can't read, and then rattles off his school work independently. It turns out he says he can't read because he can't read ALL words. He was a bit shocked when we admitted we couldn't read ALL the words either! He is eager to return to Carowinds this spring and really likes the Scooby Doo ride. He still has no interest in a musical instrument, tho he is leaning towards guitar. James is in 1st grade and is hoping to finish school for good soon. hehe. James is also really interested in spelling things and keeping up with baby's development. He checks the ticker all of the time.

Joseph (3): He has grown up so fast this year! He refers to his brother as "my James" and is his little shadow. Usually Joseph is the first one out of bed in the morning and greets the day running. He loves all things daring! Plus, he's still a snuggle bug and often asks to be snuggled. If I'm reading a book I'm sure to end up with a Joseph in my lap... although, he doesn't refer to himself as Joseph. When asked his name he replies "I'm a Joe!" Waiting for Christmas has been hard for him. The girls wrapped my present from Jim and put it under the tree. Joseph often says "Mom.. Mom.. there' s a present for you.. Open it! Open it!" When asked any question involving numbers he always replies "six". He's busy with some preschool work and likes to rub the baby in my tummy.

Noah (20 months): I would call him the baby of the family, but baby does not describe him! He's thriving as the youngest of the three boys and does everything to keep up. He has a scar on his chin from hitting the bleachers at softball. And then he ended up splitting his gum as he wrestled with James. I'm not sure what life will be like when he is 3 and Joseph is 4, I'm thinking we'll need quite a few bandaids! He is our blue-eyed boy and much adored by everyone. He's hopelessly spoiled and loves it. He likes to chase with James, wrestle with Joseph, play babies with Bethany, and get carried by Charlotte.

Baby: Our much loved little one growing, growing, growing.. we look forward to meeting him/her and welcoming baby into our family! Elijah West or Eleanor Mary Ruth should be joining us in April.

So that's about it for our year. Nothing outrageous happened, it was simply a good year for us. I pray it was a good year for others as well!