Greetings from cold & snowy, Bend, OR!
As I type this, we have snow on the ground, a half decorated Christmas tree, and a pile of Christmas gifts to wrap. I am realizing that writing this annual letter gets harder and harder every year... These annual letters don't really paint the whole picture of our life and it usually sounds like life is just always 100% pleasant and everyone is happy, but I hope that most readers know that this letter usually reflects only the highlights and we don't bother you with the 75% of other stuff that goes on (like the way I backed into our garage door when it was half open ... or when I flooded our downstairs by keeping the laundry room sink plugged and faucet on and left the house for nearly 2 hours.... or the way Aaron nearly killed our whole family when he slid on ice driving while brushing his teeth, but somehow managed to keep brushing his teeth while going through the sidewalk between a rock and a yield sign... or when I discovered I had a tumor like mass in my gumline that had to be removed and how torturous it was to wait 2 weeks to find out if the mass was cancerous or not). Anyways, I think you get the picture... :) Happy reading of the happy highlights!
RECAP 2013
Family highlights
Sledding in January(fun for kids), Multiple trips to Portland due to memorial services for 3 of Aaron's grandparents that passed away this year (ok, I know this should not be a highlight under normal circumstances, but Aaron's grandparents lived a full, joyful life so having to attend their memorial services were sad moments, but also good because they are MUCH happier now), Trip to Maui during Spring break, Celebrating 18 years of being married to my Sweetie, 4th of July trip to the coast with extended family on Aaron's side... lots of cousins time for our kids, as well as illegal fun fireworks on the beach, miles and miles of hot weather running in preparation for my marathon all summer while boys babysat the girls, Saturday Farmer's Market in our neighborhood and sitting outside at our local wine bar, camping trip with great friends, the Kostkas, to Wickiup Reservoir, A weekend trip to Portland for my (Pam) 1st Marathon!, Pumpkin Patch, My swim trip to Palm Springs, Thanksgiving with our Portland family and finally, a quiet, peaceful Christmas Season!
Aaron
Began 11th year at Desert Orthopedics. He still commutes on his bike daily but too much snow CAN make it harder to ride especially when the bike lane gets piled high with dirty snow by the snow plow.
Pam
Ran a few running races mostly half marathons and one 10K, but my biggest running accomplishment was when I completed my first full marathon this year despite my many injuries! You can read about it on this blog.... it's LONG though. I have found great joy in marathon running, so I signed up for next year already... I hope I don't get injured! I also went on a trip to Palm Springs on my own to take a swim course, which was a life changing experience for me.... I'll post about that sometime :) I still get to take care of all the people in our family and sometimes they all take care of me.
Noah (Soph at Summit High)
Noah finished a great freshman year at Summit, swam all summer while commuting on his bike, started his sophomore year in Sept and is taking some really hard classes (AP US History is the toughest one so far) but doing very well. He took his national AP Human Geography exam in May and found out over the summer that he received a score of 5 out of 5 (which, is really, really good). We have started talking about college a little and everytime we do, it feels so strange that we have a child that will be leaving in 2 more school years... SAD! He is a really responsible kid ~ his big highlight was getting his driver's permit in August and started practicing driving with Aaron right away. He just finished driver's ed and now drives as much as we let him, which is all the time. He even drove the whole way from Bend to Portland over Thanksgiving (165 miles)
Calvin (8th grade at Trinity Lutheran School)
Calvin finished 8th grade well at Cascade Middle School, this summer he swam on a swim league and did some extra math to help him get prepared for Algebra in the fall. Soccer season started shortly before school. We all decided going back to Trinity for one year before he starts high school would serve Calvin well, so this year he is back at his old school with some of his old friends. He has a great network of friends at church that he LOVES hanging out with on sunday and wednesdays and other days that he can. He is doing great in school too and has been commuting on his bike to school(6 miles each way).
Michael (6th grade at Trinity)
Michael finished 5th grade as a homeschool student with great success :). Like Calvin, he swam on the swim league all summer. This fall, after much soul searching, prayers, and thoughts, we decided that Michael needed to return to school (after 2 years of homeschooling). It was a tough decision, but we all agreed (especially Michael) that being back at Trinity would give him the friendships that he missed and it would give me more time to focus on the things that I had to neglect in order to make sure Michael was receiving the education he needed at home. Thankfully, his transition back to school has been great and to make things even eaiser, he ended up with his former kindergarten teacher as his 6th grade teacher this year! He is becoming quite the baker around our house, coming up with his own recipes for pancakes, breads and cookies.
Anna age 5(Kindergartner at High Lakes Elementary)
Anna finished a great year of Chinese Immersion classes as well as ballet/tap. She took many swim classes in the summer and during her spare time, she has created and crafted many amazing things! She worked on all her pre-kindergarten skills over the summer and by fall, was more than ready for kindergarten! I contemplated on whether to begin homeschooling her right from the start, but, as a family, made the decision to send her to kindergarten to our local school nearby and assessing year by year whether she should continue on the path. She is well above where she should be in kindergarten, which is not a surprise, since she has always been a self-motivated learner. She has an incredibly fun teacher that makes school a joy. She loves the social interaction that kindergarten provides and has scheduled her own playdates with friends. She and Selah both take ballet/tap at a dance studio nearby, which they both love. They also tried out soccer this fall, but I don't think they love the sport as much as they love the outfits. Anna & Selah are taking Chinese classes from their old teacher at the Language Institute. The school has had to close, but the teacher was available to tutor them at our home so that has been working out great.
Selah, age 5
Selah is the only one not in formal school this year. She continues to go to Speech articulation school once a week and we have added an extra speech therapy session at Scottish Rite Clinic once a week. Her speech is progressing and I find that I am able to comprehend her much more than I have ever been able to in the past. Her teachers/speech therapists are saying the same so I am hoping that she'll make giant steps this year in her speech. I am also doing one on one time with her about once a week to focus on some of the sounds she is working on with her speech therapists. Selah and I also are part of the homeschool community "Classical Conversations", which Michael was part of last year. We gather as a community once a week to go over the curriculum we are learning during the week. She is learning what Michael did last year, on a much smaller scale. Selah and Anna are typical sisters ~ they love each other on minute and act as if they despise each other the next. We are teaching them about being loving and how being beautiful comes from the inside out. They are learning ~ SLOWLY.
So that sums up our family for the year! May your Christmas Season and New Year be filled with Joy!
Merry Christmas!!
&
Happy New Year!!
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