Long Time, No Hear

I can't believe it has been 7 months since I last posted! So much has happened. We are still recovering from the passing of my mother. The kids had a hard time, but now don't ask about her much. Whenever we pass a hospital, Timothy asks, "Is that where Mamaw lives?"

Brodie is doing well with homeschooling. He is doing 8th grade work and still enjoys having mom as his teacher. He played soccer for Grove Avenue in the fall and is now doing ice skating. He will probably continue that during the winter and then do golf lessons in the spring. He has developed a love of cooking and wants to learn every recipe I know. We are also planning on getting him a guitar and some lessons in the very near future.

Emily has a great kindergarten teacher and other than not wanting to get out of bed, she seems to really love going to school. She is reading now! She has lost 6 teeth altogether, but only 2 adult teeth have come in. She has quite a big gap in her smile. Emily has discovered Webkinz and wants to be on the computer all of the time. We are going to surprise her with gymnastics classes after the holidays.

Timothy is still our little charmer. His smile lights up his whole face. He has been cleared by the neurosurgeon to not need further visits, unless he develops any problems. We were excited about that. Timothy started preschool in September and adores his teacher. He has made a couple of buddies that he talks about often. His favorite things right now are Spiderman and the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss.

Bethany also started preschool and is in the same class as Timothy. They do well together at school. She has turned into quite the little fashion model, insisting on only skirts or dresses. She is so attached to Emily, always wanting to be doing what Emily is doing. For now Emily is tolerating it. Bethany has the most delightful laugh and she is completely taken with Barbie and all the Disney princesses.

Charlie and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary this week! He took me on a 7 day Caribbean cruise the week before. We went to Honduras, Belize, Mexico and the Bahamas. It was absolutely wonderful!! Our good friends Mike and Amy Bowles, formerly living in Thailand, moved into our house and took superb care of our four kiddos and their two as well. It was so relaxing and just an amazing time of reconnecting as a couple.

We are just about finished redoing my parents' house in order to put it on the market. It has been really hard getting rid of everything from the house. We have taken down all the wallpaper, painted, new carpets, new floors in the kitchen and foyer, new cabinets and appliances and redone all the landscaping with just family providing the labor. Mom and Dad's good friend Don is finishing up by hanging new doors and touching up. He also redid the hallway bathroom and will be putting in new toilets and such. Unfortunately the market stinks right now, so we are not sure of when it might actually sell. We will continue to pray about it and know that God has the perfect timing in His plan.

We are still in the process of transitioning to career missions. It has been slow with Timothy's medical needs, but now we have complete clearance for him. We decided to delay by one cycle so that we can be appointed here in Richmond instead of in Sunnyvale, TX. Nothing against Texas, but we would really like for family and our church friends to be able to be there. Please pray for us to be able to finish all the paperwork in the next couple of weeks and get it turned in. Also pray for Brodie, who is dealing with great reluctance in leaving his only remembered home and all his friends.

We will be sending out Christmas cards in the next couple of weeks and will give a more complete update in there. Talk to you later!