The leaves have mostly fallen and the weather has turned colder. The deer hunters are hauling in their prey. Snow is already falling in some western states. Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Christmas will be here and gone before we know it.
I just heard today that my parents moved into their new home the end of last week and are loving it. I’ve not been in touch directly because their phone has been cut off and they don’t have their new number yet.
Angela continues to improve but she doesn’t feel like the “new woman” that all the doctors said she would. So either they were exaggerating or we just haven’t given it enough time yet.
The kids continue to grow in leaps and bounds, in every way. Hannah is routinely saying 3-4 word sentences, and even managed a 6 word one the other day. Lydia has a huge imagination, which can be hilarious but also leaves us scratching our heads a lot of times. Alan is doing REALLY well at school and enjoys it immensely.
It looks like we’re headed into uncertain times with a long and deep recession looming and a virtual unknown about to step into the White House, but thankfully God knows all about it and is still keeping watch above His own.
I just got finished updating the photo section to August 08. Some of you may not know that I am now posting all photos and some short family videos to my MobileMe gallery. Just click this link to go and see what’s there:
(Note that it probably doesn’t work well on dialup–specially the videos.)
Alan started school this August and is enjoying every minute of it. He was awarded “Student of the Month” (whatever that means) for September, so we were pretty proud of him.
Lydia really missed him at first, but she’s getting used to it now. Having a little sister at home helps a lot.
The biggest news is that Angela had some fairly major surgery on August 27th–removal of her gall bladder and spleen. She was in the hospital for several days. Being the only parent and trying to juggle work, looking after the kids, and visiting Angela daily in a hospital 60 miles away was not too much fun but we all made it through somehow. She has pretty much fully recovered, but her body is still adjusting to the absence of those two organs.
We’ve had a great summer with lots of beautiful sunshine and just enough rain to keep all the crops growing nicely. We canned 80 quarts of green beans, froze a bunch of corn, canned peaches, apple sauce, and apple butter, and froze persimmon pulp. Angela tells me she is going to can some potatoes this week. So if the government bailout doesn’t work, maybe we won’t starve to death right away.
It’s May 3rd and spring is very much in the air (a little too much in the air for those of us who suffer from allergies!).
Our trip to England went very well. It was great to see friends and family and just have some time away from the general grind. We missed most of the flooding they had here in Indiana while we were away.
Soon after we arrived back, Alan went for Kindergarten Roundup….just another reminder that he is growing up really fast and will be in school come August. He and Lydia regularly ride the school bus. They go in with Gerald and then get on Earl’s bus and come home with him. Lydia has started to make friends with a little girl called Pearl. I think it’s going to be a bit of a shock to her when Alan starts school and she’s not allowed to go!
Hannah is now one year old. She can walk pretty much across the front room floor if she wants to, but doesn’t very often want to. Why walk when you can crawl?! She can say several words, including Dada and Momma, but most of the time you have to be pretty much clued in to know what she’s saying. Needless to say, she’s developing quite the personality and is totally different from the other two, though there are some similarities to Alan.
Eloise had another bad stretch just after we returned from England. She had a seizure and was unresponsive for about a day and a half. Some thought she was a gonner. However, in true Eloise fashion she rose up from her sick bed and is now progressing quite well again. Yesterday she went for an “angiogram of the brain” to see if they could figure out what is going on. Hopefully those results will give some clues to the clueless doctors (and I don’t mean that in a nasty way–just that they seem to have little idea what’s wrong).
Well, I have to go work on Alan’s four wheeler.
Christmas 2007 has come and gone, leaving us with nothing more than memories and more things to walk around or trip over. Alan and Lydia performed their pieces well in the Christmas program, though Lydia was not in “entertainment mode” due to being under the weather. Ask for a DVD if you’d like to see it.
Alan got a remote control dirt bike, remote control truck, remote control helicopter, among other things. Lydia’s big present was a doll’s house, with lots of people and things to fill it. I got a new iPod, along with some clothes, an electronic dart board, and some other stuff that I can’t even remember. Angela got some fine bone china with which to start her Old Country Roses (Royal Doulton) collection.
Eloise Haycox, our office manager at Country Pines, was taken seriously ill a week before Christmas and is still in the hospital. The doctors have ruled lots of things out, but as of today have not ruled anything in. Hopefully she will make a speedy recovery and be back at the helm in the not too distant future.
We applied for a passport for Hannah yesterday, and also renewed Alan’s (though it will take 5 weeks for them to arrive). Looking at airfares to England was a very discouraging experience–we’re looking at paying almost THREE TIMES the amount we paid in 2006. I suppose it’s all down to the high price of oil.
Weight loss is still going on slow but sure. I’ve now lost 40 lbs.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season and that 2008 will be the best year yet in every way.
August sure has been a hot one so far. The highest temperature we recorded here at our house was 104 degrees. That’s pretty hard on an English laddie. Thank the Lord for air conditioning!
I thought maybe I should get the July pictures up before August gets away from me. The past few weeks have been pretty busy with one thing and another. Around the beginning of August we went away for a few days vacation, terminating in Oklahoma City for Chad and Amber’s wedding. We spent several days in Branson, Missouri. It’s definitely a nice place for a family vacation and somewhere I wouldn’t be afraid to visit again. You’ll see pictures whenever I get the August photos up.
Have I mentioned that Angela and myself are losing weight? I have lost right at 30 lbs since January 1st. Angela didn’t start until after Hannah was born (for obvious reasons), but so far she has lost 19 lbs. She is going to Weight Watcher meetings and I am trying to follow the program with her, but not going to the meetings. If you are over weight, I highly recommend Weight Watchers as probably the healthiest way to lose weight. It’s not considered a diet plan but a life change plan. They want you to lose weight slowly and in a healthy manner (i.e. getting proper nutrition). They want you to lose between 1/2 lb and 2 lbs per week. I’m amazed that you can do this without feeling starved all the time like you do on most diets. The two keys points for me have been (1) Portion control and (2) smart choices (low fat, low sugar, etc.). They want you to drink 6 cups of water per day, make sure you get five fruit/veg portions per day, and 2 milk portions. They also want you to get some “healthy” oil each day, but to be honest, I’ve not been too bothered about that. I have another 25 lbs to lose, which may take another year the way things are going. Reuben is on the plan and has so far lost 80 lbs.
Hannah continues to grow and is doing some things earlier than the other two did. Lydia continues to garner attention wherever she goes and whatever she does. I have no idea how Angela and I produced this kid. She can be high maintenance at times, but she is totally adorable and lots of fun. Alan is mature beyond his four years and interested in everything.
Look for photos of our vacation and the kids’ new play house soon.
Sorry for the blog blackout. I couldn’t believe it when I looked here today and saw there has been no posts since April 7th. Ouch!
Well, I guess a lot has happened since then. Hannah has arrived. Hannah has arrived. Oh, and did I say Hannah has arrived? Grandma and Grandad have come and gone. Other things have happened that escape me now that I’m sitting here staring at this blank screen.
Alan and Lydia are growing up and enjoying life in general. This past week they have been going to Vacation Bible School at church every night from 6:00 to 8:00. Then tomorrow night (Sunday) there will be a program at church. There will be prizes.
Speaking of church, check out the transformation that has taken place at our parsonage. Our new pastor and his family moved in this past Tuesday. We’re really excited and thrilled to have them and we believe the Lord is going to use them in our church and the wider community. This is Bro. Zeigler’s second church. He was pastor at Evansville, Indiana for 12 years.
If I think of something else to post, I’ll try to do it soon and not wait three months.
Angela is counting the weeks now until the new baby arrives. She keeps saying it’s only THREE. She’s still having complications like swelling, high blood pressure, and carpal tunnel syndrome. So it’s a good thing the end of the tunnel now seems to be in sight.
Some of you may not know that my dad crushed his thumb while working with a hydraulic fence post machine at Neville Ward’s farm. He was taken to the hospital and they had to cut his thumb off down to the knuckle.
In other news, our church is currently looking for a pastor. Bro. Gibson announced his resignation several weeks ago. We had a visiting preacher come and give us a trial sermon last Sunday and we are having another one tomorrow (Easter Sunday). Next Wednesday the church will vote on those two and one other.
Alan and Lydia went to an Easter egg hunt at the school this afternoon. Alan only got seven eggs, but Lydia came back with almost half a bucket full. So Alan was either paying too much attention to what others were doing or had too much competition.
My parents arrive here on the 19th so that they can be here for the birth. Keep watching the front page of the site from that time onwards. As soon as we have a baby I’ll post a picture there.
March came in with a blast for several states (or was it February going out?) with tornadoes and storm damage particularly bad in Missouri and Alabama. As I write, snow continues to fall, as it has done on and off all day, though it melts as fast as it falls (thankfully!). We’ve had our share of strange weather. Yesterday was like a beautiful spring day with temperatures in the 50s and beautiful bright sunshine. You wouldn’t know it today!
Angela continues to wish for the end of April to hurry up and get here so she can be delivered from all the side effects of being in the family way.
After my last blog post I was reminded by my wife that I had failed to mention an important January event–Lydia’s second birthday! How could I have forgotten? She continues to grow and develop into the cutest girl you ever saw (but then what can you expect?). Someone mentioned the other day that if we stop at three she will suffer from middle child syndrome, but I assure you most emphatically that she is one child who will absolutely NOT suffer from anything of the kind! She’s not going to be pushed over or left out of anything.
Alan knows his numbers up to about 12 and most of his letters, and can write most of them. He can also write his first and last name and knows his phone number. He has a very inquiring mind and loves to learn. They both provide us with lots of joy and laughter.
Lydia has now moved upstairs with Alan, mostly so that when the baby arrives she won’t think it stole her bed. She cried the first couple of nights. It was quite pathetic to hear her crying out in desperation, “THIS IS NOT MY BED! I WANT MY NICE LITTLE BED!!!” Now she just acts like she’s always been there. Both her and Alan have been excellent about adapting to change.
The big news this month is that a new baby is on the way! We like to shroud these things in secrecy and mystery for as long as possible, but in the end babies have a way of announcing themselves, and that time came about two weeks ago.
It should arrive around the end of April, and no, we don’t have any idea what it is (though we would like to!).
Names are:
Girl: Keren-Happuch
Boy: Archibald
Just kidding.
January photos are up. Not much else to report except that our niece, Sarah Tedrow, broke her arm while ice skating on a pond (I’m told it was Bryan’s fault).
Happy New Year everyone!
2006 closed out quietly with a peaceful and blessed Christmas season as once again we focused our thoughts on the arrival of the King of kings as a babe in Bethlehem.
Our church’s Christmas program went very well, with Alan and Lydia both doing their part to make it interesting. If you haven’t seen the video clips of them saying their parts (How I Know, Angel, and Bell) you’ve missed a treat (you’ll need the latest version of QuickTime on your computer to view them).
December photos are up.