Merry Christmas! You may be wondering why it has taken me so long to post something. I wonder the same thing. I like posting and sharing with you what the kids are doing but I can't seem to find the time to sit and write. I do this week because it is Christmas! Being off the normal day to day schedule is awesome in some ways.
So, since the summer not much has changed in our lives other than the kids keep growing and growing! Grace started 7th grade and is doing well. After a bumpy year in 6th grade, this year is proving to be a lot smoother. She played Ayso soccer in the fall with her favorite coach, Mr. Woudstra and really got into the defense portion of the game. She ended up playing sweeper and loved it. She has a protective nature about her so that position fit naturally with her personality. She also played Courthouse basketball in preparation for the school team. She actually tries out for that after the New Year. She and Doug have been trying to improve certain parts of her game (again, she is fabulous defensively!). She just needs confidence and to be play more aggressively in the offense department. She has beautiful technique with shooting but seldom shoots because she gets nervous.
She has grown a lot (my size shoes, my shirts...you get the picture). She is also playing clarinet for the 2nd year in a row although I think it should be drums. She is constantly drumming with pencils everywhere. She was awarded Person of Character at school for the month of September. She apparently shows respects! She also made Honor Roll. We were so proud of her. She is also still into reading and movies. Her dream is to be in a movie some day and become a Police Officer when she grows up. She loves Hunger Games, walking around with earplugs listening to her favorite tunes and enjoys her itouch way too much some days. Youth group at church has entered her life as a regular activity and she is enjoying it. We have a terrific youth pastor and that makes a huge difference! For Christmas, she got a bow and arrow, an electric drum pad and as a surprise....... fencing classes. You may ask why? Well, if she is not drumming, watching movies, listening to music or pretending to be Catnis from Hunger Games, she is sword fighting with nerf dollar store swords in her room. We thought we should channel the energy before it got out of hand.
Caleb is now a 3rd grader mastering multiplication facts quicker than I can keep clean dishes in the kitchen. He is a whiz at certain things that is for sure. However, he can't remember to hang his coat up. He also played Ayso soccer this fall and started on a Courthouse basketball team (no more Upward). He seemed to catch on more this year in soccer. I still think that may be his sport because of the constant movement. However, he does not have an aggressive bone in his body. That makes it hard to actually possess the ball and score. Basketball has proven to be good for him, he is the best hustler on the team. The only problem is, he is shorter and smaller than most boys his age. He does enjoy it however and it is fun to watch him improve. For Christmas we got a bow and arrow also, a big boy snowboard and his own discs for disc golf. He loves to play that with Doug
He still loves to be involved in anything one of us is doing. He has a room of nice toys but they go unused because he would rather help us do whatever we are currently working on. It could be cleaning, making dinner, repairing something, working on the computer etc.... We try to include him but there are times I send him to his room for some quiet time and a break for him and us. He still loves screens, playing outside and being with friends. He is constantly asking for play dates, coordinating plans and asking for someone to come over. We have also started tapping into his ability to remember things. When any of us are missing something, we ask Caleb if he knows where it is. Usually he has seen it at some point or.....he has touched it, played with it, used it and ultimately moved it. That does not work very well for Doug and I who already fit memory issues! Nothing on the horizon medically for him thankfully. He should start round 2 of braces sometime in February if x-rays show a developed bone in his jawbone. We have been praying since July that the bone marrow created a new bone and fused to the existing jaw. That would be totally awesome!
Odds and ends: For Halloween, Grace wanted to be a secret spy agent and Caleb was a football. Grace walked the subdivision with a friend and decided not to collect candy! She came home early and wanted to read and pass out candy to our trick or treaters instead. Caleb collected a stash and shared it with her...it was so sweet. Thanksgiving went well. We delivered meals again and enjoyed a relaxing dinner afterward at home. The long weekend was perfect...I can't remember the last time we all rested, read and watched movies. It was wonderful.
We are looking forward to the New Year! School sports, more basketball/soccer, work, church activities, time with family and friends and normal day to day stuff. We also have some big birthdays coming up this year. Doug turns 50, Grace becomes a teenager and Caleb turns double digits! I stay in the same "bubble" or age bracket from last year. The only difference is that it is getting harder to fight gravity and the changes that go with aging. Reading glasses are a staple around our house now. Thankfully, Depends are not yet!
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