Family Update - Pictures (and video) Added as promised

I guess I have to write an entry about the general status of our family since my dad sent out an email to the family claiming that all I was doing was running and babysitting so Jamie "can pursue some goals" a.k.a. girl scout leadership training. I guess if you are using my blog as your only source of information that might be the impression one might get. I would argue that I have discussed other things with my dad but I’m sure many of us would describe our current lives differently if given more than a sentence. Props to my father for at least communicating something to the whole family. I know it is more than I have done.

So, where do I begin? I guess I can start with the kids then get to Jamie and me.

Caleb - Cub Scout - Night he got his Wolf and became a Bear

Caleb is doing great in 3rd grade. His first quarter report card came in with straight A’s. I don’t know if that still means the same thing in these public school grade inflated times but it still makes a dad’s chest puff out. His other great endeavor right now is Karate. This past summer he won a door prize of 6 month of unlimited karate classes and has gone 2-3 times a week since our return from Utah. He is easily the best student in the beginner level courses and his teacher has requested to move him up to the next level of classes starting next week. At this pace we may end up having to pay for these things come January but the confidence and discipline I have seen it bring him is irreplaceable.

Mischa - Rockstar award at school (kind of like "Student of the Month")

Mischa is our bookworm. Based on the comparisons from my childhood, I’m sure she would make my brothers Loren and Oliver proud. She CONSUMES books. Since July she has read the complete Harry Potter series, twice, not to mention the dozens of other books in the same time frame. In a school program that assigns point levels to various books read and tested on, students have a goal of 25 points for the entire school year. Mischa is about to reach 200 points for the first 3 months. And the girl will read ANYTHING – don’t get me started… Her other endeavor is piano. She started lessons back in July and is moving along quite swiftly. Her teacher told me last Friday that she has never had a student progress through the books as quickly as Mischa who is already playing sharps and flats in three hand positions and can play several Christmas songs… guess we have to find a piano as she is outgrowing our keyboard.

Joshua - What makes you think we are drugging our kids?

Joshua is our tenderheart. Hard to believe he turns 5 in a week. He aims to please and will cry quite quickly if he thinks he has disappointed you in any way. The other day he heard me getting upset with his little sister for having marker all over her face. Twenty minutes later when he came downstairs he had a blanket over his head like a Jaw-wah. Upon further investigation I found that he had played with the marker first and was the source for his little sister’s escapades. He broke into tears and cried more about the experience than his sister. The boy loves his Star Wars, Spider-man, Power Rangers, and video games. Do you think we need to shield him from pop-culture a little better?

Liesie-Lu --- Who me?

As for Liesie-Lu (my nickname for her) she is not accepting the back seat to anyone just because she is the youngest. She is very opinionated and will resort to screaming to get her way. And is VERY jealous of her mother holding anything that even LOOKS like another baby. Her speech was delayed somewhat (may have led to the screaming) but she seems to be making great progress in her vocabulary and very clearly understands what is asked of her. Recently she has found an affinity to having books read to her, that is both good and bad I guess.

Jamie, Caleb & Liesie - Can you pick them out? Yes, that is Caleb with the last line in the skit

Jamie is the perfect diligent busy mother and wife. Apart from taxi driver she is a Cub Scout Den Leader, a Girl Scout Troop Co-Leader, frequent school volunteer, babysitter for two neighbors who are working mothers, and pretty much finds a way to always seem to be in constant motion. I don’t know how she keeps things straight and I often refer to her as my Franklin Day Planner. She is "working on goals" as dad referred to but I would guess that she would like to do a few other things if not for the constant deluge of tasks that beset a stay at home mother.

As for me, yes, running has taken a central theme in my life right now. My wife might argue that it has taken a bit too much of my focus… Maybe that will die down some over the winter once I get past this half-marathon I am running on Thanksgiving Day. I think a full marathon is in the cards down the road but I will make that call sometime in the future. That may take more time commitment than I am willing to give. My problem is I can’t just run out there and do a 6 hour marathon and call it good because that is basically walking. If I do it, I want to do it right… Enough with the running already (I know you are thinking it!) It has provided results though. I am currently 201 lbs and I’m sure I will be at the 200 lb goal I set for myself to run this race on Thanksgiving, even if I’m back over 200 by the end of the day… In other news, my "new" job is going great. I am enjoying not having to travel as much and being at a plant instead of a corporate office every day. Our industry is hurting a little right now as a good chunk of our product goes into the housing market but we seem to be keeping our head above water. Speaking of water, if you haven't heard, we are in the middle of an historic drought in these parts. At least I can blame my dead lawn on the lack of rain and watering restrictions instead of my ineptitude of growing fescue in the south… Just keep your fingers crossed that we don't have to train the kids on "Yellow let it mellow, brown flush it down" as it is enough of a hassle just to get them to flush at all!

I hope this suffices as an adequate family update instead of a book-long, rambling post of themes you had already heard. I’m sure my wife would highlight other elements of our life right now if you had her write on the same topic, but hey, this is the view from where I sit. Pretty nice view I might add…