Everyday Life

Emily is in first grade, learning to read and write. It is much more work than Kindergarten and she spends time every weekday with at least 30 minutes of homework. Her teacher's program is very structured and Emily knows exactly what is expected of her. She is one of the best students in her class for getting work done on time. She enjoys school and is eager to learn new things. She hasn't lost her creative spark. Her original sentences for homework make her teacher smile when she writes, "Are you sure you have a horse who can play the violin?" "Yes, look in the tree!" And then you see her drawing of a horse playing a violin in a tree.

Joey goes to British preschool two days a week when we are not traveling or when he isn't sick. He's missed quite a few days since he started in August. He likes school because it makes him feel like a big kid. On days he isn't going to school he hangs out with his cousin, McKinzie White, next door. We can't seem to keep them away from each other. Either Joey is there or McKinzie is here most days of the week. The two of them are little rascals together.

Mandy is two. It says a lot. She is really into doing things her own way and insists on it. Her famous line is, "No Mommy, I do it." She says it from everything to buckling her car-seat to picking out her movie. She is generally sweet, however, despite her two-ness.

Joseph is enjoying more time since residency ended. He has fun on the computer many evenings and some weekends when we have nothing else planned. He loves taking pictures and rarely leaves the house without the camera, even if it's just to church (he often takes the kids somewhere while he's waiting for choir to get over). In his free time, when he's not taking pictures, he's uploading them to the computer or the internet. November's total pictures were about 400 or so. He has all his favorites uploaded to Picasa. He's also been getting up early some mornings to practice the piano. He plays for Primary and has been busy learning songs for the upcoming program. The Primary President complimented him last week on his playing, saying she could tell that his practice has been paying off.

Jenny just feels busy. She loves her new calling of Primary Chorister. With the upcoming Primary Program, she has been scrambling to get the kids ready and work out the small details, like solos, ensembles, etc. On top of primary, she has been Christmas shopping (online) and working on the house. She finally got the last box unpacked last week. There is still much to do to get the house in order, as she tries to manage the lack of storage space in her new house. Every time she does a load of laundry, though, she is thankful for an American size washer and dryer (the European size is very small, like 4-5 pairs of jeans, or one coat). She enjoys going to choir after church, which is 35 minutes from our home, so Joseph graciously takes the kids for a drive and then comes back to pick her up. He definitely goes the extra mile for me, which I appreciate very much.