Trying to do a 'green' newsletter this year. Instead of including it with our Christmas card and picture, I'm typing it here and sending the blog address in our cards. That way we can save a few trees!
Welcome to the 2008 Edition of the yearly events in the Curtis Welch household. We'll start youngest first~~
Soren-turned 2 in Jan, and his true 'boy' colors really began to emerge. He is fascinated and obsessed with anything related to "Cars", the movie. He has most of the characters from the movie and loves to play with them. It is so fun to listen to him as he plays with his cars, making them interact and have conversations. He speaks very well for a 2 year old and we can't remember what it was like to not hear his funny little comments and observations. He has a couple of 'friends' from Nursery that he talks about a lot, but he is fortunate to have his sisters home all day to play with. He is becoming very proficient at dressing and undressing himself and putting on his own coat. He has little need for his mom anymore, except to change a diaper now and then and fill up his milk cup.
Sadie-turned 7 in July. She has spent the better part of the year with gaps in her smile, trying her best to raise money by losing teeth. Unfortunately, we still have a very lame tooth fairy who is very sporadic in her visits. We keep hoping she will retire and be replaced by a better one. Sadie is a very capable helper for her mom when she wants to be. She is learning to make some food items and often helps get lunch for us. She has learned to love to read, setting her goals for the Pizza Hut Book-It reading rewards. She has also developed a real love of drawing and most days you can find her with her sketchbook and pencil in hand. She is looking forward to being baptized in the coming year.
Hannah-turned 9 in July. She also still has gaps in her smile. In fact, some of those gaps have been there so long we are wondering if the lame-o tooth fairy accidentally took the permanant teeth along with the baby teeth. Hannah loves to read and draw as well and will consent to do math and science if Mom will work with her. She has had some fun with our study of American History this year and you can check some of our other blog entries to see pictures of what the girls have been working on. She started taking piano lessons in Oct and has loved it. She likes her teacher and likes to sit and practice and play for fun. Mom rarely needs to remind her. She participated in her first recital on Dec 13 and did a very good job, although as she said, "I was shaking!" She is excited to be double digits next year.
Cambria-our first baby girl turned 12 in Sept. That was an exciting day for her and a bittersweet one for me. She enjoys being out of Primary and being part of YW. She has learned to crochet and has made several items. She loves to do paper crafts and makes scrapbook pages as well as other projects to give away. She really likes to cook and create in the kitchen, the Food Network is her favorite channel and her favorite celebs are the hosts of the cooking shows. I am trying to encourage her in this area, as I am happy to give up the title of cook in this house. She also started taking piano lessons, again, in Oct. She has really progressed and finally! likes to sit and play. It is so fun to me to hear her sit and work out a new piece of music. She did a fantastic job in her first recital on Dec 13, playing her piece from memory.
Ford-this boy has really had a growth spurt this past year. He has been measuring himself to his mom all year, anxious to pass her up. It finally happened, but he still tries to measure against me to rub it in! He was able to act in the school's rendition of Much Ado About Nothing this year. He was hesitant to audition but did a good job. He and I were then able to attend the Shakespeare Festival in Cedar City in June with several of his classmates. It was good to have that experience together. He was happy to turn 14 and move into the Teacher's quorum at church. He is quite diligent in performing his duties, making sure that the sacrament is ready each Sunday. He is playing basketball again this fall for AHS. He played last winter and they struggled, being a very young and inexperienced team. They have done better this year and he is enjoying it. Ford had the opportunity to attend two Scout camps this year as well as Youth Conference for the first time.
Montana-Another boy who has had a growth spurt. He is now a young man. He turned 16 in Aug. He has yet to do many of those things that most 16 year old boys consider important. Since he attends a private school there is no Driver's Ed offered and we have not been able to enroll him in a private Driving school yet. He is really okay with that, as he mentions often that he wonders if he is ready for the responsibility of a driver's license. He worries that he might injure someone. He has not been on an official date either, but his classmates have had some birthday and holiday parties he has attended and he enjoys interacting with girls on that level. He is also playing basketball again this year. He is a very good defensive player and is pleased when he can 'stuff' someone. Still working toward that Eagle, we hope he won't wait til the last minute. He attended Youth Conference and was glad to get home and clean up!
Jordan-As most of you know, he received his mission call on Valentine's Day, being called to the Montana Billings mission. He entered the MTC in May and then went to Montana in June. He really enjoyed his time in the MTC and has had, for the most part, a good experience so far in Montana. We love hearing from him and 'seeing' his growth in all ways, spiritually and physically. He has had good companions who have taught him well and he has enjoyed meeting people, member and nonmember alike. He has found several people who know his relatives, both on Dad's and Mom's side, and he is desiring to learn more about his family history so he can understand all the connections he is finding there. We checked the temps in Montana this morning and it was
-16 where he is currently. Wow! I hope he has enough warm clothing.
He would love to hear from anyone who felt like writing to him. You can email me for his address.
Kassie-It's been an interesting year for me. I have learned to love the homeschooling life we've chosen. I have loved the closer relationships I feel with my girls. I still have my bad moments, but I feel like I've learned to be more patient with them and with all the kids. I think it has softened me. I was the Primary Chorister until July when they got desperate and I was called to be the Primary President. I have learned and am still learning alot. I enjoy my calling and I love the children in our ward. We don't have a big Primary so it's easy to know all the names and faces and love them. I am thankful for great counselors who definitely help shoulder the load. I will be even more grateful for them in March. In case you didn't know, that is when baby #8 will join our family. I'm sure my counselors will help keep things running in Primary until I can function again. We are so excited about having this new little boy join our family. I never thought for an instant I'd have 8 children, or that I'd still have having children when my oldest was on a mission, but thankfully perspectives can be changed. I am blessed with amazingly good health and easy pregnancies. So far my worst complaints would be tiredness and heartburn. I'd be tired anyway and Tums work well for me. We'll let you know when he makes his appearance.
Curtis-An interesting year for him. As the year has progressed and the economy has changed so has his job description. As of now, there is no more surveying to be done. He works around here now, no more traveling, doing maintenance and handyman type jobs. He has done a considerable amount of work on our addition this year, you can check past blog entries to see some of what we've gotten done. He has had the opportunity to take an extension course through
GWU this fall. It has been a real experience for him that I can't begin to tell you about, but you can ask him about it. He will be taking another one beginning in Feb. He was released as Scoutmaster after 2 years in that position and is now the Scout Advancement person. He is in charge of keeping track of all the Scouts in the ward and keeping them updated on where they are and what they could/should be working on. After 7 years, he no longer 'gets' to attend Mutual. This has allowed him to take his college class.
We have had a good year, no big vacations to report, but no major illnesses or injuries either. Every day we see the hand of the Lord in our lives for which we are most grateful. We feel so blessed to have a son worthy and willing to serve a mission and are thrilled to add another child to those still at home. We also feel very blessed to be part of the families we belong to and are thankful for them and for the good friends we have as well. Most of all, we are thankful for our knowledge of the gospel of Christ. We are grateful for living prophets and for Father's direction in our lives.
We pray that each of us will ponder on the meaning of the birth of our Savior and the great gift that
that was, but that we will ponder more on the gift he GAVE. For us. That is truly what makes Christmas what it is. Without his life, ministry and atonement, Christmas would just be another day. We wish you joy and peace in this season as well as in the year to come.
Grandma's Scripture lists and individually typed cards that she memorizes when she is walking on her treadmill. She is such a scriptorian.
Here's her certificate from the honorable governor of the State of Utah for reaching such an auspicious age.
Hopefully, when my progeny comes to help me celebrate my 100th birthday I'll have as many accomplishments to share as Grandma does. (Hopefully, I'll look as good as she does too!)
Kids enjoying their first high school football game. We had the wrong colors on and stuck out in the sea of orange and black!
More to come!!
Yesterday was Charlie’s six month birthday. I can't believe it's been that long since I was cuddling a sweet little newborn. I was thinking a few days ago that I really don't remember what he looked like that day, either. So sad that my memory doesn't function as well as it should and how thankful I am for pictures to help me remember.
This is what he looks like now. His hair is growing back in and it's quite blond. His eyes are changing and we still don't know what color they will be, right now they are rather gray. He is a chubby, happy-when-he's-held boy. He knows how to zip all over in his walker and he knows how to roll from back to front. He will sit up for a few seconds and loves to snuggle. He gives the best baby hugs I've ever had.
Yesterday I also got a link to a video of a couple who had a baby with Trisomy 13. It is the most heart-rending, but beautiful, story I've seen in a long time. If you feel like a good cry, go here. You can also read about it here and here.
I had a friend who had a Trisomy 18 baby. They also chose not to terminate but to celebrate his life. He wasn't here long either, but he sure was loved.
I went to bed last night with tears in my eyes and a tightness in my chest and held my baby just a little closer.
If you had told me a year ago I'd be where I am today, I'd have laughed at you and silently wished you were right.
With all the events of the last few months and another heavy burden added yesterday, this song by Kenneth Cope just keeps running through my mind. I sometimes wonder how much more I can deal with, yet how could I say no to any of it? The experience, the growth, the refiner's fire?
Got this little chalkboard/whiteboard easel at good ol' DI and pulled out my trusty sponge brush and patio paint.
The little guy finally made it here. 
(Just a small portion of the books we checked out last trip to the library)
We pray that each of us will ponder on the meaning of the birth of our Savior and the great gift that that was, but that we will ponder more on the gift he GAVE. For us. That is truly what makes Christmas what it is. Without his life, ministry and atonement, Christmas would just be another day. We wish you joy and peace in this season as well as in the year to come.
Here is a picture of my favorite laundry aid. I think I need to buy stock in Stain Stick!! 
Another of our 'fun' inquiries. The girls were to research and make a "macaroni" hairdo out of shaving cream. You can't tell from the picture but they each had either a 'queue' or ponytail hanging off the back, or a bun. This was tons of fun for them until it came to the clean up part. They had shaving cream EVERYWHERE!!!! 
Can't figure out why the girls laid out the plastic and then carved the pumpkins on the concrete anyway. What was the point?
Curtis has been working on building himself a larger shed in the place our old small one used to be. Part of the project included removing the concrete pad that was the floor. It was such a difficult task, he had to recruit some 'help'! Any bets on how effective this 'help' was? It was the cutest thing ever. You should have seen his eyes light up when Curtis asked him if he wanted a turn. (he does have eye protection on, it's just hard to see)
We have been trying to make working on our 'inquiries' as fun as possible. Just thought we'd share a couple that have been lots of fun for us.
This is 13 Colonies Twister.
We (Mom) drew a very lame map of the 13 Colonies on our driveway.
Mom had made a card with the name of each colony on it as well as a card for each hand and foot.
To play, Mom would read which body part and then the name of a colony, and the player had to try to reach them without falling over.
Hannah gets the award for the person most able to contort her body in strange positions and still stay in the game.
This was a highly requested game and in fact, it became Math Facts Twister later in the week. We drew a grid on the driveway and numbered it to 24. Then Mom would roll two dice and pick a body part card and the player had to add the numbers together and put the correct body part on the correct number. We only did addition, but will probably do a subtraction one in the future.
This is a 13 Colony quilt that the girls made from paper squares. They made a square for each colony and wrote on them the name and how the name was chosen. Then they had to figure out a pattern for the quilt and how many other colored squares they needed to complete the pattern and then tied it all together. This will hang in our History Museum at the end of the year.
We had the wonderful opportunity to have her come to 'visit' us. She came one morning to introduce herself to us and told us many of her experiences and life history. We learned a lot about her at the 'tea' we had and became very excited to learn more.
After 'Abigail' left we also had a visit from the Yankee Peddler. He brought around his box of items for sale and the girls each got out the 'shillings' they had earned and carefully made their purchases. It was interesting to watch them try to buy everything in the box and spend all their money, then think about it a bit more and put most things back. Cambria only bought her wooden spoon and is saving her shillings to buy a marble set. Hannah bought only the big marble and is saving to buy the rest. Sadie wanted to spend all her money, but in the end bought a wooden spoon and a pair of folding scissors. I was happy to see them be more conscientious consumers. Soren bought himself a little wooden truck toy. 
What a cute little ear!
I went for a follow-up ultrasound on Friday. At the first u/s the heart looked good, but it was so small it wasn't possible to see the smaller veins, so the perinatologist requested that I return in 6 weeks to get a better look. This time I took Curtis and the girls and Soren. The girls have been excited to 'see' the baby.
The baby did NOT want us to see his face. This was as close as we got to seeing his profile. Although later the dr. did get a good look at the nose and lip area. No clefts.
So amazing to see all those functional body parts, bones, organs, etc. and realize that they are absolutely tiny still.
