The Sears Family
Carly (27), Enoch (34), Rivka (7), Hosanna (5), Zion (4), Jude (2), and Calvary (6 mo).
This has been a great year. It was our first year in our first house (you may remember from previous annuals that we used to live on a sailboat). We have managed to get a few house projects done, but not nearly as many as we had planned. (It's a good day if I have time to shower.) We did plant 12 fruit trees, 5 berry bushes, and some grapes. Plus we did some painting. Our living room was previously fire-engine red.
I (Carly) have been crazy busy with homeschooling. Rivka is in 2nd grade and Hosanna in Kindergarten. The boys romp around together all morning while I do school with the girls and the baby, fortunately, naps most of the morning. We've learned about mammals and birds, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and King Tut, telling time and memorizing math facts, with lots of painting and coloring. My dining room walls are filled with artwork.
Rivka is taking ballet classes. She is so long and graceful that it seems like she was born to dance. She also takes a few classes at the charter school and has a great group of friends. Her two best friends in her primary class are also homeschooled. Rivka has a goal to read the Book of Mormon before her baptism in November. She reads with Dad first thing every morning and they trade off reading verses. When they finish they get to go to Disneyland together. She also loves books on tape and doing crafty things like weaving friendship bracelets or knitting hats.
Hosanna is doing great in reading and math. She is soaking up everything like a sponge. She is super imaginative and lives in her own little world. If no one wants to join in her pretending then she just talks to herself and acts out all the parts. Her Barbie voice is particularly high-pitched. She is still taking speech classes and slowly improving her pronunciation.
Zion is very bright and aware of everything around him. He often hangs around the table and listens in on our school sessions. He is very theatrical and chivalrous- I love it! He wants to learn karate but we are trying to postpone that a few years. He is a bit obsessed with wetting his hair and pushing it up into one big spike (fortunately it falls flat when it dries). For awhile he was pulling his pants high and tucking in his shirts like Steve Urcle. He called it his "styling".
Jude has a great sense of humor. He is always joking around about something. He loves to be silly and wrestle, especially with Daddy. He wants to be independent and do everything himself and is very particular about what he wears. Reverse psychology works perfectly on him. He is just so contrary! He loves to join in on Hosanna's tea-parties and dress-up games.
Calvary is a beautiful baby. Her dimples and bright blue eyes win everyone over. She doesn't have much hair yet except for one four-inch-long piece on the side of her head. It makes her look a bit like Ramses. She is very orally fixated and always has some fingers shoved in her mouth. The way she drools you would think that she's teething but so far she's got nothing but gums. She can roll over and eat baby food and is growing up way too fast.
Luna is the newest member of our family. She is about the same age as Calvary but she is already full-grown. We recently potty-trained her so she has more freedom to run around the house. Calvary is particularly fascinated by her, but she is loved by all. Luna is very patient with the kids and very well-suited to be a pet. She doesn't even startle when I vacuum. We have really bonded with her and have even learned how to stroke her face just right so she grinds her teeth (the equivalent of a cat purring). Luna is a dwarf bunny- best pet ever!!!
Enoch is really enjoying his job as an architect and life for us just keeps getting busier and more wonderful every day!
No comments:
Post a Comment