Caroline is 3!

Caroline just turned 3! That's an exciting birthday for any child but it is an especially important birthday for Caroline. She will now transition from early intervention services into the school system for her therapy. So this week we have been saying good bye to all of the therapists that have been coming into our home for the last few years. All of these wonderful friends will now disappear out of Caroline's schedule. (Yes, Mom is a little traumatized.) But we are grateful for the contribution they have made to Caroline's development and now we look forward to working with a new group of wonderful teachers and therapists. We had Caroline's IEP meeting with the school on December 10th and it went well. She has a great team that will be working for her and we are looking forward to a new beginning. When the boys go back to school in January, she will start as well. All three will be at the same school, although Caroline's day will be much shorter. She will go to school four days a week from 8:30 to 11:30.

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad!

Paul and I had "the moment" of Christmas last night. Stewart's violin teacher had organized a Christmas concert at a nursing home. Stewart did a great job and he was a great hit with the residents in the home. They were so tickled with him because he was so young and playing so much music. At one point, the teacher had him stand next to a teenage girl. His face was priceless as he looked up at this girl, who seemed almost twice as tall. We were so proud of him and we both teared up as we watched him trying so hard to do his best! Our joy in our son's musical accomplishment coupled with the cheer he was bringing to the people in the home made Christmas for us this year. The night just got better when we were able to participate in the opening of my brother, Peter's mission call. We were able to call in using various cell phones and listen as he read his call to the Auckland, New Zealand Mission. We were absolutely thrilled for him to work in this part of the world and so proud of him to be willing to accept the call. He is a wonderful example for our sons!

Thanksgiving

We had a nice Thanksgiving hosted by Paul's brother, Perry and his wife, Dawn. We enjoyed delicious food with all of Paul's family. We have had lots of blessings to be grateful for this year.
Paul and I, with his parents and our two girls, attended Joseph's Thanksgiving program. Since it was during the school day, I think Joseph had the biggest crowd. Joseph was a "wompanoag" (sp?) or American Indian.

Halloween

We had a lot of fun on Halloween. We invited all of Paul's family over for chili and a hot dog roast. Unfortunately, we could not get our new gas pit to fire up and so the hot dogs were boiled! But the kids had a great time trick or treating. Caroline really got into it and would do her little "please" sign. The boys were Vanderbilt football players, Caroline was a butterfly and Mary Elizabeth was our little bumblebee.

Buddy Walk - October 18, 2008

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Do you know how loved you are?
This year's Buddy Walk was the day after we moved into our new house. We weren't going participate but the a couple of young women from our ward, Jennifer and Marissa Scott, approached us about doing the Buddy Walk. So they took over, the planned everything, designed t-shirts, got donations, set up the website, created banners and sign and brought a great group to do the walk. We ended up with 65 people walking with and raising about $2,500. We were overwhelmed and extremely grateful for the support. Donations can still be made for Caroline's Stars.

1819 Grey Pointe Drive - October 17, 2008

We've moved! After a whirlwind summer where we worked like dogs to put our house on the market, we sold it on August 9th. We left on an extended vacation on July 23rd, frantically working until we walked out the door. And it was worth it! On the flight home, 2 1/2 weeks later, we had an email from our realtor with an offer. We were so blessed not only to sell our house quickly, but not being home so that we had to have it perfect with 4 small children underfoot.

So then we were left with the dilemna of where to go... We had not expected to sell so quickly and we had not had time to look around because we were so focused on getting our house ready. After looking around for a few days, we were very discouraged and as a last resort, went to see a house we had looked at a year earlier and hadn't liked. It was in a neighborhood that was a great fit for our family for various reasons. So we walked in and loved it! It just felt like the right place and we had our realtors start making the deal happen.

We moved on October 17th with the help of my parents, Les & Joan Moody, who flew in from Utah, lots of people from church, and of course, Paul's family, who are all here locally. I grossly underestimated what was left to be done and so my parents and Beth & Brierra Palombo had to work pretty hard to get us really out the door. When it was time to unpack, we had an army to help us out with a handful of teenagers from church, all of the Palombos, my parents, Paul's parents and brothers. It was impressive and we were so grateful!