Okay, so I completely forgot the last newsletter. I had SO much going on that before I knew it, June was almost over and way past our anniversary. So I decided to create a blog so that those who would like to catch up on the Rienstra's can do so through this blog.
This year, like many others, seemed to be full of excitement, adventure and learning experiences. The kids are getting taller and more independant as each day passes. Last summer David and I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas, kids free! It was the first time David and I have been able to do that since having children and we had a terrific time. Thanks Bruce, Mom and Danielle!
David has been busy at Team Design, althought work has been slower. There have been a couple people who have been layed off, which makes more work for those left behind. David remains the key Contruction Administrator and really enjoys his site work. When he is not at work, David plays poker with several friends whenever possible. He also spends a lot of time on the computer studying different things. Right now he is researching Geology. David also really enjoyed the past few months when the boys were doing baseball and t-ball. He looks forward to next season.
It seems this year Jadon has found electronics in a big way. He purchased a Game Boy with his own money and LOVES to play it. He is working hard to save up his money for more games. He has also found the computer and loves to explore sites that has games and info about his favorite things...pokemon, legos, bionicles and club penguin. He is our resident comedian and loves to entertain his siblings...especially during meal times. He still has a healthy appetite, but you would never know it to look at him. He still chooses fruit and milk over juice and crackers. He has really begun to try new foods at dinner time and has discovered that they will not kill him and he even likes some of them! We have tried our hand at gardening veggies this summer and Jadon really seems to enjoy helping out.
Grant is still our little energizer bunny. Anything Jadon does looks real good to Grant. He played t-ball this year and loved it. The season had just ended (we may have even been coming home from his last game) when he asked me if he could do it again. Last fall Jadon brought home his 2nd grade math homework. On it was the math problem 6+4. Grant calls out "That's 10." I made a photocopy of the sheet and Grant completed all 20+ problems, getting only one wrong. He has such a love for knowledge that I started wondering if he was being challenged enough at school. I quickly realized that he was not. After much research and discussions with David, I decided to homeschool both of the boys next year.
Lillian, now 4, is very interested in ANYTHING pink, princess and clothes! She LOVEd her ballet class that she took this year. She will chase after her brothers one minute and dress up wanting her hair done the next. She loves to tell the boys the rules of the house in a very motherly sounding tone. She wants to be older than she is that is for sure. I remind her frequently that there is no rush. (I am not convinced that she believes me.) Lillian has also come out of her shell a bit this year and has been more bold in her actions. She is not so attatched to my leg when we are in a place she does not know. She does wonder about things and it surprises me . For example she sat at breakfast one morning and informed me she wants to learn about how cereal is made and where it comes from.
As you can see I am quite busy with the three we have. I also continue to care for extra children during the week. Some days I am up to 6 children! I am also quite active with the non-profit agency The Childrens Place. I will be stepping back my responsibilities as the next year comes along as I will be busy with home schooling but I will always have a little time to help out at TCP. My new endevor..in my spare time :-) are my bags. I learned how to crochet bags out of grocery bags (thanks Grammie!!!). A great way to recycle. With the ecouragment of my friends I have begun to sell them (I even have a site at craftykathi.etsy.com ...shamless plug, I know.)They are a big hit! I have sold about 30+ so far from the site and my friends who are spreading the word for me. I have been hard at work collecting bags, cutting them and crocheting as much as I can. David and my mother even have begun stringing the plastic together for me.
In other events, we have decided to sell our home in Moultonborough. We are sad to do it but have had pretty bad luck with tenants and have spent the last 9 months with tenants who didn't pay us. We had to evict them which meant getting a lawyer and to top it all off they turned off the heat when they left and several pipes froze. They also stole some of our things and left the place a complete dump. We decided to simplify our life and wallet and sell it. Once we have cleaned it up it will be put on the market.
Last November we decided to make the trip back to St. Louis to visit Becca (who is now 16 and driving). For those of you who may remember I was her nanny in St. Louis starting when she was 3 months old and she was the flower girl in our wedding. The kids did great on the trip, which took us 2 1/2 days (one way). We made several stops along the way and one of their favorite memories of the trip was swimming in the swimming pool at the hotel. We also visited Grampa and Nana (David and Diane Rienstra) in IL. On our way back home we stopped in Michigan to have Thanksgiving with David's Grandmother. It was great but there are no plans to do this every year. :-)
Hope this finds you all well and I hope you all like the new format for the newsletter.
Love, The Rienstra Family: David, Kathi, Jadon, Grant and Lillian
