Happy Valentine’s Day! 2010 flew by in a flash! In November we made an addition to the family - BANJO. The children were thrilled that we made good on our commitment to get a dog once Chloe was potty trained. Banjo, a black and white Havanese, seems a perfect fit for us. He has plenty of energy for a long walk, but not so much that he won’t settle down and enjoy someone’s lap. Chloe, however, has taken his presence as a threat and totally regressed on. She is finally (after 3 ½ months) remastering her potty skills – thankfully. Chloe keeps the dog hopping with her commands and doesn’t hesitate to let him know “I’M IN CHARGE”. Banjo isn’t the only thing Chloe aspires to command. We all work hard to not let her get away with disobedience, no matter how cute – and she is quite cute (yes, that is coming from her parents). Abram continues to astound us. His 4 year old brain is in overdrive!! He keeps us on our knees. He asks penetrating questions, unfortunately almost always at bed time (he always has “just one more”). Baruch just turned 7, lost his first tooth, started piano lessons and is constantly modifying his toys to find out how they work and make them “better”. Abigail has a tender heart, loves to dote on Chloe, and seems to be blossoming in her self-confidence. Jacob! We still use the same single word to describe Jacob – excess! There isn’t much about him that couldn’t be summed up in that word. He likes to earn money by walking the neighbor’s dog, mowing lawns and shoveling snow. We all take pleasure in his ability to play the piano and guitar (and anything else he tries). He is always looking for competition in ping-pong, basketball and any other sport. Mary entered her teenage years in October. She is maturing into a lovely young lady with unusual spiritual insight. She continues to surprise us with her creativity in sewing and needlework and enjoys playing the piano as well. She helps mom’s sanity with her culinary ability, by reading aloud to the little ones and is the only one patient enough to train Banjo . Banjo sits, fetches, goes in the kennel on command, is learning “leave it”, and is almost rolling over! Beth continues to strive to build up our home as she walks in grace, struggling through some days and soaring through others. Drew keeps trying to direct the whole tribe in a strategic way to honor the Lord. When people ask him how life is with 6 kids, he will say “when things are good, they are really good, when they are bad… oh boy.” Our aim is to make known the fame and worth of Jesus Christ in every sphere we can.
Love from Drew and Beth
on behalf of the entire Tribe:
Mary(13), Jacob(11), Abi(9), Baruch(7), Abram(4), Chloe(2) and Banjo(6 mo.)