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| family hike at turkey run |
Dear Family and Friends,
It’s hard to believe we are finishing up our time here in
Indianapolis! Mark has 6 months left of residency and will start his 1-year
fellowship in July in St. Louis. We can finally see the light at the end of the
medical training tunnel! In his spare time, Mark enjoys his weekly rock-climbing class. He
used to rock climb a bit before med school and he is ecstatic to be able to
take it up again.
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| mark climbing at the YMCA with Maren |
We are still adjusting to having four kids, give us another
couple years and I think we will have it. Despite the juggle, our children
continue to amaze us. Noah works really hard in all of the things he does—tae
kwon do, school, piano, writing a chapter book, etc. This month he has been
sight-reading Christmas songs on the piano while singing at the same time. It
is nice to see those moments of enjoyment.
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| Best buds |
Maren is a talented artist as well as athlete. She enjoys
her weekly rock climbing dates with Mark. Also, she has spent a year focusing
on gymnastics but is ready to try something new. She’s not sure what she wants
to try next but I am proud of her desire to try out new things. She is a great
helper at home and at school—all of her teachers love her.
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| Maren climbs at the YMCA every week |
Ellie’s personality has really blossomed this year—she is
such a loving and graceful girl. If you need a compliment or hug, she’s your
girl! She spends hours a day dancing and I often catch her teaching imaginary
dance classes. This is her last year at home before starting kindergarten next
fall. I am going to miss having her at home.
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| Ellie at her dance recital |
Bear is our bear! He is into everything. He enjoys keeping
up with the other kids but definitely has his own ideas about life—he will tell
you shout all about it! It’s fun to see him running, climbing, dancing, and
throwing balls. His sweet smile and single dimple make it hard to stay mad at
him for long—even if he does throw his (non-)leak-proof sippy cup and dinner
across the room on a daily basis.
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| yogurt gel is all the rage |
I have a hand in a zillion projects as usual. I enjoy
teaching dance still and have performed some on my own as well. I took a couple
oil painting courses and try to keep up with a weekly Spanish class over Skype
with my Dad. And thanks to my dad, Mark and I have been bitten by the pickleball
bug. It’s a cross between tennis and ping-pong (maybe?). It’s a very addicting
game and I recommend it to everyone.
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| Wearing an authentic dirndl at the halloween pickleball tournament |
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| mourning in my pantsuit november 9 |
At the end of this month we will celebrate our 10-year
wedding anniversary. The next 6 months will be filled with trying to sell our
home, job-hunting, and travelling to the Iberian Peninsula (no kids!).
We are grateful for all of the many experiences we have had
here in our home (we will never do our own flooring renovation again!) and it
will be bittersweet to move on to the next stage in our life. We are grateful
for the love and support we receive from all of our family and friends. We are
grateful for this time of year to not only reflect but to look forward. We are
grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ, who taught us how to live happily and we
hope to do a better job this year at following his example.
Merry Christmas,
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| we ripped out the carpet and laid down new floor all the way through the kitchen. I also painted the two rooms |
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