September 2006: by Becky

After watching Teresa carefully peel grapes and create intricate flowers and long, purple fingernails out of the peels – what else is worth reporting?

It sure was fun to have Teresa, Karen, and Mom and Dad here this weekend.  We sure enjoyed conference.  Bjorn especially liked the last song, “We Thank Thee Oh God for a Prophet.”  I enjoyed watching the older kids listen and linger longer than they have in the past.

Our month has been full of Heely Shoes, taking Ellie to the docter, losing teeth, nebulizing Ellie, watching sports, trying to get Ellie to take yucky medicine, and celebrating birthdays.  Yes, Ellie has had a rough month with three different rounds of antibiotics, two rounds of steroids, and two “almost” trips to the hospital.  She bounces back very quickly and with her new stay-at-home regimen and daily nebulizer treatments, were hoping for an uneventful winter.  She’s taken her first steps and loves to climb on everything.  She says a few words, but mostly just “Hi Dad!”

Miriam continues to talk more, sing more, and surprise us with her physical abilities.  Her and Enoch have become better friends while everyone else is in school all day.  She will follow him or Brenda anywhere.

Enoch had fun turning four.  Throughout the day he would say, “Mom, is it still my birthday?”  He has loved his new preschool group.  He surprises me each time when he walks into class and says “Bye Mom”.  He’s very well behaved on our outings and has grown up so much in the past few months.  He doesn’t like to color – and I realize now it’s because he wants the picture to look perfect, with no white space at all.  He can’t wait to be on a soccer team!

Natalie lost her two front teeth and looks so cute!  She had a blast playing soccer this year, she misses it already and wants to give basketball a try next month.  Natalie reads like a nine year old and daily asks me why she doesn’t get more homework.  She’s always busy and always happy!

Isaac’s been playing soccer or football almost every night.  He seems to love it – we’ll have to come up with a new outlet until basketball starts.  He really wants to win the Hershey track meet in the spring – so maybe he’ll be out jogging every night.  He can be persuasive!  Only moments after Bjorn and I decided Heely’s were way too expensive and impractical, we were on our way to buy some for Isaac.  He figured out that if he took back all of his new school clothes and shoes he would have enough money for Heely’s.  He was having so much fun that Auriana and Natalie really wanted some for their birthdays.  So the three of them have been “Heelin” around the house for a few weeks now.  Isaac officially started guitar lessons and has become much more serious about the piano.

Auriana was delighted to lose her tooth in the middle of her meal a few days ago.  Just sitting next to Grandpa was enough to make it fall right out.  Fifth grade is less intense than fourth.  Auriana’s enjoying having less homework this year.  She loves to sit down and read and calls that her relaxing time.  She’s really progressing on both the Mandolin and the Piano.  She had an adventurous time turning nine.  Her wish was to ride horses with her friends.  Our neighbors do rodeos, so we arranged with them a time when the girls and Bjorn and I could ride.  It wasn’t until all five of us were in the saddles that we realized the difference between rodeo horses and trail horses.  We had a few hair raising moments, but it turned out to be a very fun day.  

Bjorn’s busy coordinating the Harvest Moon Hurrah for the city this Saturday as well as working hard to provide for all of us.  The kids can submit a “Hero” to be highlighted at school.  Natalie chose her Dad as her hero, and she wrote “My Dad is my hero because he works hard so my mom won’t have to.”  We’re all very grateful for all that Bjorn does for us.

July 2006: by Bjorn

July 2, 2006

How wonderful it is to get some sleep! I have been involved in some projects the last couple of weeks that have been pretty all-consuming – staying up late and getting up early in order to meet deadlines. As an example: from the time I woke up Monday morning at 4am to when I went to bed Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning) at 1:30am I only got 5 hours of sleep. That was the worst stretch, but others came pretty close. Becky and the kids were so good through the whole thing to let me work and to feed me when I would emerge from my cave. I’m happy to report that the main project, a 176 page full-color book called Journey of Faith: From Jerusalem to the Promised Land is done and the client said it was “sensational.” Let’s hope the general public feels the same and that they actually sell some books. It is a companion piece to the DVD film called Journey of Faith that has been out for almost a year now. Other projects continue and though I’m still quite busy, at least I’m usually getting a full night’s sleep. I even had time to finally mow the lawn yesterday as it has been two weeks for the front yard and three for the back since I last mowed. I also had time to finally fix our garage door opener. What a great convenience it is to not have to get out of the car to open or close the garage by hand. ☺  I’m sure Becky sometimes wishes her husband was more of a handyman.

Auriana, Isaac, and Natalie successfully completed their Bluegrass/Folk Music workshop, though because of our Pendleton family reunion couldn’t participate in the final performance. For that reunion we spent the 3rd weekend in June up at a condo/lodge in Eden, Utah. It had enough rooms for our entire family to fit, and had ping pong, pool, and air hockey tables as well as an outdoor pool and sand volleyball court. We spent one day at Pineview reservoir playing on the beach and enjoying 2 wave runners that we rented. Becky and I were in charge of the games one evening and we copied some of Brenda’s great ideas from the last Young reunion – distance Skittle spitting, licorice eating races, and the limbo. They were all a hit with my family. Isaac really enjoyed spending every second of that time with his twin cousins from Washington (Catherine’s boys Jacob and Daniel) since he’s usually forced to play with the girls because of having no other boy cousins his age. We will be going up to Washington for their baptisms at the end of this month. It was a nice reunion themed around the parables of Jesus.

It was sure nice to have Stuart and Teresa stop by for a quick stay. It has been great to see Teresa as often as we have lately and become acquainted with the mature woman she has become. We also enjoyed seeing the new and improved Stuart (are you getting tired of it yet, Stuart?). Actually it was nice to sit and talk and feel of his spirit and views on life and talk about our missions. I know I personally was inspired to be a better person, more diligent in my spiritual life, as a result of having him in our home. Thanks again to Mom and Dad and Boyd and Karinne for allowing Isaac to have the great experience he did in California.

We are very excited about the upcoming reunions and seeing all of you. I know I personally need the vacation. We’re grateful to Mom and Dad for planning both reunions. We’ll be going up a bit early to hang with Chad and Jenny and fit in as many golf games as possible – right Dad?!

The most exciting news at our house is that we finally talked Brenda into moving in with us. The kids are nearly dying from the anticipation. Having Brenda come has allowed us to do some remodeling that we have been considering. In order to give Brenda her own room and bathroom we are finishing the downstairs storage room to be a bedroom and converting the one downstairs bathroom into two. The ingenious solution came from Becky and now our plumber/electrician/builder neighbors are working to get it all done for Brenda and also in time for when you all come to stay at our place for the Pratt reunion. So if it still smells a bit like paint when you come, you’ll know why.

Baseball and T-ball ended this week and though Isaac and Natalie are both a little disappointed, I think the parents are glad that the four-nights-a-week schedule is done. They both played very well and each made great improvements over the season. Isaac, who usually played in the pitcher’s spot or at first base, got the “golden glove” award on his team. Now he and his friends want to play football. Let the injuries, I mean the games begin! It will be interesting to see if he continues to be interested in all sports or whether he’ll narrow it down to one or two as he gets older. Natalie also participated in a show choir camp last week and put on a great show with a big group of kids. She would do that until 3 or 4 in the afternoon and then go to her T-ball games at night. Becky and I were both impressed that she had the energy to do it all.

And lastly, if I didn’t mention “Tweeters” I would be remiss in my duty as reporter of news in the Pendleton family. Last week an injured bird made its way into one of our front window wells. We had a nest in our cherry tree and it had fallen, or more likely been knocked out by our neighbor’s cat, and the kids discovered the bird. I tried to put it back up in the tree but it just hopped back down and fluttered away into the bushes. I told the kids not to worry about it and let nature run its course. Later that day we found a dead bird on our sidewalk (thanks to the cat) and thought it was the same bird. I scooped it up with the shovel and gave it a proper burial in our garbage can before the kids could get any other ideas. To our surprise, the next day, the same bird was back in our window well – obviously it was a different one that had died. The kids asked if we could keep it and I said no. Then when they were gone with Becky somewhere I took it some bread and some water in a little tin lid. Softy, eh? Well it stayed in there for another day or two and the kids named it Tweeters and continued to feed it and change the water. Enoch and Miriam were completely enthralled by the experience. During a windy stormy night we covered the window well with boards so it could be protected from the rain. The next morning it was gone from the window well. Shortly after we realized it was gone, a bird that looked just like Tweeters landed on the windowsill of our big front window, as if to say thanks and goodbye, and then flew off. We’re not sure if it actually was Tweeters, but we like to think that Tweeters regained enough strength to return to its family and is happily tweeting in the treetops, rather than the alternative ending that involves a cat. So now life is back to normal, but we’ll always remember the summer when Tweeters lived in our window well.

May 2006: by Bjorn

A lot seems to have happened since the last letter.  It was a very cool experience to baptize and confirm Isaac—a wonderful day for all of us. Thanks to all who came or called or sent cards. He did a good amount of growing up that day and we’ve had some great discussions since that time. On a few evenings after putting him in bed I’ve been able to share with him some of my own experiences with the Holy Ghost. Those are times that a dad treasures. On the Sunday after his baptism he leaned over to me at the beginning of Sacrament meeting and asked, “How do you repent?” We had previously discussed how taking the sacrament each week allows us to repent and renew covenants and stay as clean as when we were baptized. I told him that you pray to Heavenly Father and ask him to forgive you for anything you may have done wrong. I didn’t think much of it at the moment, but realized that he wanted to repent before he took the sacrament so he could “stay perfect” as long as possible. I think the sacrament is a powerful tool in our lives that is too often overlooked or not taught well enough and soon enough to children. The sooner they understand the power of prompt repentance and feel the confidence that comes from weekly worthiness, the better their lives will be and the more they will personally appreciate the Savior and his atonement. What a wonderful feeling it is to have joy and rejoicing in your posterity even in small degrees.

Becky and I decided that it would be a neat experience for Isaac to fly (maybe drive) down to Tehachapi with Mom and Dad for Stuart’s report.  He was so excited when we told him that he could hardly contain himself. We’re so grateful he’s had someone like that to look up to as a righteous role model.

The kids were out of school for a few days for spring break. They spent the majority of their time outside on their rollerblades. They got to have a sleepover at our house with friends on the first night, and Friday night got to sleep out in their friend’s backyard in a tent. We went to see “Curious George” as a family and the kids loved it, even the little ones. I was quite busy with work and so we didn’t get to do as much as I would have liked, but it was an early taste of what summer will be like with kids in and out of the house with friends all day long just doing whatever they felt like and having a blast.  Becky and I realized we’re going to have to set some rules when it comes to snacking, or our fridge and cupboards are going to be constantly bare.

Auriana, Natalie, and Isaac will be taking a Bluegrass/Folk Music workshop the first two weeks of June. We’re excited for them to have opportunities to play with other kids. They will also be attending a show choir camp the week after the family reunion, put on by our neighbor who is the high school choir teacher. I did all their flyers and their website as a ‘trade’ for the kids being able to go to this camp. Natalie and Auriana will be taking a combined fiddle/mandolin class throughout the summer so they can get better at playing together. Now if I can just get my act together and learn how to play the guitar better, we could become a fairly respectable family band. I wonder what Enoch, Miriam and Ellie will end up playing?

Enoch has been surprising us with his improved behavior in Primary and the Storytime he attends at the Library. Becky comes home and reports that he actually sat still the whole time and listened and participated. As she tells me about his good behavior she kind of has this look of disbelief on her face because we both have wondered if he would learn to sit still before starting kindergarten. There is hope!  He gave his first talk in Primary today, about Adam and Eve.  In preparation, Becky asked what his favorite scripture story was.  He said, “Adam and Eve, because they picked the fruit and ate it all up.  And Jesus told them not to, but they did.  And they had to leave the Garden of Egypt.”

Miriam is done sucking her thumb, thanks to THUM. Her thumb was looking all red and cracked and even somewhat deformed—nothing permanent, but nevertheless we thought her speaking progress was being hindered by thumb sucking. Becky’s friend told us about this stuff called “Thum” that is really yucky tasting and stays on like fingernail polish-- it worked great and only took 2 or 3 tastes!  Now we look forward to potty training!  Growing up is so much fun.

Ellie is sitting up pretty well on her own now. It’s fun to see her balance herself. It’s still a challenge for us to keep Enoch from smothering her with his love. I joked with Becky the other day that Ellie had developed an “Enoch reflex” because when I bent down to kiss her she jerked her hands up to protect herself. The younger ones definitely develop a toughness sooner than the first children.

Becky’s perspective on life inspires me. Though she would never admit it, she’s definitely the wiser one. Of course all of you already knew that. I’m just continually impressed with the way she thinks ahead and how that thinking affects her attitude right now. For instance, when I would say, “Won’t it be nice when the kids are older and we don’t have to deal with this any more,” she says, “we have to remember to enjoy this time, because it will never be like this again.” I’m also impressed with the way she handles the difficult parts of her calling in the Primary. She’s so good at listening to people voice their complaints without getting offended or judging. With one lady in particular who seems to say certain things just to try and get a rise out of people, Becky stays calm and humble and invariably ends up winning that person’s increased respect by the way she treats them. For some reason I like her more and more each day.

My Easter concert was a fun time. It was nice to see the community response for such an event. Our Spring concert is on May 20th and then we take a break for the summer, though I’ll still be doing other Arts Council stuff. I love being involved in things like that, but with the increased workload I’ve had lately I’m feeling quite overwhelmed. I’ve arranged with a couple other designers to be able to sub-contract out to them some of the projects I have going. It was actually a very liberating feeling to know that I can do that now and not have to turn down jobs and make more time for my family and my sanity. Hopefully I’m smart enough to manage everything right and go through a controlled growth with my company that is beneficial in the long run.

February, 2006: by Becky

We had a nice stake conference today. These days a nice meeting doesn't necessarily mean we learned anything of great value, but that we all survived and came home feeling glad that we went. 

Let's see-This month...

*Natalie taught her class how to make peppermint candy. She's learning Old Joe Clark on the fiddle right now.

*Auriana performed on the mandolin for her class. They were learning about stringed instruments and I was very impressed that she volunteered to play. 

*Isaac loves to dress up as Harry Potter and then dress Enoch up too as his side kick. Enoch says "Isaac can I be your little psychic." They go around the house doing karate. Isaac's been reading the Chronicles of Narnia. He'll bury himself in a book and we won't hear from him for an hour or two

Maybe someday Enoch will learn to read. :-)

*Miriam continues to be as cute as ever. She talks a little more every day. .We all love it when she says "ya" in her long, drawn out, monotone sort of way. The kids fight over her regularly. They all love her as a playmate. 

*Enoch's three favorites - the baby, a bath, and bedtime. Those three things never fail to cheer him up.

*I think the absolute highlight of the month (besides the 372 diapers that I changed) was Ellie's first giggle. We are all on a mission now to get her to do it again and again. She ended up getting quite sick this month, but she's all over it now. Bjorn, Miriam, and Enoch have all had it too, so we have
spent most of the past month staying home and staying warm.

*Bjorn was heavily involved in loading up and burying the city time capsule
for the end of the sesquicentennial year. The kids enjoyed their chance to
shovel dirt in on top of it. We all wonder if we'll be around when they
unearth it in 50 years.

*We were lucky to have Mom and Dad here for a few days. It's always a
highlight to be with Grandma and Grandpa. Miriam really warmed up and
had fun with her Grandpa this time. We also experienced the benefit of his
handyman skills. Thanks Dad!

Isaac's baptism will be on April 8 at 12:00 Noon. We would love to have any
of you who are able to come.

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