FAMILY UPDATE

Our family continues to be blessed. Christopher is--amazingly--now 9 months old! He is crawling up a storm, and is already beginning to show signs of cognition that he should be moving about on his feet only! He constantly pulls himself up on two feet. Right now, he is VERY sick (bad cold/flu). I (Todd) stayed home with him yesterday because he was supposed to be at the babysitter's house, and she has a baby just a couple months older than Christopher. He's with Susan's mom today. So if you read this in the next couple days, say a little prayer for him. He's very feverish and lathargic, not eating normally, etc. But no vomiting or diarrhea, thankfully.

Emily is 10, in Fourth Grade, and smart as a whip. She reminds me of myself as a student, though, which is not exactly a good thing. But we are so proud of her talents and her sweet spirit, and her love for the Lord! She sings and dances up a storm (and is actually VERY good--others have told us, so it's not just our bias coming out), and she's improving in her piano playing. She loves watching "American Idol" with us and making her own comments about the performances (and she's usually right-on)! We constantly find ourselves weighing the pros and cons of having her audition for bigger things, as she is such a talented little girl. So please pray that the Lord would guide us in those decisions, and that He would protect Emily in the process. Emily is also VERY helpful with the baby! One of our friends calls her "Mommy #2."

Matthew is a very energetic 7 year-old with a joyful smile that beams! He loves collecting bugs and studying things. We can almost see wheels turning inside his head as he examines things. That's very promising for a Science buff like me! Maybe he'll be our engineer or astronaut (or both)! He is very inquisitive and eager to learn. He plays the violin and is making strides in that area as well.

Susan is having a pretty good year in her position as high school Choir/Orchestra teacher. Her kids are very talented and they are getting great remarks from judges as they perform at festivals. On a personal note, Susan is exhausted. It is very difficult to juggle the demands on her as a teacher, mother, and wife. From my perspective, she's doing a great job. But she is tired--Christopher still does not sleep through the night, and if you know Susan, you know she loves her sleep! I help her as much as I can, but it's still tough. With Mother's Day coming up, it reminds me of what a terrific woman she is, and I am so thankful the Lord brought us together!

The kids and I just finished Easter Break last week. For the past several months, I've been saving up Best Buy gift cards for a video gaming system. Over the Break, I bought our family a Wii, and "wii" love it!! We especially enjoy the Wii Sports game and Mario Kart. We also love playing the Rock Band or Guitar Hero games! You should see Matthew on the drums! He tears it up (in a good way). I'll post some pictures of our Wii activities soon.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support--we've especially felt them this year and we know the Lord has responded! I'll post more details about my job situation in the coming weeks as I will be more free to divulge things then. Our love to you all!