Nothing Is So Constant as Change

Well, the old saying that nothing is so constant as change is certainly true in our lives.  After 11 years of living away from family and friends in Utah, we have moved back to the beehive state.  While we don't know if this will be a temporary move or a permanent one, we do know that it is nice to be with our loved ones again, with cousins getting know one another a little more deeply.

Change is difficult,especially for teenagers, and ours are no different.  But I have to give Aly and Emma a ton of credit here!  They have kept a smile on their face and have worked really hard to find friends and stay positive.  You wouldn't think that the culture here would be that different than it was in Indiana, but we're finding that it is, and it's a bit harder to adapt to than we thought it would be. 

First Day of School

So Elle is a Kindergartener this year! In some ways it has gone so fast, and in others it seems like this day would never come:) She was so cute, and so excited! And of course she had a fabulous day.















Emma and James were just business as usual. A little excited, but really they just fell back into the same routine. Here's hoping for a great school year for everyone!

Taylor and Alyssa in the Spotlight

In October Stewart and I had an awesome date night. We went dowtown to Hilbert Circle Theater (which is gorgeous, by the way) to the symphony! But this was no ordinary symphony. The Carmel High School orchestras were performing, along with the 8th graders from the Carmel middle schools. So we got to see both of our daughters on the stage of this prestigious building, playing with their orchestras. What an evening! As a parent, this was a great payday. And for the girls, I hope this was one of those experiences that they look back on over the years as something they are really glad they got to do.

Emma in the Spotlight

As you may or may not know, Emma is involved with Girl Scouts and is having a great time with it. Did you know that every other year there is a National Convention for girl scouts? Well, we didn't either. But 2008 was the year to have it and they held it here in Indianapolis in October. All the girl scouts in the area were invited to participate in the opening or closing ceremonies so Emma and two girls from her troop got to dance in the opening ceremonies. She had a great time and met some new friends. I didn't know quite what to expect, seeing as this is just an extra curricular activity for us, not a way of life, but after being at the convention I realized that there are many women and girls all over the country, and world even, that are very serious about this and for them it is a way of life. While I don't ever foresee becoming that involved in it, I am happy to know that it is a great organization that does so much good for the community as well as helping to develop girls into strong, capable women. I'm glad Emma had the chance to participate!

Picking Apples

We have never gone and picked apples before so I thought it was about time. There's this great orchard not too far away called Stuckey Farm and they have a huge variety to choose from. They also have a tractor that takes you to the different parts of the orchard, which was kind of fun to ride on. Boy, were those apples good! Much better than what you get in the grocery store. Because it turned out to be such a great outing, I hope we can do this every year! And to top it all off we ended up running into the Freeze's there! Emily and I always say, "Great minds think alike" :)

I'm Back!

Okay, so I took a little hiatus. I just couldn't get my act together the past few months to sit down and post. I guess there have just been too many things going on! But I will now try to get caught up. I just loaded the pictures from my camera to my computer (it was a lot!)so I am ready to go. But of course, it's too late tonight to do more than post this message, so I will leave with a promise to do a re-cap of the last few months, soon! Love you all! Thanks for the prodding!

Happy 16th Birthday Taylor!

It's official, she's finally 16! She has been waiting for this day her entire life it seems, always acting like a teenager. The only problem now is that the countdown has begun on her time left at home, and it is coming faster than I would like. All my friends told me of the panic they had when their child got to their junior year of high school because they realized that all too soon they would be gone and out of the house. I didn't believe them. But now I know what they were talking about! I feel like time is short and we are planning future events around graduation. Scary!

These are a few of my favorite things about Taylor: I love her vibrancy for life. There is always a constant swirl of motion surrounding her that is contagious. I love that she has a tender heart is concerned for other people's feelings. I love that she has fun with little children and enjoys playing with them. I love that she is not fearful of a big project. She has all the confidence in the world that she can do whatever she sets her mind to. And she can! I love that she loves music and brings that into her everyday life, whether it's by singing, playing the violin, or the radio she is constantly with song. We love your zest, Taylor, and love that you are in our family.

Happy Birthday!