Raising The Bahr: May 2012

Thursday, May 17, 2012

A Family Update - What's Been Going on the Last Two Months

*Updated with photos (5/17/2012 10:34pm).*

It has been too long since my last post, and I am sorry for that. I've meant to write, really. There were many nights when I lay awake in bed wishing for sleep that wouldn't come, that I wrote some really great blog posts in my head, that never made it to the computer. :( So, I figure a brief (or not) update is in order.

Topics for this post include: Easter in Enoch, Luke's opera, Jacob & Rebecca's wedding, Denzel's funeral, Ohio Light Opera, Mom Anderson's colon cancer diagnosis, homeschool, and pregnancy.

Meet My Family

My dear husband Luke is the head of our household. He is attending the University of Utah as a student of vocal performance in the midst of his Masters program. Last year (2011) he traveled to Novafeltria, Italy for 5 weeks to sing with La Musica Lyrica. This year (2012) he will be going to Wooster, Ohio for three months to sing with the Ohio Light Opera. This year is a step up - there is financial compensation instead of tuition. :) Plus many more performance opportunities throughout the summer.

Together we have 4 (AND A HALF!) amazing children.

Lukey is our oldest. He is 8 years old. He loves to draw, build with Legos, drawing, dig for worms and bugs, read about how to draw, be in charge, tracing other people's drawings - especially Dr. Seuss, he is very compassionate and sensitive to people's feelings and to right/wrong, the child LOVES to draw - did I mention that yet?, he is very forgiving and is the first to apologize if he thinks he is at all in the wrong. Lukey is really beginning to take to quite a love of learning as he is developing more passions in life. He reminds me often to be more considerate of others' feelings and to let go of the little things; to forgive others' their trespasses the way the Savior does.

Kaylinda is next. She is 6 years old. She loves to play on the pole slide of "our park" (a.k.a. playground); she also loves drawing. Horses have really interested her lately, as have unicorns. Kayli is often very quiet and has a do-it-yourself kind of way about her. She almost never asks for help to do something - she just does it. She is very deliberate in her speech and actions. Don't ask her to hurry; she enjoys life at a level/speed that more of us should return to. She reminds me to slow down and take time to enjoy the moment - to live now, not in anticipation of the future.

Emma is 4 years old. She'll be turning 5 very soon. Emma is quite outspoken, not at all shy, except when she is shy. ;) She reminds me so much of myself as a child (and adult!) - very opinionated, yet easily intimidated/overwhelmed in high stress situations. She loves to learn. School is her favorite thing to "do." And she's only just this year beginning "officially" as she turns five. She's been "doing school" with her big brother and big sister for two years now. Emma has always seemed older than she really is - she looks and acts just as old as Kayli, if not older sometimes; they are often mistaken for twins when we go out. (Someone tell her there's no hurry to grow up!) Emma loves horses just like Kayli too. She also likes to draw just like her older siblings, though she's not nearly as into it as they are. It will be fun to watch her interests develop as she matures.

Elias is the current baby at 2 years old, though not for much longer. He is probably the most active of my bunch so far. He's not as content as everyone else with paper and pencils, though he does enjoy that quite a bit. He prefers cars (Lightening McQueen to be exact, though any car will do), trains, airplanes, vehicles in general, and Elmo to all others. He fancies horses too. He is a bit more of a daredevil than my others too, though still quite a mild one comparatively. He is a great talker. He is quite funny, but somehow got the impression that being funny isn't a good thing. He hates it when we laugh at things he does/says. He appears very crestfallen and hurt when we laugh "at" him. He doesn't understand that it is a good thing and he is absolutely adorable. He continually makes us smile.

We are expecting arrival number 5 sometime around October 2012. My estimated due date is around the middle of the month, but I have a tendency to gestate a little longer than that, so we're hoping we'll have a new arrival by Halloween, though November is nice month for a birthday (there aren't many November birthdays in our family and there are lots of October ones on my side). My dad's and little brother's birthdays are in October... hmm. :) Maybe we can do a birthday share! This baby appears to be quite active quite early on. I felt the first flutters around 16/17 weeks or so (I don't keep a very accurate count) and have felt them consistently since. :) It's very reassuring.

(Last updated: 5/18/2012)

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Thursday, May 17, 2012

A Family Update - What's Been Going on the Last Two Months