So, many things have gone on...kids have grown and changed and yet none of you will be the least bit surprised to know we are crazier and busier than ever.
I suppose the natural thing is to start at the top of the order......
Bo's business is picking up...thank goodness!!! Just about the time we welcomed our 5th mouth the real estate and the economy tanked and I think everyone is still a little....alot nervous. Bo is still plugging away and has had some pretty big transitional changes in his company. Nine years ago...what we thought would be our plan somewhere down the road has come to fruition...Bo is transitioning to take over Republic Title. Partners are preparing to step down and he is assuming more of a management/leadership role of the company. I think in so many ways he has exemplified leadership qualities there all along...it is now just official. Although he is humble....I know he is proud....as well he should be.....he has certainly dedicated many years and hours to his career and without a doubt has proven that he is more than qualified and deserving of this transition. For us...it has meant he is back working more hours and travels a bit morel but, has also made us proud of him and has provided our children a vision of success that comes with hard work, diligence, impeccable work ethic and dedication. I suppose they only truly understand a tiny bit of the big picture....and have often asked why he cannot "blow off work" now that he has made this change.....but, I honestly believe they have a true respect for the pains their father goes through to provide for them. As long as they get that much....I am satisfied.
Hunter.......ohhh......well let's see. Sixth grade and Middle School is well underway. Not as bad as I once imagined. Actually he has done beautifully and he attends a wonderful school. He has, as predicted done wonderfully in school....has made all A's both report cards and in December was chosen to receive the Renner Middle School Spirit Award. This award was given to 6 out of 600 sixth graders and was given to children who displayed both academic and personal excellence. This was a pretty big deal.....certainly provided Bo and I with a proud moment....however, Hunter rarely provides anything other than that to us. The school had a short ceremony during which the faculty, who voted these 6 students in wrote a short page on why they chose each one of them. Hunter's contained many things I already knew about him....that he was kind, responsible, respectful, cheerful, considerate....a dedicated student and citizen to being the best he could be..... Although I recognize many of these things about Hunter....as a parent...we never get tired of hearing those things about our children and it's nice to feel as though you are not floundering as a parent and you are actually doing something right......
He didn't seem too embarrassed by my tears and loud clapping....perhaps the "whoop, whoop" was going a bit far.......
Hunter is playing year round basketball, picking up another spring season of flag football and is in the band at his school. As a sixth grader you have the option...although must choose to participate in band, choir or orchestra. He chose band, plays the trumpet and I am a little shocked...but, he is quite good and very happy.
He just filled out his "yellow card" for 7th grade....hard to believe....he has been directed to take all honors classes, he intends to go out for the school tackle football team...ughhhhh.....continue playing basketball, staying in band and picking up Spanish.....
He has many accomplishments for which I am proud and thankful....but, above many of those...he is having the time of his life...has a wonderful group of friends that spend days on end with us and are scaring Bo a little bit by how much they eat and how much milk they drink. I on the other hand...appreciate that it will only get worse and just feel fortunate that they all want to be at the "Feagin's"!
Chandler....we are knee deep into 4th grade. 4th grade was a very BIG year academically for Hunter. The 4th grade year seemed to be the end of the rainbow...in a strange sort of way....the warm fuzzies of K-3rd were gone....big emphasis on growing up...workload increased...a big big year for composition writing....in Hunter's mind...a real "buckle down" year. Hmmgh....amazing how two children from the same family can see things soooo differently. Chandler views 4th grade as completely stress free....just kind of skates through...sometimes completes and corrects assignments....sometimes doesn't but, either way...somehow his winning personality allows him to escape without reprimand. He is cooler than ever...in his very quiet, hang back, stress free... non-boastful demeanor. Still enjoying a frequent day of feigned illness...and somehow things he is fooling me. He has a wonderful male teacher this year who shares his quiet, mild mannered temperament. They have been nothing short of a perfect match. He is happy, loved by all.
Chandler is playing basketball as well and is looking at a very busy spring. He is continuing basketball, resuming spring flag football and then picking baseball back up beginning in May. Not sure how we will juggle all that....but, somehow we always manage. However,.....at the current rate of him learning his times tables.....he may be in the library with a tutor everyday instead of handling some sort of ball. I feel my Mother's pain after all these years.......he can remember every NFL players name, who they play for, the score of every Texas Tech game, NBA stats that he feels are important...the words to every rap song that strikes his fancy.....but, FOR THE LOVE...........cannot remember what 6x9 is.......?????? Oh, well Mom.....good news is....I at least know the answer now! Always lookin for the silver lining!!!!
Chandler is happiest at home (while school is in session).....or outside, fights a shower with all his might...even to the point that he actually gets in but, even he is amazed that his hair didn't manage to get wet and goes for a week before I....he's okay with it..but, I realize that he is out of soap and shampoo. His wardrobe only consists of NBA, NFL or NCAA jerseys and his two favorite pair of basketball shorts. And don't fret...he doesn't care if they are clean or dirty..."it's alllll goood"! However, he has clothes covering his bedroom floor to the depths of which many of us are not sure and scared to find out what might be hiding under the clothes....so, Bo and I kiss him goodnight in the doorway of his room and try to block images out of our mind. I actually am a bit more understanding that Bo....(seeing that I enjoyed a messy room as well, and try to allow him to express himself within the confines of his own room.) His Father and super organized older brother....are disgusted and in disbelief at the disaster he finds comfort in. Oh, well....to each his own...I suppose. We even offered Hunter $100.00 to clean and organize Chandler's room. He went up for 20 minutes, came down shaking his head apologizing...."simply no way he would have any idea where to begin. ....and by the way, Chandler, you're a pig!" If you can picture it....Chandler shrugs his shoulders, chuckles and moves on about his business. I guess all I can say is...."what a pip".....(right Jr?)
But WAIT!!! Don't be too disgusted...the story does have a happy ending.....we paid Grandma to do it! Actually feel kinda bad we cheated her....(and we still owe you for that).....it went pretty well....the other children only became a little scared when they ran quickly past Chandler's room...(as we all do when we are up there) and Halle and Faith noticed what strongly resembled Grandma's booty and legs hanging out from under Chandler's bottom bunk bed. The look on both their faces was priceless, Faith crept under to make sure she was okay while Halle tugged on her pant legs trying to....I think save her life. She came out just fine....and Chandler has had a clean room for about 6 days! Yay!!!!!
Weston...little ...BIG...Weston. First grade and reminding me alot of Hunter in his academic tendencies....thank goodness. He is neat, organized and does very well in school. He has a big group of buds and after all these years is finally developing an identity and life of his own. He is very busy socially, always has a "girlfriend" and not the homebody that Chandler and Hunter are at all....he is "outta here" most of the time. He is very witty and most definitely the comedian of our family. He is very involved in sports as well. He has way outlasted and out skilled both his brothers in soccer and out scored them both in basketball. He is playing his first season of flag football this spring and will head into baseball from there as well.
Weston is as big as Chandler ...less about a 1/4 of an inch, wears the same size clothes and a bigger shoe. He is tougher than both boys combined and figured out a few months ago that he actually doesn't have to take their abuse and can fight back...and can actually hurt them. Poor Chandler had to find that out the hard way.....although...Bo and I both had been warning him that his days of pushing Weston around were numbered....and we would be front and center when the tide turned. Well, we didn't actually get to see it but, we hurt the squealing from the playroom and when I arrived found Chandler huddled up in the smallest ball I have ever seen humanly possible, wedged in the corner, arms covering head and face while Weston wailed on him.
What??? I only laughed for a minute....I swear...then I pulled him off!!! :) Ya know....ever since then...he and Weston get along a lot better.....
Faith.....oh, my.....okay. Well, the 4yr old girl thing has been a bit different than what I am used to. She is beautiful beyond words, loves to sing, has quite the personality.....or PERSONALITIES.... No, she is a delight...most of the time. She is tender, except when she is beating her brothers to a pulp, she is funny, kind...except when she is bossing her brothers around, she is meek....NO...she has not EVER been meek..... In reality, she is a wee bit emotional at times...something we have to take in stride.....gets old sometimes...but, we deal with it. She actually, is a very sweet, funny, caring, compassionate little girl. She is a Daddy's girl to the fullest extent of the law....but, hey....those girls turn out pretty okay (right Dad? wink wink) There is nothing she cannot do and shame on you if you even suggest it. She is a wonderful big sister....a little trying at times as a little sister...but, she is a celebrity in her own way among all three of her brother's groups of friends. Weston's friends are the least interested but, Hunter and Chandler have a whole crew that rally around her all the time. I shutter to think...our two daughters and the connections and bonds and crushes they will have on these groups of boys of all age groups. ughhh.....we literally move Faith into our bedroom when the boys have their friends spend the night because she would throw her sleeping bag right in the middle of all of them. Just today she was crying because Weston told her that she could not marry one of Hunter's friends who she is convinced.."she loves"!!! Good night!!! It is too scary to even think about so, I keep very close tabs on her....and relish in how protected she will be by her brothers and their band of buddies. Until one of them decides to like her...I guess....
Faith started dance in the fall. She is taking ballet and tap. She is very happy, had her first recital in December and did very well. Preschool is going great. She is very smart, of course and already writes all the alphabet, can spell all our names, knows and can write our phone numbers....and very anxious to go to Kindergarten. She is always doing "homework" and there is not a scrap of paper in our house that doesn't show some remnants of her practicing her letters or numbers on it. Her Teacher describes her as a gentle leader (hmmmm) ohhhhkay.....and says she is the most tender hearted child she has come across in a long time. Always love hearing that....we agree with her.
And little Miss Halle.......talk about a force to be reckoned with.....oh my! She was a toughie in the beginning...thought she might never stop crying but, she is a happy little (well, not soooo little) thing now. She continues to stump us on who she looks like. I think it's Weston and Chandler...but, everyone says something different. She has a look of her own for sure! She is a total delight. She is funny, quirky and makes us all laugh ....alll the time. She is beginning to talk up a storm and even before she had a lot to say and baby you could already tell...she knew exactly what she was sayin....and you best listen up! She melts the hearts of all four of them. She has Chandler's number and boy does he have her wrapped around his finger. He is the first one she called by name and it was sort of a deep holler...."L-A-LLER" .....a wee bit abrasive...didn't matter though....he comes runnin with a grin as big as can be...every time he hears it. He calls her "his little girl", insists on getting her up every morning and most of the time it is him that she prefers to have hold her. Ahhh, melts my heart....and his. She calls Faith "A" ...that's it....just "A", kinda drags it out rather sweetly....they are bonding a lot now. Very sweet to see....and I am so happy that they have each other.
As for me??? Well, what's the big mystery.....they are what's new with me and what I have been doing! Not much to tell there! I drive, and drive and drive, cook and drive......and oh, ya....I am a full-time nanny for my good friend Jackie Beckmann-Brownlee. I keep her sweet little boy Will, who was born in August for her while she teaches Kindergarten. Ya, I know...cuz 5 just wasn't enough!
Wow, this is long....I have been gone a long time...and this isn't even crackin the surface!
It's 2:38am....I best either try to get some sleep or start making lunches....either way.....goodbye for now!
Here are some current pictures.... so you can see how they have all changed!
It's good to be back!
Love to all,
~J
