Wow, how time flies. Since Christmas there really hasn't been anything new to share so this will just be newsy. Right after Christmas our best friend Steve came for a brief visit and we had a great time. It was so wonderful to spend time with him and reconnect over movies and late nights. We rang in the new year with friends at our house playing games (hungry, hungry hippos was a favorite!) eating fondue, and drinking champagne.
After our week long break to recover from Christmas the girls headed back to school and Jeremy and I back to work. Ophelia is doing very well in school. She loves reading, writing, math, art, and music. In February she went ice skating for the very first time at a friends birthday party and she loved it. Still into ballet, she has recently taken up karate too. Piano lessons have also become a regular part of our routine. Jeremy is her official teacher but she ends up with several lessons a week... she lives with two music teachers! She's doing very well and is in that beginning stage that just soaks it all up like a sponge. We rarely have to tell her to practice (no, we don't expect that to last!) as she's usually asking me if she can go practice piano! She loves it. Ophelia has taught us a lot this past year, we've been amazed at her strength. Last fall was a very difficult time for her but now she is doing so much better. A determined and sensitive little girl, Ophelia has decided (we left it up to her) to testify if need be in the sexual assault case against the boy that attacked her. Her choice was motivated out of two important questions to her 1.) will this help keep the boy away from her? and 2.) will this help him to know it's bad and not do it to other little girls and boys. We are still hoping and praying that she won't have to testify but the D.A. did ask us to consider it and we are going to be working with a social worker to help prepare Ophelia for the possible task ahead. Ophelia's questions have been so surprising to us, she has a deep care for seeing the boy get help and in helping other boys and girls like her to not have to go through something like this. We are so proud of her. She is proud of her beautiful long hair. A slightly darker blonde than I was when I was little, Ophelia's hair stops at the middle of her back with lovely curls and waves. We've made a deal that we will let it grow to her waist but we'll have to cut it if it gets long enough to sit on it. Soon she's going to have to agree to helping take care of it too, she does a little bit of brushing but looses patience. At 4 feet tall and 40 pounds, she's tall and slender and we have a very hard time finding pants that actually fit.
Lavinia is busy all the time. She turns 4 at the end of this month and so much fun to be around. We often can't believe the things she says, she learns fast and isn't afraid to repeat anything. She keeps us on our toes. She is doing well with learning how to write her name and recognize it in print. The alphabet is a walk in the park for her as she knows all her letters. Lavinia has begun to express an interest in taking piano and with her amazing ear we are thinking of breaking our own rules and letting her start early. She never stops singing and has fantastic pitch, it's always a joy to hear her sing. Lavinia is usually an easy going little girl with lots of energy and wonderful peels of giggles that are super contagious! She pretends to read and loves to be read to so she looks up to her big sister. Actually, she would love to be like her big sister but she almost looks her big sis in the eye she's just so tall! Ophelia and Lavinia are barely one shoe and clothing size apart, it's hard to keep up. Lavinia is starting to loose some of that toddler baby fat and shoot up and at this rate will even pass Ophelia soon. She looks so much like her daddy only her hair isn't as red. After 3 1/2 years of almost no hair on her head, Lavinia now has some of the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. Thick, beautiful body, and shiny blonde with lots of natural highlights. As the short layered cut we maintained while her hair was so thin grows out she has very beautiful feathered waves my mom would have loved to have had!
Helena turned two at the beginning of March. Two days later she decided that she was really going to be two and we discovered our very vocal and stubborn little girl that refuses to be anything like a baby now. She is interested in getting out of her diaper but not so sure she wants to do the potty thing. We anticipate potty training in the next few months and already have the potty out for her to check out. Some times she likes the idea and others, not so much. At such a young age Helena has already turned out to be a bit of a social butterfly. She loves her friends and loves babies the best, determined to mother them as no other could. Our little mother has several babies of her own that simply must all sleep with her (and they're all called "bebe"). Her easy laugh is usually heard right behind the giggles of her big sisters as she toddles behind to keep up. Helena has beautiful strawberry blonde hair, thick and with just a touch of wave on the ends. The only one in our immediate family with blue eyes, she stands out a bit with her long dark eyelashes framing her bright blue eyes.
Jeremy and I are doing well, busy, as usual, but well. I had the chance to go to MA in January to spend some time with my sister Rebecca and my new niece Marcella. I had a wonderful time there and got to see 36 inches of snow fall in just two days! wow! Marcella is such a beautiful baby and so sweet, I loved the time I got to spend with her and with Rebecca and Scott. Jeremy has been busy trying to keep up with orchestral arrangements for the church orchestra and choir. We are both still in our positions at the church and love that we get to work together. The church plant is going, it's been a lesson in patience for us but we're excited to see what God has for this fledgling ministry. I'm directing Roger's and Hammerstien's Cinderella for the school this spring and so far I'm having a blast. I also have the opportunity to be the birthing coach for one of my best friends here in Houston. Her name is Rebecca (kind of cool) and we're so excited about the birth of her baby boy some time in May. We are going to be attending birthing classes soon... it's very strange for me to be on the other side of things!
Well, this is plenty long and I've got to head to bed. Let me know how you and yours are doing!
Jessica