Merry Christmas and hope you have a wonderful time celebrating the birth of Jesus. We enjoyed another blessed year here at the Bedward home. The kids are growing so fast that it's a little overwhelming to write down what changed this year.
Hudson is an active little boy. He turned 3 in February. He likes to help daddy work around the house and yard. He enjoys riding his Power Wheels motorcycle, playing with cars, action figures, and like weapons of all kind. He can made a gun out of a piece of toast! He also likes to play with puzzles and building blocks and playing on the computer (he says “I'm surfin' the web!” complete with surfing motions).
He started preschool in September, three days a week in the morning. His teachers are fun and loving, not intimidated with a wild boy like Hudson (both have boys of their own). Hudson also enjoys the friendships with boys in the class; he has made a few good friends already. In August he started swimming lessons. He had a rough start, but he's been doing very well and enjoys it. He also started to go to Awana Cubbies.
Charlotte turned 6 in June. She is 1st grade this year, and we are in our 2nd year of homeschooling her. She does so well as a home schooler she makes Mommy's teaching job pretty easy. She has long attention span, good focus, and a motivation to learn. The biggest benefit is the short school hours, leaving a lot of time to spend on her many extracurricular activities. She enjoys music a lot. She sings in a kid's choir, takes piano lessons, and most recently she started violin. She also enjoys making things with her hands. She has taken a few pottery classes at a local Art Center. Now she goes to the center's open studio once a week where she can make whatever she wants. For just $1/lb of clay and the Art center provide tools and paint, and even fires it for free!
Charlotte is also a very sporty girl with a lot of energy. She has enjoyed swimming and dance in the past, but more recently started gymnastics. She loves it and can't get enough of it. We started her in the beginner class and after two lessons, the coach told us that Charlotte has the aptitude for a more advance class. She enjoys being in an older girls' class. Sometimes Mommy wishes Charlotte was still in swimming instead of gymnastics because it will require less practice time and less potential for injuries.
Not to mention all the gymnastic moves Charlotte does around the house makes Mommy a little nervous! But she hasn't broken anything yet – not in the house or on her body! She also just finished her first Karate class; she just earned her yellow belt.
We are very excited that Craig's sister, Angie and her family moved to Yorktown, VA this June. They are only 3.5 hrs drive from us, the closest we have ever lived to any relatives on Craig's side. In September, we stayed with them for a few days and went to the home school week at Colonial Williamsburg together. It was a lot of fun and the cousins had a great time together. We look forward to spending Christmas with them soon.
Caroline stays busy with home schooling, providing shuttle service for the kids, and finding deals for the kids to keep busy learning and having fun at all the activities that interest them.
Craig teamed up with another consultant in the area to form a partnership this year. The first year as Seneca5 went well, and the partnership has provided some great new opportunities. The Seneca5 office is in downtown Raleigh, so Craig can no longer wake up at noon and work from home in his pajamas!
May your Christmas be a time to reflect on the simplicity of His birth and the magnitude of His purpose.
