Christmas Letter

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas....  But wait, it really is white! and it has been since early November.  It's Alaska!

Nearing the end of 2011, we have been blessed to have lots of "visits" (see highlights below).  A friend here said that we've had more guests in one year than they've had in the six years they've lived here.  We have truly enjoyed the fun and fellowship of it all, and we've explored a little further and wider than we might have otherwise.  Thanks to our family and friends who have come to visit!

Nathan is now 6, loves to be active, really enjoys history, is reading!, played soccer this summer and has started swimming, and has plans to build a mine in our backyard.  He's projecting that he'll find gold and diamonds there before the end of next year.  :-)

Noelle is 4 but soon to be 5, is affectionately labeled Joshua's second mother, relishes every opportunity to be creative, is also reading!, also played soccer this summer and is now in gymnastics once a week, and is terrified of chemicals and small Lego pieces.  She delights in going hysterical, even when I'm sitting right beside her, if Joshua gets close to little Legos.

Esther is 3, is vivacious and a passionate story-teller, loves to only wear underwear at home, knows more people at church than I do, is in gymnastics once a week, and rode in the car today in cowgirl boots, a princess dress and her snow jacket (but took the boots off).  She's finally potty trained but it took real work.

Joshua is almost 16 months, a real "charmer", gives kisses, loves to say "cookie", really likes chocolate, prefers to hold Noelle's hand when we pray, and likes to kick Esther if I try to carry both of them.  He can also dance!

Jason is... just kidding (see below), enjoys his new job, has tackled many great house projects, taught himself how to make Vietnamese pho (really good!), has taught several classes for hospital employees, took Nathan halibut fishing twice, and gets lots of reading and wrestling time with the kids.

Anna enjoys being wife and mom, likes the five minute drive to the grocery store, appreciates having a fenced yard, gets stretched in many new ways homeschooling, has become addicted to white dishpans as storage containers, and has enjoyed making many new friends.

We have found a home church just a few blocks from our home.  The big kids are in AWANA, and Jason and I are excited to join a small group beginning in January.  The Lord continues to open our eyes to the lost and hurting in our community, and we are excited to see how He allows us to reach out to those around us.

Joy and blessings to you as we celebrate Jesus Christ, God's greatest Gift to us. -all the Lattins

Highlights from 2011 for the Lattins
~ New Year in Texas with Anna's family
~ belated New Year with Jason's sister and family and Jason's folks in Oregon
~ Jason working "locums" during Jan/Feb and several visitors for Anna and kids - loved having Uncle Graham, Mrs. Kathy, Sara P, and Hannah M.
~ Moved to Alaska on March 6th
~ Jason started work at Central Peninsula Hospital April 1st
~ Jason's folks joined us for his 40th birthday celebration April 10th
~ Visit from Anna's mom in May
~ King salmon fishing for Jason and Nathan in June. Nathan caught one!  (They had to meet the group at 3am.)
~ Time at Tanalian Bible Camp in July with Samaritan's Purse.  Joined by Lattin Grandparents and Jason's Uncle Bob.
~ Visit from Anna's grandmother late July/ early Aug.  We celebrated her 80th birthday!
~ Visit from the Breshears in early Aug.  Western Seminary professor and Lattin family friend.
~ Visit from Ken and Betsy Feucht in early Aug.  (Friends we met during our time in Bangladesh).
~ Visit from Anna's dad for Nathan's 6th birthday in August.
~ Joshua's 1st birthday.  Officially has lived in Alaska now longer than anywhere else.
~ The official beginning of homeschooling in late Aug.
~ Visit from the York family in late September. (College friends of Anna's.)
~ Trip to Portland at the end of October.
~ Visit from Jason's folks for Thanksgiving.
~ Visit from Shane and Sarah Kelley (of the Kelleys in Bangladesh, but S&S are in Florida now), soon... for Christmas!

That's so Alaska

As it is often the case, when I finally sit down at my computer late at night, I don't have many brain cells left firing.  And though I wish I could spend time writing about the deep ponderings I have about the journey we're on... I don't seem to find the energy to work it out in words.

But for those of you that don't mind the lighter side of life...

How many bullets can you fill a small can with?  

Had I guessed I don't think I would have won, but that was one of the numbers that folks got to guess at the Harvest Home Festival our church had last night.  Yes, life in a small town is much different than a big one.  Our church gym was full for the Thanksgiving-theme dinner and part of the evening was guessing the number of items in a given container (not to mention the talent show that is so popular you have to sign up for it and the carnival games they had for the kids).  I would have been more apt to guess the number of candies in other containers, but keeping track of four busy kids in a church full of people was deterrent enough for me.  Nevertheless there were four hundred something bullets in one not-so-very-big can, and I had to laugh.  That's so Alaska!

And though some may say the South is the friendliest part of the States, we think Alaska may have been overlooked.  Though it may take a little longer to start to meet those friendly neighbors (since temperatures around zero make it less likely to be taking a stroll down the block), we have been blessed by such delightful acts of kindness.

Just yesterday, our driveway had the look that we are still the newbies on the street (i.e. it still had snow several inches deep a couple days after our latest snow).  So one of our neighbors dropped by yesterday afternoon with his snow blower and cleaned it all off for us.  (His wife was home watching football, but he said he wasn't really interested in the game. :-)  Note to self: this is not Texas.)  We were genuinely very touched, immensely grateful, and totally surprised.  A big thank you to Bill H!

That's so Alaska!

October Homeschool

It's amazing to begin to glimpse just how much kids learn in these early years.  And lots of fun too.  I love to be the one to compliment them on a job well done.  Those moments are many and they're great!  There's also a few less than amazing moments when you try to remember to pray for patience before opening your mouth...
But there's also just lots of "real" moments too.  Thank you God for each one.

Beach Fun

Close to this time last year, I added a post with the same title.  Lots has changed since then... and we're blessed that lots has stayed the same too.  We love getting out to the beach to soak up some of the beauty of God's creation.

Our dear friends, the Nautas

Autumn

  We headed outside last week to revel in the beauty of autumn. 

 

 

 

Thank you

Just a quick but deeply heartfelt Thank You to those of you who still stay in touch with us through our blog.  I was surprised and touched when so many of you commented on my "homeschooling" entry.  Wow, you guys are amazing!  Thanks for sharing a bit of your lives with us.

Homeschool

Perhaps it's the Lord's sense of humor that after devoting twenty years of my life to climbing the ladder of success in "education", (i.e. primary, secondary, university and medical school education), that I would find myself trying to teach the alphabet and beginning reading.  It's terrifying, it's humbling, but, well, ...
I'm starting to enjoy it.

Though homeschooling is something we've talked about for years, it's different when you actually decide to do it.  We've admired many homeschooling families, like Jason's sister and her family, and had our children been born with the ability to read the sense of trepidation that I have been facing these past many months might never have happened.  The mere mention of phonics would just about send shivers down my spine, and although I was certain that there were "methods" out there that ought not be used, I sure didn't know which one I should use... and which one would "work" for my kids.

Nathan is not one that easily accepts exceptions.  "A" says a like cat... but it's hard to start reading when all you can use is short vowel sounds, and then it's really confusing to start learning all the other sounds "a" makes.  He was totally not going for it.  But in His kindness, the Lord also rescued me from my own despair - how am I ever going to be able to do this? despair.

Our dear neighbors down the street introduced me to phonogram cards.  Learn all the sounds a letter makes, then learn certain letter combinations and their sounds... and quickly kids start reading.  It's wonderful and what a joy it is to see the kids get excited to learn.  So now we're inching our way towards a well-trained mind with our immediate focus on reading, writing and math. 

Our days go something like this
7:15 breakfast
8:00 Bible and prayer time
9:00 School time
10:30 Snack
11:00 Finish school work (Nathan)
12:00 Lunch
1:00 Naps/ Quiet time
3:00 Reading
4:00 Free play
6:00 Dinner
7:30 Bedtime

It's not that cut and dry, but we've found a routine that balances our days.  And we're embracing the holistic joys (and challenges) of living and learning together.  We pray each day that God would enable us to grow in our knowledge of and love for Him.

Birthdays!

Nathan and Joshua just celebrated fun birthdays.  Six and one!
My dad was here to celebrate Nathan's birthday with us, and Joshua was content to have his usual fan club and yummy chocolate cake.

Visitors!

We have been blessed to have lots of visitors lately, including my grandmother who celebrated her 80th birthday with us!  Next up, getting ready for school.