Christmas Letter
Well here it is folks, my first digital rendition of the Thielen Family Christmas letter. I am doing it this way for several reasons. I am doing the in thing and “going green.” I am what some would consider cheap, although, I like to refer to myself as “thrifty,” call it what you want I just know it is saving me a whole bunch of money. The last reason I did it this way is because I set up this blog in May and never posted anything so I though this might motivate me, so if you are reading this that means it worked!
Here is the lowdown on what the Thielens have been up to for the last 12 months. The farm continues to be the center of our lives. Joe and his brother, Matt, seem to be busy as ever. He keeps telling me it will slow down in a few weeks. I think I have heard that for the last 52 weeks. His biggest challenge of the year came during harvest this year when he developed a staff infection in his leg. He had 2-3 hours of IV antibiotics twice a day all through harvest. His nights at home were short but I think he got a little sleep while at the hospital. Other than that it was a good harvest.
I am still working part-time at Wilson elementary school teaching computers. My youngest class is Anna’s 3-year old preschool class. I stay home with Anna and Sam on the days when I am not at school. I like to tell people on my days off I drop the kids off at daycare and go to school. I’m not sure if teaching or staying home is more work. I consider myself lucky that I have a great job and I get to spend some time at home with my kids.
Garrett is 6 and having a great year in the 1st grade. I am always amazed at how much they learn. He seems to enjoy reading and is good at math. There are 13 kids in his class and he has a wonderful teacher again this year. When he is not in school he likes to spend time at the farm.
Anna just turned 4 and goes to pre-school one afternoon a week. She too has a really good teacher and is enjoying the social aspect of school. As the only girl she deals with a lot of tractors and boy stuff around the house but the boys can occasionally be spotted helping her take care of her babies. She prefers to spend her time with Mom but can occasionally be convinced to go with Dad if he is stopping at the co-op for a treat.
Sam turned 2 in October and he lets me know on a daily basis that he is indeed 2 and WILL act like it. He throws fits, tells me NO and hangs right in there when he thinks he has been shortchanged by Anna and Garrett. He has a huge vocabulary and keeps us laughing.
We did take the kids to Omaha to the zoo for a few days in March. I worried about the weather but it turned out to be 80 degrees, which we found rather HOT while walking on asphalt at the Henry Doorly Zoo. I think the kids enjoyed the zoo but after about an hour Garrett told us to hurry up so we could get back to the hotel and swim. I think he would have been just as happy if we drove 15 miles down the road to the nearest hotel with a swimming pool and stayed there.
Our other getaway was to Springfield, MO where my sister and her family live. We took my parents along and spent a day at Silver Dollar City and a day on Table Rock Lake. It was loads of fun and the kids want to do it again next year.
I hope my new blog is more than just a “Christmas thing” and I find the time to make a few more posts throughout the year.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
