Wow..I can't believe another year has gone by so quick! This has been a very busy yet wonderful year in the Tollon home.
In early April we celebrated the birth of our beautiful little Eden Joy. Her name means delight and joy and that is exactly what she is! She has surprised each one of us with her smiles and laughs much earlier than we expected. Eden is never lacking attention and doesn't mind a bit. It's so much fun to see her personality begin to develop. At her six month check up her pediatrician said to be prepared because she is quite a bit ahead of herself and loves to learn, which may make it difficult for her to settle down when it's time to sleep. Boy was he right..Eden doesn't want to miss any opportunity to learn or experience something new. At eight months she is crawling, pulling up on everything, walking the furniture, waving, clapping and has quite a vocabulary. Lately her favorite thing to say is "Hi Kitty" which she says every time she sees one of our cats or anything she finds resembles a cat. I love to see her developing and growing yet at the same time I don't want her to rush too much as it goes by so quickly. I want to enjoy every precious moment of her babyhood!
This past summer Lauren, Blaine and Owen decided to join the Bedford swim team. We were very proud of each one of them. They each had a lot of fun and showed much improvement at the end of the season. In the fall we decided to again to school the children at home with the Ohdela online program.
This was Elijah's first year and he is doing great. I was a little nervous about it but after a few weeks we both started to get the hang of things. He is beginning to read which is very exciting and I have found that it is very rewarding to be teacher and Mom. Elijah also loves gymnastics! He has surprised Chris and I by showing quite a bit of determination as well as talent. He is on the Bets competitive gymnastics team at Gymnastics World. He is the youngest boy on the team this year yet has no trouble keeping up. I can not wait for his first meet. Chris video's little clips for me but it will be so exciting to watch him actually compete.
Owen continues to do gymnastics as well however he has decided not to compete this year. He enjoys working out and learning gymnastics skills but for him its more for fun. Owen is becoming quite an artist. He enjoys drawing and is very good at it. We are looking into getting him into some art classes. Owen also still has a desire to play the drums. He has a hand drum that he practices on as well as anything else he can find to beat on. He has had a few lessons and would like to continue. He has also joined the Ski club and is looking forward to snowboarding for the first time this year.
Lauren has also joined the ski club and will be trying out snowboarding for the first time. I can not believe that she is a sophomore in high school. We have been talking a bit about colleges and as of right now she would like to go to school for teaching but she has also expressed an interest in ministry school with a desire to lead youth. She loves helping with the children's ministry at church and is very good at it. Lauren will also be driving soon. Chris and I plan to practice with her more after the holidays. I can't believe our baby girl is growing up and turning into such a beautiful young woman, inside and out!
Renee is also growing up to be a beautiful young lady. She recently hit the double digits! Renee is a lot of fun, she has such a great personality. She is excelling at school and has a dream to one day become a pediatrician. She visits her Aunt Patty once a week in the nursing home and has become quite popular there. Renee is also excelling at the piano. Once a week her Aunt Laraine takes her to see Patty and then they have a piano lesson. Tonight will be her first recital and we are all looking forward to hearing her perform. Renee has joined the ski club and will be skiing for the first time this year.
Blaine will also be skiing in the ski club. Blaine no longer does gymnastics yet he still goes and works out and lately has been doing P90x with Chris. He is really growing up to be a strong handsome young man. Blaine also loves to help with the children's ministry at church and does a great job. Blaine has been feeling great this year and despite dealing with the hair loss he is extremely healthy. Praise God!
Chris has been a very busy man this past year. I have lost track of how many Microsoft certification tests he has taken but I know he has past every one and is constantly studying for the next. He is still coaching the guys at Gym World but he is also working part time with a company called Mason Works. It's a great opportunity for him to learn and grow in the field of computer and technology. He loves it and hopes to eventually learn enough to be able to work full time as an IT guy and part time as a coach. Chris and I have also decided to become a part of the Children's Administrative team that helps oversee the children's ministry at Bethel Cleveland (formerly Metro Church South). Chris took over for the previous director to give her a break in the summer and we both had a great time. Chris has always been great with kids and knows how to make things fun while teaching at the same time.
As you can imagine I have been very busy homeschooling five children and taking care of a baby. It can be a lot of work sometimes but more and more I realize how quickly time goes by and I wouldn't want to change things. I love having my children at home. I love seeing their smiling faces everyday. I don't know if we will continue to home school throughout all of their school years. I plan to take each year as it comes. For now I will simply enjoy having them all here during the day. I am also really enjoying having a baby around. I know that this is my last baby (unless we choose to adopt some day and you never know ;) ) anyway, I will not be giving birth or breastfeeding again so I'm taking the time to enjoy every last moment. God has really blessed me with a wonderful family. I am so excited to be celebrating the birth of his son Jesus with them this year. We have so much to be thankful for. Life is full of ups and downs sometimes yet Jesus always, always come through and overwhelms me with his love. I pray that each one of you reading this will feel his love surround you this season and that this upcoming year will be full of his love and grace.
Love and Blessings,
The Tollon Family
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