Falk Talk 2013

 Merry Christmas!  Welcome to the 2013 edition of our family newsletter:

FALK TALK

As of April, Princess is officially a teen!  We celebrated her birthday in the Baltimore airport on our way to Niagara Falls.  The national conference for Oxford Learning (now Grade Power) was in Niagara Falls so we made a family trip of it.  The kids and I visited the Falls in the Maid of the Mist just as a cold front blew through.  We should have known something was up when there were only seven people on the boat.  ;-)  It was cold, but it was fun.  So was the indoor water park next to our hotel!  (Fun, that is.  Not cold.  The water park was quite warm.)







Princess is an accomplished swimmer and volleyball player and plans to take up tennis this spring.  Her favorite things to do are hang out with her friends and hang out with her kitties.

Buddy entered the world of double digits in June with a trip to one of his favorite places - an indoor trampoline park.




Then it was back home for a big cookie pie and an Airsoft gun war.



He loves playing basketball and flag football as well as reading the Chronicles of Narnia, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Marvel comic books.  He is especially proud of achieving Arrow of Light this past fall and becoming a Boy Scout.



This year we were able to spend the July 4th holiday with Hubby's family in Michigan.  We stayed the first part of the week at Hubby's sister's lake cottage where we stayed out in the boat as much as possible . . .








Hubby introduced me and the kids to the Upper Peninsula.  We drove on the Mackinac Bridge . . .



and stayed in Mackinaw City where the kids LOVED swimming in Lake Huron.



Then we spent a day on Mackinac Island doing what everyone does . . .



On the way back, we stopped in Hot Springs to take a look.




It was a fun trip, but we were glad to be home.

Hubby is still proud owner/operator of GradePower Learning (formerly Oxford Learning).  He still volunteers with the children's ministry every other month helping with the story and the skits.  This year he branched out (he'd say he was caught in a moment of weakness) and he stepped up to coach Buddy's flag football team.  The boys had a great time and improved immensely from the first game to the last.



In his spare time (???), he has a landscaping project in the back yard that he's slowly chipping away on, he reads historical novels and he gripes about Michigan football.

This year I went from teaching one class of 5th graders (2012-2013 school year) to teaching six classes with ages ranging from 5th all the way to 12th grade.  It's wonderful!  I'm also writing the curriculum for two of those classes.  I've been attending writing workshops with the fabulous Spike Gillespie and, as a result, I have had short essays published at Great Moments in Parenting, Hahas for Hoohas, have been asked to submit an essay for a book on prayer and parenting, and have been involved in live readings of workshop attendees at Hyde Park Theater.



In my spare time (???), I watch The Walking Dead with Buddy, take Princess shopping and spend evenings on the back porch reading with Hubby.

We still have our sweet rescue dog, Ruby, and our two silly kitties, Calvin and Marie.



We certainly pray that this newsletter finds you happy and healthy.  We pray for a wonderful end to 2013 for you and for 2014 to be the best yet for all of us!