Christmas Letter 2011

Christmas 2011, To Our Dear Friends,

‘Tis the season to once again update you on the happenings of the Veale family. I know you wait all year to hear about our adventures (possible overstatement) and I hope this little letter will not disappoint.

The last year has offered us many opportunities to demonstrate faith! Last January I did my very best to shuffle off this mortal coil. Due to a bad bit of veggie dip I spent four days in the hospital with food poisoning. Isaiah was in a panic he would be left with three little girls and three dogs all to his own, besides missing the love of his life. Fortunately his decisive action getting me to the Emergency Room gave a dangerous situation a happy ending.

Our entire family has had health scares this past year, from Isaiah’s grandfather’s five-bypass heart surgery, his dad’s miraculous healing of a degenerative bone issue, my mom’s emergency pacemaker installation, my dad’s stroke-like symptoms… we’ve been getting very familiar with medical establishments!

The knowledge we were far from family in case of emergency gave Isaiah and I the thought it might be time to move back to Arizona. That niggling became a reality when the college did some cutbacks to remain fiscally responsible and restructured us out of jobs! While it’s always hard to say goodbye to a season of life, we packed up and headed west with happy hearts, glad to be getting back to our high mountain desert and extended family. From July on we have been managing my parent’s business and have seen some success in this new venture.

This summer brought us our first trip to South Dakota – Mia and Maggie were flower girls in a dear friend’s wedding! I learned never to feed a baby prunes a few hours before boarding a plane. I’m scarred forever by the experience! We also headed to St. Louis for a Carson family reunion. We had an excellent time visiting with our family, despite the hot and humid weather!, those Carson’s sure know how to have fun!

We decided to continue our homeschooling adventure once we settled back in Arizona. Mia and Maggie have both been doing well with this style of education. I am heading up our local group of Classical Conversations, which pulls homeschooled children together once a week in a classroom setting. They learn history, math, Latin, science, English and geography each week and have a timeline song that notes the major events of the world from Creation to modern day, though as of right now they’ve only gotten as far as The Act of Supremacy (when England declared their King head of the church over the issue of divorce).

Try explaining the Black Death or Inquisition to a group of four and five year olds and you’ll see the fun we’ve been having!

Mia (5) is a sponge and willing to, ahem, lead any group she is with. Ask her about Bigfoot and she’ll let you know everything she learned from the History Channel special. She is assertive, logical and analytical. She’s also incredibly generous and caring, so it’s a good combination.

Maggie (4) is our little rapscallion with flyaway hair and an explosive personality. She speaks with her hands and is a daredevil. She is emphatic and charming and lives to chew gum.

Mikayla (1) is just starting to get words out. She’s also learning way too quickly from her older sisters! I have high hopes for potty training this spring, right now she’ll run up to me, pat her behind energetically and then utilize her diaper for what those diapers were made to do. Then she gives a mischievous smile and wanders away!

Besides managing the mini storage, Isaiah and I are both pursuing other interests. Isaiah has been creating custom guns at a wonderful business called the Pistol Parlor. No, it has nothing to do with the adult film industry, despite its name! He’s been metal smithing Gary Reeder guns and really enjoying the opportunity to learn and work with his hands. I have been squeezing in writing every time I get a chance. Beside blogging daily at www.StealingFaith.com I have finished one book and am working on another. I’ll continue to submit the non-fiction books in the publishing industry and to various contests and hopefully will have exciting news by next year!

We are so excited to welcome a new niece into our family! Just last week my sister, Sami, gave birth to Sage, a sweet little girl who looks just like her big sister, Aspen. Yes, our family likes girls. Is there anything wrong with that?!

We pray 2012 brings good things into the lives of all our family and loved ones and we look forward to hearing about your own adventures!

Love, 

JJ, Isaiah, Mia, Maggie, Mikayla

School Interview 2011: Mia

Mia Lyn Veale, 2011-2012, 5 years old

I'm going to try to start a new tradition. Each year I'll interview my kiddo and then post it with a photo. You may be realizing it's now November and our school year started in August. Stop being a hater... I'm doing the best I can! :)



Favorite Activity this Summer: Swimming
Field Trip You'd Like To Go On This Year: A plane trip to Branson
Something New You'd Like to Learn: I want to go somewhere called pretzel school and learn how to make pretzels. I also want to go to candy cane school and learn how to make candy canes.
Subject You're Looking Forward to Studying: I'm excited to study math.
What Would You Like to Be When You Grow Up? I would actually like to be a swimming teacher.
What's Your Favorite Book? Any book about Horses.
What's Your Favorite Food? Olives! Oh! And I love tomatos!
What's Your Favorite Sport? That's a good question! I like whatever is easy.
What's Your Favorite Toy, Game or Activity? My favorite game is Candy Land.
What's Your Favorite Color? Yellow.
Favorite Holiday? Easter. Actually Christmas because Jesus was born on that day.
Who Are Your Friends? I should apologize to Taylor, but she is my friend.
If You Were Given $1,000, What Would You Do With It? I would save it to get even more money. From the bank. That's what I would do with it. Because then we could buy stuff with it.
If You Could Spend The Day With A Famous/Important Person, Who Would You Choose? I would choose Mikayla.
Who Is God To You? How Is He Important? God to me is someone who can do miracles. And He's important because He can do miracles.
Do You Have Anything Fun or Special To Share? Right now I'm sharing my stuff. That's it.

School Interview 2011: Maggie

Maggie Jo Veale, 2011-2012, 4 Years Old

Maggie started PreK this fall. She's so funny and clever! Here were her responses to the beginning of the year interview:


Favorite Activity this Summer: We went to the beach
Field Trip You'd Like To Go On This Year: On a plane, on a tractor, on a boat, on a rocket ship.
Something New You'd Like to Learn: Go to Good Shepherd and see Owen and Marley and all of my class. I'd like to take Mrs. Hoelscher and say Hi to her.
Subject You're Looking Forward to Studying: I'm studying clay and I would like to study books and all sorts of books and get another giraffe.
What Would You Like to Be When You Grow Up? A princess and a mermaid.
What's Your Favorite Book? My favorite book is Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom, Where are you? and my Clifford book.
What's Your Favorite Food? Strawberries, blueberries and cranberries.
What's Your Favorite Sport? My favorite sport is going to Daddy's soccer games and I'm thankful for Popi to invite us over for a soccer game.
What's Your Favorite Toy, Game or Activity? My activity is painting and my favorite doll is my Tangled.
What's Your Favorite Color? Blue.
Favorite Holiday? Winter with snow.
Who Are Your Friends? Owen and Marley
If You Were Given $1,000, What Would You Do With It? That's really hard, actually! I would save it for money!
If You Could Spend The Day With A Famous/Important Person, Who Would You Choose? I would choose Mommy & Daddy and Mikayla and Mia… and Owen.
Who Is God To You? How Is He Important? He's important to everybody, even in His life. To me He's very good because He didn't give me a book with notes on it and I'm thankful that He gave me a card. We're thankful for Him doing stuff with all my life. I'm thankful that He made me and thankful when He's always thankful for me.
Do You Have Anything Fun or Special To Share? I'm sharing my book to Aspen and giving it to Aspen and she's going to give it back soon and so's we can go back and give that book back. And we will give our kisses to you and everybody but not boys.

Ain't It Grand?

Last month we were fortunate enough to have two sets of visitors, which, of course, meant we needed to go to the Grand Canyon!

I can't get over how beautiful that place is, how it jumps out at you from nowhere. The girls love going, too, though we have heart palpitations when Maggie tries to bounce from one wall to the other and potentially fall into the canyon!

Here are some photos from our trips with good friends Elena, Jessica and Zach:

Yeah, this works for us...

Sigh. Isn't she sweet?

We were trying to do a silly dance as we walked along the canyon.

My God Is So Big, So Strong & So Mighty, There's Nothing My God Cannot Do....

What a great daddy!

On the move...

I love the complexity of the landscape!

Yep, another family photo

Mostly I just love her pigtails!

Jess & Zach were a wee bit excited to see the Canyon!

Never fail, Mikayla always has an opinion about things!

Pumpkin Patch at Jackpot Ranch

Snow!

We woke up this morning to 4+ inches of snow!

In my opinion there is nothing prettier than freshly fallen snow. It gives everything a feeling of a new start.

It also scares me a little because it's the start of winter... real winter. I've heard Flagstaff can get dumps of six feet... and I'm excited but it also makes me nervous.

The ones who should be nervous are the poodles! They just don't have the leg length to get very far if it snows much more than this (though they were frolicking about this morning in a hilarious fashion!).

The snow made me realize I need to get the pumpkin patch photos up stat so I can start posting snowy photos.  So, here goes:

The beginning of the day, when naptime limits were far away...

"Can you believe what I have to put up with?!"

The end of the day, when we were all hot, sweaty and tired.

Daddy and his ducklings

Getting so big!

Grandma and Grandpa had their first pumpkin patch experience with us - I think they were scarred for life.

Yep, she often dances with inanimate objets. It's part of her charm.

What We've Been Saying Lately

OK, let's be honest. The majority of our days are filled with pretend horses, garage sales, school work, and quippy one-liners.

"Watch for elk!" "If their legs are spreaded together, they're an elk. If they're spreaded apart, it's a deer."

"I'm not arguing, I'm just telling you why I'm right!"

"I was praying to God because I thought of a bad dream and guessed Jesus could delete it or file it away or something."

"Jesus is my sister and my great grandpa was tied to a cross."

"What do teddy bears say when you ask them if they want anything to eat? No thanks, I'm stuffed."

"If we're ever flower girls again so you think we can wear deodorant?"

"Mama! Did you see me do a headstand? I was really impressed with myself!"

"I can't mix with you right now, Daddy, I'm just doing my thing."

We also visited the Grand Canyon with a friend. It's an exciting life we lead. And we miss you.

Lizard Hunters!

A few weeks ago we initiated some brand new members of a very special, elite club: Lizard Hunters.

We were at a restaurant with the extended family and there was a hatch of itsy-bitsy lizards! The girls had a great time figure out what was going on with these crazy little lizards.

First Daddy caught the lizard.

Daddy's so brave!

Then all the girls had to have a chance to touch the baby lizard (even our nekkid baby).

Believe it or not, our drama queen was all about holding the lizard.

"This is my lizard and I shall call it lovely."

"This looks highly questionable to me!"

Cousin Aspen was NOT going to be a part of such shenanigans!

Finally we let the poor thing go on its way. But the girls discovered there were more!

Grandpa helped with the target identification part of the project.

I spy with my little eye...

It's the cameo of Grandpa and Mikayla. Couldn't resist sharing, though there's no active lizard hunting taking place.

Then it was time for the girls to do the catching themselves…

And they did!

It must have been opposite day - usually the facial expressions would be the other way around!

I love this toddler posture!

Sorry for being so slow to get updated on this blog these days… but we're still here and still love you very much! Hope all is well in your lives!

Appliance Fetish

So, I've got this kid. Her name is Mikayla.

She's turned into a she-demon. Granted, she's got a bad case of the snots right now and is full of grumpiness, but that's not what I'm really talking about.

She's mobile. And strong. And she has a large appliance fetish.

Take the dishwasher.

If I dare to open the dishwasher to load or unload the necessary culinary items, she hears the creak of it and bolts into the kitchen. Within moments she's perched on top of the open door, crowing and banging her chest in joy.

It does not matter how many times I pull her down. She gets back up. It's like crack, she can't walk away.

My only choice is to leave the dishwashing for the evenings. The stink of food is all the baby's fault.

And the refrigerator!

Despite the cold on her tootsies, she climbs right up inside! There she is, belly up to the celery and eye level with the egg carton, getting colder by the moment, but, still!, she beelines to the refrigerator as soon as she hears the vacuum seal break in opening.

This morning she was quicker than me. I heard Maggie open the refrigerator for a piece of string cheese and I moved to the kitchen myself.

Mikayla beat me there. She was already in the refrigerator, having elbowed Maggie out of the way.

She grabbed a carton of Yoplait, tucked it under her arm with a finesse that would please any Monday Night Football quarterback, and headed to her hidey-hole, under the table in the living room.

I rescued the Yoplait. But it was hard, she had a pretty good grip on it. And get this - when I opened it, she didn't even want a spoonful!

If you have any advice, please let me know. In the meantime I'm keeping the small appliances locked away. Blenders and chainsaws would not be a good combination.

She's Four!

You may have heard Maggie turned 4.

It was a big day. In fact, she kept asking and asking if she was four yet and telling me about the things she'd do as soon as she was 4.

She hasn't followed through really well on those but today she did take it upon herself to change Mikayla's poopie diaper. Which was promptly followed by a bath, but hey, I've got to give the gal kudos for trying!

Her birthday involved family, good friends, a trip to the fair and a BBQ that was rained out.  Good times!

Maggie was very prepared for the trip to the fair - Mia gave her those sunglasses.

Maggie had her hands up for most of the roller coaster ride - you can see she was terrified. :)

She got a little slap happy as the day wore on.

Her father thought she needed birthday camouflage. That's the frosting from her specially-chosen
Tangled birthday cake. 

What girl doesn't love new clothes?!

I love that we can still see a hint of the baby in the face of our big girl.

I wrote a special note about this milestone on StealingFaith.com, you might want to take a moment to read it if you haven't already.

But, man, oh, man, have we been blessed to have this girl in our family! I love my Maggie Jo more than I have words to describe!