Haines Family: January 2012

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Joe and Wrestling

Joe started his first year of wrestling in Nov 2011. I wasn't sure he was going to make it through the first few weeks when they were in the midst of conditioning. But, he did make it and has really enjoyed his season. The last day of the season was yestereday. Beavercreek put on a huge 1 1/2 day invitational that included 20 schools. I have been really proud of Joe's hard work and perserverance. He did great for his first year and I hope he does it again next year. Way to go Joe!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Family Photos and Christmas Message!

Merry Christmas from the Haines Family!
Another year come and gone. Seems like each year goes quicker than the one before…
Chris continues working on his master’s degree in Operation Research at AFIT. He will finish up this March and will be reporting to Langley AFB, Virginia on March 31st. He stays busy with school, teaching the 12 year old deacons on Sundays and also as the assistant Scout Master. The kids and I will stick around until we sell the house and join up with him hopefully by June. So, if you know anybody looking for a home in Beavercreek, OH, send them our way. I (Rachael) am busy raising these boys. I continue to teach fitness classes and have been doing a little bit of nutritional consulting as well. I recently went to California and was certified in the Basic NAET allergy elimination technique and look forward to going back for more future trainings. I teach in primary and also am the ward organist. It is both sad and exciting to get ready to move to a new location. It is always hard to leave behind friends we have made, but also exciting to live in a new location and to meet new people.

Joseph turned 13 this year. He is 13 going on 30. He wants all the privileges of adulthood, but doesn’t quite understand yet the responsibility that comes with them. He has been working really hard at school and is doing the best he has ever done. He enjoys scouts and has completed about 22 merit badges…He’s getting ready to start his eagle soon. He is participating in his first year of wrestling and actually seems to be enjoying it. He is getting tall and is nearly as tall as mom. He can’t wait to pass me up, but mom can still beat him in an arm wrestle. We’ll see how much longer that will last.

Jacob turned 10 this year. He enjoyed participating in student council as well as running club, Spanish club and the after school sports program. He played tackle football this year. Despite being the skinniest kid on the team, he is one of the toughest and played several positions including defensive lineman. He loves math and works hard to improve his reading- his most challenging subject with his dyslexia.

Samuel is our resident scholar. He turned 8 years old this year and was baptized in September. He is a very mature boy. We all expect him to be a math professor in his future years. He loves to learn and read about science. He is doing a great job on the piano. He is such a helpful and intelligent young man and truly a delight.

Ben turned 5 this year and started kindergarten. He is doing a great job with his reading and played a season of fall soccer this year. He enjoys school but is quite shy. At home he is one of my loudest. He enjoys reading and being mom’s helper. He loves having his friends over to play. He loves playing video games with Dad and brother’s.

We are so happy to be able to spend Christmas this year in Utah (thank you to my sister Amy for giving us plane tickets!). Christmas is a time to be with family, to remember our blessings and ponder on the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for his birth, his life and his atonement.

I am making a New Year's Resolution to be better about keeping up my blog! I will try to update at least once per month. We hope and pray for the Lord’s blessings on you all…
Love, Chris, Rachael, Joseph, Jacob, Samuel and Benjamin

BTW, all photos taken by my friend Rebecca Fedele. Call me if you would like her contact information.

Gingerbread Houses, Christmas 2011

It is an interesting thing, moving every few years. This year, as I contemplated this, I came to understand that having "traditions" is one of the ways that I can help to anchor my children. For the past few years, we have decorated Gingerbread Houses. I wasn't going to do it this year. I also wasn't going to put up Christmas decorations this year as we were going to be in Utah for Christmas and New Years. Ben changed my mind about the Gingerbread houses. He asked me with so much enthusiasm in his voice WHEN we were going to make Gingerbread Houses. When I told the kids that we weren't going to put up the Christmas decorations, they looked so forlorn and begged to be able to put them up. I agreed and at this point came to understand how these "traditions" mean so much to them and are a part of how they feel a sense of security and anchoring with the many moves that we make.

Christmas at the UD Library

Our friends the Merrill's introduced us to the Nativity Exhibit at the UD Marion Library our first Christmas in Ohio. It is an amazing display of hundreds of nativities from all over the world. The volunteer staff puts on a fantastic display. The kids are given a pamphlet with various individual pieces from different displays. They are challenged to find which display that piece came from. When they complete the pamphlet they get to choose a free ornament. They also provide wonderful refreshments including Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. We have loved having this be a part of our Christmas tradition while living in Ohio...

Turkey Trot

On Thanksgiving Day, I ran in the Miamisburg Turkey Trot with a couple of my friends. Kaori is on the right and Melissa is on the left. It is a 5 mile race which I ran in 41 minutes and not sure about the seconds. It is the first race I have ran in many years and I had a great time doing it with friends.

Halloween!

I couldn't get Joseph to get in the picture. Jacob is the GI Joe, Ben is Mario and Samuel is a Count Dracula!

Don't you just love Ben's mustache!

Bubbles, bubbles..... Bubbles!

In the background, music was blasting. The kids had so much fun and I couldn't stop laughing! It is a great memory! Here are pics of Sam enjoying the bubbles.

This was so much fun! They had special Halloween section of activities set up at King's Island. In this area, they had a gigantic bubble machine. The whole place was loaded with bubbles.

Jacob turns 10!

I wish I had more picture! This is the only one I could find for now. Jacob turned 10 in October 2011. He is a great kid that tries hard to be obedient. We love having him on our home. He also chose Strawberry Trifle for his birthday cake!

Cougars Vs. Longhorns

In September Chris and I flew for a quick trip to Texas. We flew into San Antonio and stayed with our friends The Theler's.

We had a great time visiting with other friends also including the Taylor's and Mike Davis. We even were able to visit with Chris's niece and nephew in law, Christy and Monty. We stopped at the tail-gating party to get all "Prettied Up" for the game.

I just love this picture of Jared. I couldn't stop laughing after he bought that wig! He looked so perfect! I have to say that the Longhorn fans are the most polite, well-mannered fans I've every met. I guess as long as you are not from Oklahoma...

Sam turns 8!

Samuel turned 8 years old this year. We had some of his friends over and had a great time playing water balloon volleyball, and going on a treasure hunt.

John, Tristan, Sam, Jacob, Kobe, Aaron, and Ben

Sam chose to have Strawberry Trifle for his birthday cake. And how can I forget the pinata! We are so proud of Sam and the fine boy he is.

Summer Storm 2011

We had two crazy storms this past year. The first one was at the end of May. I was actually driving when the worst of it hit! I pulled over and was enveloped in fear!! The thunder sounded like it was bursting right above the hood of my car and the wind was crazy. Then the hail started. They were so big I thought that they were going to dent the car...the majority were the size of golf balls.

The next storm hit in mid July. Once again, the winds were very strong. When we woke up in the morning, our trampoline had disappeared...it had blown about 3 houses away and was in a big crumpled pile of mesh and twisted steel.

A large tree in our backyard was also blown over. Several smaller trees had also blown over in the woods that are part of our backyard. We worked for the next two weeks cutting down the tree into smaller parts and cleaning up the yard. Thanks to Kevin Thomson for the use of his chainsaw!

Joseph Turns 13~

I now have a teenager. In July 2011, Joe turned 13. He is 13, going on 30!! He is so excited that he has now officially reached his teen status. For his birthday, Chris took Joe and some of his friends to a paintball tournament. They get all geared up and then have a "war" against another team. He had a great time and came home with some war wounds to prove it! These are pics of Joe eating his birthday cake of choice...Poppyseed cake!

King's Island

We splurged this last year and bought season passes to King's Island. We had so much fun. When we went, Joe and Jacob would take off to ride the coasters, and I would head off with Sam and Ben to "Planet Snoopy" - the kids section. I think Ben's favorite ride was the "Boo Blaster" where he tried to shoot as many ghosts as possible. I think Sam's favorite ride was the Railroad. I think Joe would have voted for Diamond Back, a coaster with a 230 ft. drop and Jacob would have voted for The Beast, the longest wooden roller coaster in the world. (Very Bumpy!!!)

Sam and his Russia Report

Sam did a report on Russia for school. He really got into it and enjoyed researching about the government, economy, famous Russians, Russian food, etc. Here is a picture of Sam with his poster. This was in the Spring of 2011 for Miss Fischer's class.

March Madness

I had to get a quick picture of Chris with a mustache...March Madness 2011. All o fhis buddies at AFIT grew them for the month of March!

A visit with some "old" friends!

Two of my great friends growing up, Katie Sampson, now Katie Windsor, and Erin Allred, now Erin Hall have both been living in Columbus the past several years. Katie's sister Julie and her sister in law Kristine Sampson and her mom Leimomi all flew up in March of 2011 for a birthday surprise for Katie. We all met up for lunch and it was so fun to chat about past and current events in our lives. It felt like me had never been apart!

Jacob Gets a Tatoo

In February of 2011, Jacob went in for his very first tattoo!! Unlike most people, he was put under anesthetic. Then the doctor went to work filling in the areola (nipple) with pigment. He lost all the pigmentation when he was burned at 3 1/2. He has since gone through this procedure twice in the last year. Everything went fine until he came out of anesthesia. He was like an unbridled, crazy man!! He kept shouting how he wanted to leave that place, and how he wanted to blow it up! I kept thinking I was grateful he didn't know any really bad swear words....