A New Year Newsletter

A Year in Review:

An Interview with the Voelkel Family

What was the most memorable event for you in 2009?

Anna: When I got my braces.

Janae: Being baptized!

Daila: Santa came! . . . Mom? Is he coming tomorrow again?
Ben: Nothing really sticks out . . . it was fun getting together for UFC fight nights this year.

Linda: Definitely our "Girls' Trip" to Nauvoo.
Name 3 new things that happened to you:

Anna: 1. I got braces. 2. I won Student Council. 3. I got $50 from a writing contest.

Janae: 1. I have the same 3rd grade teacher that Anna had. 2. I read the whole Book of Mormon. 3. I started playing the violin.

Daila: 1. I like Miss Diana's. (Daila's OT--she was diagnosed with sensory intergration disorder.) 2. I go to school. (Incidentally, she is our only child who has attended formal preschool.) 3. I give a talk at church.

Ben: 1. I've been at Express-Scripts for 5 years. 2. I cut down the oak tree out back and refinished the porch. 3. I took 3 classes last semester and passed.

Linda: 1. I taught PreK summer school. 2. I taught a long term 4th grade position from Aug-Oct at the girls' elementary school. 3. I taught 4th and 5th grade science for 2 weeks.

What was your favorite celebration? or biggest accomplishment?
Anna: When I said the pledge to a bunch of these people. (Ritenour Board of Education--they gave her a certificate.)

Janae: My celebration was on Sunday, because we did a play about Jesus at Grandma's house.

Daila: The Polar 'Spress Train at school with Miss Caitrin. We got a ticket and a donut and a bell!

Ben: oh geez . . . umm . . . It was fun to see Daila grow so much from her therapy.

Linda: I really liked getting the clutter out of the playroom. It's not really a holiday, but it was a cause for celebration. :)

What concerns did you have?

Anna: ummm . . . I was worried if my headgear was going to hurt.

Janae: I was only worried about if we didn't get any snow.

Daila: a flower (What can I say . . . she's 4.) :)

Ben: Today's economy. Linda's dad's health. My dad's recent heart episode.

Linda: Oh I worry a lot. *chuckle* I guess my biggest concern was for my mom and dad because of my dad's deteriorating health. If he continues to build anitbodies toward the blood he recieves, he will need platelet transfusions instead. You can only have one donor with platelet transfusions, so we will need a donor with blood type O- who is a close match. (I think most of my siblings and I are O+.)

Tell us one thing you've learned from your experiences last year:

Anna: I learned that helping is important, because it gets work done faster.

Janae: I learned about Jesus through my baptism, because I know that my sins would be washed away, and I would get the Holy Ghost, and I would be a member of the Church. And that He would forgive me.

Daila: puzzles

Ben: Family comes first. Everything else can wait.

Linda: "Nothing in life is so hard that you can't make it easier by the way you take it." Pray for the strength and wisdom to take it all in the proper perspective.

As we reflected on last year, we've been reminded of how full and blessed our lives are. It is our prayer that your family will find the same satisfation in life this year by treasuring your memories and milestones, no matter how small.

Happy New Year! May God continue to bless you in 2010!

The Voelkel Family

Ben, Janae, Anna, Linda, Daila

Holiday Highlights

Christmas Magic

The easel Ben built for Daila.

The Santa Daila kept hugging at the elementary school's Christmas Shoppe.

Daila enjoys the easel.


Daila all dressed up.

I haven't felt too talkative lately and even now I'm finding it hard to get myself to talk (hehe type). Here are some holiday highlights:

Ben had the whole week off! Yay! I worked at the girls' school on Monday for the music teacher, who was busy getting ready for the Christmas program that afternoon and evening. Then Ben and I spent Tuesday out together. It was a perfect day. I went to the class Christmas parties Tuesday afternoon as a room mom. Wednesday was an exhausting and rewarding day. I enlisted Ben's help to clean and organize the playroom. We boxed up one box of toys that the girls have out grown, but I wasn't willing to part with; had 3 bags of toys for a yard sale/Goodwill; and 2 bags of trash. I'm very proud of myself. The girls were a little concerned to see some of their favorite things go, but they are just as pleased with the end result. The playroom is much easier to play in and keep clean now too.

We also finished reading the Book of Mormon as a family after dinner on Wednesday! The girls were so proud. I challenged them to put Moroni's promise to the test (Moroni 10:4) by praying individually to know whether or not the Book of Mormon was true. We talked about how to do that and what to listen/feel for as an answer. After describing what the Spirit feels like, Anna piped up and said, "I've already done that. I know its true." Janae had a few more questions though. She wondered, "what if I don't feel that?" So we talked about that too. But a couple of days later, Janae came to me and said, "Mom I was thinking about what you said while I was singing I'm Trying to be Like Jesus and tears came to my eyes." I asked her if she thought it was the Spirit and she nodded then ran to me with a big hug.

Thursday was spent baking cookies and sidedishes with my 2 super baking helpers. We had Josh and Lindsey Voelkel family over and Katie and Gabriel Novak family too. So it was a fairly traditional Voelkel family Christmas Eve. But we did combine some traditions. The missionaries came to share a message and I loved that. After our guests left, we had our usual family night by the light of the Christmas tree. We took turns choosing songs to sing and stories to tell. Ben told a great story . . . the girls always look forward to his storytelling, he's so animated . . . and we started and ended with a prayer.

Christmas morning was also started with a prayer and I like that new tradition. We thanked Heavenly Father and aknowledged Him as the source of all our gifts/blessings before we opened the presents. This was the first year the girls went shopping for the family with their own money. It made a huge difference on their perspective. And it was a lot of fun to see the treasures they chose for each of us.

We spent the rest of the weekend with our Hamblin family in Sullivan. I enjoyed spending time with my mom and dad. It's hard on me to see my dad getting so weak. He gave a great talk on Sunday, although he had to lean heavily on the podium, he made it all the way through. And after going home to rest during the remainder of church, he was able to return for Trevor Hamblin's baptism. But all of that wore him out too much and he had to ask John to read the Nativity story in the scriptures for our traditional Nativity play with the grandkids. But Mom still had him bear his testimony to the family before we closed the gathering. He is learning a lot of spiritual things and he is determined to share as much with his posterity as he can. It makes me emotional so I think I'm going to close this post for now. So much for not having much to say. ;-)

We had a very enjoyable week and a perfectly content Christmas. I plan to get a newsletter together this week before we return to work and school. Sort of a new year newsletter instead of a Christmas card. Stay tuned . . .

Seeing Santa

The Spirit of Christmas

Christmas Reminiscing

Creches and Carols 2004: Just Anna and Janae. I wasn't even pregnant with Daila. They are so small and sweet and innocent. More like the Christ child, more like the angel, more like the sweet mother Mary. My favorite parts of this photo: Janae's hand gently cradling the baby Jesus' head. I think she wanted to pick Him up. Now she is learning to let Him pick her up through tough times in life. Anna looking upward. Her stance tells a lot about her personality. She still looks upward, eyes always toward eternity. Such a precious picture that has captured a phase of childhood that I will not easily forget.

Creches and Carols 2009: Oh how they've grown! They are still like the sweet mother Mary, pondering spiritual things in their hearts. They are still like the angels, heralding the Savior's mission by cultivating their divine nature. And everyday they try to keep their feet on the path that leads them to Christ. I'm so very proud of my sweet angels! Merry Christmas! And God bless us, everyone!

Our Extended Weekend

Wednesday, November 25th

Road Trip!

We're off to St. Joseph, MO to visit Grandma and Grandpa Voelkel and lots and lots of Voelkel cousins. All 5 of Ben's brothers (and their families) were there and 1 of his 3 sisters.

Thursday, November 26th

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Feeding a horde of people can be quite an undertaking. But the Voelkels have it down to a science.

Much like the clown car at the circus, Grandma's kitchen can hold an alarming (and often amusing) amount of people! Historic! :)

Friday, November 27th

Lovely weather for the park and a picnic.

Any Day Ben is with his Bros

Ben and his brother Josh are arm wrestling. Raw humor and rough housing abound when Ben and his brothers get together. From food fights, to wrestling, to football, to target practice with guns, these boys know how to have fun. Favorite quote from Ben's mom: "Before you guys start fighting, will you hand me the newspaper." True story. :)

Saturday, November 28th

Macey Kate Voelkel's Baptism

Congratulations to our niece, Macey, who took the big plunge this weekend! :) Daila is getting ready for some family photos after the baptism. She said she wanted to do this for every photo. We all tried out the pose:

Playing outside at Uncle Brian and Aunt Jenny's house:

Sunday, November 29th

Christmas Tree HuntingWe found the lucky tree and Janae has volunteered to chop it down. Okay she's doing great but this may take awhile. Let's let Dad take over. :)

Hey let's see how old our tree is! Dad teaches the girls how to count the rings. Turns out she is a 7 year old beauty. Just a year younger than Janae. Looks like we have another member of the family. Aww she's not that heavy . . . she's our sister!

Good thing we have 9 foot ceilings cuz this is a big 'un.We can't wait to decorate her, but that will have to wait until tomorrow. What a great end to a wonderful weekend.

We are so grateful for the time we spent with our family. We love you! Happy Holidays!

My Adventures as Mom

As a working mom, I don't get enough of these kind of days. Here is what I did today:Anna and I went to Daila's grandparents' breakfast. Daila is making a card for Grandma and Anna is helping the little ones at her table draw hearts.
Next stop, Anna's orthodontist. She is playing a Cars video game while she waits for her turn.

Look at that smile! :) So much improvement! Next visit she will be fitted for her nightly headgear.
Anna presenting her personal narrative on setting goals. She reflected on her 3rd grade goal and how it was accomplished, and introduced her 4th grade goal and with her plan to achieve it by the end of the year.

A lunch date with my girl. Janae didn't have an event going on today at school, so we made our own. :)

I am so grateful for these kind of days!!

I'm Bored

Anna came to me today and said those two words a mother/teacher hates to hear . . . "I'm bored." I asked her if she could do anything in the world, what would she do? She said, "I don't know." I explained how that was exactly her problem. Being bored isn't a matter of having something to do, but how our mind works. She made a list of things she could do and still nothing appealed to her. So I suggested she make a movie. Well that got her interest. She wrote a script and enlisted Janae's help and the following movie is the result.

Anna and Janae starring in "I Didn't Know I Could Do That"

Part 2: "What Do You Want to Do?"

This last video was a solo act by Janae. I like to call it "Jim's House". Jim is our neighbor who just got a brand new window. A brand new window without any window coverings. A brand new window in a city neighborhood where a person's home is so close to her neighbor's. A brand new window you can see right into from upstairs.

Here is our peeping tom starring in "Jim's House".

Sleeping Angel Miracle

no words

to describe the awe of glancing down and seeing an angel of glowing beauty in your arms

for the surprising reminder that this beauty is always there, always hers, always present but not always seen

to encompass the pride, love, admiration a mother feels at being part of such a lovely creation

for the overwhelming sense of humility and responsibility knowing, for a small moment, she's mine

no words

Indian Summer

My three sweeties enjoying a warm autumn day.

Guess Who is 4 Today??

Happy Birthday, Daila!!!! I know you can't read them, but her antennae say "Brithday Princess". Ben brought them home from work and they are delightfully wiggly. Daila loves it!

Halloween Fun

Horseplay

Thanks to our friends from church, the girls were able to get some hands-on learning about horses with the girls in their Achiever's group.Precious is very tame and an excellent mother. She was abslutely wonderful with the kids. She is being rewarded with a graham cracker.

These next pics are of Precious from Daila's point of view as I gave her a turn with the camera.