This year, for the first time since Joey was two years old and Ben was...well..not a Tolen yet, we took a family picture. Chris and I put aside our feelings of self-loathing (well, I actually just wadded mine up in my fist and hid it until the dastardly deed was done), and called a local photographer to take a few photos. [By the way, she is a wonderful photographer; if you live in the Utah County area and are looking for someone who is great with kids and family photos, her name is Julie Taggart and her website is right here on blogspot: http://jktphoto.blogspot.com.]
Except that we didn't take a few pictures. We took 432 pictures--give or take a few. That's how many are on the disc that Julie gave us. And aside from the fact that Joey and Ben were certain that they were perishing in the Arctic chill, we had a pretty fun go of it, even in the snow and ice. We like this one, except that Ben is ma
king the strangest face possible. Then again, of the 432 photos that Julie took, Ben was smiling normally in exactly four of them...and those were all individual portraits. Smiling naturally is not something he does easily.So, now you've seen us; read on if you'd like to find out what we're up to these days, too.
Zach (14): Just finished his Eagle project, and is working hard to join 16 of his fellow scouts in February at a giant Eagle Court of Honor. He's playing percussion in the Advanced Percussion group at the junior high and taking private percussion lessons each week--making good use of the drum kit he received for his birthday in November. Zach finished performing as part of "Oberon's Posse" in the junior high's fall production of "Midsummer Night's Dream," and now he's rehearsing an ensemble part in the spring production of "Guys and Dolls."
Izzy (12): Just finished performing with Salt Lake's Ballet West Ballet Company in their annual Nutcracker show. She was a blue soldier, and enjoyed being carried off the stage upside-down each night by an overgrown, large-headed mouse. Strangely, she always marched right back on to the stage moments later, obviously having overpowered the foul rodent somewhere in the shadowy recesses of stage right. Izzy is learning to play the viola--quite well, I might add--and is contemplating her future as a dancer. Her interests lie more with drama and music right now, and I suspect that her quite successful foray into dance is coming to an end.
Joey (9): Seems to be letting go of his obsessive need to know everything there is to know about the Titanic. Then again, perhaps he has just exhausted every available knowledge store and is out of new things to learn. We continue to worry about his weight (or lack thereof); he has an appointment with a pediatric endocrinologist next week and we'll see if she has anything to say. Joey is really into all things art and science lately. Never does a day go by that he hasn't spent several hours cutting, tearing, painting, gluing, stapling, and stringing up various projects. I admire his initiative. Now, if I could only inspire some desire to clean up after himself...
Ben (6): Made it through the holiday season with only moderate stress (hurray for good medication!). He is doing well in school...that is, he's not acting out too much, and he's picking up a few academic things here and there. Spelling is particularly difficult for him, and he's not interested in reading much yet. But he's learning. It occurred to me over the Christmas break that if there is a good year to hold him back, it would be first grade. After all, he has a July birthday, so he's already one of the youngest kids in his grade, and when you add his autism into the picture, he might just need another year to catch up a bit. I don't know, of course. We'll see what this winter and spring bring. Ben doesn't develop on a smooth curve; he makes jagged upward leaps at the most unexpected times. Perhaps he'll leap, yet.
Heather (you didn't really think I'd put my age here, right?): Just finished teaching English Composition courses at Utah Valley University and at Kaplan University. It was a stressful semester, as I had to put together new lesson plans and learn new curricula for two new courses. I didn't set things up as well as I might have, and ended up grading non-stop for three weeks straight before the Christmas break. It was not fun. This time around, I've made some adjustments and have all my lesson plans for the new term already in place, so I anticipate that things will flow more smoothly. In the meantime, I'm occasionally playing the organ at church, but have been assigned to teach the class that the women attend (the "Relief Society") once a month, too...which I enjoy.
Chris (tempting to put his age...but...nah...): Just completed his first year as a psychologist at the Utah State Hospital. As the director of the APA internship there, he had a big responsibility preparing the site for an accreditation process that took place during the fall. He did very well, and the accreditors had nothing but praise for him and for the program. Chris is currently heartbroken that his Pittsburgh Steelers did not make the superbowl playoffs this year, but I suspect that he will recover. He is teaching a class at church, and hoping that this year the economy will turn back around and propel some clients back into his testing and aftercare businesses. I hope so, too.
So there it is: our starting lineup for 2010. Who knows what these months will bring. But whatever comes, I will try harder to write about it, and share it with all of you.
