Our Family 2006

Left to right: Nathan, Lisa, Michelle,
Tyler, Rex; Daisy & Iris - newly adopted

Tyler, eight years old, he’s still the family schedule keeper, planner and sibling informant. He’s also becoming more independent – traveling to other neighborhoods (taking the creek in the back yard to cut through a few homes) to play with friends. He is our research scientist, fascinated by all things science especially if it blows up, looks like a slimy body organ or has a foul odor.

Nathan, fourteen years old, he stands eye-to-eye 5’9”and 120 pounds and just an inch shorter than me. Lisa says his muscles look like knots on a tree. Nathan too has reached a new phase of independence. We’ve gone from everything on the surface and easy to read – to reading between the lines, picking up clues from friends and surveying his room in an effort to interpret what’s up with our son. Last year he was a bit goofy and awkward with a cracking voice like Shaggy on “Scooby Doo.” This year he is a foot taller, has a deep voice, has dropped to four basic grunts as a vocabulary and has a definite idea of what is cool and not. Nathan decided that it’s cool to be buff. He hasn’t decided whether becoming buff is worth the effort.

Michelle, fifteen years old, lost her height advantage at 5’7”. Michelle is our easiest and most challenging child. She is content to live in her bedroom (her brothers call it the chamber) surrounded by her computer, music, art, writing, messaging to friends, mounds of books, instruments and the food she smuggles from the kitchen.