Christmas 2008

Christmas greetings from us Quackenbushes!

May we all welcome the Lord into our hearts as Mary did!

(click on the picture to make it big so you can admire Judy's photographic skills)

We had a baby in May so I don’t remember much else, but mostly we did the same things we always do: a lot of shopping, eating, sleeping and school. We have been blessed with good health and no heart aches this year, except having to say “good bye” to Elizabeth (19) for a year, as she took a job as an au pair with an Austrian family. She’s been working in a doctor’s office since deciding to take a break from TAC.

Thomas (17) has had his various performances. The highlight this summer was King Henry the IV with the Kingsmen Shakespeare company (www.kingsmenshakespeare.org). He was Prince Hal and did a superb job. He sang the tenor part for Handel’s Messiah this pre-Christmas season, and had another year of So. Cal honor choir and made it to the All State Choir as well (that’s in the spring). He also landed the part of Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance for the Spring, is playing goalie for varsity soccer team, and will soon begin preparing for baseball, so we won’t be seeing much of him this year, either.

Madeleine (16) continues with her group of mimes, which perform Christian songs for different gatherings, studies her chemistry with cheerful perseverance (despite hating it) and doesn’t enjoy geometry at all (I really liked geometry so I can’t figure this out). She still reads and likes fairy tales the best. She’s started voice lessons. She made a beautiful quilt for the new baby, and among many projects is planning a performance of Beauty and the Beast next summer.

Joseph (14) plays tennis with increasing competence and loves it. He also loves every bit of Star Wars trivia (of course he doesn’t call it that) and taught himself ‘aurebesh’. If you also know this script, you may write him a letter in it and he’ll be very appreciative. He’s very good (along with his little sisters) at lip- synching great hits such as “Bellybutton” by Larry the Cucumber and the Boyz in the Sink – with tennis rackets for guitars.

Margaret (13) is also shining in tennis: first place in her division in a recent tournament, and other awards. She sings all the time (as do her sisters) though that’s been somewhat dampened by getting an mp3 player for Christmas (it’s like learning to read for a talkative person). She’s sporadically learning the flute. She also loves to read and has mastered valley girl speak (only for fun). She’s taller than her mom.

Gemma (11) plays violin, tennis and soccer (she’s on the all-star team now), knits, folds our laundry, diligently does her school work but doesn’t like it, has a zany sense of humor and gets tired a lot. She still finds all lost household objects, frequently merely by our invocation of her name as inspiration.

Rosie (9) has just started violin, and she and Rachel (8) do everything together - which means they are sorely tempted to neglect some school work. Rosie likes to sew, and made a baby quilt, and so naturally I have her doing the mending (what a way to encourage an interest!). Still has a fiery temper and red cheeks to match her name. She and Rachel both play tennis and enjoy playing with their friends. Rachel is still quiet, though with strong opinions, and competes with Jakie for being the most expressive of her love. They both still arrange a lot of tea parties.

Claire (6) is our little scientist, very logical, but also a very expressive actress. She and Jacinta (Jakie, 4) are a team most of the time, though Claire likes to go off on her own to think and play sometimes, and Jacinta likes to run around hugging people. Jake also has mastered English and explains with great care whatever she’s doing and answers questions in full detail (even when she’s making it all up).

Irene Therese was born May 20 and is the delight of her whole family. She learned to crawl the day we got the tree and ornaments set up (uh oh), and is so bright eyed that she sometimes looks a little electrocuted (the hair standing straight up helps). She has the following nick-names: Batman, Doodle, Dingle, Princess, Bubble, Monkey-angel, Electra, and IT (initials).

David is teaching well, enjoying the subjects, but especially all his own supplementary reading (philosophy, theology, and the sciences, etc.) He was able to attend a “Fides et Ratio” conference in Rhode Island over the summer – a week-long treat of good books and good discussion. Still fanatically convinced that our one remaining investment (EZCH) will make us rich in the next six months. Spent several months producing an online archive of the private papers of the principal teacher of the founders of Thomas Aquinas College, Charles De Koninck (http://www.scribd.com/doc/7847605/cdk-archive-outline ).

Maureen is doing the usual, lots of school-time monitoring, driving, admiring (and nagging) the kids. This year lots of kids have helped with meals, and she hopes to play around with learning Hebrew with Madeleine’s help! (Madeleine studied a bit of it last year with Elizabeth).

Our only remaining pets are a rabbit and our aging dog, George, who spends his days sleeping on the most enticing piles of pillows and blankets. (The coyotes nabbed our delightful cats, and we have ceased being as dreamy-eyed about wildlife!)

We went on a camping trip before school started, to a bear infested part of the Sierra’s, and got to enjoy the beautiful scenery and cool mountain air while it roasted down here.

And that’s all, folks!

God bless you abundantly,