I guess since I've already begun sending out Christmas cards referring to our yearly update, I better get this started! It seems this year, the holiday season just crept up on us all. Here's a review of what we've been up to in 2013:
Scott & Jill: We continue to stay the busy parents of three active kids who try to keep us on our toes! :-) Scott still is working in Purchasing for BMC in Charlotte, NC. I don't know how he continues to make the hour drive one way back and forth from our home (and has been for 4 1/2 years), but I'm so thankful that he does! He really never complains about the drive, and says it gives him time to decompress after work and ready to be at home once here. It is definitely hard on the fuel budget, but we are thankful he has a good job that he enjoys. He is a loving, active, and involved Daddy to our 3 kiddos! He still finds a little time to enjoy Star Wars games and keep up with Star Wars news and Marvel and the Superhero movies. Good thing he has boys that enjoy this too! I am still working part time in Accounting at Wolverine Coatings Corporation in Spartanburg. Having worked there for 7 1/2 years, I am still so happy and blessed to work for a company that I enjoy my work at and time to use my professional skills, but also have time to be the involved mom that I desire to be. It is nice to be able to attend kids school events, extra curricular activities, and be able to take them to appointments as needed without it being such a struggle between work and home. We also continue to be involved at our church, First Baptist Church of Spartanburg, where we started teaching Alaina's 2 year old life group class every other week since August. Those little 2 and 3 year olds bless our hearts, and even though it sometimes feels like it's hard to find the time to serve, we are glad we accepted God's call for this year to serve in this way. I have also continued to enjoy photography this year and have started Lainey Bug Photography as a part time business as well. Check out my photography website at www.laineybugphotography.com to see some of my work. We also celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on July 1st - so thankful and blessed to be going through life with him!
Ethan: He started out 2013 playing Upward Basketball for the first time at a local church near us. He had a great experience and enjoyed it a lot. He even was able to attend a summer basketball camp in the summer at the high school he will attend in the future with the high school basketball coaches, and learned a lot and had fun. He plans to play basketball again this coming January. He finished 3rd Grade in May with all A's for the year. He even received a special medal for getting all A's for every grading period between 1st and 3rd Grade. We are so proud of his hard work! Of course summer was filled with fun trips to the pool, but instead of taking swim lessons he was able to help out with the little kids this year on the days he was there. He continues to be a strong swimmer, and we are thankful he learned and had such a good teacher for many years! Fall started up as busy as ever, with starting 4th grade at the Intermediate school, and being in an all boys class. He has one teacher for Math & Science and one for Language Arts & Social Studies, so he is getting a little taste of what it will be like changing classes in middle school eventually. He needs to just slow down on this whole growing-up thing! He also attends a Gifted and Talented class once a week this year for the first time, so he has been adjusting to the increased academic requirements. But he has handled all of this adjustment well and made the all A & B honor roll for the first part of the year so far! He also is participating in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club after school this year. Fall was also filled with our usual busy soccer season, only this year Ethan and Caleb both played for AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) instead of Upward. They both were able to attend an AYSO international camp with coaches from the U.K. and Ireland for a week in the summer, and continued to practice and increase their soccer skills before the regular season began. Ethan was a strong offensive player this year, and enjoyed getting to focus on his strongest position, making many goals for his team during the season. The boys were on different teams this year, so our Saturdays were filled with at least 2 games, sometimes 3 for several months. And Alaina was a good sport and was there to cheer her brothers on each weekend. She still has one more year until she could play on a team, but she probably is already ready to play now! Ethan also ran in his very first 5K race with me in August, and did very well! He of course made it look like a breeze, and I probably held him back, but it was so fun to train for and run the race together. Ethan also celebrated his 9th birthday on February 3rd, and had fun at a bowling party with friends.
Caleb: Well, what I didn't cover above for Caleb I'll cover here. :-) He also started 2013 playing Upward basketball and enjoyed it a lot. He and Ethan were on the same team, so it was nice to just have one game to attend each weekend for that season. He also plans to play again this January, so with their age differences, we'll go back to 2 games each weekend. Caleb finished out 1st grade in May with very good grades as well. He made all As all year, and one B. We are proud of the effort he is showing and that he is doing his best and enjoys school. Both Caleb and Ethan also continued gymnastics in an all boys class at the beginning of 2013 and enjoyed it a lot through the Spring. We took a break with the start of the new school year though, so we could focus on the busy schedule of soccer season. With now having 3 active and involved kids in activities, we decided they each had to decide on one sport per season to play, so they both chose soccer in the Fall this year. Caleb was a strong defender and goalie, and blocked many goals for his team this season. Although he says that next Fall he wants to play tackle football instead . . . Mommy and Daddy are still on the fence about the tackle part, perhaps we'll start with flag football first! Caleb started 2nd grade this Fall and is doing well so far with the increased academic demands. He has been working hard to improve his handwriting this year, and we are proud of his effort and determination. Both he and Ethan still struggle with amblyopia (where their brains use one eye over the other.) They both got sports glasses, rec specs, for soccer this year and have enjoyed wearing their sporty glasses all the time. We have had to patch their good eyes in the past for several years off and on, to try to force their bad eye to focus and be used. And just recently we decided to try the atropine drops, which blur out the vision in their good eye for several days each week, instead of the patch, to make it easier for their active lifestyles. We are hoping we will see an increased response of using their good eyes more and training their brains to use that eye more. Caleb, Ethan, & Alaina all enjoyed attending a Christian Sports camp and Vacation Bible School at a local church this summer too. (We were on vacation during the VBS at our home church.) Caleb and Ethan also attended a Kid-Fuge day camp at another local church in our area for a week in the summer and had a great time - we are so blessed to have so many great churches in our community where they can continue to grow in their knowledge and faith in Jesus Christ. Caleb finished out his last year (Mommy and Daddy promised) of formal swimming lessons this summer. He also has developed into a wonderful swimmer this year. Caleb also turned 7 on August 30th, and had a great time at a pool party with friends.
Alaina: Well, what can I say about Alaina? A LOT!!! :-) She continues to be spunky, energetic, sweet, and frustrating all at the same time . . . but isn't that what all 2 year olds are like to a degree? Alaina keeps up with her brothers, and seems much older than she really is. She is the normal 3rd child, and with being so much younger than the boys, she gets hauled around to all of their activities. But she normally does great, when she isn't having a stubborn moment about wanting her way, and the boys still adore her and love her being at all of their activities and events. At the boys' school Christmas parties she was asked by a teacher while walking down the hall if she was a 3rd grader, to which she energetically replied, "Yes!" She has a joy for life that is like no other, easily saying, "Oh, Hi!" to most anyone she meets, new or already known. If we could only all have that kind of joy for life! She reminds Scott and I to slow down, and enjoy every moment. This Fall Alaina started a dance class at a local dance studio, where she is learning ballet and some tumbling too. She really likes it a lot and has had fun getting to play with other little girls her age. She also was able to start her first swimming lessons this past summer, and was introduced to putting her head under the water, holding her breath, and kicking her feet! We know she'll be ready again this summer for more lessons to continue to get comfortable in the water. As I said above, Alaina was able to attend VBS this year for the first time, and she absolutely loved it, especially all the singing. At the end of week program, she got up on the stage and sang and did the motions. She is definitely our little performer, and will be ready for 3 year old choir, when she is old enough in Fall 2014. Alaina turned 2 back on January 31, 2013, and had a fun time with her neighborhood friends at a party at home playing games and having cake and snacks. She is the "little sister" of the neighborhood, and has so many great older friends of the boys who love and care for her too. She is going to be one well protected little girl! :-)
Well, as I try to finish recapping our year . . . there was a lot this year, I am also reminiscing of all the fun times we were able to spend with family, near and far. We enjoyed a family beach trip in the summer with Scott's parents to Surfside Beach, even getting to go to our first water park as a family with the kids. We also enjoyed making a trip to Williamsburg, VA to my parents' home there to visit at Thanksgiving time, and got to also see my sister Megan and her husband, Mike and son, Cooper. My sister, Stacy, and her family, Zach, Wendy, Serena, and Daniel were visiting Zach's parents in TN this year, but we are looking forward to seeing them all again over this Christmas time. We did unfortunately, lose our beloved lab, Sylvie, who passed away in the late Fall. She was 12 years old and will be missed by our family. We still have Angel, and she is definitely a bit more lonely without her buddy. Maybe we'll have room for another furry friend in the future!
As you spend time with your family and friends this Christmas and New Year's, take the time to enjoy the little moments and remember the reason we celebrate. The gift of Jesus as a baby in the manger, sent to the world to die for all of our sins, if we just accept Him into our lives. As always, this is just an update with the highlights of our year. We have faced challenges as well, as most everyone does, but we try our best to depend on God to help us through when we do.
We hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas 2013 and a Happy New Year in 2014!
Love and Blessings,
The Brisken Family
Scott, Jill, Ethan, Caleb, & Alaina
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