Hi Girls

Hi Girls,
What a great idea to keep in touch more than...every few years! We are getting old!
We are doing well...the last three months have seemed like we have been in the eye of a tornado whirling around us, although feel very blessed knowing God was truly in control. Here a brief synopsis...

Found a great house that we were going to buy in early May, not even in the "looking" mode.

That let us to put ours on the market...it sold in 8 days!

That "dream house" well...the listing agent sold it out from under us the day after we listed our house. He was mad he didn't get the listing. So we were homeless in about 4 weeks!

Oh yeah, Kenji accepted a new job as Assistant Superintendent in another good local district the week after we put on house on the market. He wasn't stressed or anything!

We finally found a great house that we really liked after bidding on 2 others!

Only issue with the great house...it was needing a little work up front. It had been a foreclosure and empty for 2 years...it's only 5 years old!

Ok a little work before we move in....NOT!

The closing was postponed due to title issues...2 attorneys, couple hundred hours of phone calls, a lot of sweat, tears and prayers and we finally closed the day BEFORE we needed to move out. So cancel the storage, pods, etc. and move right in...kind of.

We estimated 500+ hours of work from us, my family, lots of friends in the first 3 weeks.

Anyways, to date...the entire house (inside and some out) has been painted, all new carpet & bathroom flooring, new appliances, new fixtures, lighting, landscaping(still in progress) kitchen countertops & sink ( in progress), built lots of storage shelving, desk, installed cabinets, strip and restain the ugly red deck(this weekend's project)...A little more than we thought. But close to the end, and the best part...it's a great house for us and a lot more room to move for our clan!

FInally, Kenji's mom was diagnosed with Hogkin's Lymphoma the week before we moved. She is treatment currently and doing ok. They caught it very early. Praying for healing.

On another note our kids are doing great and liking meeting a lot of friends their age on our street.

Braden is 4 1/2 and loving his second year of preschool at our church. He loves to be the "leader" and sometimes thinks he's "in charge", but also has a wonderful soft side with a heart to give and help those who doesn't have all of the things he has. I can't say how many times he would starting packing up items from the refrigerator to take to the "people who were hungry" in New Orleans after the flood. He wanted to get in the car and go right then!! He is also on a soccer team...undefeated, thanks to his spanish-born teammate Emilio, who plays like a 10 year old. But he loves it. He is taking the role of big brother very well and loves to be my helper. He loves to play any sport, swim, ride his bike and play with Justin. They are inseperable. He enjoys to challenge himself and us...one day he told me he was making a cantilever, defined as an extension of a structure. I appreciated the definition!!!



Justin just turned 3 and has a wonderful personality. I often hear, " Like you or I will always love you, Mommy" just out of the blue. Many times he & Braden are mistaken for twins - Justin is on the large side (98%) for stature for his age. He has a very sensitive spirit, loves to hug and cuddle, yet very outgoing! His smirky smile grabs your heart like the best, especially as he wears his baseball caps backward! He's a character at heart! He is in gymnastics and is begging to go to preschool - maybe in January, when I can get used to the thought. He is an athlete ... plays baseball, soccer, basketball, golf, football...anything with a ball.

Kayla turned 1 July 24 and is taking a few steps. She's tall, but very thin...can't seem to get her to 20 pounds to turn that darn car seat around! She is a wonderful baby...rarely cries, loves to smile and laugh, loves her brothers and is very patient. She will no doubt have full brotherly protection in her preteen years! They like to treat her like a princess. We are so thankful that even through the complications surrounding the end of my pregnancy and her birth, that she is completely healthy. God is good. And I finally get to have some pink and dolls in the house...



I am enjoying being at home and blessed for being able to...considering working 1 day/week with a few hours from home again for the March of Dimes. They want me to transition out of running the big walk to doing some statewide projects/consulting for events. Sounds interesting enough to pursue...we'll see.

Kenji's new job is going well - he has a LOT more time at home in the evenings, but he misses the interaction with the kids. Maybe he just needs to help out at chuch with the youth or help coach a sport. All in all, a good move for him.

So those are really our updates from Cincinnati. Would love to see everyone some day. Thanks again Heather for setting this up. Once we have the major catching up done...I think it's be great to hear the small, yet important things going on in each other's lives.

Miss you all.

Sharon