The Roberts Family
8053 US Highway 160, Walnut Shade, MO 65771
417-561-2074

December, 2004

Dear Friends and Family,

It is hard for me to believe that 2004 is coming to an end. Last winter never got really cold, so summer seemed early. Summer never got really hot, so I'm still waiting for fall. Fall came and went - along with lots of excitement for the Roberts family - and now we are hoping for a "real" winter with lots of SNOW.

Election Day was a big deal for us this year, as it always is. Jessica went with Scott, the boys went with me, and we had some great lessons on citizenship. We are determined to impress on the children the importance of informed voting. We all rejoiced at the outcomes, both locally and nationally.

Next up was the annual Veteran's Day Parade; one of my favorites. There's just something about standing on Main Street in a small town and waving and cheering as the veterans, flags, marching bands, and floats go by. It was raining this year, so I gave the kids the option of staying home. They all elected to go, and I think candy was the motivating force for only the youngest one, so that was also gratifying; the older three have a good understanding of what it's really all about.

Jessica's 13th birthday was also a major event. Being the eternally social creature that she is, even more than gifts, she wanted to spend time with her friends. Living in Walnut Shade, knowing people in Branson, and attending church in Springfield, with lots of people who live in other towns, Jessica's friends are far-flung, to say the least. We decided to have a pizza and bowling party for her after church on a Sunday. It would be safe to say that a LOT of socializing occurred and Jessica was thrilled. We then spent two-and-a-half hours shuttling all the girls back home, so it was party time for Jessica from 8:30 AM till 6:30 PM! It was a very full day of fun, and that was our goal.

It recently came to Scott's attention - probably when I sobbed that I simply couldn't get ANYTHING done any more - that it was time to off-load some of my house work, so I could focus on other things, like planning and managing the children's chores and academics. For years, our children have been doing a fair amount of housework, but the time had come to move to the next level. We had a family meeting (the kids never seem to like family meetings) and made some re-assignments. After two weeks, the results seem outstanding to Mom and a bit less than recreational to the kids. Katie has taken over making Dad's lunches, as well as making bread each evening. Jessica is learning to iron, and each girl is cooking supper one night a week. Josiah is filling all the med boxes and has taken over sweeping the stairs and halls and cleaning out the van. Andrew is doing his own laundry, and he's learning to take out the trash, which, in a non-recycling family of six, can be significant. I now have my sanity back, and Scott seems to like me better that way!

Katie continues to be invaluable as a computer support person and research consultant. I am forever asking her to help fix something on my computer or find me a piece of information. She has also worked very hard lately on a special project that has to do with an upcoming holiday, but that's all I can say about that. We don't actually see Katie a great deal. She spends a lot of time in her room with music on, but she is always willing to help with whatever needs to be done. She has finished her general science course (the crowd goes wild!) and is about to finish Algebra II. We are hoping she will soon be able to take some math CLEP tests and begin amassing some college credit.

All four children and I are now using a computer program to learn Spanish. The Rosetta Stone makes foreign language learning about as fun as it can be, with colorful pictures, point and click choices, and good auditory and visual feedback. Best of all, we can each work at our own pace, while the computer keeps track of who is where in the process and how each of us is doing. I thought it would be easiest to have all the kids learning the same language, and in the US, they're probably more likely to run into Hispanic foreigners than any others. It is duly noted that Jessica would much rather be studying Chinese. The funny thing is that I thought I would whiz through this Spanish, way ahead of the kids. After all, I had excellent grades in two years of high school French, one year of high school German, and one year of college Latin. The girls have also had some Spanish and are doing very well, as is to be expected. However, Josiah, who knows NOTHING about foreign languages, is passing me standing still (sigh). They are all passing me in height, and soon they will all pass me in knowledge, too. Even though that is the goal, shouldn't a mom be able to maintain a little supremacy somewhere?!?

I have enjoyed having more time to read, organize, and write, which are the things I do for recreation. I know I'm weird. Begin shameless plug. I am now writing a column called "Walnuts on My Windshield" almost every week for our family website. It's similar to these newsletters, but it's usually more in-depth about one or two things that are on my mind. Most of the time, it's kind of funny. The current one is found at http://www.teamroberts.org/md/walnuts.htm. Generally, my "Walnuts" writing is better than my newsletter writing, and Scott says no one sees it. Some of our newsletter friends enjoy reading this blurb, but because they seldom go to the website, I've been emailing it to them. If you would like to receive the "Walnuts" column by email, please let me know. End of shameless plug.
Scott is working fulltime for ANPAC, which he seems to enjoy and they seem to appreciate. He is also working a great deal on Mission China, and things are proceeding at a good clip. He will leave in January for a few weeks in China, and he has an opportunity to meet with some other folks who are using the same training tools, but on a MUCH larger scale; as in, they are impacting millions of Chinese believers. It will be exciting to see how God uses this trip and the folks who will be traveling with Scott.

As I write, Andrew is out back playing with a little friend. He is barefoot in the 50-degree weather, because he can't find his shoes. I have never understood why footwear is such a problem for our children, but at least they have all been consistent. He is one happy camper, as long as he gets what he wants! He loves to help me cook (last night he made pork chops and mashed the potatoes with the mixer), and he loves to use a computer. We had to put passwords on all our machines, because Andrew would sneak on, open programs and start using them. One day he managed to send individual chat messages to everyone in my chat log! Nothing gets past this guy. Today he pointed out that a letter I was typing was dated December 2, but that this is Friday (pointing at the calendar) "and so it's actually December 3, Mom." I thanked him and told him he'll make a great editor someday.

A few days ago, Andrew and Josiah were wrestling on our bed - without permission - and happened to break a "touch" lamp. Josiah managed to take the lamp apart and use parts from two other dead lamps to fashion one workable lamp with a standard switch. Pretty resourceful, and now they don't have to pay for the broken one! Josiah has also been asking questions lately, but I know that's not news. Recent examples: Does anything travel faster than light? How do hearing aids work? At what temperature does steel melt? If you drop melted steel on paper, will the paper catch on fire? How can there be temperature in space if there are no molecules out there? I guess those are just some of the simple questions that a homeschooling mom is supposed to be able to answer.

Here's a question I CAN answer: "What are you most thankful for this Christmas?" Answer: Jesus' birth, life, and death for us, and our friends and family!

We love you, appreciate you, and wish you a very merry, Jesus-centered Christmas!

Scott, Patty, Katie, Jessica, Josiah, and Andrew