Christmas Letter 2012

Well, it is time to get this blog back on track. Today will just be our Christmas newsletter. The future will have more information about us on a regular basis.

Merry Christmas!! Once again it is time to write our annual Christmas letter. This year, the letter will focus on one member at a time so you can read all about them without interruption. I will start from the youngest to the oldest.

Oreo

In January we adopted yet our third girl. This one is the 4-legged kind. We wanted to get a family pet who we could train to become a service dog for Sofi by providing her with a special friend. Oreo is a mixed breed of dog that is primarily pointer, but who knows what else. She is a perfect dog for our family. From the beginning she only wanted to be with us not in a cage. Her first night, she slept on the floor next to Jaynee and I and didn’t make a peep. She came to us potty trained, a knack for children, and extremely quiet. After getting her used to us, we started her obedience training. 4 classes, 3 different trainers, and 1 big test later, Oreo passed her Canine Good Citizen test which allows us to begin specialized training and the ability to take her anywhere we go as long as she is working as a service dog. Oreo’s work has included wondering throughout parts of the National Mall, going on vacation and participating in just about everything we did except for time at a water park, visiting several local shopping centers, and visiting some of our favorite restaurants.

Oreo’s most enjoyable experiences over the past year (not counting being adopted) include a couple of trips to see her friend Buddy in Missouri, having her friend Belle from Idaho visit twice, helping dog sit two other friends over a long weekend, running at the dog park, and enjoying long naps out in the grass on warm days.

Oreo’s future plans include more trips and activities with the family, going on more vacations, and additional training specifically on how to be a therapy service dog.

Emma

Having 2 girls only 3 months apart in age can be very difficult to separate when speaking about their accomplishments and the key events they participated in over the last year. Moving to Virginia has been a blessing for Emma. She is so much closer to the love of her life, airplanes. In fact her favorite museum to visit is the National Air & Space Museum located at Dulles Airport. This is not the Air & Space museum located on the National Mall. This museum is larger and cooler museum. She has loved it so much that she is the only Lorenz to see it 2 times this year.

Emma has loved the moving plan we had. She got to spend 1 month in Missouri with her grandma and got to see nearly all of her Lorenz cousins. She loved playing with them all. She seemed to attach herself to anyone who would let her play with them; even with her Goold cousins who came for a visit. We could get her to do anything (except eat anything but her normal food items) by pointing out that her cousins were doing something. She would drop everything to copy them.

Emma can be rather funny when it comes to physical exercise. When she wants to do something the only way to stop her is to drain her energy levels completely. Otherwise, when she doesn’t want to do something, she may try it for a little bit, but always ends up saying she is too tired to finish it and request that someone pick her up and carry her. This can be very frustrating and tiring at times. However, it is rather funny recently because we got the girls some new bikes. They simply love them. It they could, they would be on their bikes 24/7. We usually time their bike rides so that there is something big that they want to participate in to help get them down from their bikes. Emma was so cute when she helped pick out her bike. She must have rode around 40 laps within the bike store trying out her bike. When we got it home she continued to ride for the next hour. I ran most of the time that she rode just to stay up with her.

Sofia

Sofia has had unique year. This has been a rough year for her. Sofi’s biggest struggle this year has been the moves. It was really hard for her to move from our home in Augusta, GA to a compacted townhome in Alexandra, VA and then finally to a normal sized home onto Fort Belvoir, VA. Sofi loved spending time with Grandma Lorenz during the first move, and really didn’t like the fact that she had to leave. She loved playing with her cousins, spending time with grandma, and having a routine that included taking daily walks to get the mail and helping make meals for everyone there.

Sofi has mixed feelings about moving to Virginia. She loves some of the local attractions and some she does not like. She loves the methods of local travel, Metro, bus, taxi, train, etc. She dislikes the long lines because of the number of people everywhere. She loves the shopping experience such as a two-story target that has an escalator for the shopping cart. She hates that my favorite word when we shop is “No” followed closely by “We will see”. She loves the many beautiful parks. Her favorite is nicknamed the Rainbow Park. I can’t remember the name of it, but it is rated as one of the top 5 parks in the nation every year. She hates the national zoo because there are no giraffes.

Sofi’s love/hate relationship also includes Oreo. She loves and wants Oreo to travel everywhere with us, but hates the work that is required on her part to have Oreo travel. Sofi must walk Oreo. Either she can hold onto a special soft handle or wear a vest which enables her to be tethered to Oreo. This cramps her style of trying to wonder off and look at the things she wants to. At least she wants Oreo there with her. The rest will just take time and practice for her to get accustomed to taking Oreo everywhere.

Sofi finally got her wish this year. She has wanted for the longest time to go to school. She longed to ride a bus to school and do whatever happens at school. We were able to get her and Emma into a part-time pre-k. They go to class 2 days a week for 3 hours at a time. It has been wonderful. They have played hard, worked hard, learned that school involved work, and enjoyed coming home and applying what they have learned. The girls learned how to do basic math on their own. It is rather humbling when they ask simple math questions and know instantly when I give them the wrong answer. It is also humbling to ask them for an answer and to hear them talk out how they get their answer. They are very brilliant. There is not a thing that Sofi hears that she forgets. We have to be very careful what we say around her, or we generally have to pay for it later.

Lee

I have had a lot on my plate. I worked hard in my Army networking class (FA24). It was a really tough class and I was able to finish with a 93% overall average and finished in the middle of the class. It was very fun and rewarding. Finally, about half way through the course I got orders that did not include the word Georgia. After nearly 8 years in the Army I would finally be stationed outside the state of Georgia. We initially thought it was going to be Hawaii, then Arizona, then Maryland, but finally it turned out to be Virginia. This move would also require the assistance of the Army to have our stuff moved. I was not going to load up a van with the contents of a 3300 square foot home, especially with all the heavy stuff on the 2nd floor. Got to love those movers.

As a reward for completing my Master’s degree, leaving Georgia, completing the FA24 course and some other minor challenges, I was rewarded with a very nice mountain bike. I love running, but I have not been the same since my knee surgery 2 years ago. I can run for about 10 minutes before I start to feel pain in my knee. It doesn’t matter how fast I run or the surface I am running on, the result is the same, pain at about the 10 minute mark. I have opted to move onto another sport to maintain my fitness. Trying to balance my new position, getting the girls squared away with appointments and school, moving, and the weather has made it a little difficult to ride as often as I would like, but I am still managing. I even convinced Jaynee to join me for 2 rides, her riding my older bike. She survived and did quite well regardless of what she says. I am looking forward to beginning the new year (spring) off by trying to really learn my new sport and seeing what I am capable of doing. Look for a paragraph about it in next year’s Christmas letter.

Jaynee

Moving was a little bittersweet for Jaynee. She got her dream of moving to another state. She was hoping for something a little more westward. Well, Virginia is not Georgia, and it is not westward. The other aspect to the move is leaving our home behind. The economy is not well enough to sell it so it is currently being rented. It has been difficult for Jaynee to adjust to a new home of 1500 and 2000 square feet compared to her luxurious 3300 in Georgia.

Jaynee has been struggling with Virginia. You may not understand what I am saying so I will put it in a different set of words “Jaynee vs. Virginia”. The first time we came to Virginia as a family was the day after Hurricane Irena swept through the state last year. Since we have moved to Virginia, Jaynee has had to deal with a wind storm that knocked out our power for 4 days and the generator in storage, traffic, getting lost, another hurricane – Sandy, and not to mention all the little things that she must accomplish such as the girls medical appointments and the headaches she has received as a result.

Jaynee does love the area attractions. It is hard to say what her favorite is. She has loved visiting the following locations: National Museums, Battlefield sites (Civil War battle of Bull Run), the kid parks, visiting the national mall, Mount Vernon (home of George Washington), our family vacation to Massenutten, VA, going to the sensor friendly movies that are offered monthly at several locations, the marriage retreat to Maryland, seeing historic Annapolis and the Naval Academy, having her mom visit 2 times and her first sibling to visit her since we have joined the Army. Jaynee is making the most of her time her, and don’t let my writings fool you. She really does love it here and is really looking forward to the holidays, the winter, and the rest of the adventures that we will be a part of for the next 2-3 years.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from all of us (Oreo, Emma, Sofia, Lee & Jaynee).

October Events

I am still playing catch up but I am getting closer. October was another busy month. With Lee very involved in his final project for his Masters Degree as well as in, as Lee puts it, "The hardest technical school in the Army," we have still managed to have an activity almost every weekend. This has been a hard semester because Lee has spent so much time in schools, both day and night so most of Saturday was spent with the girls.

We started out the month with going to a County Emergency Preparedness Fair. We were able to gain a lot of helpful and good information to prepare ourselves for emergencies. We do have our 72 hour kits and food storage, but it is still nice to learn more that we can do. The girls had fun looking at all the fire trucks and emergency response vehicles.

Emma did not want her picture taken but the girls looked too cute not to take pictures of them. These are shirts that they got as gifts at Lee's Change of Command Ceremony in September.

I really love Sofi's smile. She is growing up to be a cute little girl, no more toddler in her at all.

We then went to the local air show, it was a small one but it was still fun. This was definitely Emma's favorite. She has always loved airplanes and had a great time there watching them fly. It was pretty windy that day and the sun was bright. Unfortunately I didn't get good pictures of the girls. Sofi had a hard time with the noise and the people but I think that she enjoyed herself. It was good experience for her.




The third weekend in October we went to Steed's Dairy Farm which is a local farm with a corn maze and play areas for the girls. They both had a great time. Sofi's favorite part was the corn pit. Instead of a sand box they had boxes filled with dry corn and she enjoyed the sensory stimulation. They also have a huge tube slide and the girls loved going down that. They went on a pony ride, the zip line and saw the animals on the farm.
Emma in her airplane!!
Sofi discovering cotton.
Sofi jumping off the big pillow instead of on top of it.
Emma being a jumping bean.

Corn Box that the girls loved.

Sofi did really like the zip line you just couldn't see it on her face.
Tower Slide.

Of course we had trick-or-treating on the military installation on Friday as well as trunk-or-treat at church then trick-or-treat around the neighborhood on Monday. The girls got more than enough candy to last several months.
The "Charming Witch and the Good Witch"


It has been a busy month but we added in a lot of family fun as well.

Columbia, SC Zoo in September

One of the girls favorite things to do is go to the Zoo. Before Lee started his crazy class schedule (doing his final class for his Masters Degree and going to the hardest technical school in the Army) we decided to take the girls to the zoo. This one isn't very big but the girls had a fun day trip out of it.

Both girls wanted to ride the baby elephant.

Emma did not want her picture taken on the Tiger

Sofi wouldn't let go!!!

Sofi was trying to feed the goat but was scared her finger would get eaten too.

I just thought this picture was cute of Sofi posing.

The girls loved getting close to the giraffe but I didn't get a good picture of them feeding them. They were both having a great time.

Williamsburg VA Trip

It has been so long since I have posted but we have kept very busy and active. To finish the month of August up we went to Williamsburg, VA for a little last minute vacation before Lee started school. It was an interesting experience. We ended up leaving to head up north the day after hurricane Irene hit the cost. It was very interesting to see some of the damage that a storm like that can do. What was even stranger was to see so many places without power and rest areas closed due to no power (which isn't always good with 3 year olds who don't understand that they can't use the potty there). Once we got to our hotel the power had just barely turned on but most of the town was still without power. We had to find a place that was open to eat. Then because of the storm the old town was closed so we just walked around to see some of the sites.

This is just one example of the trees that we saw all around town.

The girls had to have their leaves on our little walk and they were not in short supply. Everywhere you turned there were limbs and leaves down on the ground.



The girls having a break after their walk around Williamsburg. We were able to walk to the historic area from our hotel and they wanted to run. I can't blame them after our 8 hour drive there.

Then they had to get back in the stroller because they were tired.


The next day we tried to go to Yorktown and Jamestown. Yorktown only had 1 museum open but the town was pretty much deserted still and without power. Jamestown we couldn't even get to due to the trees still being in the middle of the road. We just took some scenic drives where we could and enjoyed being together. That night we went to find someplace to eat and because everyone was starting to come home and many places still without power the restaurants that were open were packed it was a 2-3 hour wait. So we went to a drug store to find some food to microwave and they were all wiped out on the shelves. All I could get was raman noodles to mac and cheese to heat up and eat. It was a quite an experience.


Tuesday Busch Gardens was fully operational and we were excited about that. They have Sesame Street area for the kids and Sofi was in heaven. She loved all the rides, Emma didn't like it as much. In each area there were little kids rides and once Emma started to see that Sofi was having fun she joined in and had a blast. We did take them on the log flume ride and neither one of the girls were up to that one they were both mad at us after that. I was surprised at how long they lasted and then they slept for about 4 hours as we headed back home.


Sofi looks like she is scared but she is actually having fun. It is an Elmo ride that goes up and down just for the little ones.


The was the first ride that Emma actually wanted to go on but she had to do it with Sofi. They were both so excited and Sofi was being the little mom telling Emma it was ok and they had a great time from that point on.

This was Emma's favorite ride but I couldn't get a good picture of her.

July and August Update

July was a very busy month. We ended up driving over 5000 miles across country to see our family. It was a very quick trip and a lot of driving. I know that we weren't able to see all those that we wanted too and we apologize for that. We just have too many people that we wanted to see and not enough time to see them.

We started our trip driving 17 hours to Kansas to see Lee's brother Dennis and his family for a couple of days. Even got to see Uncle Dennis's helicopter. The girls love it and now every helicopter that they see they think it is Uncle Dennis. We also went to a gymnastics facility where they had an open gym. At 104 degrees outside the activities were limited.

All the kids outside in pajamas waiting for Uncle Dennis.


Uncle Dennis flying by. YEAH!!!


This is Emma in the "Pit of Foam" at the gym.


This is Sofi swinging on the bar, we couldn't get her off it.

Then off to our friends Susanna and Aaron in Colorado (only for one night) then to Salt Lake City. We stayed with Jaynee's Grandma and did all of our running around that area. We haven't been back for about 2 years so it was really good. None of our extended family or friends had seen Sofi yet so it was fun to show off both the girls.

We spent a lot of time at parks and the girls also spent a lot of time throwing dirt on each other, especially after a day of traveling and visiting.

We had so much fun visiting with all the family and friends that we could squeeze in but the best is spending time with the grandparents and great grandparents. Jaynee even got a 4 generation picture with her grandma and mother.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Stewart


Jaynee, Great Grandma Andersen and Grandma Goold


Then off to Albuquerque for Jaynee's family reunion. It was so much fun we had all 4 families plus grandma and grandpa staying at Jaynee's brother's house. A house with 11 children with a majority of them between the ages of 5 and 11 months was crazy but it was really fun. Everyone got along great and had a blast. We did so many activities together and took so many pictures it is hard to pick just a couple but these are a couple of my favorite.


Emma at the children's garden in a giant egg.


Sofi at the children's museum


We then drove to Lee's parents house Missouri and back home. A lot of driving and crazy times but well worth it. Although we don't think that we are going to make that trip anytime soon.

August has been spent getting back into a routine. Sofi is back into therapy. She is now in swim therapy and doing great. They are working with getting her to put her head under water because that is a big sensory problem with many children with sensory processing disorder. Jaynee is doing preschool at home with the girls. They have school everyday learning letters, numbers, and some other fun things like animals. They always do a fun activity and have a snack that goes along with that days theme. Lee has been working with his replacement and preparing for his change of command in September. It will be nice to have that phase of his career over. It has been good but we are glad it is finished.

Update for May and June

I can't believe June is almost over. It has been crazy around here and we have stayed very busy. It seems like every weekend we have been busy doing something. May 14-15 we went up to Great Wolfe Lodge in North Carolina. It is a very expensive resort and has an indoor water park. The was a Marriage Retreat sponsored by the military so all we had to pay for was to get up there and 3 meals. We got lodging and 3 meals paid for. I think that is the only way that we could go up there. It was fun. Sofi was scared of the water. This was the first time that we had taken her to a water park and she didn't like it too much she would rather sit and watch what the people. The girls were just excited to be staying in a hotel. They had child care for the girls while we were in our classes during the day then the evenings we were able to play in the water park. They also had a story time and clock that had puppets and music. It was a great program and the girls really liked that.

This is at the enterance of the Lodge and Emma is showing us the Bear!

Sofi having her new wolf give the bear loves, and Emma just being grumpy for pictures.

Sofi's turn to give bear loves!

Two Friends not wanting to smile standing in front of the clock tower, they were so tired from the swimming they had done earlier we were trying to keep them awake for the story time that was starting a little later.

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May 20th was Combat Spouse Day where I (Jaynee) got to play soldier. I participated last year as well. It is a lot of fun. I get to learn how to clear a building, learn about the equipment the communications soldiers use, get rolled over in a simulated Humvee, play a simulated turkey shoot with the M4, and do a liter carry. I forgot to mention I had on Lee's uniform plus the vest (without plates) and kevlar helmet. They paid for child care for the kids and lunch for us. It was really hot hotside especially with all the equipment on, I don't know how they do it in Iraq. It was fun to learn and play with the equipment. If I screwed up I didn't have to do push-ups, just got laughed at by the instructors. I think that they had more fun watching a bunch of women trying to be soldiers.