Journal

Friday, May 16, 2008 2:49 AM CDT

It’s been quite some time since our last update. Although we visit the site each day as we log onto the Internet, we just have not updated as we should. We thank you all for your continued words of encouragement. Staying in touch continues to touch all of us in a very special way.

The past year surely passed by much too fast.

Tess, the puppy that Noelle picked out 17 days before she passed away, had her first, and only, litter of 11 puppies last summer. Van considers himself a bona-fied Vet Tech as he had had to help Tess deliver her last 4 puppies due to sheer exhaustion. All puppies were healthy and thrived very well with minimal support from bottle feedings. Gabrielle thought it was neat to be a part of the event. Nathan was away at a friend’s house during the birthing process. Of course, he does not feel any remorse about not being here as he would prefer to play his PS2 than see such “gross” stuff! We ended up losing one puppy on the day of their 5- week birthday as he was stung by a wasp and simply could not recover. The remaining puppies were all sold to fantastic families who will make each of them a part of a loving home. Needless to say, one litter of puppies is all our family could handle and so Mr. Bosley, Nathan’s dog, was fixed immediately after the last puppy went to her new home!

Nathan, now taller than I, is driving with his learner’s permit. He does a wonderful job on the road and is very careful to obey all of the rules… thus far. We cannot believe that he will get his Driver’s License this summer… where has the time gone?!?!

Nathan continues to love his school and is determined to live here until he graduates. He does very well with juggling sports, Scouts, and girls all while maintaining a very high GPA. This past February he was invited to participate in a state- wide math competition in which he came in 6th place overall. Pretty awesome! This week he received an invitation to spend a week in Washington D.C. sometime during the upcoming fall semester where he would see “Democracy in action.” He would have the opportunity to debate politics with our Nation’s leaders, visit with a college counselor, take an in- depth tour of Washington D.C., interact with other kids from around the nation, and participate in many other activities. Van and I are still contemplating whether or not to pursue this one. Of course, Nathan already filled out the application and wants our signatures so he can “have a more comprehensive experience in Washington D.C. than he did this past spring on his school trip.” Should he be an attorney, or what? Boy, Van and I never had such opportunities while growing up!

Although Nathan spent the last year on hiatus from Scouts, he finally filled out his Eagle workbook and submitted his idea for approval. His idea was approved from his Scoutmaster and sent to the Council for their approval. We expect the full process to take anywhere between 4- 6 more months until he’s finished with his Eagle project. Nathan switched over from Boy Scouts to Ventures back in January… mostly because all of his buddies transitioned over. Van and I really hope Nathan decides to stay in Ventures until he finishes high school. However, with other factors competing for his attention, we’re just not sure how much longer he’ll commit to Scouting after completing his Eagle project.

Gabrielle is so much fun and a bundle of energy. She truly keeps us our toes! (Kind of reminds us of Nathan when he was her age)! She is an "Everybody's Girl." She has such a loving personality to mix in with her strong will to accomplish whatever task is at hand. It is so funny to watch her play the “Damsel in Distress” card when Van is around. He just melts to the floor and is her “Knight in Shining Armor!” Back in January she began attending Nathan’s school in an attempt to simplify our lives a bit from running back and forth from her daycare to Nathan’s school. Van and I are really anxious to see if the change makes a difference in her health this coming fall. For the past two years, Gabrielle has been sick (literally) from the beginning of September until the end of December. She had ear tubes placed and her adenoids removed this past November in an attempt to give her some relief from so many ear infections and bouts with asthma… secondary to her ear infections. Since getting tubes, we are most grateful that her hearing has returned to normal after having dealt with a severe loss for quite some time. (The MD said that the only way she was hearing in her right ear was if someone was screaming in her ear). She is to have her hearing re- checked again in June to be sure she’s still hearing normally.

Van continues to commute back and forth to Greensboro each day for work. He still enjoys what he does and hopes to see some positive changes come this year! With me still being in school Van really does a lot with both children during the busy times... which seems to be from the day the semester starts until the day it ends! He’s really become a “Mr. Doubtfire”… well almost! He does pretty much everything except make the gourmet meals, dust, and wash clothes!

I am so excited to have the summer off from classes since I’ve gone full time for the past 2 ½ years. Being off from classes does not mean that I don’t have school responsibilities, though. It just means that I’m not responsible for turning in school- work, taking exams, etc. I’ll certainly take that! “Our” Graduation is slated for December of 2008! I never thought this day would come… and still struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel when so many sacrifices must be made. I just hope a job is open when it’s time to graduate because finding a job in December is going to be extremely difficult.

We continue to miss our Noelle and Nicholas endlessly. Gabrielle is becoming more and more aware of who they are and has talked about heaven quite a bit lately. Just the other day she asked me if she could go to heaven on July 17 to see them. She then said that she would stay in heaven to take care of baby Nicholas and send Noelle back to “you and Daddy.” Although her request was innocent enough, you could imagine how our hearts dropped when she made the request. Our advice for now was to let them visit in her dreams and enjoy their pictures, toys, etc. while we’re all here together. She prays for her brother and sister each night along with her special Great Aunt Annette who sadly passed away over the Christmas holiday. Although we immensely enjoyed having Uncle Bill (aka “Aunt Bill” Noelle once called him) here on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, there is no doubt that it would have been much more desirable to have him here under happier circumstances.

I guess that's it for now. We'll try to post another update, with recent photos from our summer adventures, before starting back to school in late August. Thank you again for visiting.

The Babers
Van, Wendy, Nathan, Gabrielle and Angels Noelle & Nicholas

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