Kenton Remodels The Master Bathroom / Travels To Wisconsin

Our tiny 1960s master bathroom needed a facelift, so Kenton took the task on of remodeling it. It was our least favorite room of the house, even though we've used it every day for the last six years. The floor was a mosaic of small square tiles in hues of blues, speckled grey-blue, and white. The walls and shower area had larger speckled grey-blue and white tiles with blue accent trim. The glazed white cast-iron tub was originally blue, and a couple of blue spots showed through some chipped glaze. Kenton used a sledgehammer to break up the cast-iron tub, and tear down the tile and drywall. He had to change some of the plumbing, because at one point of the remodeling, the whole bathroom got flooded. He also had to do some electrical rewiring. Now every time I go into the bathroom, I just have to smile. It is modern and bright. It took Kenton about 6 weeks to complete, and he did a wonderful job. Kenton takes a week-long business trip about once every six weeks. He has been to Madison, Wisconsin twice this year already. With each trip, he brings back some goodies for the boys and me. I just had to take a picture of one of the items he brought back from Wisconsin – too funny! It’s a small bag of chocolate panned peanuts. These Wisconsin ‘cow poops’ are delicious!

Germs, Viruses, and Sickness

For several months now, we have been dealing with some form of sickness or another. There were only 2-3 weeks total since the end of November where all five of us were well at the same time. In addition to sharing our love, we manage to share our germs very well. Justin and Brian both came down with pneumonia. Kenton had bronchitis, and I had vertigo. We all had the flu at one point or another – fevers, congestion, coughing, etc. We are so looking forward to warmer weather …

Brian stands in the snow at the back of the doctor's office Justin gets a chest x-ray taken at the hospital Justin poses by his x-ray result - he has pneumonia

Kevin's Lunch Recess

Kevin, Ethan and Jeremiah play in the snow during lunch recess at school The boys find water and melted snow coming from a gutter spout

A Typical Tuesday

In the morning, Justin has speech class with Mrs. Balin Justin loves that games are incorporated into the class In the afternoon, a playdate - the boys scooter-ride and run until they are exhausted The boys then play superheroes After a snack, the boys play Wii

Kevin Gets Letters From His Classmates

Kevin’s teacher had the students write letters to each other. Each week, the students would all write to one classmate. Each letter was to include: something they liked about that classmate, something positive they noticed about him/her, and something they hoped to do with him/her before the end of the year.

Kevin was the first person everyone wrote letters to. He was happy that “finally, I’m not the last one.” (Alphabetically, his name is last on the class roster, but the teacher started from the bottom.) Each letter was put in a colorful envelope that the students made themselves.

Here are the letters that his classmates wrote (dated January 14):

Dear Kevin:
You are a nice person. You are a good friend to everybody. Every time I play with you I have fun! Almost every time I look at you, you are reading. I wish you could come to my house.
- Ben

Dear Kevin:
You’re the nicest Kevin I’ve ever met. Kevin, you are really smart. Kevin, I hope we can go to a Redskins game.
- Tyler

Dear Kevin:
I think you’re really funny. I hope we can be friends because you’re smart, your nice, and really friendly. I really hope we can play legos at each others houses. You are a great friend.
- Timia

Dear Kevin:
You’re nice to your brothers. I also noticed that you like to read, and your AR scores are amazing! I hope to have more and more playdates. Do you have any things from China? I want to see them.
- Your friend, Jared

Dear Kevin:
You are very sweet and kind to other students. Your laugh makes me smile. You are a funny kid. I like you as a friend. I want to have a sleepover at your house before the end of the year.
- Jonas

Dear Kevin:
You are a good friend to me. I noticed that you’re a Chinese boy. I hope I can play Wii with you, and I hope I can spend the night at your house.
- Cameron

Dear Kevin:
You are so funny. I noticed that you like to read. I want to play legos with you before the year ends. You are so nice. You are a great friend.
- Your friend, Jordan

Dear Kevin:
You are a nice boy, and you are good at legos. Some day, I want to play with you at the pool in summer. You are a good reader, and you are funny, and you are sometimes angry.
- Sam

Dear Kevin:
You are a great kid! I like it how you don’t fool around and just work. I heard that you love to read. I love to read too. Can you teach me the game, the one that you boys play against girls?
- Your friend, Trisha

Dear Kevin:
You are nice. You like to play. You like to read, and I like that. You are a great person, and you are fast in your work. I hope I can play with you in free time at the end of the school year.
- Love, Jessica

Dear Kevin:
You are a very nice person. You are very smart, that I think you should be a scientist! I hope we can go to a restaurant, or you could come to my house, or I could come to your house.
- Your friend, Alayna

Dear Kevin:
Something I like about you is you’re very kind. Something positive about you is you make me happy. I hope we can have more sleepovers before the end of the year.
- Your friend, Ethan

Dear Kevin:
You are a nice person to the class. You make me laugh very, very much. I wish you have a playdate with you.
- Your friend, Ritesh

Dear Kevin:
Thank you for being a really, really great friend. Something positive I noticed about you is that you love to read, and you never get very mad at your friends. Sometime, I hope you can play legos with me.
- Love, Rachel

Dear Kevin:
I like that you are very creative, and I noticed that you take a lot of AR tests. And I hope my mom and your mom did not forget about the sleepover when we are eight!
- Your friend, Adrian

Dear Kevin:
Your think of the greatest ideas. You’re smart, nice, caring, funny, and amazing, and you come from China. I hope to do Chinese checkers with you.
- Love, Andrew
P.S. This note will explode in 1 second.

Dear Kevin:
You are a great and smart student. You like to read books. You are a great student. Your writing is good. You get As in your grades. You are a nice person. What I like about you is you don’t shout.
- From, Erwin

Dear Kevin:
You’re a fun and funny kid. I noticed that you like to play with legos. I want to play my computer game, Need For Speed, before the year ends.
- Love your pal, Nick
P.S. We can play with my model cars and my basketball hoop.

Dear Kevin:
Something I like about you is that you like to play your Wii by yourself. Something positive I’ve noticed about you is you L.O.V.E. to read. I think you’re acting like Ben Carson. I hope to play legos with you more before school is over.
- Sincerely, Hannah

Dear Kevin:
I want to have a playdate with you. Kevin, you are a smart kid, and I want to be smart like you. But let’s play next time on Friday outside in recess. I want to run fast.
- Your best friend, Hector

Dear Kevin:
You are good with legos. You are a good reader. Kevin, I hope to be on your team before the year ends.
- From your friend, Zuriel

Dear Kevin:
You are a very funny person. You are helpful to people. Something I noticed about you is you love to play with legos. I hope to play Transformers with you at the end of the year. Have a Happy New Year!
- Your friend, Jeremiah

Dear Kevin:
You are an intelligent boy and nice to everyone. Everyone want to be your friend. I hope to have more playdates with you.
- Your friend, Emily

Dear Kevin:
You are a wonderful person. What I like about you is that you are a very helpful kid when I need you. Kevin, you are a very caring person to everyone when they need you. I hope we can play Twister. I hope you have a great time on vacation!
- Sincerely, Angie

Dear Kevin:
You are a great student! I love how you know exactly what to do in class. I appreciate how you get your work done without any fooling around. Something positive that I notice about you is that you love to read. Reading is making you smart! I hope you continue to read for fun forever! Something I want to do this year with you before the year ends is to go out to eat with you at an Asian restaurant.
- Love, Mrs. Paradis

KEVIN GETS A LETTER FROM THE PRINCIPAL

When everyone in the class is writing a letter to a particular student, that student is to write a letter to the school principal. Here is the letter that Kevin received in reply:

Dear Kevin:
Thank you for the letter you wrote me yesterday. Now that I know you would like to do math drills with me, I will ask Mrs. Paradis if I can join your class during math drills. The question you asked me showed me that you are very observant. I was surprised to hear you say that you tried doing your math drill from the bottom up. I hope you had a good day today at school. See you tomorrow.
- Love, Miss Pega

Carpenter Award in Adventurers Club

Kevin learns about carpentry in Adventurers Club. He chooses to make a wooden rocket.

Kevin's Razor Electric Scooter

We gave Kevin a late Christmas present yesterday - a Razor electric scooter. He had to charge it overnight before being able to ride it. Kevin loves his new scooter so much - he just had to do a night ride

New Life SDA Church

Kevin, Brian, and I went to visit New Life SDA Church one Sabbath - the gospel songs were full of both energetic praise and reverent worship Kevin and Brian in the New Life mother's room area

First Playdate of 2008

The boys' first playdate of the year The weather is unusually warm Group swing

Duck Pin Bowling

Our first family activity of the year was duck pin bowling. This was Brian’s first time bowling (with the exception of Wii bowling). He absolutely loved it! Brian's stance with each roll of the bowling ball Brian happy with his 'throw' Kevin pushes the button to reset the pins for his brothers Justin gets ready to throw the bowling ball Justin says, "I'm going to get a strike, Mama!"