The Halseth Family Highlights of 2008

Joshua: (11/9/07) We can’t believe that our sweet baby boy has already turned one! After a few health concerns as a newborn, Joshua is healthy as can be. He loves to walk and climb. He watches if anyone should happen to leave the gate open and then he takes off up the stairs – just to scare Mommy perhaps… His favorite activity is playing “What drawer or cupboard can I get into next?” Honestly though, a toilet works just fine to play in as well! He is good natured and finds great glee in being entertained by his older brother and sister.

Abby: (6/3/04) Adorable ABBY is sweet as can be. She is in her second year of preschool two mornings a week and loves it. Mommy sometimes needs to protect baby Josh from all of Abby’s nurturing love because she really loves babies. She had a Princess “Cinderella” 4th birthday party, and dressed up as Princess “Belle” for Halloween. She spends a lot of time making artistic pictures of princesses, dressing her babies like princesses, wearing princess jewelry, and twirling in princess costumes. If she could have it her way—the whole world would be pink! Abby loves to sing and is full of animated stories!

Nathan: (10/18/02) NATHAN enjoys kindergarten and seems to thrive in anything academic. He is full of questions, and we sometimes need to do our own research in order find answers to his good questions. He is a very verbal child and even performed in the teenagers talent show on Daddy’s summer team as a teller of “knock-knock” jokes! He can climb a tree much higher than Mommy is comfortable with and enjoys exploring in the woods. He knows Friday is allowance day and also earns extra dimes by helping all the chores. He remains very social and loves to have friends over to play.

Jenni: Jenni spent a lot of time this year trying to “settle” the house - maybe it is her new hobby?! After spending much time the past few years having babies, and moving – a bit of accumulation has built up! We have happily become strong supporters of the local charity donation bin. Jenni enjoys being involved with a community Bible study called Moms In-Depth. If free time can be found, Jenni loves going on walks, going on dates with Matt, reading, and hot bubble baths. She loved a fall weekend away at a Mom’s conference, “Hearts at Home.”

Matt: Matt gained the admiration of many and became a regular Winter Super Hero in February. He and his friend cross-country skied deep into the northern Minnesota wilderness for an winter camping/ice fishing trip. (Jenni is glad he has someone else to go with him). Matt enjoys being involved with the youth group, meeting with men in a weekly bible study, listening to sermons/books on his MP3 player and spending his free time in the outdoors. This fall Matt went hunting for the first time in several years and bagged a 6 point buck to fill the Halseth freezer with venison! Way to go Matt!

Vacation: Mommy declined a week of fun camping in August in order to clean the house! She must be getting too old to have so much fun anymore :-) But we did manage to take two short overnight trips to a great mid-week deal in a Duluth, MN water-park hotel. We also joined Matt’s family camping over Labor Day Weekend which was tons of fun!

The Animals: Our dog Bailey is still with us, and always great with the kids...though getting less robust in her old age. This year we also gained two new cats, affectionately named Daisy and Tiger (not pictured). Their primary job is to help ward off the garage mice who had built a nest in Matt’s rain boot and under the hood of the van!