The
Cole Family
2013 Annual Letter
Dear Friends,
We’ve lived in
Austin, Texas for almost four years now. Wesley will finish his doctorate in
chemical engineering at UT-Austin next summer. He has applied to multiple
professor positions—so who knows where or what we’ll be doing in the next year!
(For those interested, his work emphasizes energy systems, dynamic modeling,
and optimization.) He has been able to work with the 14-and-15-year-old Boy
Scouts almost the whole time we’ve been here—which means he’s enjoyed a lot of
camping, weekly activities, and mentoring young men. Thankfully I’ve been able
to stay home with our three darling, vocal boys, thoroughly savoring (and
growing from) our daily adventures. Levi turned four this year and began speech
therapy preschool. He loves it! His articulation has improved significantly
just since September. Lincoln, almost three, sweetly and mischievously takes
care of all of us; he’s happy as long as he has a screwdriver or a hammer
nearby. Keller, 14 months, changed from a baby to a little boy quickly—eager to
participate in explorations his brothers’ lead, walking, climbing, singing. We
love our life.
This year exploded with excitement from
the beginning. Here are some of the major highlights.
- After almost ten years, we met up Katai, my friend from Thailand. I wondered when we last parted in high school if we’d ever see each other again; now I have more hope. The boys loved her and tried to speak Thai for a few weeks following.
- We visited the Texas Military Museum. We all loved it, especially Wesley (picture at right).
- This summer we finally went to Austin’s famous Bat Bridge and saw the bats fly out across the river at dusk. The boys still watch for the bats when the sun sets.
- We bought a year pass to the Children’s Museum/Thinkery where we sort fake food, pretend to milk cows, throw golf balls, watch trains…
- Levi and Lincoln led the initiative to buy a “shovel for the boys.” We saved money, shopped, and purchased the perfect tool. Levi and Lincoln carried it all over The Colorado River Wildlife Reserve when we planted some trees with a group of Wesley’s colleagues (picture at left). I carried Keller who waits eagerly for his own shovel.
- In July we piled in our trusty van for a two and a half day trip across Texas, to Boise, down to Logan, then St. George, and back home to Austin. What a blast! We loved spending time with our siblings, parents, and grandparents, reacquainting cousins, and seeing those gorgeous mountains. We even stopped briefly at BYU, parking at the little house where we lived south of campus and walking up to the Clyde Building.
- Keller surprised us by doing quite well camping—even if it rained all night and the next morning!
- A few months ago we switched to cloth diapers. We’re not going back!
- One of my essays was published in the literary nonfiction journal Fourth Genre. It will be a long time before I write or publish for a while—but I’m pleased to have a little dream fulfilled with Fourth Genre.
- Wesley attended seven conferences in six months and worked diligently in general and specific. This semester he co-taught “Energy Technology and Policy” with his professor Dr. Edgar. All of this has confirmed that we made the right decision in coming to UT-Austin.
- Every month we were able to attend the temple in San Antonio. We are so glad to live close to a temple where we can worship and be more united with our family.
In between the major happenings are many
joyous small happenings that teach us to move forward one day at a time. We’re
learning to answer the “Oh. Why?”
questions—and we’re learning to think carefully before we answer. They often
gather around the piano, singing, playing, leading the music. Or they turn the
piano bench into a landfill, or a diving board, or a fire engine, or a hero
cave. Since we don’t have a TV, Wesley introduced the boys to some
media—including “Plants vs. Zombies”!—which means our imaginative play takes on
exciting twists. We play soccer, tennis, football, basketball, and a few games
they invent like “Ticky-tacky-toe” (no X’s or O’s involved) and “Flippy-Flop.”
We terrorize the poor library staff by parading in weekly and checking out a
shelf or two of books; yes, we’re the reason they recently enforced a book
limit of 50. Also thanks to the library, we’ve discovered puppet shows,
magnetic puzzles, story time, new music, and wonderful people.
Somehow each
day melts away in meals, outside, stories, rest, school, meetings, and family
time. Raising a family is really about all of us lifting each other and
forgiving when mistakes inevitably occur. The days and weeks and now year are
full of miracles and mayhem—we are grateful for both. The chaos and calm have
increased our awareness of how much Heavenly Father cares for us and that we
have worthwhile work to do.
Happy holidays.
Wesley, Cassie, J. Levi, Lincoln, and
Keller
2013 Favorite Books
Wes: The 7Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen Covey, The Lincoln Biographies by Carl Sandburg
Cassie: Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster
Cline and Jim Fay, When Women Were Birds
by Terry Tempest Williams, Bomb:
The Race to Build—and Steal—the
World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin
Boys: The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney,
Trains Go by Steve Light, The Three Billy Goats Gruff (named Levi,
Lincoln, and
Keller with Mom acting as Troll)
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