Campos Christmas 2009

 

We hope that this letter finds you well.  This year has been very exciting for us and we have much to share with you.  We have expanded our animal family, inside and outside of the house.  We took in two new cats, Tommy, a 17-year-old Hemingway tabby and Marlowe a Ragdoll kitten to keep Cesar and Rex company.  Cleo got a new playmate too.  Blade is a very playful German Shepard puppy.  Our goat herd expanded after our two does gave birth.  Reece’s baby is now part of a high school agriculture training program.  She is pregnant again and we anxiously await her new kid.  Nube’s first baby was stillborn, but we milked her for months and enjoyed the fresh goat milk.  Nube just gave birth to her second baby at the end of October.  We have some new birds to add to our White Leghorn brood.  Three Polish Crested chicks have been growing quickly in their own little coop.

Sofia is now two and loves all the things her brothers do.  She likes to jump on the trampoline with them, play soccer and baseball, color, use play dough and talk to relatives on the phone.  However, when she gets her hands on “little girl” things, she glows.  She likes to take care of her baby doll, wear jewelry and go shoe shopping.  Her newest passion is telling knock-knock jokes, which she makes up on the spot.

Sebastian will turn 5 in January.  He is in pre-school and feels very grown-up taking the bus.  This year he played t-ball with the Knights of Columbus (K of C) league for the first time and excelled at it.  He was the MVP on his school team.  He wants to be like his big brother and play baseball so that he can hit pitched balls.  Over the summer he took swimming lessons and jumped off the diving board without any assistance.  This fall, Sebastian also played soccer with the K of C, on a team that Carlos’ father patiently coached.  He scored his very first goal.  He also makes an excellent goalie and defensive player and had a fabulous first season. 

Xavier turns 8 in February.  He is in second grade and says it is the best grade yet.  He participates in 4-H and entered one of our chickens in the county fair.  She won a blue ribbon for her class and breed.  In his spare time, he always has his nose in a book.  He played baseball in the spring with the K of C.  He really improved since last year and enjoyed the game on a much higher level.  During the summer he also took swimming lessons and is not afraid of the diving board, but always holds his nose.  Again, Carlos coached Xavier’s K of C soccer team.  We were all very excited to see him score two goals this season.  His baby teeth have been falling out and he always awaits the tooth fairy with much anticipation.

Lisa has been keeping busy with the kids, Investigation Station—the traveling children’s museum she founded, Xavier’s school and the church choir.  She was milking Nube twice a day, pasteurizing the milk and even making goat cheese when there was more milk than Carlos and the kids could drink, until Nube was pregnant again.  Investigation Station has taken a big step in terms of its volunteer base.  Board meetings are held on a monthly basis and recognition throughout the community is increasing.

Carlos has closed a chapter in his professional life and is writing a new one.  In July he left his previous hospital and is working on opening his own animal hospital, San Francis Veterinary Hospital.  He’s been enjoying his spare time with the family and volunteering.  This summer we took two weeks and he drove the family all the way up to Pennsylvania and back, stopping to see friends, big cities and numerous sights along the way.  Carlos has found his favorite method of shopping, E-Bay.  This summer he found a bargain that he could not pass up, an enormous movie screen to replace the old bed sheet we had been using to show movies outside.

 

God bless you in 2010,

 

Carlos, Lisa, Xavier, Sebastian and Sofia Campos