Merry Christmas from the Provarts!
In our household, we have a firm rule that no decorations
are hung until after the boys’ birthdays are complete –John’s birthday is the 15th,
and we were very busy on the 16th, so today was the “hanging of the
greens” was this afternoon, the 17th of December. So, the tree is up, the stockings are hung
and even the presents are all bought and wrapped.
It’s given us the chance to reflect upon the year that we’ve
had. And it’s been a busy year.
Joshua had a few minor problems coping with his ADHD early
in the year, but a change to medication has turned him almost literally into a different
young man. He’s a sixth grader, and
still playing in the band. He’s
continued to be active in the Boy Scouts, and has earned the rank of 2nd
Class. He’s taking winter swim lessons
at the YMCA, hoping to complete his 1st Class Scout Requirements
before spring. Joshua spends his days
thinking of Minecraft, Pokémon, Legos and Baking. We see a future for him in engineering,
robotics, or culinary arts.
John’s continued in Scouting as well, earning the rank of
Star Scout (two below Eagle) at the end of the summer. He’s continued working with Cub Scouts as a
Den Chief – this year with one of the Chatham Cub Packs (mom and dad are
pleased his meetings are 5 minutes away instead of 25 minutes). John also decided to become an athlete this
year – throwing the Shot Put and Discus for the Glenwood Intermediate Titans. He’s a 7th grader, and officially
a teenager. His personal favorite
milestone of the year was back-to-school shoe-shopping, when he realized his
shoes are now the same size as dad’s.
As promised, the Illinois Counseling Association published
Karen’s 2nd paper in January.
She says she’s contemplating a third, but has a lot of research yet to
finish. In the meantime, she’s serving
both the Cub Pack where our boys attended and their current Scout Troop as
Chaplain. It’s been a fun adjustment to
Scouting, where her primary job is to advise the youth Chaplain’s Aide. Although she’s been able to coordinate the
teaching of God and Me for 1-3rd Graders and to teach God and Family
to 4-5th Graders and in is the midst of teaching God and Church to
6-8th graders. To Patrick’s
surprise, she’s spending some time this winter taking Outdoor Education classes
from the BSA curriculum, in order to camp with the Troop.
Patrick’s as busy as ever with Scouting – he’s transitioning
from a WEBELOS Leader at the pack where the boys were into serving as that pack’s
unit commissioner. A commissioner is an
advisor and trainer to adult leaders and he’s now working with two cub packs
(boys K-5th Grade) and two scout troops (boys 5th grade
through age 18), and continuing to serve as an Assistant Scoutmaster in the boys’
troop. Mid-year, however, that troop
changed – the original troop we had joined in Chatham is a great unit, with
wonderful leaders. But it was a poor fit
for Joshua and wasn’t accommodating to his ADHD, so we transferred down the
street to a troop with a much more highly structured program, and it seems to
have been very good for Joshua.
Karen’s been enjoying the boys increased involvement in
Scouting, to a point. It’s good for her
to have a “mom time” weekend from time-to-time with all the men out of the house.
. . but she’s also started to get lonely, so she joined us on a campout in
November.
Here’s hoping this letter finds you all well, and wishing
you a prosperous New Year and a Blessed Christmas.
John - Age 13
Joshua - Age 12
Pictures this year were taken on Kaskaskia Island, near the
first capitol of the State of Illinois.
John is 13, Joshua is 12 and Patrick and Karen are celebrating 14 years
of marriage.
Patrick, Karen, John and Joshua
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