The Family..

Since many of you haven't seen my children in years, I thought I'd share a bit about them.

Aidan has really flourished this year. He is doing well in school after a very rough start. He is now a leader in his morning class and assists the other children. His teachers are very impressed with his kindness and patience as he explains things to the other kids and helps them figure things out in the same way that the teachers taught him. Actually, his teacher said it was a little scary to hear him telling a child, "mm..mm..my. what letter does that start with?" and "You know this, I know you do." He is very interested in science, so his teacher actually changed the curriculum to add more science. He is also very proud to be a big brother. At his last parent teacher conference I was able to see his journal and every entry was about him, Ryan and Mara. The themes were things like "what are you thankful for?" He wrote he was thankful for Mom. Then, "what makes you happy?" He wrote "I am happy for Mara." He then drew a picture of Mara with a princess crown on her head because she is our princess. I can't believe how fast he's growing up, but I am proud of the person he is becoming.

Ryan has finally potty trained...for the most part. He still has issues with actually stopping what he's doing and getting there in time, but that will come in time I'm sure. Ryan's favorite passtime these days seems to be climbing. I watched him climb up the side of the swingset, drop down and catch the bar on the way down. He spent the entire day out doing that stuff today. He said, "I have to practice." I asked what he was practicing for and from what I can put together, he plans to be in a circus of some sort. We did just see Cirque du Soleil at Disneyworld so perhaps that was his inspiration.

Mara simply charms everyone she meets. She is 4 months old now and doing all the adorable baby things such as laughing, cooing and playing. She has finally succeeded in wrapping Daddy around her little finger, though Mommy reigns supreme...for now anyway. Both boys love her intensely and are very protective of her. I have turned around to find her gone on more than one occaision as Aidan has absconded with her. The two of them seem to have a very special bond.

Ammon just started a new route in the Oxford area. We are very excited as this gets him out of Dayton's west side and into a safe area. He is happy because with the new route came a new truck with air conditioning, automatic windows and even a cd player.

And of course there's me. Still rolling along here. Most of my life revolves around the above mentioned, but I wouldn't trade this for the world.

Pictures

Mealtime as a child...

When growing up did your family eat in the kitchen or the dining room? Did everyone have a special place to sit?

When we lived in the little house in Union, my family ate in the kitchen. There was no dining room. We only had three children in the family at that time. My two brothers sat at each end of the table, my parents sat side by side at one of the long sides and I sat across from them. This was primarily done so that we kids couldn't pester each other very easily. You see, my dad made the kitchen table out of an old church pew. There were only two legs, one on each end, that were "v-shaped" for lack of a better description. This created a perfect barrier against kicking feet....hence the reason each boy sat on an end. They were pretty creative with annoying each other under the table, but the innovative design of the legs on that table brought much of that to a screaching hault.

When I was in high school, we moved to the house where my parents currently live. This house does indeed have a dining room and my sister, Caitlin, joined the bunch. The church pew table resides in the kitchen and is still used for breakfast and lunch, but the dinner required a larger table. Never fear, my dad had a solution. If you lift up the nice table linens on my parents' dining table, you will find that the table is in fact an unfinished door panel that is laid down with a rectangular finished piece of wood at each end for legs. Our seating arrangement was a bit different at this table. My dad sat at the head, to his right was my sister Caitlin, followed by my mother. At the end was my youngest brother, Josh. Justin sat to the right of Josh and I sat on his right. It's kind of funny now when we all go back for family dinners with spouses and children. We always make our way to our old spots. This was particularly fun to watch when I was very pregnant and trying to sqeeze between my dad and the hutch to get to "my spot."

Our family dinners probably looked charming to anyone who may have peeked through the window. All the children and parents seated together, a blessing said over the meal, and plenty of meat, potatoes, bread and milk for everyone. But any of you who have actually eaten a meal at the Yantis home know that the conversation is what shows our true colors. Quotes from the "Bob and Tom morning show" are always a great way to start dinner. Then of course you get the outrageous stories of stupidity seen by my father and brother at work. And finally, the jokes and commentary made up by my dad and brother about the stupid things they see at work really get the laughs going. Before long, the entire family has either joined in on the jokes or are laughing too hard to speak. Dinner just didn't feel complete until someone spewed milk out their nose. That someone was me on more than one occaision. I remember all too well the sudden uncontrollable laugh while taking a drink of milk and trying to contain it...all the while my two brothers would chant, "spew, spew, spew." If the spew did happen, everyone got a laugh, if it didn't, it was seen as a lucky break and a silent plot to get someone else would quickly ensue. Ah yes, the nostalgic memories of dinner with my family.