Family Update

I'd like to start off by thanking Janae for reading and posting on my blog. I’d also like to tell her that while I appreciate her request for pictures, I write this blog from work and don't typically have access to our photo database. However, I will copy all of our pictures onto my USB hard drive and will add some in future posts. In the mean time, please enjoy the random pictures arbitrarily posted throughout today's blog.



Things are going pretty well for the East Coast branch of the Ashton clan. Kästlee starts swimming next month and can’t wait for Memorial Day when the pools open. She is an absolute joy to Melinda and me and is growing into a lovely young woman; most of the time, anyway. Over the last year she’s begun adolescence and it’s come on with a vengeance. She turns 12 next week and I admit that I feel great anxiety over a number of issues related to the changes she’s experiencing. I’ve decided that it’s impossible to effectively prepare for your first bout with puberty. Fortunately, aside from the annoying habits of talking under her breath, questioning everything, and trying to parent Maddie and Joseph she is handling things admirably. She is a wonderful girl with a wonderful personality and we’re constantly surprised at how much more we love her (and Maddie and Joseph as well) each day.

Madalynn started soccer 3 weeks ago and loves playing. Her team is currently an impressive 0-2 and seems to have what it takes to keep the streak alive. Last week she played goalie and, after allowing two goals, began to show dramatic improvement. I’m always a little surprised by how quickly kids that age (10 yrs-old) seem to develop their skills and Maddie is no exception. She’s learning to dribble, pass, anticipate where the play is going, and to increase her level of effort. She’s having a wonderful time and is quickly become one of the best players on her team. We’re incredibly proud of her. Like her sister, she too is both a joy and a challenge, particularly as she has recently begun to blossom herself.



Joseph is at the same time a holy terror and an adorable, kindhearted, wonderful little boy. I’m endlessly fascinated by the dichotomy. For example, yesterday when I came home from work he sprinted toward me and the jumped into my arms, ecstatic to see me. Then, as he sat on my bed while I changed my clothes, we spent several minutes talking about his day. He was wonderful. He was happy. The smiles on his face and his excited description of his day warmed my heart. Conversely, last Sunday while I was napping and Melinda was working in the basement Joseph took it upon himself to open the rice container (we buy rice in 20lb bags), fill a 1-cup measuring cup to the top and then proceeded to spread rice on the floor across the entire main floor. And when I say house I mean the kitchen, the family room, the living room, the entry foyer, and even the front and back stairs. Or there was the day, two weeks ago, when he took a permanent marker from the cupboard and drew all over the hardwood floors.

Melinda is keeping herself busy with, among other things, the fundraising for her Mothers of Multiples group. It’s been a neat experience to see her discover a talent that she didn’t know she had. She’s been incredibly successful getting businesses to contribute to the group. On top of the fundraising, this week Melinda implemented a new, extremely aggressive house cleaning regimen. While the girls aren’t particularly pleased with the changes that have been made, I’ve been amazed at what a wonderful job Melinda’s doing and I deeply appreciate here efforts. She’s an amazing wife and I love her completely.

As for me, work keeps me busy most of the time and when I have some time to myself it’s generally spent building my company. I’m amazed at how much red tape you have to wade through to create a company but I’m slowly plodding forward and making progress. What’s more, I’ve recently identified some potential sources of revenue outside of my traditional line of business and this will occupy my focus for the next few days while I work things out.

We still desperately miss Jacob and Joshua and their absence is a constant source of sorrow for each of us. While they were only here for a short 15 months, their impact on our family was enormous and we long to have them back. Our family is incomplete without them. But we’re moving forward and consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have each other.