Dan- father of five married Natalie in April of 1995. Dan went to Saint Louis University Highschool (SLUH), then went to the Air Force Academy for college. He graduated with a BS in Russian History. Dan went on to pilot training where he was a cargo pilot for USAF. During our time at Little Rock AFB, Dan decided being a pilot wasn't compatible with his aspirations for being a Catholic husband and father(too much time away from his family). He left flying and worked desk jobs for the Air Force until January 2001. Dan went to Washington University in Saint Louis and got his MBA. He is currently employed at Edward Jones.
Natalie- mother of five, married Dan in April 1995. Natalie went to Saint John the Baptist highschool. After highschool she went to community college for a year, then to Lutheran Medical Center school of Nursing. Natalie graduated from Lutheran in 1995, two months after she & Dan were married. Natalie has never been emplyed as a nurse. She & Dan knew they wanted a large family and she became a SAHW, before becoming a SAHM. These days Natalie is busy caring for her 5 children, homeschooling Anne & Beth, caring for her in laws & managing everyone's busy schedules.
Evelyn- Evelyn is Dan's mother. She is in her 70's and currently she is confined to a wheelchair de to having spinal stenosis. She has been in a wheelchair since March 2005. In May 2005, she had a surgery for spinal stenosis. In November 2005, another blockage was noticed on a follow up MRI, and later that month she had another surgery to fix it. She is currently having Physical Therapy at home a couple of times per week. She is walking more with the walker these days and is getting stronger everyday. We have hopes that she will actually walk again one day. Evelyn enjoys reading the newspaper, books, cross word puzzles. She also likes to help out around the house and is an excellent ironer!
Russ- Russ is Dan's father, also in his 70's. Russ has Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. The Alzheimer's is the biggest reason Russ & Evelyn moved in with us this year, he was becoming to hard to manage for Evelyn alone at home anymore. Each day he steadily declines. There is pretty much no joy left in his life these days. We are trying to make him as happy and comfortable as possible. Dad was a postman for 35 years and the highlight of his day is still when the mail arrives!
Anne Catherine-AKA Annie- born in 1996 is the eldest of the children. She is currently in the 4th grade of our homeschool. We use the Kolbe Academy curriculm and she is an excellent student. Aside from her normal studies she studies Latin with Dan and is also involved in piano lessons and swimming lessons. Anne is a total bookworm. Her other interests are playing cards with her grandmother, playing Scrabble, riding her bicycle and playing with her many friends. She is a wonderful helper around the house.
Elizabeth Claire-AKA Beth- born in 1998, and typical second child. Beth is currently in second grade of our homeschool. We also use Kolbe Academy for her lessons. I can't say Beth loves school, but she does well as long as someone stays on her to get her assignments completed. Besides her normal lessons Beth also takes swimming lessons and will start piano in the summer of 2006. Beth loves to be mommy's assistant. She doesn't love reading the way Anne does. She enjoys playing with Barbie dolls, and she is an excellent artist. Beth is also very athletic, it just all comes naturally to her. She was the first one to learn to ride her bike. She loves to climb trees, walls, poles, anything she can! She is a very happy child and has lots of enthusiasm.
August Conrad -AKA Gus- born in 2000 and what an awesome 3rd child he is! He is so happy and animated. He will start kindergarten in the Fall of 2006. Gus is such a typical boy. He loves to play outside, dig, make a mess. He enjoys plaaying with trucks, trains, planes, and horses,etc. Gus also enjoys drawing and making paper airplanes. We have to be careful with Gus when he plays with others because he has a very serious life threatening peanut allergy(as well as other allergies too). Gus is very careful to ask if something has nuts before consuming it because his reactions are so scary.
Margaret Rose- AKA Meg or Meggie or Delicate Flower born in 2001. Yes, you read that right she thinks she is a delicate flower. She is an amusing child. She tells us her petals are dirty(hands and face) and asks us to clean her. Meg is not nearly as independant at her age as the other girls are, but I think that is mostly because the older girls coddle her so! Meg was born 4 weeks premature and is small for her age. She also has a very low pain threshold compared to others, which is why I orginally told her she was a delicate flower :) Meg loves to color and cut. Meg is quite bright has wonderful dexterity for a child her age. Her favorite things to do are to cuddle and to play dolls. Meg has some issues in that she whines incessantly- this is something we are working on! Meg also has a very serious peanut allery.
Gregory Leo- AKA Greg, or Hurricane Greg was born in 2003. Greg is the happiest child ever. He was very colicky for the first YEAR, but he is now making up for the terrible beginning. Greg plays way his days, mostly with Thomas the Tank Engine and bulding train tracks. He has no desire to be potty trained at this point at all :( We hope to have him potty trained by summer of 2006. Greg also enjoys cuddling in bed with mommy in the morning and making "visits" to grandma to greet her when she wakes up. He is a joy for all who encounter him!
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