With all it’s challenges and surprises, the earth keeps turning, the sun continues to rise and life seems to keep on going.

Spring is finally showing up on our street. I can tell because the weeds are filling in the cracks on the driveway.

Our family seems to be moving right along. Bradley really runs the show. For his birthday he wanted a rooster piggybank that he saw in the store. So now he goes around begging for extra pennies and asking me to pull the plug out of the bottom so he can dump them out onto the floor. He enjoyed his birthday and let’s everyone know that he’s five years old.

Sarah has started taking piano lessons from Jen. She has really started off well. When I listen to her practice it’s easy to hear that she understands what she’s doing. I think that she could turn out to be a good piano player. Her 2^nd grade teacher Miss Crawford was married last week and Jennie and her went to the reception. I understand that Sarah almost caught the boquet.

Nathan has started a stamp collection. His Grandma Baum started him off with a pile of stamps and I think he’s just over 600 in his collection. He spends a lot of time sorting and labeling them. Nathan is also working on building a catapult. We cut up some scrap wood and have kind of got a prototype put together. We’ll have to send photos if we ever get that all done.

Nicole has turned into a true bookworm. Some of her friends in the ward are reading a series of books that I think is 17 books. She’s cruising along and we hardly see her around the house anymore. She’s always on the couch reading. She has done well with her voice lessons and sang at another recital and a talent show for Grandma Baum. She always sings in the car, the kitchen, the bathroom … You get the idea. She’s doing a good job in young womens and in school.

Ali has been playing the Viola with the Jordan Youth Symphony. Her big concert was at Symphony Hall in Salt Lake. It was fun. Now that band has ended she has a little more free time on her hands. She’s work’n away at Young Women’s and is holding her own in school. She gets up early each morning to practice the piano. She’s been working with Nicole for a couple weeks on a very fun duet.

Jennie. Without a doubt the past 2 or 3 months have been the most challenging for her. I could fill page after page with the happenings in her life. Jennie has been drug through the mud, raked over the coals, stretched in every direction imaginable, and I think lived the hardest days of her life in the last several months. I would say that her strength, her courage and determination have helped her succeed. She has never given up. The battle is not over, but I know she will continue to fight. I have developed a greater love and respect for Jennie than I ever thought I would. It is impossible to put into words what I have seen her go though. I love her and I am forever thankful for her.

I am also thankful for Ali, Nicole and Nathan and for their going the extra mile while Jennie was away. I couldn’t have done it without their help. It took all of us.

So, for the Baum’s, we are on the mend. We’re making progress, “one day at a time”.

The Baums