Merry Christmas!
December 2011
Dear Family and friends,
It is the annual Whittacre update:
Nathan pretty much ran the “show” for half the year last year. At the end of last year Ruth found herself in the hospital and was diagnosed with a massive “thrombis” in the left atrial appendage in her heart (basically a small sack). Due to her pregnancy and the strain it is on the heart she had irregular heart rhythms that turned into Atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter, causing a blood clot (thombis) to form in that appendage. They discovered her clot after she had slurring of speech and took her to the ER where they considered it a “mini” stroke. Her heart was very irregular and could not be corrected because of the pregnancy…therefore she had to take it easy and was on some heavy duty medications to keep the clot from “moving”. Many precautions were taken and on Nathan’s birthday May 10, 2011. August Hug Whittacre joined our family. The doctors were amazing and the delivery was carefully “orchestrated” to keep Ruth healthy and get August here safely. With the blood clot in place they could not “convert” her back to a normal heart rhythm (sinus) because it could upset the clot. Ruth was fully confident that after August was born with the help of a few months of heavy duty blood thinners (Coumadin) her heart would go back to sinus rhythm and the clot would resolve.
They scheduled another test to determine the status of the clot in July and just days before the test…she noticed a DRAMATIC difference in how she felt she was convinced she had gone back into sinus rhythm…and to her cardiologist’s surprise that morning of the test she was not only in sinus rhythm but the test showed the clot was GONE! Prayers were answers…MIRACLES do happen. Nathan continues to work hard with his three businesses: Stimulus, NSRS, and Flyboys…he is still working on getting investors for a new and upcoming business adventure Skycab Epress and he still manages to find time for the family with his busy schedule while also serving in the Bishopric as second counselor. He enjoys date nights with Ruth and riding bikes/scooters and playing “monster” with the kids.
Ruth is a busy mom of five adorable kids…she manages to “mostly” keep her head above water while keeping the house clean, running errands, getting the kids to school and trying desperately to stay on top of them with homework and piano. She even manages to get out walking with her friend Jill as she continues her “journey” to drop the baby weight. She enjoys date nights with Nathan and creating projects and cooking with the kids. She now serves as a Relief Society Instructor and the Ward Bulletin coordinator at church and really enjoys doing both.
Natali got baptized this year on her birthday. Due to Ruth’s pregnancy and not really sure how things were going to go we decided to do it a month earlier than scheduled and so we held it on her birthday. We are deeply sorry for those who were unable to attend because of our sudden change in plans and hope that you will understand why we did it. Natali is in third grade and qualified this year for the gate program (Gifted and talented Education) she really enjoys her time in that program with extra projects that she gets to bring home and share with all of us. She loves school and is a social butterfly. She has so many friends I can’t keep them straight but her “bestie” is still her friend Ashlyn. We got new neighbors a few months ago and she has immediately befriended the neighbor girl Sierra. Although Sierra is Kate’s age she really could care less! She tried her missionary skills recently by inviting Sierra to our Ward Christmas Party where they had a BLAST followed by a sleep over. She recently started up piano again after her piano teacher suddenly moved. Her new teacher is Jon and she seems to really like him.
Noah continues to be the inquisitive boy. He has a question or two or three for EVERYTHING! And if we don’t give him the answer he wants he asks again and again and again. He wants to know how everything functions and why everything is the way it is. He is the second grade this year. You can find him assembling Lego’s, making lists and calendars of things to do and accomplish as well as reading the Narnia series of books. He loves to read and build but don’t be fooled he still loves the puzzle masterminding of a good WII game. He loves riding his bike and LOVES piano. His favorite subject is recess (like all kids) with Math in a close second.
Kathryn (aka Katie, Kate or Katie Kate) is in her third year of pre-school. Her teacher moved last year so she has a new teacher Mr. Carl and really likes his class. I am not fond at all for the P.M. class schedule it makes it impossible to get kids in naps and get things I need to get done. But it is what it is. Kate is making huge progress on her speech and is continually learning how to write clearly and she loves to draw, paint, play with playdoh, play with her dolls and kitchen and likes a good movie with popcorn or blowing bubbles in the backyard or riding her new bike she got for her birthday.
Sophia continues to be our “exploding monkey.” (she can blow a fuse at any given moment and she climbs up on EVERYTHING constantly) She manages to get into anything and everything and keeps us all on our toes. She loves nursery at church and is relatively quiet around others but she is our best talker out of all of our children. She says some things that just astounds us. (Like desitine). She LOVES LOVES LOVES cars…and has to go to sleep with them at night. But she does like to play with dolls and the kitchen too. She has a thing for her helmet and calls it a hat and insists on wearing it while riding in the stroller when we go walking every morning with our friend Jill (as Kate rides her bike with her helmet.) She really has a way of making us smile and laugh with her little antics…but she also can frustrate us with her “Curious George” behavior.
August is our chunky monkey…he is growing like a weed. He is 20 lbs and only 7 months old. He laughs and does his own little baby talk. He is a great baby and sleeps and eats well. He is sitting up on his own and rolls EVERYWHERE. He loves to put anything in his mouth. His favorite thing to eat is sweet potatoes or anything with sweet potatoes in it. He loves to sing with his mom while he has his breathing treatment every morning and every night. I can’t believe it has already been 7 months since he was born.
We are thankful for our blessings especially for the gospel and our family and what our family is because of the gospel in our lives. We love our Heavenly Father and our Savior and love this holiday season as we celebrate his birth and his life and what it means for us as a family. Without Him we are nothing. We are grateful for all of our family and friends and for the love and support you show to us and we hope to be able to return that to you. We love you all and hope you have a great new year!!!
P.S. For those who didn’t hear my father passed away December 7th, it was a very difficult time for my family and I just wanted to thank everyone for their heartfelt thoughts and prayers and for cards, flowers, and gifts etc…it was very much appreiciated.
Much Love,
Nathan, Ruth, Natali, Noah, Kate, Sophia, and August Whittacre
Dear Family and friends,
It is the annual Whittacre update:
Nathan pretty much ran the “show” for half the year last year. At the end of last year Ruth found herself in the hospital and was diagnosed with a massive “thrombis” in the left atrial appendage in her heart (basically a small sack). Due to her pregnancy and the strain it is on the heart she had irregular heart rhythms that turned into Atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter, causing a blood clot (thombis) to form in that appendage. They discovered her clot after she had slurring of speech and took her to the ER where they considered it a “mini” stroke. Her heart was very irregular and could not be corrected because of the pregnancy…therefore she had to take it easy and was on some heavy duty medications to keep the clot from “moving”. Many precautions were taken and on Nathan’s birthday May 10, 2011. August Hug Whittacre joined our family. The doctors were amazing and the delivery was carefully “orchestrated” to keep Ruth healthy and get August here safely. With the blood clot in place they could not “convert” her back to a normal heart rhythm (sinus) because it could upset the clot. Ruth was fully confident that after August was born with the help of a few months of heavy duty blood thinners (Coumadin) her heart would go back to sinus rhythm and the clot would resolve.
They scheduled another test to determine the status of the clot in July and just days before the test…she noticed a DRAMATIC difference in how she felt she was convinced she had gone back into sinus rhythm…and to her cardiologist’s surprise that morning of the test she was not only in sinus rhythm but the test showed the clot was GONE! Prayers were answers…MIRACLES do happen. Nathan continues to work hard with his three businesses: Stimulus, NSRS, and Flyboys…he is still working on getting investors for a new and upcoming business adventure Skycab Epress and he still manages to find time for the family with his busy schedule while also serving in the Bishopric as second counselor. He enjoys date nights with Ruth and riding bikes/scooters and playing “monster” with the kids.
Ruth is a busy mom of five adorable kids…she manages to “mostly” keep her head above water while keeping the house clean, running errands, getting the kids to school and trying desperately to stay on top of them with homework and piano. She even manages to get out walking with her friend Jill as she continues her “journey” to drop the baby weight. She enjoys date nights with Nathan and creating projects and cooking with the kids. She now serves as a Relief Society Instructor and the Ward Bulletin coordinator at church and really enjoys doing both.
Natali got baptized this year on her birthday. Due to Ruth’s pregnancy and not really sure how things were going to go we decided to do it a month earlier than scheduled and so we held it on her birthday. We are deeply sorry for those who were unable to attend because of our sudden change in plans and hope that you will understand why we did it. Natali is in third grade and qualified this year for the gate program (Gifted and talented Education) she really enjoys her time in that program with extra projects that she gets to bring home and share with all of us. She loves school and is a social butterfly. She has so many friends I can’t keep them straight but her “bestie” is still her friend Ashlyn. We got new neighbors a few months ago and she has immediately befriended the neighbor girl Sierra. Although Sierra is Kate’s age she really could care less! She tried her missionary skills recently by inviting Sierra to our Ward Christmas Party where they had a BLAST followed by a sleep over. She recently started up piano again after her piano teacher suddenly moved. Her new teacher is Jon and she seems to really like him.
Noah continues to be the inquisitive boy. He has a question or two or three for EVERYTHING! And if we don’t give him the answer he wants he asks again and again and again. He wants to know how everything functions and why everything is the way it is. He is the second grade this year. You can find him assembling Lego’s, making lists and calendars of things to do and accomplish as well as reading the Narnia series of books. He loves to read and build but don’t be fooled he still loves the puzzle masterminding of a good WII game. He loves riding his bike and LOVES piano. His favorite subject is recess (like all kids) with Math in a close second.
Kathryn (aka Katie, Kate or Katie Kate) is in her third year of pre-school. Her teacher moved last year so she has a new teacher Mr. Carl and really likes his class. I am not fond at all for the P.M. class schedule it makes it impossible to get kids in naps and get things I need to get done. But it is what it is. Kate is making huge progress on her speech and is continually learning how to write clearly and she loves to draw, paint, play with playdoh, play with her dolls and kitchen and likes a good movie with popcorn or blowing bubbles in the backyard or riding her new bike she got for her birthday.
Sophia continues to be our “exploding monkey.” (she can blow a fuse at any given moment and she climbs up on EVERYTHING constantly) She manages to get into anything and everything and keeps us all on our toes. She loves nursery at church and is relatively quiet around others but she is our best talker out of all of our children. She says some things that just astounds us. (Like desitine). She LOVES LOVES LOVES cars…and has to go to sleep with them at night. But she does like to play with dolls and the kitchen too. She has a thing for her helmet and calls it a hat and insists on wearing it while riding in the stroller when we go walking every morning with our friend Jill (as Kate rides her bike with her helmet.) She really has a way of making us smile and laugh with her little antics…but she also can frustrate us with her “Curious George” behavior.
August is our chunky monkey…he is growing like a weed. He is 20 lbs and only 7 months old. He laughs and does his own little baby talk. He is a great baby and sleeps and eats well. He is sitting up on his own and rolls EVERYWHERE. He loves to put anything in his mouth. His favorite thing to eat is sweet potatoes or anything with sweet potatoes in it. He loves to sing with his mom while he has his breathing treatment every morning and every night. I can’t believe it has already been 7 months since he was born.
We are thankful for our blessings especially for the gospel and our family and what our family is because of the gospel in our lives. We love our Heavenly Father and our Savior and love this holiday season as we celebrate his birth and his life and what it means for us as a family. Without Him we are nothing. We are grateful for all of our family and friends and for the love and support you show to us and we hope to be able to return that to you. We love you all and hope you have a great new year!!!
P.S. For those who didn’t hear my father passed away December 7th, it was a very difficult time for my family and I just wanted to thank everyone for their heartfelt thoughts and prayers and for cards, flowers, and gifts etc…it was very much appreiciated.
Much Love,
Nathan, Ruth, Natali, Noah, Kate, Sophia, and August Whittacre
