Saturday, December 30, 2023

Happy New Year 2024

 Happy New Year!

As the boys get older, there are just so many new opportunities; though most of our homeschooling lives remain the same filled with Classical Conversations Co-op, FHE Sports, CBS Bible Study and Youth Group at Emmanuel and Two Cities Church. Joel is 13 and in 7th grade, while Jack is 15 and in 10th grade! Mike changed jobs last December and is still enjoying working at Honda Aircraft (Jet) in Greensboro and being the treasurer at Trail Life (the Christian “Boy-scout” group). I tried to eliminate some activities to be less busy, but I am still coaching track and have helped with the swim team and cross-country, the sports the kids are involved in. Homeschooling is still busy, though they are more independent.

Track started in mid-February and life was pretty busy until May. Jack throws the shot and discus and runs the 200 meter race. Joel loves to run hurdles and mid-distances like the 600 meter race. Maybe this year since doing cross country, he will run a longer race!

In March, Jack got his learner's permit and already has all the hours he needs to get his license, he just has to wait until March 12th!  By the end of April , Joel finished Foundation, Jack finished Challenge I and I finished teaching Essentials with our homeschool co-op called Classical Conversations. After Challenge I was finally over, Jack had the opportunity to go to Washington DC with his co-op class. It was certainly an adventure to bike around DC. 

Every summer, for years, the kids have participated with a summer swim team. This past summer was the only summer in the past 7 years that Joel didn't swim with the summer swim team. June was so cold, even Jack, who always wears shorts, said the water was so cold and it was definitely too cold for Joel. Jack swam with Willow Run pool until literally the day before the championship meet when he dislocated his shoulder for the 2nd time. During and after the swim team, Jack went away for three different trips, one with Emmanuel and two with Two Cities. His favorite was to Mendenhall, Mississippi on a mission trip and plans to go again. Joel did the trip to camp with Two Cities, but is planning to do the mission trip this coming summer to Virginia Beach!

In mid-July, Yuta, our exchange student from Japan, came to stay for three weeks. He experienced day-to-day things with us, but we also took him to Vacation Bible School at Emmanuel, swimming at the pool and Lake Norman with our neighbors, Pilot Mountain, Korner’s Folly, Old Salem, Rockin’ Jump trampoline park, Appalachian State in Boone and to the beach Kitty Hawk. Of course, while in Old Salem we got a Moravian sugar cake kit that the boys got to make! 

Once Yuta returned home, our former neighbors, the Quiros family came to Boone to visit and we enjoyed hiking with them at Price Park. School also started and life has been busy ever since with Jack starting Challenge II and Joel starting Challenge A. We all began doing Community Bible Study again studying I and II Samuel, and I am also doing BSF (Bible Study Felllowship) but not leading this year.  I’m grateful for a wonderful leader, Rhonda Lockhart!

This fall, Joel became a serious cross country runner thanks to a great coach, Mark Hanson, and a great bunch of middle school boys like Kylor Williams, Abe Hancox, Matthew Speas, and Dom Hanson! I am so grateful for their positive influence! Joel's cross country season ended in October with his middle school boys team winning the Homeschool State Championship! What a blessing to see them work as a team! Even before cross country finished, FHE swim began for both of them.

During Thanksgiving, we went for our second time to Eagle's Nest Children's Home in Solola, Guatemala. We were all actively involved working with the children, but Mike also worked with a couple of other guys and made a room that will serve as a “hospital” room there to help with the cost of children that have medical needs. Jack and Joel worked with VBS a couple days and with the teenagers a couple days in the mornings, and in the afternoon they were with the teenagers doing Bible study and playing games. Jack led the intro games during the teen time every day. I led the Vacation Bible School crafts every morning and sewed with the teenage girls and their house mom every afternoon. Our days were certainly full, but our time there is never long enough! Jack did dislocate his shoulder again while on the trip and is trying to strengthen it to be able to swim again.

In God’s perfect timing on December 9th at 4:30AM, I had the excitement of seeing Sylvie have 4 puppies, one boy and three girls. She is the best mama! Seeing her give birth was a wonderful reminder of Jesus’ birth and what a miracle new life is. So is a new life in Christ such a miracle. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. . ”

May this coming year you be filled with the joy and peace of being a new creation in Christ,
Caroline, Mike, Jack and Joel Fleischer





































Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Year 2014

Happy New Year Everyone,


As the year is ending and a new is beginning what a joy to reflect on all the Lord has given us. Our kids are growing so quickly and are such a blessing.

Jack (5 ½) finished preschool in May and started homeschool in August. He seems to be very math minded like his daddy! Jack finished gymnastics in the spring, swam at the pool during the summer and played T-ball for the first time this fall. He has been doing a homeschool PE class, which is so fun for him. He can ride his bike without training wheels! He loves running and ran the Ardmore 1 mile run again with his Daddy and ran the whole thing without stopping. He still loves coloring and making crafts and made lots of the things he entered in the fair. He started going to Awana in October and loves it. He sang in the Christmas concert at church, but doesn’t like to be in front of people!

Joel (3) loves riding his bike with training wheels and running. He loves playing with older kids and I believe he thinks he is five years old! Joel is tough and will not let anyone pick on him and is always standing his ground on what he believes to be true. He has very strong opinions and loves to pick out his own clothes and dress himself. He potty trained himself in September and is very independent. He ran his first race this summer and ran ½ mile of a 1 mile race. He can draw the best circles and likes making little stick figures. He is good at using the computer to play Curious George games, likes to do work with Jack when we are homeschooling, but likes playing with daddy’s phone best of all!

Jack and Joel both love all music by Justin Roberts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkgAKBljXfU). They both are going to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) on Wednesdays and are enjoying learning about Jesus in the book of Matthew. They play together well and love to dress up and play super heroes.


In January, I started being a BSF children’s leader, which has been such a blessing to me. In February, The Kolmodins (friends from Honduras) came to visit! In March, my dad had to be hospitalized for congestive heart failure, but is now doing much better since my mom is monitoring “everything” he eats. In April, I had minor surgery and Mike had to take care of me. In May, Mike, Jack and Joel did the “kid” version of the Superhero Mud Run! Our neighbor, Natalie, went with Joel through the mud…what a woman! In June, we went to the Lake with my cousin and her kids and went paddle boating. In July, we celebrated out 11th anniversary. In August, one of Jack and Joel’s friends went to be with Jesus in heaven and we learned more about God’ sovereignty. In September, we had our floors redone in our house while we went to the beach with the Sangers. In October, we went to the fair and Jack won some ribbons! We also went trick or treating with our neighbors. In November, we went to visit our friends, the Griffins, who live south of Atlanta. We also were finally able to sell Mike’s mom’s house which had been on the market for about a year! In December, we went to Wilkesboro and visited my previous neighbor Mary, and I sang in the Christmas musical at Calvary, both were a blessing.

We are grateful to our great Savior and Redeemer, Jesus as we celebrate His birth!

Love, Mike, Caroline, Jack and Joel Fleischer (2013)