Gillespie Update

Hello everyone!

It is finally time for a Gillespie update! We are officially Las Vegans, as we have closed escrow on a home here in the city! We are very excited about this new chapter in our lives. It is going to be quite different, since we've never lived in a big city, but we are already enjoying it!

We have been living here in Vegas with Travis's parents since July while we searched for a home. Travis has begun working at a local hospital on an Intermediate Care Floor, which is considered critical care, but for patients who aren't quite sick enough to be in ICU. He aspires to be trained for ICU sometime in the future, but there are lots of opportunities even on this floor to learn new things. His new floor deals a lot more with brain issues, so that is a change from his last job. I expect to be learning a lot about stroke patients as he gains more experience here! Travis has also been practicing his guitar a lot lately and is doing very well. And he also has been using the Pimsleur program to learn Spanish during his drive to work. It has already paid off since he has had 3 patients in his 1st three weeks at this hospital that did not speak any English! 

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our little girl, Natalie, whom we expect to make her entrance in to the world around the end of October. I over-heard Morgan telling one of his friends, "My little sister's name is Natalie!" For some reason, it caught me off-guard - it's amazing how well he understands that there is a baby coming soon! One of the big benefits of living in Las Vegas is being closer to midwife care (there were no midwives in Kingman or the surrounding areas). It's so nice not to have to drive 2 hours for prenatal appointments like we did with the last 2 pregnancies. This pregnancy has been great, with no complications or worries, and we are so thankful for that! I'm also loving the fact that Las Vegas's library system is so much bigger - I've been delighted to find many more titles of interest that were not available in our small town. Oh, and the farmer's markets! Once we get settled, I hope to make them a a part of our regular shopping routine. 

Malachi is 4 1/2 going on 20. He is a typical oldest child - bossy and always ready to "help" take care of his brothers! This can be very helpful at times, but it can also get out-of-hand. So, we are working on finding a balance. He just learned to tie his shoes with help from Dad and Poppy Marty, which was a big milestone. He has a fantastic memory (something I've come to learn characterizes most kids his age) and loves learning Bible verses, poems, songs and catechism questions. We spend a little time on this every day, and that is the extent of any formal teaching we do. So, his life is mostly packed with free play, running around like a mad man with his brothers, burning off all his little boy energy. He loves to play Spiderman! And lots of reading together, too!

Morgan is 2, and will be turning 3 in December. He loves to sing and play his pretend guitar (a plastic spatula), and his favorite poem is "The Owl and the Pussycat" (owls are, coincidently, his favorite animal). He has memorized everything his big brother has learned, though he's a bit harder to understand! He is such a cuddlebug and quite the charmer. He is not afraid to try new things (except when it comes to food) and is quite a bit more adventurous than his big brother! Both big boys really enjoyed swimming this summer and made lots of progress in their swimming skills. 

Little Asher is growing so fast and is already almost 16 months-old. He was an early walker, taking his first steps at 10 months. He is a busy little guy and he loves being outside. His vocabulary currently consists of "Mama," "Dad," "dog," and "more" (which he uses to indicate when he's hungry or thirsty). His favorite things are birds, airplanes, dogs and books. His name means "happy" and he fits the name so well that we've decided that our next child's name should mean "compliant" :o). Asher's big brothers are immensely proud of him and they all love to play together, though he does get run-over by the big boys from time to time. He's a champ, though, and brushes it off pretty well!

Well, I'm sure I'm forgetting something important, but that's all I have for now. We'd love to hear how all of you are doing! Drop a line sometime! Also, we will have a guest room in our new house, so if you need to get away for a vacation, Vegas is one of the cheapest places to fly into - you'll have a place to stay!

With lots of love,

Travis, Betsy, Malachi, Morgan, Asher, and Natalie