August 21, 2011




We found out this spring that we will stay here in Cincinnati for an additional year (finishing in June 2013) for David’s fellowship in clinical neurophysiology. David feels like he will really enjoy the program here, and we are happy to enjoy Cincinnati a little longer. In July he began his final year of neurology residency. He manages to make the time to help out with the boys and enjoys playing with them, even with his busy schedule. Emily has enjoyed keeping the boys busy, as well as making blackberry jam and canning pickles with the cucumbers from the garden.


This summer we’ve tried to make the most of the time before William starts school. We’ve enjoyed swimming frequently at the city pool. We also went to the zoo several times, exploring something a little different each time. Emily and the boys also went on some short hikes and picnics, picked blackberries, and planted a small garden of cucumbers. We have also enjoyed having a couple neighbor families over for dinner this summer.







In July we enjoyed a week-long visit from David’s parents. Building a bunk bed for William and Neil was one of the main activities for David and his dad. It was a big job, but we are very pleased with how it turned out. The boys love the beds and sharing a room now—maybe a little too much. It was extremely hot the week David’s parents visited, so some of our planned activities had to be changed, but we did enjoy going to Jungle Jim’s, a large international grocery store; exploring Loveland Castle, built by a single (crazy) man over the course of fifty years; and going to Sawyer Point, a riverside park downtown. David’s parents were really nice to watch the boys for two days while David and Emily got away to Columbus and then to Hocking Hills state park where we did some hiking. We had a great time, and so did the boys with their grandparents.







William turned five the end of March and had a fun dinosaur-themed party with some of his friends. He finished up another year of preschool in April, which he has really enjoyed. This summer he took swimming lessons for the first time and made some good progress. William is also reading fairly well. He began kindergarten this week at Sands Montessori School and is really enjoying it. It is very different at home with William gone. The rest of us really miss him.





Neil is now 2 ½ and able to play more constructively. William and Neil have increasingly gotten to be great friends. They love to play together with Legos, build train tracks, and otherwise just run around. To our great surprise, Neil made a leap forward in potty training this week. He had four accidents the first day, but none since…. We’ll see how that holds up.




Curtis has turned into a big eater. Although not yet one and only having two teeth, he manages to eat sandwiches, pulled pork, enchiladas, broccoli, and even an unparceled piece of pizza. Curtis really cruises around the house while holding on to furniture and walls, but is not quite walking.



We feel very blessed in many ways, and are enjoying this fun time of life with these energetic, sweet boys.

It has been too long since we updated our blog, and it’s almost more difficult to know what to say when it’s been 6 or more months! The biggest news since we last wrote is that Curtis Wayne Clark was born August 25, weighing 9 lbs, 9.5 oz. We have been so happy to have this new addition to our family. He is a sweet, easygoing baby, and very loved by his big brothers. We’ve managed to cram three car seats into our sedan, so we don’t have to get a van yet.

We had a nice Thanksgiving here in our home with a few local friends. We also enjoyed a quiet Christmas with our little family. We also had a great time spending the last few days of December in Texas with David’s family. It was fun to finally introduce Curtis to some of his extended family.

Since Neil learned how to climb out of his crib in January, we’ve changed the boys’ sleeping arrangements. After a few weeks of Neil’s crib mattress on the floor in his room, we moved him into William’s twin bed, and put a bed rail up. We moved William up to the queen bed we’ve used for guests, and Curtis is now in the real crib instead of the portable crib. Everyone is thrilled with the new arrangement and is sleeping well. William was so excited about sleeping in his new bed that he was “tired” and wanted to go to bed right after dinner.

We’ve enjoyed some trips to the Cincinnati Children’s Museum and Natural History Museum, taking a break for a picnic lunch in the cafeteria.

David is now in a three-month stint at the children’s hospital here. It has helped remind him why he chose to do adult neurology. He is also in the midst of applying for fellowship.

Emily has a new calling in the ward: Primary teacher. She teaches the 4- and 5- year-olds, and is learning a lot. David keeps her from pulling her hair out every Sunday afternoon. In addition, the last few months she has enjoyed participating in a monthly book club with a group of women in the ward.



William enjoyed listening to Emily read Charlotte’s Web and The Trumpet of the Swan to him this past month. He continues to practice writing one letter and one number each day. William has also shown renewed interest in learning to read. He is a good helper, and is really growing up!

Neil turned two the beginning of the year. He is the family hugger, and always wants to hug each of us—especially Curtis. The past few weeks he has been able to open door knobs, and although we now have child locks on most doors, he can get into the pantry due to a glitch in the door. Neil frequently opens the pantry and gets out a package of cereal or crackers and rips it open. He seems to have an endless appetite.

Curtis (six months) really grabs things now. He reaches for anything remotely close to him and tries to get it in his mouth. Curtis can now sit up, and loves to “stand up” whenever he can. Emily is thrilled that he has finally figured out how to go to bed at 7:00 p.m.

Halfway done

Dear family and friends,

Since we last wrote, we announced that we are expecting another boy the end of August. Now that baby is just weeks away from being born!

William turned four the end of March, and had a small party with a few friends at a nearby park. David did an amazing job decorating a Lightning McQueen cake! Among other fun toys, William is excited to have a new, bigger bike to ride. William and Emily both really miss their neighbors and friends, the Roach family, who moved in May. William has decided he wants to study dinosaurs when he grows up, but is satisfied by reading library books about them and playing with toys in the meantime. He enjoyed listening to a 200-page novel about some children who find a real stegosaurus. Recently he and David went on a two-mile bike ride on a trail near our home. He was very pleased with himself to have done that with his dad.



Neil learned to walk in March and loves getting around faster. He is a delight—often smiling, and always has a big hug to give us. He went through a phase where he did some signs for us, and would tease us by attempting to say a word here or there, but does a lot of grunting for the most part. Neil loves to do two things: whatever William is doing and throwing objects. The bigger or noisier the projectile is, the better. The two boys also have a great time putting our couch pillows in a big pile in our living room and climbing all over them. Neil is quite a climber and recently learned how to use chairs to get on the dinner table and access steak knives in the kitchen.



Emily has managed to survive most of another pregnancy. She has enjoyed taking the boys to the zoo and the Cincinnati Children’s Museum and Natural History Museum this spring and summer since we now have a family membership. She played her violin in church on Easter with her 12-year-old violin student, and she played again recently with a violist and cellist. After months of an on-and-off toothache, she finally gave in and had one of her last remaining unpaired teeth pulled. She is excited that some of the zucchini seeds we planted sprouted and are beginning to bear fruit. The past several months she and Neil have participated in several Proctor & Gamble studies for diapers and baby wipes, which has helped bring in a little extra cash. At David’s request, she made zesty bread and butter pickles, and they turned out well. In February Emily compiled 400 recipes from her family members for a cookbook. Everyone seems pleased with the published book.



David does an amazing job providing for our family and still making time for Emily and our children. Recently he felt the earthquake in Ottawa, Canada while at work. His team broke records in May for the number of patients seen, which did not make for easy shifts. He has a great attitude, nonetheless (after it was adjusted, of course). In June he and Emily enjoyed attending the neurology resident graduation. It is exciting to think he will be graduating in two more years! David is now officially a senior resident, which has already proven to be much more pleasant for all of us. In preparation for the reunion, David indexed and mastered a five-DVD set of Miller home videos to give to the family. The process was not without roadblocks, but we were pleased with the end result.

David and Emily enjoyed a trip to Chicago for a few days in March, thanks to David’s sister Lisa coming out to watch our boys. We stayed in the heart of downtown and enjoyed seeing several museums and eating out at restaurants. It was nice to get away—our first trip without the boys. Emily’s parents came for a couple days in May to visit before leaving on their full-time mission for our church. It was great to spend some time with them. We also enjoyed going to southeast Minnesota for the Miller family reunion to get better acquainted with family. William and David enjoyed going on a roller coaster, a canoe trip, and we all went on a tour of Niagara Cave while there.

It's been a while....

Here is the latest on the Clark family:

William is making progress towards reading and writing. He just read his first book with sentences and is very excited about this new skill. Continuing with his physical activities he is now in a tumbling class at the community gym. Finally, after weeks of asking when it would happen, William started Primary and now enjoys his new class and teacher.



Neil is 12 ½ months old and now pulls himself up to a stand. At his birthday party he instantly became a pro at eating his cake. Neil continues to be a very sweet boy, although he does throw fits at times. He really enjoys playing with William and doesn’t seem to mind being roughed-up too much.



After being inspired by a book she read, Emily recently de-cluttered much of the house, although that task never really ends, does it? She enjoyed another great fall here in Cincinnati and took William and Neil on a few hikes at nearby parks. Emily also enjoyed sewing some winter apparel for William and Neil.



David is just busy doing what he signed up for. He finds time to enjoy playing with William and Neil and spend time with Emily.



For Christmas we all enjoyed a visit from David’s whole family during a rare three consecutive days off. His dad gave us a tour of the John Roebling suspension bridge and we enjoyed a few other activities in the city and at home.

2009 casualties

We were hit hard with appliance and other failures last year. Here's the count down with the relative monetary impact:

1. Garage door balance spring ($$$)
2. Garage door opener ($$$) (A coincidence--no. One failure led to the other.)
3. Kitch sink disposal ($$)
4. Vacuum cleaner ($$)
5. Electric air pump ($)
6. DVD player ($)
7. Television ($$$$) (Okay, we got a better one than the one that died!)
8. Camry starter ($$$)
9. Camry engine mount ($$$$$$$$$$$) (Ouch!! Ouch!! Ouch!!)
10. Altima alternator and additional repairs ($$$$$$$) (Insult to injury.)
11. Camcorder ($$$)
12. Computer ($$$$$$$$) (Logic board died two days before Christmas. No data lost, thankfully.)

Merry Christmas to all of your family from the Clarks!

Just a quick update on the Clark family:
Neil Thomas Clark was born Jan. 5 and has been a joy this year. He is much quieter and cleaner than his brother was, but they are alike in having strong opinions. Our ever-energetic William (now 3½) has enjoyed being involved with gym games, music class, and learning his letters. He loves playing with his new brother and helping his mom. One of our best purchases this year was a vacuum cleaner that he can operate by himself. He and his dad frequently exchange silly faces and tickles. Emily has taken on a violin student, but spends most of her time enjoying motherhood. David finally finished his general medicine internship and has started his first year in Neurology. He enjoys his work much more as well as a slightly better work schedule. Emily and David have continued to work on the activities committee for our church congregation, running programs and planning food for over 200 attendees!
We’ve enjoyed visits to family in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and North Carolina this year. William still talks about a nearby air show we attended in July that featured the Thunderbirds as well as a life-size robot dinosaur exhibit here in Cincinnati.
We’re always grateful for good memories with friends and family. We’re most grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ who has enabled our family to be blessed so much. May all of you feel His love too as we celebrate His birth this year.

David, Emily, William, and Neil Clark

One year down....

Here is the latest on the Clark family:

William seems to have changed the most the last four months. He turned three the end of March and got the movie “Cars” and a toy version of Lightning McQueen, among other things. His parents have discovered that threatening the removal of Lightning McQueen has proven a great motivator for him. His biggest news is that he is now potty trained again after an eight-month respite. He also sleeps in a “big bed” (twin bed) and recently learned how to ride a two-wheeler bike (with training wheels) quite well. He has also helped plant pumpkin seeds and flowers and enjoys watching them grow. The letters of the alphabet have been another interest of his lately. For a while he went around saying the sounds words begin with (example: “D-d-dirt. Starts with the letter D.”) He now correctly identifies all lower-case letters (he’s known upper-case letters for a long time). William loved our recent trip to the zoo. He was happy to accompany Mom and Dad to the temple for his first time and enjoyed walking around the grounds. William keeps us laughing with some of the things he says and does. He remains quite active, loving to run all over. One day he said, “I’m the faster boy in the whole wide world.” When he had a bad cold and sneezed, he said, “I bless you on the table,” having forgotten the word for “sneeze”. When the financial advisor (described to William as the “money man”) came to our house, William went and got the loose change on David’s desk and gave it to him. While snapping together the button of his shorts after using the bathroom, he matter-of-factly said, “I have a lot of things to do, Mommy.” When we were discussing dinosaurs at the dinner table, he said, “Before I was a little boy, I woosta [used to] be a dinosaur, and I ate lots of little kids.” While playing with his stuffed mom and baby owls with Emily, he said, “The baby owl has to go to the doctor.” When Emily asked why, William said: “He can’t ‘hoo’ very well.” He is very imaginative.



Neil has gotten a little bigger the last four months. He is very good-natured and easy-going. He smiles often, and seems content to watch all of the entertainment provided by William. He laughs, grasps things, and loves to hold onto his toes.



Emily has enjoyed trying out our new wheat grinder and making bread a few times. She has discovered a new “pastime” the last several months: exterminating meal (pantry) moths. They had infested a lot of our pantry through a cereal box from the store, but she purchased some traps online, and also nightly kills any stray moths, and she has nearly obliterated them. Emily experimented with online coupons recently. She recently spent $70, and saved $170, which she felt was pretty good for a beginner. Emily has worked in the yard a lot this spring, and also hosted a girls’ night for some friends at our home.



David is nearing the end of his intern year of residency. Yea!! The last few months he has rotated with the Neurosurgical ICU, Hematology/Oncology, Nephrology, and Neurology consults. We went to Goodwill last week to check it out, and discovered a Hot Wheels motorized racetrack for a mere $5. We figured it would not work like it originally did, but it turned out to be fully functional and a big hit. It’s debatable if William or David has more fun with this!



In March we finally tiled our dining room. As a family we enjoyed a road trip in April to see family and friends in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. It was fun to see all of David’s siblings and his Grandpa Clark while in Fort Worth. While in Kansas City with Emily’s parents, we enjoyed going to the “farm park” petting zoo, and Fritz’s train restaurant, where a miniature train delivers the food to your table. In June, Emily’s parents came to visit us in Cincinnati for a little more than a day. We enjoyed seeing the dinosaur exhibit at the Museum Center, as well as the Children’s Museum. It was also fun to play a few games of Rook, and to have Grandpa Miller help William make progress on learning to ride his bike. It was great to have them here, and we hope they’ll stay longer next time!

Happy new year!

We are very behind on catching everyone up on our lives. The end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 have been very busy for us. We wish you a happy new year because it still feels like the year has just begun!





David’s had two busy months in November and December, and worked Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and Day. We did enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with our friends Craig and Jessie Gurney after David got back. Poor William got hit with a nasty gastrointestinal virus the entire week of Thanksgiving, and David got the 24-hour version twice in December. Since David worked Christmas, we celebrated on December 21st and 22nd, which felt very much like the real thing. We enjoyed the time celebrating together as a family. David’s sisters and brother drove from Texas to see us for 3 days after Christmas, only one of which David had off. (They work interns hard!) It was a lot of fun to have them here, and William was especially thrilled to have his aunts and uncle play with him. We enjoyed going to EnterTRAINment Junction and the Cincinnati Nature Center to hike while they were here. We have enjoyed some snow several times this winter, and David was able to get out with William to play in the snow a few times. William continues to become more independent and grown-up.



Emily was taken completely by surprise by the early birth of our 3rd son, Neil Thomas Clark, on January 5th instead of the 7th. Emily remained in denial even four hours prior to his first breath outside the womb. She had contractions all day, yet she continued cleaning, cooking, and shopping. After David got home from work, we dropped William off with some friends, and then rushed to the hospital, checking in just after 6:00 p.m. Since Emily was already dilated to 7 ½ cm, it didn’t take long for Neil to be born at 8:23 p.m. He had lots of fine, brown hair and dark eyes, and we were very grateful to have a healthy new boy. William has adjusted quite well to being the big brother, and loves to give Neil hugs, “play” with him on the floor, help with baths and changes, and hold him. We were very grateful that Emily’s mom was able to come help for a week after Emily got home from the hospital. We enjoyed her visit and all of her help. David’s much-deserved and long-overdue 2-week vacation began after she left. After the first week, we were happy to have David’s parents come visit and help out for a week. We are all pretty well adjusted to the latest addition to our family. Neil is now nearly 8 weeks old, and smiling and cooing for us regularly. It is fun to see the differences and similarities between Neil and William and imagine how Neil will look as he gets older.

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