A Bentrup Christmas Carol

George was dead, to begin with.   George, a friendly and easy-going lab mix who was always looking for a tidbit of food to steal was dead.  His death was witnessed by Amelia Scroogerina herself along with Dr. G. at the local animal hospital on January 4th, 2024.  No doubt about it, old George was as dead as a door-nail.

Amelia Scroogerina, in charge of the large domestic domain known as the Bentrup household was busy planning a family vacation for her parents' 50th wedding anniversary in August.  Vacations are supposed to be fun, but Amelia Scroogerina, having taken charge of such a large endeavor by herself, was weighed down by all the stress and the thought of the amount of financial expenses.   

When the time came, the family all gathered together at a large, former monastery in Conesus, New York that had been turned into a vacation rental and had a reputation for being spooky and haunted.  The place was giant, with rooms upon rooms to explore.  

The kids were all having a blast running around while Amelia Scroogerina kept spoiling all their fun.

"No, you can't eat cake for breakfast."

"Stop roller skating down the hall."

"No, we can't go to the zoo, it's raining."

Even the dogs were getting in on the action.  Benji, the Bentrups' maltipoo was practicing his tricks and being a menace, while Rosie, the Bentrups' new standard poodle puppy was stealing food off counters and barking at everyone she saw. 

They visited Niagara Falls and had a big anniversary dinner.  They met more long-lost relations.  All the while, Amelia Scroogerina was trying not to stress and worry over every single detail. 

It was there, at that spooky and possibly haunted monastery, that our heroine, Mrs Scroogerina, was visited by old George one night.  George told Amelia Scroogerina that she would be visited by three ghosts,  the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas Future.  Yes, this visit took place in August, but the huge, old, spooky monastery seemed the most fitting scene for this tale so sometimes literary liberties must be taken.

The Ghost of Christmas Past

First, Amelia was visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past and reminisced about times gone by when Bentrup kids were little, none of the kids could drive and everyone had to do what the Scroogerina said.  Only the adults were adult-ish.  And that was only ish.   Now Amelia and Ben have adult kids, so they have to be the adultier adults to whom the adult-ish kids look for guidance. It's a hard job.

Amelia remembered a past Christmas when everyone was excited to get toys and no one wanted just boring money for Christmas.  She remembered specifically Christmas 2012 when they went to the beach in Florida, and instead of snowmen, there were sandmen. 

The Ghost of Christmas Present.

Next came the Ghost of Christmas Present, bringing Amelia Scroogerina to remember all the gifts of the present year. This year included a constant parade of dogs in and out of our house, as Amelia continued with her dog-sitting business.  All sorts of dogs visited their home, from the tiniest chihuahua to the giant Mastiff, from the labrador retrievers to the shetland sheepdog, and finally, oodles of doodles. 

Our favorite dog that came to stay in our house (permanently) is Rosie, a brown standard poodle puppy that was born in early February and adopted in April at the age of 9 weeks.

Rosie, in true poodle tradition, is incredibly intelligent and passed obedience school with flying colors. Her intelligence has brought her to a life of crime, as we still can't manage to get her to stop stealing food from the counters, as if she were a poor starving Victorian-era mongrel.  We love her anyway though. 

Amelia continues doing freelance editing work while maintaining the household.  She is, unlike her Dickens counterpart, also involved in various church ministries and started a middle-school girls youth group, of which Elsa is a part. In addition, Amelia Scroogerina became an American Heritage Girls' leader and is busy homeschooling the remaining three kids at home and driving to a million activities, along with teaching science at a local homeschool co-op.

Ben continues to slave away at his lawyer job as The Mans' veritable Bob Cratchit, writing ordinances and such, where each comma is of the utmost importance. He also joined the board of the St. Thomas More Society for Catholic Lawyers, continues to play chess, and attends chess tournaments with John. Sometimes, he even wins. 

Heidi (22) graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville this December with a BA in Spanish and a minor in psychology.  She wrote her senior thesis in Spanish on mental health in the Middle Ages during the golden age of Spain.   At school, she took to the stage and was a part of some fun skits with her friends, managed the tutoring center on campus, and even managed to impersonate one of her Spanish professors successfully. She also managed not to die this year, despite her third hospital visit in 12 months.  Thankfully, she is now well and healthy.

   

Greta (20)  is in her sophomore year at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne.  She is studying elementary education and is quite busy taking classes, working two different barista positions, and pursuing her passion which is writing music and singing.  She learned to play the guitar, takes voice lessons, and is learning about music production.  

In fact, she recently released her first single, entitled  "Come For Me", available under the name Greta Marie on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, or wherever you get your tunes.  She is currently working on a full album, so stay tuned for when that is released. We are eagearly anticipating future releases. 

John (16) has his permit and is learning how to drive.  Anyone who drives anything from a buggy, to a hansom cab, or a car should be wary. Otherwise, he is busy getting straight A's in his classes, running cross-country, and playing recreational basketball.  Of course, he is still very active on the chess scene and regularly plays in tournaments with Ben and wins more often.

Elsa (12) is our animal lover.  She trained Benji for 4-H and entered him into the dog show.  She has also trained him to do all sorts of other tricks like "play" the piano and "read" his name.  Elsa is Amelia's number one helper with dog sitting and knows every breed of dog. 

 
 She also loves horses just like Amelia and together they have been doing some horseback riding.

Annika (8) is the comedian of the family.  She is always making silly faces, joking around, teasing and annoying her siblings, and generally is the life of any party, Christmas or otherwise.   She loves reading, dancing, ballet, and most of all, playing with her friends.  This May, she was very excited to make her first Holy Communion.

Annika also really loves horses and has been enjoying horseback riding with Amelia.

The Ghost of Christmas Future

Finally, came the ghost of Christmas Future, who had many fateful messages for our heroine. Except that part was hidden and Amelia Scroogerina had no clue what she saw because it was obscured. The only sure thing Scroogerina took away from that visit is that we will all die someday and should not worry over small details.

As far as the more immediate future,  we will all have to stay tuned for what the future holds.  Maybe the Bentrups will win the lottery.  Maybe they will travel to Antarctica. Maybe they will sell everything and become missionaries in some yet undiscovered jungle in the Amazon. Maybe Greta will become world famous and go on five world tours. Maybe Annika will finally realize her dreams of becoming a world dictator.  Maybe Ben will beat Magnus Carlson at chess.  Maybe Elsa will train Benji how to do the laundry. Maybe peace and goodwill will reign among the Bentrup Household.  You'll have to stay tuned to future newsletters to find out. 

Nonetheless, the visits from the three ghosts did the trick.  Amelia Scroogerina reformed and from then on it was cookies for breakfast and roller skating down the hall with wild abandon during their New York vacation.  She learned not to worry about the minor details of life and now lives happily and carefree never worrying about anything ever again.  And if you buy that, we have some oceanfront property in Indiana for sale. 

And so to conclude our tale, we will say as Tiny Annika observed, "God Bless us, everyone."   

We wish all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and God's Blessings in the New Year! We hope and pray that you know God's love, peace, and joy this Christmas!

Love,

The Bentrups 

Merry Christmas 2023 - Gone to the Dogs

Woof, woof!  It's Benji here, the Bentrup's cute black and white dog. 

I took over this year's Christmas letter 'cause I want to tell you what's diggin' in the Bentrup house this year, make no bones about it! 

So the year started normal enough, at least for the Bentrup household. My canine brother, George, is old (at least 11 or 12) and doesn't like to romp around anymore so I have to scare up my own pigeons if there's any fun to be had.  So it was one day at the end of July, deep in the dog days of summer, that my nostrils picked up a strange scent coming up the driveway.  

I was just about to give the alarm, but my mistress went out and actually welcomed the strutting little terrier inside with open arms.  I mean, if she was cool, who was I to growl?  As it turned out, Rhett Butler only stayed one night, but a couple of days later two new dogs came to stretch their paws: a black lab, and a Canaan from the Middle East that had been rescued by a soldier.  In fact, our house has become a regular revolving mangy menagerie these past few months.

After the initial bowwow, I settled down and actually had a grrrreat time: I mean, sniffing doggy butts is pretty much my favorite thing to do.  Some of them are just young pups, but there are also old pooches like me who have worn a collar or two.  A lot of them are my dapper poodle mix cousins.  Here's looking at you Luna, Hermione, Quinn, and Murphy!  I do have to guard MY territory under the dining room table from all and sundry.  The fallen scraps (or even a post-dinner plate cleaning when no one is looking) leave the other dogs drooling.

While I can't read, I think my human's dog-boarding business is doing well since she has all 5-star reviews on Rover.com.  As my feline friends would say, it's the cat's meow.  Besides taking care of home and kennel and all its cleaning, feeding, and grooming, Amelia homeschools the tykes, and earns some extra coins with her online editing job.  She must be a Jack Russel Terrier of all trades!

Amelia joined a new co-op this year, Catholic Schoolhouse, where she teaches a science laboratory to kids of all ages.  Pavlov ain't got nothing on her.  And while she doesn't really blog anymore, she started yipping for CatholicMom.com.  Sniff up her name, and you will find her articles.  Sadly, all this work is taking its toll: the grey hairs are starting to show, but remember that she is about 300-doggie-years-old now.

You may be wondering why my master, Ben, doesn't just muzzle this dog-boarding business.  The theory goes that since Amelia is so busy boarding other people's pets, she can't afford time to get her own.  She gets the fun of watching woman's best friends without any of the expense.  In fact, she actually gets paid, so it's a win-win.   If he barks too much, Amelia said she can always turn the business into a dog-and-pony show.  Literally.  That stop's his whining.  By the way, if you haven't seen Ben in a while, check out that photo below.  His whiskers are almost as bushy as mine.

As for Ben, he is still working as an attorney at Beers Mallers in government law.  When he's not on the scent, or not in the doghouse for forgetting to wash up the dishes, he and John stray off to chess tournaments.  They won the top team prize at South Bend in November and also won a minor team prize with their chess club, the BUMs (Bethel United Methodist Chess Club in Elkhart), at the State Chess Team Championship in Indy.  In August, they road-tripped to the US Open in Grand Rapids, where they each fell a mere 1/2-point out of the money.  Later that month, however, Ben won the top Expert/Master prize in the State Class Championship in Fort Wayne, his first state championship.  Every dog has his day!

On to Heidi (21), who became a grown-up human this year.  She says she likes to lap up hard lemonade now, which I get since I enjoy yellow snow myself.  She attends the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio, studying Spanish and psychology, so I haven't seen her for a dog's age.  She is set for a December 2024 graduation date with plans for a master's degree and a Ph.D. in counseling.  She's also doing something called "writing a thesis," which sounds about as productive as a chihuahua in a hair salon, but half the fun.

In May, she flew across the pond with a pack of her school chums for some crumpets and tea, visiting all of Tolkein's haunts in Merrie Olde England.  Sightseeing included Big Ben, the Eye of London, and Oxford University, along with some convents and monasteries.  No fox hunts, though, so, even though she denies it, I think she basically wasted her time - tally ho!  She brought back British pounds for all the humans to use, but I still see them wondering freely about the old homestead, so I don't get it.  Heidi did have to go to the emergency vet a couple of times this year, but she has now been given a clean bill of health.

As for Greta (19), in January, she got her driver's tags, which causes the fur of all the other humans to stand on end.  I'm just yanking your chain (dogs can joke too, you know); she is actually a very good sled driver.  While finishing up her final semester of high school, Greta volunteered at Loveway, a therapeutic horseback riding center for young pups, and everyone loved her. 

Greta graduated in June and, after a summer of serving Amish kibble at Das Essenhaus, began full-time studies at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne.  She is studying elementary education and got all A's in her first semester.  She works as a barista at the Cougar Den, making fancy cappuccinos and expressos for the customers.  She is an active member of Students for Life and attends campus ministry events, an on-campus book club, and Educators in Action.  She has made lots of friends and enjoys going to campus dances.  Hopefully, the boys aren't getting too frisky, as she is now the mistress of her own leash!

John (15) attends Queen of Heaven Academy, an online Catholic school, as a sophomore.  Naturally, he has all A's.  John is budding into quite the social animal: he attends two weekly youth groups, went on a church youth retreat, took golf lessons this summer, ran cross-country in the fall, and is playing basketball this winter.  Of course, his true love remains chess, which he has worked very hard on this year.  I've already mentioned some of his exploits, but John defended his turf when he captured the Indiana 10th Grade Chess Champion in November, a repeat of last year's 9th-grade title!  

Elsa (11) is the top dog assistant handler at the Bentrup canine castle.  She even promised to train me for the 4-H dog club this spring, and I promised not to bite anyone unless they bite me first.  Elsa is a dog-lover extraordinaire and asked to have her picture taken with yours truly.  I mean, who wouldn't?  I just hope she doesn't have fleas.

Elsa is a happy-go-lucky 5th-grader who especially enjoys going to her co-op classes and hanging out with friends.  As always, Elsa loves to do artwork, like drawing, painting, and crafts.  She loves the Little Flowers group that Amelia now teaches in Greta's absence.  Much to both their delight, Elsa is following in their footsteps in becoming a huge Nancy Drew detective mystery fan and has become an avid reader.

Annika (7) is the puppy of the litter, although not so much a baby anymore.  She is a fun-loving, joyful, social, friend-loving homeschooled 2nd grader.  She loves going to co-ops and playing with her friends.  She really enjoys the ballet classes she takes with a few friends. And while I don't go to Mass (being a dog and all), I am told that her joyful howling in her cute little voice is adorable. 

Annika is a fluent reader but loves to cuddle with Dad, who reads to her and Elsa tales each week of Narnia and of Middle Earth's hobbits.  She also loves doing arts and crafts and creating things.  A true extrovert, she talks to everyone and is popular amongst her friends.  She keeps the rest of the family constantly entertained with her dancing and tail-chasing.  

As for the furry members of the family, cats Rocky and Tigger hang out in the basement a lot to get away from all the dog chaos.  Zorro prowls around outside, and George is old and arthritic but still hanging in there.  Sadly, our rabbit, Moosie, passed away this fall (I promise he died from natural bunny causes).  All dogs go to heaven, but I think St. Peter can squeeze him in too.  As for me, I am naturally the most beloved pet.  In fact, I am so talented that Elsa taught me to play the piano and a few other tricks.  I may not be Beethoven yet, but I can bang my paws with the best of them. 

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.  May you know all of Christ's Peace, Love, and Joy this Christmastide.  And may all life's puddles become poodles this coming year!

Love,

The Bentrups: Ben, Amelia, Heidi, Greta, John, Elsa, Annika, and us four-legged members too!

Merry Christmas 2022 - A Somewhat True Christmas Mystery Story

It was a dark and blizzardy night.  The wind howled outside. The sound of snowplows could be heard lumbering up and down the street.  Snow was drifting into piles, higher and higher.

Inside a quiet house located on the side of a hill, in a picturesque subdivision with the lights all a-blaze, a fire danced in the fireplace, and everything was serene and peaceful.  

Or was it?

Unbeknownst to the unsuspecting neighbors, in that seemingly normal house with mostly regular-looking people, a murder was committed.  DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUNNN.

Well, murder might be too strong of a word.  Let's call it an assault that ended in an unfortunate demise.

The victim?  Santa Claus.  Oh, not the real Santa Claus. After all, he died on December 6, 343 AD.  No, this victim was a small ceramic Santa statue on top of the piano in the downstairs living room that tumbled to the ground in a mess of broken red shards and black hunks on the floor.

 

Who initiated the attack that led to the demise of this poor Mr. Claus?

Dear reader, that is the mystery this little epistle will try to solve. 

First, let's meet the players of our little story. 

Sherlock Holmerschooler (AKA  Amelia)

Age: 45

Work: Homeschooling, Transcription Editing, Baking Bread, Cooking, Keeping the house standing, Chaufeering kids around, The usual mom gig.

Hobbies: Making dog food, Intermittent Fasting, Reading, Dog Training, Reading/solving mysteries.

Dr. Watson, J.D (AKA Ben)

Age: 45

Work: Lawyer - working in municipal law. 

Hobbies: Chess, Games, Using Big Words, Diet Cokeaholic, watching mystery movies, and assisting Sherlock Holmeschooler.

The Suspects

Aquamarine Annika

Age: 6

Grade: 1- Homeschooled

Extracurricular Activities: Ballet, American Heritage Girls.

Hobbies: Learning how to read by snooping into other people's emails and text messages.  Dolls, Drawing, Crafts, Roller Skating, Playing with friends. Taking two bites of food and not finishing. 

Emerald Elsa

Age: 10

Grade: 4 - Homeschooled

Extracurricular Activities: Tap Dance, American Heritage Girls.

Hobbies:  Drawing, Reading, Crafts, Roller skating, Playing with friends, Looking innocent.

Jet Black John

Age: 14

Grade: 9 - Homeschooled

Extracurricular Activities:  Chess, Cross-Country, Youth Group, Tae Kwon Do Dropout (maybe Santa's cause of death?).

Hobbies:  Chess, Games, becoming a Dr. Who fan. 

Green Greta

Age: 18

Grade: 12 - Homeschooled

Extracurricular Activities:  Theatre, Choir, Volunteer Work, Youth Group, Learning how to drive and not hit obstacles/pedestrians, or becoming an offroad vehicle,  Applying to colleges.

Hobbies: Writing, Hanging out with Friends.

Hot Pink Heidi

Age: 20

Grade:  Junior at Franciscan University of Steubenville - Spanish Major with a double minor in Psychology and Communication Arts

Extracurricular Activities: Chess club, Mental Health Club, Gaming Club.

Hobbies: Writing, Hanging with friends, Playing psychologist, Avoiding mental lapses in sanity.

Yellow Bandit (AKA George)

Age: 11

Extracurricular Activities:  Stealing food.

Hobbies:  Lying around, Sleeping, Looking scruffy.

Black and White Bandit (AKA Benji)

Age: 5

Extracurricular Activities:  Stealing Food, Barking, Jumping.

Hobbies:  Learning new tricks, Acting cute, Getting attention.

Murder Cat (AKA Tigger, AKA #1 Suspect)

Age: 2

Extracurricular Activities: Stealing foods.  Attacking ankles.

Hobbies: Purring, Looking Innocent, Possibly wants pets (when appropriate).

Tiger Cat (AKA Rocky)

Age: 3 

Extracurricular Activities: Hanging with Tigger, his BFF.

Hobbies:  Purring, Getting attention, Acting like a sweetheart.

 The Unlikely Suspects

The Black Bandit (AKA Zorro)

Age: 7

Extracurricular Activities:  Hunting chipmunks, birds, and rodents.

Hobbies: Dropping his catch off on the front porch. His dead body count is greater than the fingers on one hand. 

The Innocent One (AKA Moosie)

Age: 3

Extracurricular Activities: None.

Hobbies: Shedding, Twitching his nose.

Sherlock Holmeschooler and Dr. Watson J.D. questioned the suspects.  

Hot Pink Heidi claimed to have an air-tight alibi because she was away at college, earning all A's, hanging with friends, studying for exams, drinking coffee, going to events, and having an article published in The Troubadour.  Upon further investigation, however, she was found to be home on the night of the murder, so this Christmas Crack addict is still, as she likes to say, "sus."  Upon further investigation, however, her name was cleared because she appeared to have been working at the local Amish restaurant 

Green Greta claimed to be busy practicing for several performances, singing in a choir, babysitting, doing school, writing stories, and learning how to drive.  However, on the night of the murder, she was doing none of those things.  Further investigation revealed that she was pacing around the kitchen at the time of the crime, and since the crime occurred in the lower living room, she was deemed innocent. 

Jet Black John, being the upright, upstanding teenager who received Confirmation in October, that he is, was an unlikely suspect.  Nevertheless, all present parties must be questioned.  John claimed to have been working hard at school or playing chess.  Further questioning revealed that he was in fact doing those things, so he was also cleared of wrongdoing.

Emerald Elsa was sparkling with color during her questioning.  She claimed to have been drawing pictures of everyone in her family and roller skating in the basement. Since she was able to provide said drawing as proof, her name was also cleared.

At first Aquamarine Annika seemed to be a likely suspect, but further investigation revealed that the crime occurred without the presence of witnesses and Annika does not like being in a room by herself.  Furthermore, she also follows Elsa around and the two partners in non-crime were able to provide believable alibies for each other.  It was discovered that Annika was busy learning how to read, dancing, and drawing on the night in question.

That just left the furry members of the family.  Moosie was quickly eliminated because he stays in jail a pen in a separate room and would have had no way to commit the grievous assault. Upon interrogation, he twitched his nose a lot.  

The Yellow Bandit (George) was also eliminated.  He does nothing but sleep and eat, so since Santa Claus did not have any food, George did not have the necessary motive to be considered a reasonable suspect. 

The Black and White Bandit (Benji) was more likely, as he likes to play and jump.  However, his name was cleared when a simple test revealed that he could not have reached the Santa Claus that was originally standing on top of the large piano.

That only left the feline members.  Murder Cat was by far the most likely suspect as he does have a murderous streak (hence the nickname), however, the Black Bandit (Zorro) gives him a run for his money when it comes to murder tendencies.  However, the Black Bandit spends most of his time outdoors.   The Tiger (Rocky) was eliminated because he avoids leaving the basement as he does not care for the canine members of the family.

Sherlock Holmeschooler and Dr. Watson JD were all set to pin the blame on Murder Cat.  After all, he does have a history of murdering stuff.  However, that brilliant mind, Sherlock Holmeschooler remembered that while Zorro is often outside (he prefers it out there) he had come inside recently.  Careful deduction came to the conclusion that on the night of the crime, he was inside. 

Further deduction revealed that in a likely scenario Benji had chased him onto the piano (the last known location of the poor Santa Claus) and there the assault occurred.  

The crime was solved.  The black cat did it, with major culpability from the black and white dog.   The charges were downgraded from murder to unintentional Santa-cide and the punishment given was light (non-existent). Santa was swept up with a broom and ashes ceramic shards were dumped in the trash.

Peace was restored and a Merry Christmas was had by all. 

We hope you enjoyed our little tale of our family's doings. We wish all our friends and family the Merriest of Christmases and the Happiest of New Years.  May God's Love and Peace Reign in Your Home this Christmas Season.   And may all your homicidal cats and naughty dogs behave themselves and don't commit statutory murder or other impetuous crimes.

Love,

The Bentrups

Merry Christmas, 2021 (with a few words to the wise)

Well, well, well.  It looks as though we have survived another revolution around the sun.   Here we are, Christmas time again!   Such is the once-a-year time when I dust off my 'ole blog to share Christmas greetings, Yuletide cheer and update you all on the goings-on of the Bentrup tribe.

To start off with, 2021 has been an eventful year.  

In January,  we said goodbye to Heidi at college.  She began her college career at the Franciscan University of Steubenville with a major in communications.   

Also in January, John received an official diagnosis of mild autism.  He is obviously, very high-functioning and our family is learning about neurodiversity. (I think we may all be just a bit neurodiverse). 

Later, in January, Ben was driving Greta to youth group and was t-boned by a truck, thereby totaling his car. Ironic because for the past year "they" have been talking about "staying safe" when out in public and going places, but clearly it is the actual going to the places that are the most dangerous. 

But, I digress. '

Eventually, he bought a shiny, new (to us) red car, insurance paid up and all was well...on that front.

In February, Ben came down with shingles, which is no piece of cake, but with the help of lots of vitamins and supplements, he eventually recovered from that. 

Also in February, Grandma pawned off a cute, orange-striped kitten on us that we eventually named Tigger, although Garfield would have been a great name for him as well, as he does love his grub.   She convinced us we HAD to take him, otherwise, it would be to the animal shelter he would go.  We couldn't allow that, now could we?

He and Rocky quickly became BFFs.

In March, Greta performed the play,  Esther.  A play she wrote herself and directed and performed with a few friends.  It was a fun experience. 

In April (right before Easter, ironically enough), after a very long illness and struggle with a head tilt, our rabbit, Charlie, passed away.  (This picture was taken before he developed the head tilt).

At the beginning of May, Greta earned her Dolly Madison award for American Heritage Girls and "graduated" from badge work. 

Then, Elsa received her First Holy Communion.  It was a blessed and beautiful occasion. 

Then Heidi came home from college for the summer and got a job working at a local Amish restaurant, where she determined that she does not really like Amish food all that much. 

Also, in May, Greta played the part of Meg in Little Women,  a small homeschool production that she enjoyed being part of. 

At the end of May, Elsa performed in her first ballet recital and did a great job. 

 

Unfortunately, right before the recital, Amelia was running up the stairs to help her get ready and she banged her hand against the wall, breaking the last metacarpal on her left hand.  So she spent the beginning of the summer with her hand in a brace.   Eventually, that healed.  

Then our air conditioner broke.  Something like $9 million dollars later (slight exaggeration) after enduring seemingly endless sales pitches, we were able to replace it and had a comfort-filled air-conditioned summer. 

In June, we bought a family pool membership at a local campground and had a fun, vitamin-D-filled summer with lots of swimming. 

At the end of June, we were happy to be able to attend the Pecora family reunion once again and visit and see cousins, aunts, and uncles.  It was so nice to catch up with everyone. 

At the very end of June, Amelia quit her job at Raterlabs and dipped her toes into graphic design and bookselling, and created and designed a few journals, notebooks, and planners to sell on Amazon.  She sold a few books (emphasis on few) and enjoyed the learning process, even if ultimately decided not to continue with it. 

In July, Greta competed in the Bristol Homeschooling Pagent.  While she didn't win, she had fun and learned a lot.

In August, Heidi went back to college and finished out this semester, and made the dean's list.   

Also in August, Greta played two small parts in a series of short plays put on by a local homeschool drama group.  She played the part of a nurse in Walter Mitty and a schoolgirl in Anne of Green Gables. 

In September, Amelia fell off a ladder and broke her fibula, down near the ankle.  Yes, that is two broken bones in the span of one summer. YIKES.  As I said, it was an eventful year. She had surgery to fix the mildly displaced bone and now has a permanent plate and a bunch of screws in her leg.  Thankfully it was her left leg that broke, so she could still drive kids to their five million activities a week.   She even taught PE to K/1 graders during homeschool co-op from a WHEELCHAIR!  The irony of teaching being the PE teacher with a broken leg! 

Also in September, Amelia started a job as a freelance transcription editor, a job which she really enjoys.  It appeals to her pathologically nosy side, as she gets to listen to and edit transcriptions from various companies, organizations, etc. 

Also in October, Ben and John traveled down to Indianapolis where they played in a team chess tournament with the BUMs (that's Bristol United Methodist Chess Club) and won first place in the U1900 section. 

In November, Amelia joyfully threw away (figuratively speaking) her crutches and become bipedal once again.  Instead of going back to just regular old power walking, she took up Nordic walking (look it up!) and thinks you should too. It has lots of great health and fitness benefits and is just plain fun.  Plus if more people did it, she would look less ridiculous.  So Amelia is encouraging everyone to buy walking poles and take up the fun sport of Nordic walking so it will become more mainstream and people won't laugh at her walking down the trail using poles. Although let's be real...she never was all that mainstream anyway. 

Also in November, Greta got her driving permit.  Watch out!

And to finish off this eventful year, in December, COVID came calling and there was time spent in quarantine. Sadly, Elsa and Annika had to miss their December ballet recital.  We got through it okay, and the majority of us didn't even get sick at all. Word to the wise, if COVID comes calling at your house, there are a whole host of natural remedies and home treatments that when taken early on, I believe do help quite a bit and decrease the severity of the illness.   

In the midst of all those events, the year was filled with many regular moments as well.  

Heidi is 19 and a sophomore in college and doing all sorts of collegiate things.  She finished her first semester with a 4.0 GPA (to brag just a wee bit).  This fall she switched her major to Spanish and plans to become a Spanish teacher (like father, like daughter).  She also played and beat Magnus Carlsen's cousin in a game of chess.  Apparently, Magnus Carlsen's cousin lives in Stuebenville.  She is enjoying her time in college, making friends, and getting involved in a few campus organizations. 

Greta is 17 and a junior.  She is very involved in the youth group and was on the planning team for two high school retreats this year.  She also had a great time this summer at Catholic Youth Summer Camp and is looking forward to going back again.  And you already heard about her numerous theatrical appearances this year.

John is 13 and in 8th grade.  He continues to play chess and attends chess club weekly with Ben.   He is also a "high blue belt" in Tae Kwan Do and enjoys his TKD classes, especially now that they are allowed to do sparring again.  Boys do love to fight, apparently.

Elsa is 9 and in third grade.  This year, she learned how to swim, continues with American Heritage Girls, and continues taking ballet classes, which she loves.  She is becoming quite the reader and is a joy to have around.

Annika is 5 and in kindergarten.  She is learning how to read and is joining Elsa at American Heritage Girls and ballet. She is thrilled to be able to do activities and is a little extrovert and bundle of energy and wants to do ALL THE THINGS.   She also took swimming lessons this summer and while she can't quite swim yet, she is getting there. 

Ben still works at Beers Mallers, practicing in the area of municipal law and governmenting and writing laws and ordinances and super exciting things like that.  He still plays chess and prefers to speak in a sesquipedalian manner.

Amelia basically lives in the car, driving kids to one million activities a week, in between homeschooling and working part-time and taking care of kids and pets and all those things.  This year, after 15 years of being a La Leche League Leader, she retired due to irreconcilable differences with the organization's changing philosophy. 

Life feels like it is moving forward at warp speed and these darn kids just keep growing up and getting older.  I guess that is the way it is supposed to be. 

We wish all our friends and family a very blessed and Holy Christmas.  May you know Christ's peace and love and grow ever closer to Him this coming year.  I pray 2022 is a fruitful and happy year for you all. 

PS. Another word to the wise.  Stay away from ladders!

Love,

The Bentrups (notice, there are no wayward commas in there). 

Ben, Amelia, Heidi, Greta, John, Elsa, Annika.