Annual Christmas Message

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! Here’s wishing you a safe, healthy and prosperous 2008. Your first good deed of 2008 (or last good deed of 2007) is done – you are reading our 2007 Christmas letter on-line and saving a tree J!

This has been a fantastic year for all of us, filled with blessings and challenges. Madelin started Kindergarten in September and is preparing for High School next year. Well, not literally, but she is quite gregarious and fears nothing. A typical Madelin moment happened this year when she went to the store with Aaron. He was looking for some contact solution and couldn’t find his brand. After about 60 seconds of looking, Madelin said loudly “Geez Dad – why don’t you just ask?” and proceeded to go to the pharmacy counter by herself and got help to find the solution. Aaron said he was sure if he gave her his credit card and the keys to the car she could have made the purchase and drove herself home.

Madelin likes school but sometimes talks out of turn. She had been telling us that when she spoke without raising her hand, her teacher would send her to the “duck-tater table”. Aaron and I assumed this was some kind of “time out” place with a picture of a duck and a potato. At parent-teacher conferences we were surprised to learn that there was a “spectator” table that children sat at until they could rejoin the group – and Madelin hadn’t spent nearly as much time there as we feared.

She has also continued swimming lessons this year and started Soccer. The jury is still out on whether we have another Beckham on our hands. She seemed much more interested in telling her team mates what to do than to actually do it herself but she looked pretty cute in the uniform. She’s already lost about 6 teeth.

Hannah is still swimming competitively and doing really well. She recently made a regional time in the 500 Freestyle. Her favorite strokes are freestyle and backstroke and she spends about 10 hours a week in the pool. Somehow, she found time to take up the piano this year and also play 4th/5th grade volleyball. All of that physical activity must have gotten her in shape because she ran the mile in the fastest girl’s time in her 4th grade class this year. All of this while learning to be a fourth grader.

There are two things you should know about Hannah at 9yrs. First, she tends to be on the quiet side and kind of shy around people she doesn’t know. Second, she has blossomed into a beautiful young lady and we have stocked up on baseball bats to beat the boys back from our front door. She has also found her own preferences for clothes and hair and I have found a favorite headache medicine. These two things may or may not be related.

Aaron continues to work for State Farm but in a new management capacity. He’s the process guy -which means he is in charge of budget and important things like that. He reads books for pleasure with words like “Sigma” and “Economy” in the title. He watches CNBC and cares. In other words, he’s a perplexing, tie-wearing, cutie who holds down the family fortress.
He’s also pretty good around the house. We have a new fan in the family room, and a new sprinkler system in the yard that he and his father installed. He has also embraced green living. We have a composting system and some ecological rain barrels because of him. In addition, he found time to coach Madi’s soccer team this year and to take up Poker as a hobby with the neighborhood guys.

As for me, after I quit my job to stay home with the girls, I spent a year as a full-time, stay-at-home mom with Madelin before putting her on the bus for Kindergarten in September. I get Hannah on and off the bus everyday and have her all summer which is a blessing beyond belief for someone with a blended family and joint custody. I would not have given up the last 18 months with my kids for any amount of money and feel incredibly thankful to the Lord for giving me this time.

Now that the kids are both in school full time, I have returned to school to pursue a nursing degree. The degree will take me another 2.5 years which will allow me more time at home with the girls but prepare me for when they get older and need me less. I also keep myself busy as the VP of the girl’s elementary school PTO. In my free time, I write as a hobby, am a member of a book club, and am an avid reader.

Thank you for reading about our lives this year. We enjoy hearing from relatives and friends, so we hope you will share your family happenings with us.

God bless you in the coming year and always!
Love,
Our Family