Monday, January 11, 2010

Finally, our Christmas/New Years Letter

There are MANY of you that did not get our Christmas Letter, which actually is more like a New Years letter. Only because life has been crazy and does not seem to be slowing down. Next year I need to plan better. This is the first year since I have been married that I have not sent out cards. I feel awful about it. I am sure no one even noticed but I still feel bad. Don't feel obligated to read this, it is only for those really interested.

Dear Family and Friends,

The last 6 weeks has been a blur and so we didn't get Christmas cards out, so you are getting a Happy New Year's letter. This year has been busy, but good. We have had lots of fun as a family and also got to visit a lot of family. The visiting started in the summer when Jeff's parents came to visit. We did a few summer trips and stayed local. (believe it or not Midland has some entertainment, well you can travel 300 miles and get some entertainment) We then went to Arizona for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed a visit with Heather's family. (note to self, need to visit more often). Then we ended the year with a long visit to Utah and Idaho. Heather braved the drive with the kids to UT and survived. Heather's sister just moved back to the states and she moved to Pocatello, ID and so she headed there to visit as well. It had been 3 years since they had seen each other and so it was a much needed visit. They had a great time and Parker and Addison enjoyed playing with their cousins. After the visit to ID, Heather traveled with the kids to Utah and visited with her family.(all of her siblings were home for Christmas) It was a nice visit and we did many things to celebrate the Christmas season. It was nice to be around family for Christmas. Jeff joined us a few days before Christmas and celebrated with us. After that we rang in the new year with Jeff's family. What a great visit. All of Jeff's siblings visited as well. We had a great relaxing visit and then headed home. We are ready to start the New Year.

Here is an update about each of us....

Jeff has been working hard for the family. He stays busy with work, scouting and also has recently picked up doing high school reffing a few days a week. He did this a lot before he got married and so he says it feels great to be back. He also stays busy with the yard. (everyone says he has the best grass on the block) He loves to be outside and takes good care of our yard and house. He has been lucky to only have a few after effects from his accident 18 months ago. He has only missed a few days from work because of it. He says that every day is different and he never knows what it is going to bring.

Heather has been as busy as ever with the kiddos. It is a great blessing that she is be able to stay home with them. She wouldn't have it any other way. On top of all of her mommy duties and her household chores she has managed to pick up a new hobby that she never thought she would. She has started to quilt and sew. She even got a new sewing machine. In her spare time she also does digital scrapbooking. She has started to create pages for designers. They give her their kit and then she creates a page for them and they use it to advertise their new kit. It has been great (Jeff loves it because we don't have to pay for ANY scrapbook stuff) and it is a great creative outlet for her. She hopes to learn how to design her own kits this year. This year she hopes to tackle a few projects around the house. She wants to paint and redecorate her bedroom. Hope all goes well there.

Parker has been having fun in school and just recently got a new teacher. He is loving his new class and really enjoys going. His most favorite thing about school is PE and school lunch. Good thing mommy lets him have school lunch a few days a week. He has been doing really good learning to read and can't wait until he can read chapter books. He took a break from soccer and wants to try his hand at t-ball. He sure is growing up fast!! We enjoy his enthusiasm and love to have him around. Parker is already wanting summer to be here. He loves going outside and this cold weather is killing him.

Addison has had the most change in the last year. She has started walking and is into EVERYTHING. Her newest thing is climbing on top of the kitchen table. She LOVES to climb. She loves reading and can look at books for a long period of time. In just a few months she will start going to the nursery and will for sure keep them on their toes. She is full of energy and is the happiest thing. If we could only get her to stop squealing life would be great. She loves to eat, but is a very picky eater. She can talk a little bit. She can say shoe, mama, wow and dada. She does some sign language too and that makes life a lot easier. She can sign water, please, thank you and also she points a lot. She adores her big brother and gets so excited to go and get him from school. She is anything but a princess, she loves to go outside and play in the dirt. We have enjoyed watching her grow into a little lady. For Christmas she got a purse from Nana and she loves to carry it around. It is adorable!! We know this new year will bring many more things.

We wish you well with your New Year and hope that this year brings you all that you are striving for. You are all in our thoughts and prayers and we miss you all. Our travel plans for this next year are limited and we will not be traveling a lot. We invite you all to our small town of Midland. Happy New Year!!!!

You can see more photos of us on our blog. http://mymidlandmemories.blogspot.com/

We are also on Facebook and you can catch up with us there as well.


Love you all!!!

Jeffrey, Heather, Parker and Addison

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