Merry Christmas!
We hope your family has had a wonderful year. We miss all of you! Here’s an update on our family:
This past year has seen a friendship develop between 7 year old Sarah and 3 year old Madilyn, something for which we are all grateful! Sarah’s gotten more comfortable with her sister, and Madilyn … well, she’s three. Some days she’s an angel, and other days we wonder what on earth happened to that baby who was always smiling. Luckily, we have it on videotape.
This summer we vacationed in Branson, Missouri, followed by a (too short) stop in Columbia on the way home. On the trip, we took the girls out on a ski boat for the first time. Much to their Dad’s delight, they both became eager boaters and aspiring fishermen (fishergirls?). Now they ask to go fishing every time we drive by a body of water. Have I mentioned that we are still living in Minnesota, land of 10,000 lakes? For someone not interested in fishing, I sure do spend a lot of time talking about it. I guess it doesn’t help that we purchased Gary’s childhood boat, a 1969 Gulfstream that stayed in the family all these years. With two lakes so close to our home, it was inevitable that a boat would end up in our garage.
This year, Gary learned that you need to be careful about stating your long-term career goals, since you might end up there sooner than expected! He was looking to join a specialized team after 3 years in his job, but ended up there this November, two years ahead of schedule. Although I am proud of my husband, there is much grumbling since this likely means another move in summer 2006. sigh…
I stay busy with the house, kids, and teaching an early morning New Testament class for the 14 to 18 year olds in our ward. Pretty amazing kids, getting up that early in the morning (class starts at 5:50 am) to learn about the Savior. I learn a lot from them.
Sarah is mainstreamed in first grade, and is doing really well. All of her specialists are simply amazed at her progress, much of which we attribute to eliminating artificial colors from her diet. We suspect an allergy or sensitivity to them causes the attention and behavioral problems. Sarah continues to receive private physical, occupational, and speech therapies as they are available, and all her “people” just love her. Purple is still her favorite color, but the Sesame Street gang has been ousted in favor of the Care Bears, with Finding Nemo not far behind.
Madilyn has started talking and simply won’t stop. We’re in the year of the “why?” questions. She started preschool this year, with no hesitation. She literally walked into the classroom, said “bye Mom!”, and that was it. She loves school, jumping, riding her scooter, swimming lessons, jumping, hunting for lions and tigers in the front yard, and jumping. Did I mention jumping? Although she’s high-maintenance, she is a joy.
Our home has a guest bedroom that we’re always eager to fill, so if you’re looking for a place to escape the summer heat (or if you REALLY like winter) come join us for a few days, weeks, whatever! We’ll leave the light on.
Wishing you peace, joy, and love in the coming year.
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