(note: this year's letter was written by Gary)
We hope this letter finds all of our family and friends happy and healthy as we begin a new year.
The focus of this year was to get Sarah ready for Kindergarten. Sarah is 5 1/2, and started school this fall in Mrs. K's kindergarten class. Her school preparation was a little different from most kids... in addition to the standard series of required shots and check-ups, Sarah added a few extra doctors. She visited a new cardiologist who confirmed that her heart is full of love and is just fine the way it is. We were so relieved to find that heart surgery was not on the agenda this year. Sarah didn't completely escape the hospital ... she had one surgery to correct her strabismus (drifting eye) and another to reduce her drooling. Both were a great success. Hopefully next year will be a piece of cake without all the medical issues. Sarah has really made great progress in all her therapies and school during 2002... we're so proud of her!
Our daughter Madilyn, newest addition to the P--- family, has been growing like a weed. She turned one in August and has remained on the top of the growth chart all year. She is at about the 95th percentile in every category… she may be big, but at least she’s well proportioned! At sixteen months she wears size 2T; at this rate she’ll be sharing clothes with Sarah within a year! She has recently learned how to walk and has decided that when she walks, she'll do it her way. No more hand-holding for her! Where as Sarah likes to snuggle, Madilyn just smiles at you and keeps moving. Her favorite pastime when forced to sit still in church is to go fishing for smiles. It’s easy to tell when she gets a bite (someone smiling back) because her smile gets even bigger… which we didn’t think was possible.
Laura's had some new responsibilities this year… in addition to mommy duty and chauffeuring, she’s been handling some referee responsibilities as Sarah and Madilyn learn to live together. Sarah seems to (understandably) resent the intrusion, and won’t willingly be in the same room with her sister...and Madilyn won’t let Mommy out of her sight. We hope this is a short term problem… but it’s made the last 16 months rather tough! In order to have a legitimate reason for spending time on the computer, she’s a volunteer for Chromosome Deletion Outreach, a web-based support group for parents of children with rare chromosome disorders. She answers e-mail inquiries from around the world. She also attempted to expand pg ink, her small craft business, but later decided to discontinue it while the girls are young. Right now, they need her more than the craft world does! Laura has also been working the last half of the year as a leader in our church’s young women organization. She works with the 14-15 year olds… and is getting quite an education in teenage psychology.
My year has been a year full of travel. Unfortunately, most of it has been to Minneapolis, MN or Austin TX... nothing exotic. I’ve also been doing a lot of local travelling as a function of my church calling, which has me speaking in different church units around mid-Missouri every month. I must admit that even though my ability to speak in front of an audience has improved, my ability to write an enlightening speech still stinks! This summer I was on a quest to develop the perfect salsa. We (again) had far more tomatoes than we could pawn off on friends and neighbors, so we took up salsa-making. After meticulous refinement, I’ve learned that the secret is in the cilantro. Looks like the beginnings of a “secret family recipe” to me… I took the opportunity again this year to travel to Utah for the deer hunt. We saw lots of deer, but nothing that we could shoot at. Even though I came home empty handed, I had fun spending time with my family.
Overall, it’s been a year of learning and growing, and we’re so grateful for all that we have… especially the love and support of our family and friends. Merry Christmas to every one of you.
Wishing You Peace, Love, and Happiness...
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