Christmas letter 2010

Many people have asked me where our annual Christmas letter was this year.  Honestly, I didn't think people actually read it; at times it seemed to be more of a way for me to reflect on the year in an "extroverted way".  I did have this letter typed, but I didn't include it this year with our cards.  Here it is below, for those of you that have asked-

Merry Christmas!  I feel like that’s all I have to say.  Reflecting over the past year seems like am daunting task, with so many events and changes for us, but I will give it a go-

             JACOB- our first-born is 7 and in 1^st grade.  We are so proud of him for being a leader at school and friend to all.  He loves math (obviously from his dad), and P.E.  He is learning more words to spell, read and write, which makes ‘code parent spelling’ more difficult since he can understand out conversations.  Over the summer, Jacob played in his first baseball league, coached by Brenton.  He’s a great hitter, but not a fan of playing the field (not enough action), so we are grooming him to be a catcher. J  His swimming skills also boomed- swimming in the deep end of pools (with supervision) with no life jacket is new- I was amazed when he showed me he could do it, but not that surprised since he would swim everyday all day if he had the chance.   Jacob also continued to ride his bike, climb trees in the yard, and perfect his Jedi skills.  He’s growing up so fast!

            ISABELLE- The princess has taken over the kindergarten class!  She is attending St. Dominic School for full-day kindergarten.  She LOVES school (no surprise), and is doing wonderfully.  She will tell you everything you need to know in life, from her 6-year-old perspective, as if she was the first person to know and tell you her information.  A few people have told me that she holds strong convictions about telling people to love Jesus.  She follows those conversations by bluntly telling them they are going to hell if they don’t.  She continues to do well in gymnastic.  She was asked to be a part of an “invite only” level to start preparing her for competitive gymnastics.  Who knows if she will stick with it that far, but it’s fun to see her advancing so well. 

            ANDREW- There is not enough room in this letter to talk about Andrew.  Some might look the picture and think he hasn’t changed, but we celebrate the small height and weight gains for him.  This seems to be his biggest growth year since he was 18 months, so we are all excited for that! Andrew is now 4.  If I had to use 2 words to describe him, I would say he is a drumming- monkey.  His energy level never ceases, and I can usually find him when I listen for where he is drumming on something.  He is so blessed to get the chance to spend 2 days home with dad and 3 days with his Aunt Carrie.  Andrew is full of life, fun, and fears nothing (which I swear will land us in the ER someday). 

            BRENTON- He separated from Target in early December, and is currently knee deep in job applications and searching for the newest adventure in his life.  This task is difficult at times, since we all know he is a man of many passions and interests.  Last June, Brenton ran Grandma’s marathon.  With very little training, he finished at 4 hours, 43 minutes- WOW!  We made a mini vacation out of the marathon, enjoying a water park hotel.  When he does get some free time, he tackles his reading goal- reading 100 books in a year, social networking, golfing, preaching for friends when they’re absent, and coaching Jacob’s sports. 

            STEPHANIE- I returned back to work full-time last March.  I took a Long-term sub position at the Catholic School in Northfield.  Then I was rehired this school year as the 7^th and 8^th grade teacher- I’m loving it!  I continue to coach at the High School.  Last season the varsity team earned a trip to the State Tournament, so as the assistant, I got to take it all in with the team.  My biggest event of the year, was completing my first triathlon!  I spent most of the summer training in the pool, on my bike, and running early in the morning.  It took a lot more effort than I originally thought it would, but ended up being a lot of fun.  I plan to do more this coming summer- who would’ve ever thought I would do that?!

            As a family, we have had a blessed year.  We’ve been able to travel together to Duluth, Brainerd, The Cabin, and Michigan.  The kids are at fun ages, where everything we do is exciting, and we can still do things relatively cheap.  Brenton decided that 2010 was going to be about making memories for our family, and I believe we have accomplished that.  The biggest memory we created for the children this year was adding to our family, by getting a puppy!  In June, we drove to a farm near St. Cloud, and picked up our black ½ Pug, ½ Boston Terrier puppy that we named Manny.  He’s added a lot of fun to our family.  He loves to play with and chase the kids around, and he loves to snuggle up and cuddle close too.  The kids adore him, probably more than he would like sometimes. J

            I am sure much more has happened this year that I am leaving out, but these are the highlights.  Brenton and I hope, that during the craziness of the season, you get to enjoy the true Christmas message; Jesus Christ came to the world (as a baby) for each of us, not to be served- but TO serve, and give his life as a ransom for many.

 Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!