Our Christmas Letter 2008

Well I finally got my Christmas cards sent out yesterday and I put my blog address on them so I didn't have to print out a Christmas letter. So I thought I would summarize a little bit about our year. This year has been pretty great to us (knock on wood). I haven't had to have any MRI's or anything weird happen. Pretty uneventful and that's the way I like it! From Jan - May life just seems blurred. When schools in it doesn't seem like much happens. Bill and I are still the Webelos leaders and love doing it. There's really not a better calling in the church. Bill did change jobs at Meleleuca. He was Warehouse Manager and is now back in Purchasing as International Forecasting and Planning Manager. My workaholic of a husband loves it and it has made it so he barely even travels anymore, which he hates and I enjoy because I don't have to fix dinner every night! Oh Well! His passion for golf is ever increasing and it doesn't help that my 15 year old has an equivalent passion. Idaho Falls is a very golf friendly community. There are 3 City Courses and a golf pass covers all three. Its a pretty decent deal, so of course him and Jesse have their passes! In the summers Bill is awake every morning at 5am just to golf! As I said Jesse's passion for golf is equal to his dads and its a fun past time for the two of them to share. He turned 15 in November and besides golf Jesse's new interest is Driving! Jesse took drivers ed this past summer and now has his learners permit, he will be eligible for full fledged licensing in February. Most people think I should be terrified, I am a little, but driving back and forth to the golf course almost daily all summer and picking him up after school or before school because of projects...well I get tired of doing it! So I am almost as excited at the prospect of him being able to drive as he is. Jesse is also a great student. He has set a goal to be Valedictorian at graduation so he's working hard to maintain a 4.0 grade point, which with 4 honors classes and Italian its pretty tough. Jesse also finished (sort of) his Eagle project. He just needs to finish up the paperwork and he's got it. I just need a match to light a fire under him! Abbie is now 9 years old. Abbie is energetic, happy (most of the time) and very smart. She is also the hardest for me to understand. Her personality is so much like her dads! She considers herself to be very beautiful and very smart and never considered the possibility that it could be any other way! She's a great kid and tries very hard to do what it right. She is a great listener, I mean she hears EVERYTHING! She loves being in Achievement days at church and has a dance/gymnastics class that she can't seem to get enough of. She's in the third grade at school and wishes she was in the 7th. She is already boy crazy and loves everything a girl could love and can't wait till she's old enough to color her hair and wear make-up! AYE-AYE-AYE!!! Cierra, our youngest, is in the 1st grade and doing a great job. She loves to read, but with a picture book in hand ends up talking about what she thinks the pictures say rather than reading the words in the book. She's definitely a story teller, and a bit of a truth stretcher, but I don't think its meant as a lie, its just to make a story a little more interesting! She also is in gymnastics and she loves it as well, she is a little monkey and loves to climb the walls. You can read more in an earlier post about how much she loves bugs and cooking! She's a sweet kid, very laid back and not really concerned about much other than having a good time. That is a quality we can all enjoy! This summer we took a family vacation to the Black Hills to see Mt. Rushmore. We rented a van and took Bills folks with us. We had a blast! It was one of the funnest vacations we've ever had. There was so much to see and not enough time to see it. I would totally recommend that trip to everyone! Sorry for the length of my letter I always seem to get a little carried away! I love my family and I just want everyone to know how great they really are! We all want to wish you a very merry Christmas and we hope the New Year brings you all the happiness and joy you can handle! God Bless you all!