A change this year... an online Christmas letter from us! We have had a busy year, as everyone with kids does.
Z will be 8 at the end of the month. Eight?!? It's almost heartbreaking how quickly time flies. He is in 2nd grade, in the top study groups, and gets nearly all excellent marks (the exception being handwriting... that's probably my fault). He is also in his 4th year of piano and played soccer again this past spring. Z has also taken an interest in football this year, thanks to the Madden Wii game, and wants to play for the New England Patriots when he grows up (at other times, he has mentioned being a mechanic... we've told him, as long as he goes to college, he can do whatever he wants. :) ).
B just started kindergarten at Our Lady of Lourdes. Heather LOVES having the big kids in the same place this year... SO much less running around! B is already reading a year ahead of other kids her age and seems to love school. She is in Girl Scouts as a Daisy and would be more than happy to sell you cookies next month! She also played soccer this spring for this first time and was a scoring machine... she has no fear! On the opposite end of the spectrum, she is an artist and would draw/craft all day long given the opportunity.
A continues to be happiest in the afternoons when the big kids are back with us. At 1, she is finally learning to sleep in her own bed and just started really walking in the past couple of weeks. She loves music but is also content to play with a magazine that we are done with, flipping through it carefully and then tearing it up when she's finished (repurposing at its best!). We can't wait for her to really start talking!
The whole family celebrated Joey and Heather's 10th wedding anniversary with a weekend in Cape Hatteras.
Heather gets involved in everything possible because she can't say "no". She is the chair of the Pastoral Council, organizer of the Mom's Group, and a member of the baptism committee at church and room parent and volunteer at school. She is still keeping up with the kids' memories through scrapbooking and is even having four layouts published in a magazine that comes out tomorrow! Her mom is off work on Thursdays and Fridays, and she enjoys spending lots of time with her then.
Joey is still happily working at CSC - it's been 10 years now with the same employer! He coached BOTH Z and B in soccer this year, which meant two nights of practice a week and two games on Saturdays from the end of March to the beginning of June.
You can see the posts prior to this for all of the details on our vacation. We went to the West Coast and drove from San Francisco to Seattle over a 9 day span in June. This was the first year that we've had sickness accompany our travels. I guess we should be grateful? :)
We hope that 2011 is a blessed year for you and your family. Merry Christmas!
