Thursday, December 18, 2008

Merry Christmas & A Blessed New Year! (yes - our family letter now online!)



From our family to yours - we wish you a wonderful Advent season, a very Merry Christmas, and a joyful 2009!!  In tradition of our letters - here is a little something on each of our beautiful children this year. 


Peter - well, what a year! He has really grown and got quite strong. He is sitting and pulling to stand. He is army crawling and climbing onto stuff. He can sneak up the stairs and is working on coming down. He is saying a couple of words - and signing others. He is eating and enjoying it. He still prefers puree food with textures, but he will feed himself finger food. The greatest gift of 2008 was healing - his lungs are getting healthier each day! His pulmonary hypertension is resolved and he is now on oxygen only at night! Wonderful!!  We know that 2009 will bring so much more development and we are excited to see him continue to grow and challenge himself. 


Tommy - he’s three now! He is such an interesting, quirky, funny and incredibly smart little boy. He doesn’t want to potty train - but we are confident he will before college! He loves his role of big brother to Peter, and is teaching him much. He has a very active imagination - and with his major accomplice: Jack - can turn blankets into forts, cushions into bridges, chairs into trains, and invoke guardian angels to battle in the middle of the night. He shares a room with Jack, but sometimes finds himself in our bed in the middle of the night - when I asked him why he said Jack’s dinosaurs were too noisy and waking him up at night. And, when in doubt the remote control makes a great phone for calling “friends”. 


Jack - our little future Bronco’s player turned 5 this year. He graduated up to Kindergarten and talks about school every day! He is still “dating” Elizabeth whom he plans to marry one day and they plan to have 8 kids! He took football camp this summer and had the most fun of any kid. He has the fastest little legs in the west - and loves running into the wind. The volunteer coordinator at school is recruiting Jack into track in first grade because of his speed and stamina..... during a school fund raiser he out ran most of the older kids. He enjoys being read to before bed. He prays at night for another sister - a testament to how much he loves Alexandra. 


Michael - now in 5th grade! And turned double digits this year. He will be 11 in January and is turning into a strong young man. His sport of choice seems to be basketball, and he really enjoyed some camps this summer. He visited Peru earlier this year, and experienced a world so different from Colorado. While on a trip into the Amazon jungle with his grandparents, they encountered some rioting during a national strike. Boulders on the road, burning trees and being surrounded by an angry mob that threw rocks at their car was more than frightening. They obviously eventually got home safely - but I think Michael has decided traveling the world might not be for him!


Alexandra - she is wrapping up middle school and will be going onto high school next year. Where have the years gone? Seems like yesterday she was in our arms as a newborn. She is now 14 and keeps growing like a weed. She is easily 5’9” and not showing a sign of slowing down. She played volleyball again this year, and continues to improve and develop. However, she has found her true joy is acting. She took some acting camps this summer and this fall was in a local production of “The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”. She hopes to participate in more plays and get involved in drama while in high school. 


John coached the Colorado Springs School boy’s golf teams again this year. The boys have such admiration and respect for John - it is great to see what a positive influence he has had on them as players and individuals. One of his players made it to State Championship this year which was remarkable for his second year. They are looking forward to doing even better next year under John’s guidance. John continued to teach privately and will possibly pick up a girl’s golf team in 2009. The highlight of the year is always his ice fishing trip - which is coming up in January. So should you want to escape for a weekend of camaraderie, fishing, grilling, and of course a beer - pencil it in for President’s Day weekend and call John!


Catherine continues to work for UnitedHealthcare and is not sure what 2009 will bring to the industry. She volunteers cooking meals for a local foster family, and recently was elected onto the board of the Colorado Springs Down Syndrome Association - she is very excited to develop awareness in the community for our children, support for new parents, and help promote understanding in our medical community. 


Peter and Catherine (if all stay healthy) will be headed to Peru in January to celebrate a milestone birthday for Catherine’s mother. While only going for a week, they are planning some relax time on the beach. A much needed break after a hectic 2008. 


We hope that this finds you well - and that 2009 will bring you much joy, laughter, love and blessings! We hope if you are in Colorado you will look us up!


God bless, 

John, Catherine, Alexandra, Michael, Jack, Tommy, Peter and Angel-Dog


  

 

1 comment:

Mindy said...

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas! See you in the new year!