Christmas Letter 2011

October 2011

So, this is our first official Christmas "letter," even though it's here on my blog and going out by email to those I think won't come to my blog; let's not be fussy about format. I decided a number of years ago to jump ahead to relaxing about Christmas and not worrying about getting Christmas cards and a Christmas letter out to everyone. It's not that we don't care, it's just that something had to go. I sure am impressed with the number of people who haven't given up on us, though! It's been a LONG time since we've done Christmas cards and I still manage to get Christmas cards from some of you. You must really love us. Thank you! For the rest of you feeling guilty about not doing cards and letters: stop, do what you can, do what you love, love your family and friends and trust that those who really matter love you enough to understand you're doing your best.

So here we are doing a little update letter and a Christmas greetings to our family and friends! Go us! So, since we've never done one of these, how far back do we go? ;) I suppose we start with the basics.

Dan and I are in our 10th year of marriage (can you believe that?). We have three lovely children: Zoe, our eldest is 6 1/2 (born March 2005), Simon, our second is 4 (born June 2007), and our baby Isaac just turned one on September 21 (born 2010). 

August 2010

We live in Edmonton, Alberta; we moved to the city from Medicine Hat in July of 2006 and last August (2010) moved from our 1050 sq ft condo to a cute two-storey house within a stone's throw of our favourite park and Italian market (okay, you have to be a pretty good throw to hit the market). It's a lovely home built in the 1930s, so there is quite a bit of work to do, but it's wonderful to have more space and our own yard. There's even a small play structure in the back yard for the kids! We spent a good part of 2011 (and some of 2010) making minor renovations, including replacing the kitchen ceiling (lath and plaster under drywall!) and painting most of the house. Our very dear friends, JB and Erin Crocker helped us out immensely with our home projects. We could not have done it without them! And of course, I can't forget to mention all the work our parents have done for us: my dad (with the help of JB and some of our other friends) put a new roof on our steep-pitched house in August 2010; my mom and sister Alison painted the bedrooms, and my father-in-law laid down trim on most of the main floor and solved a lot of other quirky old-house issues.

Dan recently (October 1) took on a pastorate at First Christian Church (Disciples) on 97th St and 134th Ave AND they pay him! For the four years before that he was pastoring a small new church we started with our dear friends, the Crockers, called Bridgepointe Church, but they couldn't pay him, so he was also a Family Support Worker, working with families in the Alberta Children Services system. We are so blessed that most of our little church came with us, so we haven't had to part with our people! Now Dan can be so much more focussed on his true passion for pastoring, we have more time together as a family and we are less stressed in general. When you think of us, please pray for our church.

Cupcakes I made for Isaac's Birthday

I returned to work at The King's University College in September of this year after a one year maternity leave with Isaac; I work in a part-time capacity in the Development Department. I am largely responsible for database management which, while being a little more interesting than it sounds, is still kind of a nerdy job. With church work not being 9-5, Dan is able to be home with Isaac in the mornings while I am at work; it is a real blessing to have Isaac home with daddy instead of in child care. Even though he is at home with Isaac, Dan is always thinking about church stuff (it's a discipline to turn his brain off in the evenings, so he can sleep). I have also taken on a bit of a side project for some friends/former bosses from my past, Lois  and Marv Penner, doing some email marketing and database consulting from home. It's definitely been a treat working for this encouraging couple again! I also make a few cakes for friends and friends of friends, which earns a few dollars, but honestly I mostly enjoy doing it for the excitement on people's faces and you don't get quite as much joy out of someone when they have to pay you for it. I do get bored pretty easily, so remaking the same old cake for someone else isn't as fun. I'm really not cut out for the mass-producing business.

Personally for me 2011 was the year to "get it together" and I must say I was actually pretty successful (though, I'm not terribly hard on myself). Dan and I started a fitness and nutrition program called P90X in typical New Year's resolution style in January and I was able to lose about 30 lbs over the 90 days. I have backslidden over the summer and fall and gotten a little soft, but I think we'll pick it up again in the New Year after the holidays and give it another go. It feels great to fit into smaller clothes and look and feel better overall! This year has been pretty busy losing weight, taking care of kids and giving the house a face-lift that I didn't get as many crafty things done as I would have liked: I still have some plans for the next month or so that include some Christmas gifts and projects, so more things may be appearing on Facebook yet! 

Now I think it's time to brag about the kids… Zoe is our brilliant eldest child. She is in grade one and she loves everything about school. She has been reading for almost 2 years now and it's so fun to see her enjoying books and eating up knowledge. We are told she is very helpful in class and is often selected for reading during school assemblies. She has also taken an interest in cooking via The Food Network, so her current "when I grow up" goal includes being an Iron Chef and in her spare time writing stories. She is also becoming quite the little business-woman, selling lemonade and cupcakes at our front gate before Eskimos games, as our house is walking distance from the stadium. It's a great exercise in preparation, customer service, money handling, and money management. She is very social and has become quite good friends with the neighbour kids; they play together a lot and it's so great to have friends for neighbours!

Simon has entered school with Zoe this year in the 100 Voices program at our school, which is an early learning program for pre-kindergarten. He also loves school. He is in a class with just three girls and 14 boys! His teacher says it is a very active class! Simon has learned to write his name; he draws wonderful pictures of people and has taken an interest in inventing. His most recent invention idea was the pyjama dookie, which is a machine to help you put your pyjamas on. We are still waiting on a prototype, but he says they are $105 at Superstore. Pretty steep, but it's great distribution and if you bought it, you'd have all the help you'd need putting pyjamas on! Just let me know if you want to place an order (or hit your neighbourhood Superstore).

Isaac has had a big year…firsts are like that I guess.  He is a pretty happy baby for the most part, always full of smiles and giggles. He's just been starting to walk in the last month, so he's all trouble now. :) He loves to pull the toilet paper off the roll in the bathroom whenever someone leaves the door open or climb up the stairs whenever the gate is down. He's become a little bit of a fussy eater, preferring sweet grapes over just about anything and is known to pull offending food out of his mouth and discreetly (or not) drop it on the floor beside his chair. It's the one time I have ever thought a dog would be handy. Maybe I could just borrow one for a few minutes after dinner?


I think that about wraps it up for us. We are looking forward to a lovely quiet Christmas at home, with plenty of Christmas-y activities leading up to the 25th and following. The kids have (and I must admit I have, too) been enjoying our Advent activity calendar, which I think will become a tradition in our home. It's been so fun creating memories and our own traditions. The kids have all been sick this month so we're doing our best to go with the flow and switch up activities when necessary, but they never forget about doing the advent activity!


Our family theme for 2012 is hospitality, so if you're looking to come to Edmonton for a visit, look us up and we'd gladly have you over for a cup of coffee, glass of wine, dinner, cupcakes or even put you up for a night or two!


May your Christmas be happy and your 2012 be full of thankfulness!
Love,

For to us a child is born,
  to us a son is given,
  and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
  Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 Isaiah 9:6