Our year in a nutshell!

Dear Family and Friends,

Since I'm feeling a little bit guilty about not sending cards, I thought the least I could do was post an update of what's going on around here...but much of it I've already posted!

Each of us has had our own share of accomplishments this year, and I'm proud of them all, so I'll go one by one.

Sarah - Well, this is a big one...my baby girl is out of diapers!! Once she finally decided to do it, it was smooth sailing! Chase and I figured that between the three kids, we'd changed 8 years worth of diapers (we had one free year before Sarah, but one year when both Caleb and Emma wore them)! And the number cruncher in me couldn't help but figure out that about $42 a month x 96 months is over $4000!!

Besides that, Sarah is just blossoming in so many ways. She cracks me up with the words that come out of her mouth.  When Emma started losing teeth, Sarah made sure to show us her "loose teeth" too.  She loves to play dollhouse, babies, and pretty much whatever Emma does.

Emma - First grade has been great for Emma. She has become such a fluent reader this year. I am so proud of her school work. This year she had her first dance recital, but decided she wanted to try other things than dance. So now she's in Daisies (Girl Scouts) and will be in her school's play after vacation. Then she wants to try gymnastics. Or soccer. Or karate.  It changes day-by-day.

You may have noticed some missing teeth there, too. She has lost five teeth in first grade so far, a record in her class! She's becoming such a mature little girl, but I think the best thing about her is the way she loves her little sister. When Sarah was born, I was worried that she might not have the bond that Caleb and Emma had, since the older two were much closer in age. But the 3 1/2 years between Sarah and Emma are nothing. Emma is Sarah's best friend, and sometimes, I think Sarah is hers too. 

Caleb - Baseball is his life.  He played two seasons this year, and was invited to play on a tournament team with some of the best players. And he held his own. He has a head for baseball, and the skills to go with it. He's become quite a strong pitcher and an awesome first baseman.

But that's not the only place he succeeds. He's doing incredible in school. Things just come easy for him, and I'm grateful. I try to make sure it doesn't go to his head, and for the most part, I think he understands that. 

Chase - Chase has developped a new passion for motorcycles. He got a new one this past summer and has even named it (you'll have to ask him what it's named!)  He passed the safety course and got his license...and finally convinced me to take a ride on it last week. And although I was really scared, I have to admit it was kind of fun.

You probably have heard that he lost his job in the fall. We were both so disappointed, not just for the sake of money, but because he had finally found something he was really passionate about. With the state's budget the way it is, pickings are slim all around right now, and education is taking a particularly hard hit right now.  We're hoping that things will turn around soon, but in the meantime, his job future is in God's hands.

Me - Well, I'm still in second grade, same school, though I'm proud to say we're the highest achieving elementary school in the Anaheim City School District! It didn't come easy, but I'm proud to be a part of it.

I still enjoy taking pictures, scrapbooking, and blogging, but it sure is hard to fit it all in! This year, I've tried hard to enjoy life, make more time for the kids (which means less time cleaning =), ) and just make sure that my kiddos, particularly Sarah, don't just sprout right before my eyes.  I feel like I've done okay with that!

Overall, we've had a tremendously blessed year. Despite the job loss, when I look at all we have, the beautiful neighborhood we live in, the wonderful school the kids attend, the family that is close by to us, the church we've become a part of, and the support we have all around, I feel overwhelmed with gratitutde to God.  I hope that you can find these blessings in your own lives as well this year!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

Love,

Carrie

Merry Christmas!

This Christmas, I really wanted to make the year enjoyable. I wanted to have time to spend with the kids, just doing nothing if we chose. To do that, though, I had to scale back a bit. So I haven't baked quite as many cookies as usual. And I didn't write Christmas cards.  And I bought a few less gifts (well, that was the planned, but there's a mountain hiding in my closet!) And I did most of my shopping online, which really saved a lot of time.

It worked, though, and I haven't felt the need to run around crazily during this last week's rush. Last rainy Saturday we had fun in the house, and even took a rainwalk.

 We spent a day at the snow. We cuddled up and watched Elf together. Emma and I saw The Princess and the Frog, and yesterday, the girls and I went to Disneyland. So I'd say my plan worked, but I'm still feeling a little bad about the whole cards thing. So I decided to write my "Christmas letter" here, and even add a few pictures to go with it! I realized in doing this, though, that those of you who actually read my blog have really been able to keep up with us this whole year, and in that case, the letter's not even necessary.

Nevertheless, here I go!

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!

We don't get to sing that song very often, but after a very rainy Saturday, we (well, Chase) decided to head up to the snow for the day to let the kids have some fun.  I must admit, I was dragging my feet a little, okay, a lot. I just didn't want to be cold and wet, particularly with Sarah newly done with diapers (yay!).  But, I'm glad Chase made me do it, because we all had a wonderful day!

I couldn't believe Sarah. After one trip down the hill with me, she was ready to go on her own! She slid down on that little orange disc and just flew! By then she was done with me.

We made a little snowman, had a few snacks, and before you know it were heading home. The girls were cold and tired, but they'd done really well. All in all, it was a great family day!

All I Want for Christmas is...

my two front teeth!

Emma has been working on these two teeth for about six weeks, and was hoping they'd both be missing right about now, just so she could sing the song! Her wish came true.