Saturday, December 24, 2011

Christmas Newsletter 2011





We hope this letter finds you well. Our year has flown by. We had quite a busy year. Last spring we got to go to Walt Disney World with Karen's sister and fiance. It had been 3 years since a real vacation, so we really enjoyed every minute of it. The kids even fought Darth Vader. JP had his mouse ears on the whole time, I am sure Vader was quaking in his boots. They were given the opportunity to join forces with Vader, but we are proud to say none of them turned to the Dark Side.

Also in Spring, Karen's sister announced her wedding would be in November in Key West, Florida. So we got to go on another trip to Florida. We drove all the way down. How many keys could they possibly be? It is gorgeous there though, and the wedding was beautiful. G had the honor of being a flower girl and the boys ring bearers. On the way back, we stopped for a couple of days at Disney World, this time with Karen's brother and parents, who missed the trip in the spring due to a hospital stay.

This was a milestone year for Ed, he turned 40. He had a quiet, little party with his best friends. All else is the same, same job, same worship team. Just before Christmas, Ed got to go out to Arizona to see his family. His mom is fighting cancer, and we could not think of a better present for her then Ed.

Karen is snowed under with work. She is homeschooling the kids full time with a full load of students, John started Kindergarten this year. Homeschooling 3 kids is really not hard, it is all the rest of the stuff that is the problem, like sending out punctual cards and newsletters. She is enjoying nesting until we are placed with a baby.

G turned 10 this year. She still takes Irish Dancing lessons, and lots of homeschooling activities – homeschooling skating is her favorite. This year she has joined the chess club at the library, and really enjoys it. G's hot interests this year are video games, roller skating and crafts.

Z turns 8 next month. This year at our homeschool co-op he got to take a cooking class, he enjoys to help Karen cook. He recently joined a township wrestling team, and loves it! Ed wrestled when he was in middle school, and he has turned into quite a stage mom. Z is so excited on practice nights, he is too worked up to eat dinner, so that tells you how important this really is to him. This year Z's interests are cars, wrestling, and playing outside.

JP turned 5 this year, and started Kindergarten. At co-op he moved up to a new class, where he gets to go to different stations. He loves to do everything with Z, they even sleep together. Z keeps trying to get him to join the wrestling team, but JP says he will only join if they get a blue mat – his favorite color. JP knows what he wants. One of his favorite places to go is the zoo, he says he is going to live there when he grows up. JP's interests are animals, cars, and pretending to be a baby animal.

As for number 4, all our adoption paperwork is finished. We are a waiting family, which means we show our profile to birth parents and wait for them to pick us. So far we have not gotten picked, but it is exciting to receive opportunities. When we do get picked, it probably will happen very quickly. Adoption is a lot of waiting, and then instant baby! We look forward to sending out an adoption announcement. G and Z keep making JP act like a baby so they have a baby to play with. Hopefully we will not have to wait too long.

May God bless your New Year,

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