The Christmas Letter

I caved. I wrote The Christmas Letter. I did this at midnight before the family Christmas party because I couldn't think of a great way to just add my blog addy to my cards. Do you include it in the list of names? Do you just tack it onto the bottom like an afterthought? ACK, it was too much for me to think about, so I just wrote. And now I'll bore you all with it as well. Who knows, you may learn something about us that you didn't know. Or you might want to run and never read my blog again since I've subjected you to a Christmas letter in the bloggy world.




Merry Christmas!

Not a whole lot has happened this year to report in the annual chronicle. But just to keep everyone current on what’s happening, here’s the run-down.

Sam is still working at Somerset Hospital in radiology. He enjoys his job, except when he’s called out in the middle of the night. I keep reminding him that as a mom, I’m on call every night so I have no sympathy to give. We were able to visit friends in Arizona this spring and spent a wonderful week vacationing in the warm. Sam is currently busy building a dog kennel for me so that my girls can be in a building with outside runs. They’ll love that.

My kennel is growing and evolving. Josh bought a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with the money he made from his 4-H pig this year, and Becky is waiting until spring to get a Maltese. They decided that raising dogs is easier than raising pigs, and more profitable as well. Only time will tell for sure. My online store has really taken off and I’m having a hard time keeping up with Christmas orders. It’s a good problem to have. I started out sewing baby blankets, bibs and the like, but have expanded to include custom shirts that have been a huge hit. My kids love wearing them, and that’s the best endorsement there is. I’m found at TheRockingPony.etsy.com.

Becky is in 6th grade this year. Her biggest thrill is that she’s finally taller than Mom. I told her that I’m pretty sure I stopped growing at age 12, and she’s terrified. She played soccer this spring in AYSO, and showed one of our Shetland ponies in 4-H. She and Tommy learned so much being out and about in the cart, and they both did very well. She went to districts, and ended up getting reserve champion in the county at the year’s end.

Josh is in 4th grade and doing very well in school. He played AYSO soccer as well, and took golf lessons this summer. He’s a big help with the animals and lives to mow the lawn. He likes to ride but unfortunately the riding horses aren’t as kid friendly as we’d hoped. He spent a lot of time in the pool this summer with his brothers. He’s still the outdoor enthusiast.

Luke is in 1st grade and just turned 7. He’s our star reader and absolutely loves school. Luke is our in-house artist and spends all his time drawing and coloring. He even won a trophy at school for a coloring contest! He’s his own person and won’t exert himself in sports because “it’s too much running.” We find this ironic since he runs everywhere he goes. He did go to church camp with the kids this summer when he found out they had a pool.

Micah is 4 and is in preschool at IU8 again this year. We started him at Easter Seals for speech therapy in addition to what he gets at school. He just has no speech and we’re desperately trying to encourage sounds other than yells and grunts. In our attempt, we’ve also begun riding lessons with him. Oddly enough, riding helps stimulate speech. So far nothing, but he loves his weekly session so we’ll keep on keeping on. He has decided that mealtimes are great game times, and plays Duck, Duck, Goose at the supper table every night. Even at restaurants.

If you’d like to keep tabs on all the happenings of the household, I’ve started a blog this year. You can catch us at TheRockingPony.blogspot.com. We’re hoping that you have a wonderful ’08 and that you find His Peace in the midst of the holiday chaos.

Sam & Karen, Becky, Josh, Luke & Micah