Merry Christmas 2012!

Even though we mailed out over a hundred Christmas cards, I'm sure there are still some we missed.  For all of you out there who don't already know what we've been up to this year, here is Scott's annual Christmas present to me -- our family newsletter.  {Which I have managed to copy edit a little bit better since sending out our cards.}

-->Dear Friends and Family,

Well, well, well … we survived another year. Survival may seem like a rather morbid goal, but honestly, we think it’s a cause to celebrate. I mean, let’s not sugarcoat it. It’s a madhouse here on a daily basis. Since kid 5 came along last year, it’s been non-stop chaos. Literally, it never stops. But here we are at Christmas again and it’s hard to believe how fast 2012 went. I guess time flies when you’re … exhausted. And you’ll be happy to know that after a surprising absence last year, tears made a triumphant return at the family Christmas photo shoot. Hint, the culprit’s name rhymes with trophy.

So let’s get the updates started with Jessica, the self-proclaimed “lazy person” who manages to get more done in a week than most do in a month.  News flash, she’s not lazy. In addition to the daily stuff that goes with having 5 kids, Jessica managed to train for and run the Roots and Blues BBQ Half Marathon back in September with a bunch of friends and LOVED the experience. If you’re surprised that she put the “13.1” sticker up on the back of the car almost immediately after the race, well then you really don’t know Jessica very well. Beyond the running, she continues to read and quilt, and then quilt and read. She also blogged up a storm this year, with more posts in 2012 than the past four years combined. She is undoubtedly great.

Not so great? Kidney stones. Apparently being a hospital visitor wasn’t enough for me anymore. I managed to get one of those lovely little kidney stones (thanks genes!), and it hurt. A lot. I went fetal for a bit, and when that shockingly didn’t take care of it, I drove myself to the hospital in the middle of the night. A little morphine got me through the really painful part, and then after a couple of mostly pain-free weeks, I uneventfully passed the kidney stone. You’ll be happy to hear that me and that particular kidney stone are never ever ever getting back together. Like ever.  I still enjoy work both at the plant and with the youth at church. In athletic news, I gained three pounds in the first month of our company’s Biggest Loser contest and air-balled an uncontested, breakaway layup during a church basketball game. Yep, I’ve still got it.  

Ethan spent most of his waking hours this year asking us to buy him a Kindle Fire. He got obsessed with the thing on a visit to my sister’s house in the spring and since this is Ethan we are talking about, he would not let it go. He managed to squeeze in other activities throughout the year, including a movie he made that was shown at the school district film festival. He also entered his first pinewood derby race. He didn’t come close to winning the thing (he does have me for his dad after all), but I think he actually had a lot of fun putting his iPod inspired car together. He’s a great kid, and we’re blessed to have him in our family. And no, we have not relented. He still does not have a Kindle Fire.

While Ethan obsessed over a Kindle Fire this year, Grace continues to long for the day when we will have a doghouse alongside our madhouse. Unfortunately for Grace, that day might not come until she has a house of her own. In other news, Grace still falls asleep in our room each night (don’t ask) and has recently taken to collapsing in a nearly dead rocking chair, which is held together by maybe one bolt. You’re probably thinking, “Hey Scott, can’t you just fix the chair?” No, friends and family, I can’t. Thanks for rubbing it in. The biggest happening of her year was when she celebrated her 8^th birthday last month and got baptized. She also displays her creative genius on a regular basis and most definitely keeps us on our toes.

Sophie came so close to making it through the year without incident, but a late October accident on the school’s monkey bars resulted in a broken arm which ended up breaking her hospital-free streak. On the positive side, her asthma has thankfully gotten much better, needing only an occasional breathing treatment here and there. She still has the allergies, but she’s used to them by now and so are we. Her go-to treat is an Oreo and while they may be highly processed, they contain no actual dairy, so they’re safe for her to eat. Sort of a good news, bad news proposition if I really stop and think about it. She enjoys kindergarten and is thankfully doing well, aside from the occasional (or not so occasional) yellow, orange, and red cards she’s received for talking too much in class.

Jane had an eventful year, culminating recently in her getting potty trained—a momentous occasion that sort of just happened out of nowhere, much like most things when it comes to Jane. She has also put behind her milk-oholic ways and has narrowly avoided rehab ever since. It turns out that despite her previous addiction, Jane probably has some sensitivities to milk (why not, right?) So for her skin, her behavior, and subsequently our sanity, we have intervened and helped her avoid the bottle. She also spent Father’s Day on a 3-day long date with me at the hospital thanks to an asthma flare-up. Nothing—I repeat, nothing—is as fun as spending time waiting for breathing treatments to extend to 4 hours apart so you can leave the hospital. Jane loves her hair, and we love her. And her hair.

It took him some time to walk, but Alex moved quickly from walking to climbing this year. He climbs everything … and subsequently falls off of most things too. When we turn our backs for a minute or find ourselves otherwise occupied with his siblings, Alex often climbs on top of the kitchen table scavenging for food—not exactly a testimonial for our ability to keep a clean house, I guess. His scavenging ways gave us quite the scare in the spring when he got a small plastic piece of a toy stuck in his throat. He stopped breathing for a few seconds, but after a frantic call by Jessica to 9-1-1, Alex managed to cough it up and we thankfully didn’t need the ambulance that arrived a few minutes later. Despite that ordeal, Alex is quick with a smile and absolutely loves playing with the bigger kids.  He also loves cars, dogs, BALLS, his stuffed elephant, and his pacifier which he calls his “wuh-wuh.”  He’s pretty much the cutest thing ever.

We are so thankful at this time of year for our family, as well as our friends – old and new. We are blessed well beyond anything we deserve and wish all of you nothing but the best. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Scott (old enough), Jessica (younger than Scott), Ethan (9), Grace (8), Sophie (5), Jane (3), and Alex (1)

Merry Christmas everyone!