Merry Christmas 2014!

Dear Friends and Family,

Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well. Our motto for the year was “Gettin’ Clean in 2014,” which seemed so promising back in January. Getting clean was intended to mean all kinds of things:  The kids had some work to do with the level of respect in their language; the house all too often looked like a minor hurricane had swirled through several rooms; and, you know, we have quite a few children whose personal grooming habits could use some renewed focus. So how’d that whole motto go? Well, some days were better than others and occasionally (understatement alert) it still looks more than a bit disheveled in the kids’ rooms, but we made some progress. And in a positive development, we can keep the same motto through 2019 thanks to the rhyme, so I guess there’s still some time. (No more rhymes now, I mean it. Anybody want a peanut?)

Jessica maintained her Renaissance woman status this year (Huzzah!), using her varied talents to run a tight ship around the house while also running a pair of half marathons, and to craft her blogs while also blogging about her crafts. (See what I did there?)  She continues to live up to her life’s mantra that she’d rather be busy than bored, and – in addition – has taken on Daisy Troop leading, Book Club hosting, and ornament exchanging, while also serving in the children’s organization at church.  To round things out, and keep her sane, she did some traveling this year as well.  First, to Utah in the spring for a younger sister’s wedding, and then to Cancun this summer, where we celebrated our 10^th anniversary a couple of years late.  Highlights of that trip included the beach, the weather, the sites, and a hilarious run-in with an incredibly drunk Peruvian woman.  Paradise indeed.

Personally, I had a pretty big year—but enough about my waistline. Hey-oh! Anywho, I kicked off the year with a BHC ski trip reunion in Utah. If you don’t know what BHC stands for, it’s probably for the best. But it was great to meet up with old friends and I’m grateful I survived the skiing. Helmets work, even rentals. A few months later, I doubled down on crazy and entered a Spartan Race. The tagline for that race is “You’ll know at the finish line.” Here’s what I knew at the finish line: running 4.5 miles through a bunch of mud and obstacles and having to do 120 burpees is a shockingly exhausting way to spend a morning. I’m no genius, but I feel like I maybe could have surmised that before the race. No matter, I’m a glutton for punishment and intend on doing it again in May 2015. Here’s to hoping I do more than 2 weeks of training this time around!

Our firstborn in the wilderness, Ethan, is now a 6^th grader and has gone clubbing quite a bit this year. Before you start to question our parenting abilities (yeah, yeah, I know that ship sailed long ago), please note that the clubs he frequents are his school’s Running Club and Magic Club. Abraca-what? That’s right, a magic club. He is now able to stab a dollar bill with a pen (Shazam!), make a rope straight as a rod (Presto!), make coins disappear (Voila!), and has high hopes for a budding magic career.  He enjoyed running a couple of 5Ks this year and thankfully continues to do very well in school.  Which is awesome in case the whole magic thing doesn’t work out.

As for Grace, it finally happened. She experienced nirvana this summer when we got a dog. And while the nirvana was short-lived because the dog—a delightful Goldendoodle named Friday that belongs to our friends—only stayed for a week or so, it was so great to see how excited Grace was to play with and take care of a dog in person. To her credit, she was amazing with Friday. And if Jessica and I weren’t such Grinches, perhaps there’s a chance we might actually consider maybe thinking about possibly potentially bringing a dog into the picture full-time. And that wishy-washy commitment is as far as we’ll go for now. Grace picked up crutches late this year, and while you may ask why she got the crutches, Grace is more of a “why not” kid, so there’s really no point in asking. She doesn’t need the crutches, medically speaking, but I’m quite sure she doesn’t care what any of us think.  

Sophie made her triumphant, but thankfully brief, return to the hospital this year thanks to a predictable piggyback accident with Grace. Witnesses at the scene of the crime gave conflicting accounts, so who knows what really happened? But at least she didn’t actually break her foot, and the good folks at the hospital quickly sent her on her way. As for everyday life, she’s practically BFFs with the school nurse, who patiently helps her with maladies both real and imagined, and has made an actual, real BFF in the neighborhood, who calls so often that every time the phone rings after school we yell for Sophie without even looking at the number.  Sophie also ran her first 5K this fall with Grace, who ran two 5Ks this year herself (pre-crutches), and was kind enough to run it with her. But in the most important news, we’re delighted that Sophie turns eight in February and is planning on getting baptized.  

Who’s next? Ah yes, we’ve come to Jane. I know those delightful nuns from “The Sound of Music” tried to solve a problem like Maria, but we’ve got our very own moonbeam to try and hold in our hand. Read the lyrics to that song and you’ll get a sense of what it’s like to experience Jane. To be clear, we wouldn’t have our little flibbertigibbet any other way. She continues to follow in the lofty footsteps of Grace when it comes to being unpredictable, but certainly has her own unique spirit. She loves kindergarten and Girl Scouts and rainbows, and makes up one half of the dynamic (destructive?) duo with her little brother, which brings us to …

Alex, our little preschooler. Enamored? Infatuated? Obsessed? I’m not entirely sure what word best describes Alex’s true feelings for superheroes, but any one of those will likely do the trick. We’re not positive as to what started the love, but it is an all-consuming passion.  Whether playing with action figures of his own, or watching YouTube videos of others playing with their action figures (because yeah, that’s a thing), he keeps himself – and us – constantly entertained.  Especially when he randomly throws his superhero moves and sound effects into everyday life.  All-in-all, he enjoys the spoils of being the youngest child and the associated clichés that go along with the title. A rough life, indeed!

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, Jessica, Ethan (11), Grace (10), Sophie (7), Jane (5), and Alex (3)