our Christmas letter

For those of you who didn't get one, here is our Christmas letter for the year...

Dear Family & Friends,

This year has been a great year for our family with many changes and accomplishments too.

CD has come a long way throughout the year by first learning to crawl in February and then walking in September. After she started walking she started taking gymnastics once a week to help build her strength and balance. CD is still receiving language help with the "Up to 3" program. She has a few words and signs and shows great interest in trying to communicate more and more. Overall CD is a very happy girl who can make anyone smile!

CJ has grown so much through the year. He definitely has turned into a little boy rather than a toddler. He loves to talk, tell stories, and loves to ask questions. He not only asks one word questions - why, what, where, how - he makes his questions very detailed which proves to us he knows and understands more than sometimes we want him to. CJ is very fun, imaginative, and always keeps us entertained and on our toes!

Not only have things changed for our kids this year, but Jon and I have gone through some changes too. For instance, I started babysitting in the afternoons for a friend starting in September. It works out great because it allows me to continue to stay at home with my kids (which I love) and still be able to help provide for the family too. I also have continued working with Heritage Makers and love to create books for my own family and help others make their own storybooks.
Jon perhaps has gone through the most changes this year. And they all have happened in 3 months of time. In October (on his birthday unfortunately) Jon was laid off at work with Nuera Transport. It was something that we expected to happen eventually, but we still were not prepared for it. After looking for a new job for a week, we decided that maybe now would be a good time to get Jon's foot fixed for good while he was unemployed. It took some time to get things worked out with Worker's Comp and everything, but he finally was approved and scheduled for surgery on Dec 8. Surgery went great and now we just have to wait for 6 weeks until he can fully walk on it. After then, he'll be job searching again.

We also have celebrated this year as a family too. First their was our 5th Wedding Anniversary in August, CJ's 4th Birthday in October, and we were able to go on our first family vacation since CD was born. We were fortunate enough to go to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving and spend the holiday with our friends. And of course we just celebrated CD's 2nd birthday on the 20th.

We have many reasons to be happy and grateful this holiday season. We hope everyone is able to feel the Spirit of Christmas in their homes and have a safe,

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!