Saddles, T-squares, and Sippy Cups: Merry Christmas 2012

December 20, 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

Every year we look forward to getting cards and letters at Christmastime. It’s fun to hear from old friends and hear about the changes in their lives. We would love to send you a really interesting, exciting letter about all the crazy things that happened this year. How Chris quit his job to become an author of children’s books and that we’re moving to China soon. Noah’s pet python got loose at show and tell and they evacuated three grades until it was found. Leah became deathly ill while backpacking across Italy but staged a miraculous recovery with the help of homegrown organic herbs. Now she’s making a small fortune selling them on eBay. At 4 years old, Ian is something of a prodigy. We thought about charging admission to see him recite a whole act of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but decided that was too boring. So he’s managing a hedge fund instead. Sage is irresistibly adorable and made it all the way to the top in children’s beauty pageants. Look for her on Toddlers and Tiaras next season.

Okay, okay, that’s all just a stack of baloney. Our lives have been so normal this year that we didn’t want to bore you with the details of our mundane routine. We didn’t move or change employment. We didn’t have a baby or even take a trip to the emergency room. But there is a grain of truth in there. Leah did take a trip to Italy in March with her sister and her mom. They had a marvelous time and took a zillion pictures, many of which you can find on Leah’s blog at www.sippysaddles.blogspot.com. And though they were not backpacking, their feet sure felt that way. In addition to her numerous motherly duties, Leah volunteers in classrooms and the board of directors of Ian’s preschool. She hosts a board game night with her friends twice a month and makes impressive birthday cakes. Chris still works for Caterpillar, designing hydraulic systems for massive mining shovels that make his PhD project look like a toy. Friends at church say that after a year and a half as the bishop of his ward he no longer has the “deer in the headlights” look. Noah (age 6) is in the first grade and has become a voracious reader of anything about Star Wars, Transformers or Pokemon. Ian (almost 5) is currently attending two preschools (he wanted to!) and is quite a good reader, too. He loves playing with his brother and sister and has never met a dog or a vegetable that he likes. Sage (2½) has bright eyes, bouncing curls, and gives great hugs and snuggles. Her speaking skills and tenacious independence have sprouted, grown and blossomed this year. Eight out of ten friendly old ladies at the supermarket agree that our children are exceptionally tall, smart and good-looking. Except for Sage, who is not exceptionally tall.

And that’s all the tall tales for now. Merry Christmas to all the folks we love! Whether the new year brings surprising plot twists or another episode in a predictable series, we hope it’s full of love, laughter and growth.