Saturday, December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas

I'm horrible about sending Christmas cards.  Sorry.  I probably always will be.  I do enjoy getting Christmas cards, so keep sending them my way.  I'll try to get better about making my own.  To be fair, I thought I'd put our "card" on my blog, along with a letter that sums up our year.


It's been a year since we left Denver.  We pulled away from the Rocky Mountains on December 5th and rolled up to our final destination on December 17th.  Hans was installed as the pastor of River of Life Lutheran Church on December 18th, 2010 and we have had a very blessed and wonderful year here.  I know Hans is very thankful for the members of River of Life and I am too.  We couldn't ask for a better congregation.  We are both looking forward to many, many, many, many more years here.

Aside from his full-time gig at River of Life, Hans started Lutheran Satire, a collection of animated videos meant to teach using satire.  Now the whole world gets a small taste of the man I deal with everyday.  Hans also has a blog, The High Mid Life.  I feel he needs to write actual posts more often, but I can be a little demanding.  I'm also a bit biased, but I believe my husband has a way with words.  He is a wonderful pastor and I enjoy reading the things he writes.  Even if they are controversial.

John started Kindergarten this year and he absolutely loves his teacher, Mrs. Dernulc.  As if we weren't already thankful for our church and where we live, John managed to get a teacher that is a wonderful match in every way.  I get a little sad thinking about the fact that there are only 5 months left in school. We all might be going through a little Mrs. Dernulc withdraw.  John loves everything about school and is still excited to get on the bus everyday.  He is a stickler for the rules, even if he doesn't always follow them himself.  He loves math and reading and pretty much everything else about school.  In a recent email from his teacher, she stated that she was sure she could show John a paper bag and have him exclaim "WOW!"  I hope his enthusiasm for learning sticks around for awhile.

Gus is two.  Enough said.  He loves his brothers and cried every day the first week John went to school.  Now he is over that and enjoys some quiet, or not so quiet time, with Anders, but he is always anxious to look for the bus about the time John comes home.  Gus likes everything John likes.  In fact, if you give John a toy, it is guaranteed to end up in Gus's hands.  He can be a bit of a bully, but thankfully only to his brothers.  He is a cutie though and often times very sweet.  So I guess we will keep him around for awhile.

Anders turned one this year.  It is crazy to think that he was only 2 months old when we left Denver and  now he is a babbling, walking one year old.  Anders loves people, especially those who give him candy.  He went through a mommy stage but now he just wants to walk around and visit everyone.  He, like his brothers, is also a daddy's boy.  So, if you aren't watching closely enough he will wiggle his way into the center aisle at church and try to make his way up to his dad on Sunday morning.  He also gets a little competitive with his dad and tries to talk louder than Hans during the sermon.  I think the score is Hans-1, Anders-26.

In 2010 we purchased our first house.  I think we put offers on 11 other houses before finally landing this one.  We kept telling ourselves at the time that our offers weren't being accepted because there was something else out there, but I was having a hard time believing that after 6 long months.  But, alas, we found the perfect home.  We love our house and the proximity to church.  We love our neighbors and the fact that the whole neighborhood is busting at the seems with kids.  All in all it, was worth the wait.

We also got a dog this year.  I've been telling Hans for 5 years that, after we got settled and bought a house, we could get a dog.  He took me at my word and got a dog about 2 weeks after we moved in.  It was a little hectic trying to paint the place, unpack, settle in and house train a dog but we made it.  I can't say I will ever get a puppy again, but Fritz is a good dog and a wonderful addition.  The boys just love him and he loves the boys.

Well, as usual, I was supposed to summarize our year and I think I wrote a novel.  Summations were not my strong suit in school.  I don't think they will be John's either.  So, here it is more to the point: We've had a wonderfully busy, fantastically blessed year.  We are all happy.  The end.

Merry Christmas!

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