Christmas Letter 2012

Each Christmas since 2008, Brian and I have written a Christmas letter to include with our Christmas card. This year however, you are just getting a card. Somehow we just weren't able to write the letter. Each time we set down to write.... Nothing came.  I love receiving Christmas letters and I always read them. Something was just different about this year though... There are no births, no pregnancies, no moves, nothing to pass on but trivial events. Yesterday I remembered how I always print out our letter and add it to a little album and I got a bit sad. So I am writing my Christmas letter here, to you so I can print it out and add it to our album, lol.

Well it's Christmas time again and  our house is full of life, noise, Christmas decorations, and unpleasant smells. This year has been a small unveiling of what life looks like with three Young boys.

Baker is almost 5 and getting quite tall. He has been attending preschool two days a week and loving it. He is very social and loves to be around people. Much to our surprise, he learned to ride his bike without training wheels this summer. Then this November he even perfected a trick that involved swinging his legs to one side of the bike and breezing on by all casual with one foot on a pedal and one out in the wind. He wants to be the best at everything he does. His brain is a sponge. He learned the 10 commandments in like 1 day and hasn't forgotten them. He says he has a girlfriend (but don't tell her) and he loves to play "married" as well as manly things like fishing, baseball, hockey, and golf. The kid loves anything with a ball and a stick. He's a good boy.

Beau is growing right up on us. He started Awana Cubbbies at our church this year and it has been huge for him. It really boosted his confidence and has helped work him out of his shy shell. His face beams when he shows you his earned patches. I think he surprises himself sometimes with his abilities. We still can't understand some of what he says but his mother is working on that.... Since she almost wasn't really ever a speech pathologist, lol. Beau loves sports too. He is a great big brother to Benny.  He loves Peter Pan above all things. He loves to wrestle, like all the time. He isn't as social as Baker, rather he has about three friends he prefers to be around. He is still a doll, a doll with a temper, but still a doll. 

Benny, oh Benny. Why did we name you that?  Oh wait, your name is Benton but you don't know that because we never call you that! So sorry. Benton is 13 months old and.... Strong willed. He has brought us so much joy this year. I dont know if it's just babies in general that we have a soft spot for or what, but we love this little guy.  He loves people and can say hi and bye bye. He is not a good sleeper but thats okay. He is walking very well and crawling down the stairs. He loves to open drawers and throw things out. He hates sitting down. Hates it. The funniest thing he does is laugh. Whether we are in a crowd or just Brian and I, if I start laughing he starts laughing too. It's hilarious. So we will be in our parenting class, someone says something funny and everyone laughs. Then by the time we are all quiet he let's out his laugh because well, everyone else was doing it. That of course makes us all laugh again. It's great. 

As for us....it's been a different year. Becky's new theme is reduce, reuse, recycle. Its not easy living in America and trying to fight consumerism. We are doing all right I think, but still have a ways to go. We embarked on a Radical experiment in May. You can read more details at http://www.radicalexperiment.org/home.html 

It has definelty changed us. I am not sure to the point that the author intended it to but that's okay. 

We are still sinners. Man that sucks. I keep expecting me and my children to be able to navigate this world unflawed but it's never gonna happen. Thank God for grace!

We had to make adjustments with having a baby in the family again. For example, it's hard to canoe with an infant or....swim at the pool or do just about ANYTHING at ten am.

We did take an awesome trip to the ocean and a pit stop to see Peter Pan. It was pretty awesome. Beau asks to go back everyday.

We were able to see our families several times this year. We ran a 5k which was awesome! It was a lot of fun and our bodies rally appreciated the exercise. They work so much better when we give it to them. 

Brian still likes his job. He has been in charge of building a new shop/office at work. It has been a challenge for him that he was happy to take on. If you are ever in town you'll have to come see it! He played in a golf league this summer and kicked butt. He might have an obsession with trying to kill animals  but we aren't goIng to address that just yet, lol. The boys are obsessed with Brian. He is a great dad. One day he left for work as they were waking up and Baker ran down the street chasing Brian's  truck screaming "I didn't get huggies". This was like last week, it was like 10 degrees. 

For me, like I said reduce reuse recycle has been a big theme. I still love cooking and now I love gardening.  We started playing volleyball this summer and I enjoyed that. I didn't get to read as much as I had planned but that's okay too. We facilitated FPU again. I love that course. It never gets old. I am trying to see the deeper side of mothering. The things beyond  wiping butts and feeding babies. I lost my last grandparent this year and my parents dog Duchess. I am very thankful for my family's health. I have a lot of really good friends. I still drink Dr Pepper and am hoping this Christmas will be white.

We pray your family really treasures the meaning and joy of our Saviour's birth. Its everything in this world. Merry Christmas!