From Our Family to Yours

Merry Christmas!

I can't believe it's time to write the annual Christmas letter again! Where did the time go? Once again we've had a year of making memories. Here are some of the highlights:

Luke Corban – I realize that Luke's arrival was closer to the end of the year, but we all agree that he is, by far, at the top of our highlight list. With this baby Jeremy wanted to find out what we were having. I wanted to be surprised. We didn't think we could both get our own way, but that's what happened! We found out we were having a girl and then were surprised by our baby boy! Luke is the perfect addition to our family... we are all crazy about him!

Canada Day – We've been wanting to spend Canada day in Enderby for a long time and this was the year it finally happened. The kids were thrilled to ride on one of Papa's Massey Harris tractors with Jeremy in the parade. After the parade we enjoyed a BBQ and an afternoon of tractor pulls and lawnmower races. Having lots of cousins and friends around only made the day better.

School – Sam graduated from preschool and started kindergarten. He loves everything about school (especially recess!) and has a great, caring teacher. One of my highlights was being able to drop Sam off on the first day without crying (a small miracle really)! Since the start of school we have noticed that Sam has a new love... coloring! We never thought we'd see the day when he would sit still for hours and color! We miss not having Sam at home all day, but are happy he is enjoying school.

Ballet – Maartina went though a phase when she would tell us she wanted to be a ballerina when she grows up so we decided to register her for ballet lessons. She is learning a lot and loves to line up the kitchen chairs for us so she can give us a “ballerina show”. It's very entertaining. It has also clarified for her that maybe she doesn't want to be a ballerina when she grows up after all... her goal now is to be Rapunzel!

Water skiing – Jeremy still loves to get out on the lake with the boat. This year he enjoyed a water skiing/camping weekend with some of his friends. Despite not being able to sleep on the hard ground he had a great weekend away. I'm quite sure Jeremy will make sure this becomes an annual trip.

Beth Moore – I also had a weekend away with friends this year. My sister and I and two of our girlfriends went on a road trip to Tacoma to attend a Beth Moore conference. Our weekend also included lots of shopping and Starbucks. We all came home refreshed, encouraged and making plans to do it again sometime!

Hockey – In March some friends invited us to join them to watch a Vancouver Giant's game in Michael Bublé's BC Children's Hospital suite. We had a great time and felt very spoiled! That is definitely the way to see a hockey game! We also enjoyed the NHL playoffs... every time the Canucks won there would be a parade of honking cars in front of our house and the kids thought it was the best thing ever! They enjoyed standing on the front steps (usually in their pajamas) waving flags and shouting “Go Canucks Go!”.

Laughter – We have laughed a lot this year. Our kids are funny hilarious and they add a lot of joy to our lives. Not too long ago Maarti walked into our room, early in the morning, and yelled “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” (Lucky for her, we were able to see the humor in it!). Sam recently got a new Donkey Kong shirt and after wearing it to school he came home to report “All the kids in my school love Mario so much that they were all giving me hugs! ...even the girls! ...BEST. DAY. EVER!!”. And just the other night the two of them were explaining to us how “Terry the Fox skipped across the world on his stick leg”. Even when we have hard things we are dealing with the kids help to keep things light and we are thankful for them. Children truly are a blessing from the Lord.

Birthdays – We love to celebrate birthdays and we were especially grateful to be able to attend our Granny's 93^rd birthday party! Granny is an inspiration to us and she continues to teach us about having a positive attitude in every circumstance. Almost every time we visit her she reminds us that “With God all things are possible”.

So there you have it... the best of our 2011! I love to write these letters each year as it forces us to think back over the year and remember all the blessings that it held for us... something that we don't do nearly enough. We really have so much to be grateful for.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas and much joy in 2012!

With Love from,

Jeremy and Leanne

Sam, Maarti and Luke