Hello everyone and welcome to 2007....hope it is a prosperous year for all of you. I realize it is already beyond the middle of January....things have been in a word hectic...as you probably noticed by the fact that the Christmas letter didn't get mailed. It did however get written, so here goes:
Dearest Family and Friends, I hope this letter finds you well and cherishing the splendor, delight, and enchantment of the holiday season as much as we are. We have been fortunate enough to experience these feelings frequently throughout the year in our own ways.
Jason continues to enjoy karate and is now a green belt. He is most excited on the nights when he gets to reduce his work related stress by picturing the face of his boss on those whom he is sparring against as he throws punches. That’s right, I said boss. Thankfully, despite what you may have heard about layoffs Jason remains employed at Intel. In his spare time, Jason is building a trailer to tow behind the Jeep. My dad taught him how to weld and they have spent nearly every weekend working on it. There are pictures of their progress on our website.
I am still taking piano lessons and think I am improving. I have fun with it regardless and it proves to be a good way to relax. Speaking of relaxation, I finally finished scrapbooking our trip to Hawaii (yes I realize our vacation was 2 1/2 years ago) and have returned to working on the family album, which is good since at present I have only reached Aly’s second birthday. Ah… the kids… the two best gifts in the world no matter how much energy it takes to raise and keep up with them.
Aly is 6 and in 1st grade. She tells me her favorite subject is math and is getting good at it. She practices her subtraction by counting how many teeth she has lost. She is up to 4 and has yet another loose one. If it comes out in the next two weeks she will be able to sing “All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”. When not in school, Aly is busy with Brownies and Karate. She transferred to the same school as Jason, which has been nice since he knows exactly what she is learning and can help her train. She has made it to her orange belt. Watching her gain self-confidence sure puts a smile on my face.
Perhaps the most cheerful of us all this past year however, is Zac. Our little 4 1/2 year old has grown by leaps and bounds! Out of nowhere, he found his voice and is at the point where he is starting to speak in complete sentences. It is so cute the way he says “Dairy Christmas.” He loves the water and has started taking swimming lessons again, which makes his physical therapist happy as it augments her work. Speech, music, and occupational therapy remain part of Zac’s weekly schedule as well, along with preschool classes.
For more information on us and what the future holds, we invite you to return to our website (www.houlefamily.net) as often as you can… and I will do my best to keep our blog updated. Until then, our best wishes that your 2007 will be filled with blessings, love and wonderful memories.
As I said...January has already been active for us. In terms of family togehterness, the holidays extended into the first week of January so we could make the rounds to all the friends we didn't get to see in December. Then last Tuesday my sister and her kids came in from Wisconsin to visit. It had been 18 months since we had all been in the same room, so there was lots of catching up to do. Individually....Jason worked more on the trailer....and on New Years Day, decided we should tackle painting our great room....What a job that was. The ceilings are 20 feet high in places, so a 15 ft extension ladder became Jason's best friend. We are now enjoying the efforts of our labor....which is good since we questioned whether or not we would like their mashed cranberry color as it went on looking like a bloody mess. I finished the Hawaii scrapbook, and then decided to have surgery to remove my nonfunctioning gallbladder, and to repair a ventral hernia on my belly button. Luckily it could be done laproscopically since I just bearly recovered from the abdominal hysterectomy I had in September. Aly is still working on losing her tooth, has been to cookie college, and started selling girl scout cookies for the first time. She is at an impressive 90 boxes! Little Zac continues to amaze us. He is now starting to initiate 5 word sentences. He might just be ready for Kindergarten on time yet.
I am going to close for now as I am sure I have lost several readers already with the length of this entry.
