Merry Christmas!

I guess I should write the annual Christmas letter if I'm going to put it on my Christmas cards, right? It might be too late as my cards have long gone out and I'm sure people have ckd here to find nothing new.

Well, here you go!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! We have had a great year as the baby started sleeping thru the night - that makes ALL the difference in the happiness of our daily lives :0)

Hollyann is in 4th grade this year and has had new challenges with new teachers and new studies. She has had to learn some hard lessons about remembering her homework, getting it done on time and remembering to hand it in. 4th grade is definitely the cut-off for "no more messing around" with due dates & grades. She has come thru splendidly and while we've had to work on communication with her teachers, we are getting there. She is a Junior in Girl Scouts this year and is in the middle of cookie sale :0) Do you need some? Ha Ha She has also taken guitar lessons and is involved in Odyssey of the Mind so she is keeping pretty busy.

Andrew is in 2nd grade and has the same teacher that Hollyann had which is such a blessing. She is a wonderful teacher and we love her. He is doing great in school and has started to find his inner reader. We are finally getting him to read before bed :0) Yay! He has brought home some science books from the library and just devours them. One night, he came down at 9:30pm, in tears, because what he was reading was so interesting, that he couldn't "turn his mind off" and go to sleep! We've have since told him to just read junk that's not so interesting before he turns out the lights :0) LOL He has great friends and spends many afternoons at the neighbor's house, just doing boy stuff. He has actually been in trouble at school quite a few times for talking - what?? Our quiet little guy? Well, I guess he is coming out of his shell! And once out of that shell, he finds himself grounded for getting in trouble at school. Bummer! But since losing electronic privileges for an entire Saturday, he has learned his lesson!

Hannah is now 17 months old and is truly a toddler. We often find her flat on the floor when we ask her to do something she doesn't want to do or reprimand her for disobedience. While she doesn't kick and scream, it's her own form of temper tantrum and is really kinda funny. But, we try very hard not to laugh :0) She is talking more and more everyday. Sometimes, what she says is very clear and other times, it needs some translation but we usually understand her. Her latest is "Ho Ho Ho" when she sees Santa. There's lots of that going around now-a-days :0) She is enjoying spending this extended Christmas break with her big kids. The 3 of them spend quite a bit of time together downstairs, playing games & watching cartoons. She has learned not to "bug" and the big kids have learned quite a bit of patience. They just love her to death!

Barrett is still the F-22 PEM and his office moved back into the Pentagon in September. We LOVE this development as it has cut his commute in 1/2. We see much more of him and love it! Right now, he is in the process of completing Air War College before we move in the summer so he can devote his time, completely, to his PhD. He is considering his options, contacting schools and getting all of his paperwork in order. We have just started to think about moving, finding schools and house shopping. It is still a way off but I was just looking online last night to find that application deadlines for advanced academic programs (for the big kids) have already come and gone for the 2010-2011 school year. The next couple of months will just fly by and so we need to get working on all that important stuff!

And I continue to stay busy. :0) The transition to 3 kids has really come together and we have a nice daily routine that works for everyone. I still get sad, blue eyes looking up at me when I can't help in the classroom or go on field trips but they understand and don't blame their little sister too much. I started working for a new petsitting company in May and it's been the most fabulous opportunity for me. I love the freedom of getting out of the house, taking care of a wide variety of animals and having a little extra moolah to boot! We had to say good bye to our little Apollo in August so getting to have some foster puppies has been a fun change of pace. I will miss all of my clients and my wonderful boss so much when we leave. I don't want to think about that right now. I have always been a vacation sitter but after the 1st of the year, I've decided to take on a couple of regular daily clients. Only one stop on M, W, & F so it will be a little consistency but not too restrictive. I'm looking forward to it!

We did a lot of traveling this year. Disney in April, Caribbean Cruise and Colorado in July and Texas in November. It's all been very exciting and very memorable. We can't wait to see where 2010 will take us - surely more fun places to visit :0)

We pray the Lord brings you many blessings in the new year and that you will all keep in touch and share all of your ongoing adventures. Be safe & enjoy your holidays - we know we will!