Our Family's 2011 Christmas Card and Letter

In the case that some of our friends and family out there did not receive a physical copy of our Christmas letter, here is the online version for you to enjoy! We hope that you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The 2011 year has been filled with adventures and milestones for our family members.

Brodrick (almost 17 months) has grown into himself this year. On March 29^th he fell off the changing table while I was right next to him, and he broke his right tibia and fibula. He ended up with a little orange cast for more than a month, and learned to scoot on his back side dragging his cast leg instead of learning to crawl.  In July he got tubes in his ears to help with his chronic ear infections. His left ear tube got completely blocked and his ear kept getting infected so he had the left tube replaced at the end of Oct.  Now that Brodrick can hear he tries hard to use words just like his older brother and sister. In addition to incoherent gibberish he says, Mama, Dada, dog, bath, bot bot (robot), woof-woof, turtle, this, ball, football, soft, shoe, juice, baby, brrum brrum (car), and signs more, fish, please, all done, eat, water, and hurt.  He has started to climb onto chairs and desks and does his best to keep up with the big kids. A great dilemma he dealt with a few weeks ago was deciding which was most important- to cover his eyes with his hands or to fold his arms for prayers. Brodrick is a smiley boy who loves his green blankey, to look at books, to be read to, and play with toys-especially cars. 

Miles (3 years) is a fun yet serious boy. On Feb 1^st he had tubes put in his ears to help him hear and remedy chronic ear infections. His vocabulary took off almost instantly afterward. He is a great communicator using his words most of the time to let us know his wants and feelings.  In March after only a week he was completely potty trained staying dry 24/7. He loves to run, jump, and get physical but is also a tender little guy who gets his feelings hurt easily, and still loves to snuggle. He loves super heroes like Superman and Spider man, and spent almost every day for more than two months in his Spiderman dress up suite.   Miles is a thinker and problem solver and especially loves puzzles and games that require attention and concentration. This summer he perfected riding his strider running bike. He loves to throw things to see how far he can make them go and can make his little football go in a spiral most of the time. Miles loves to sing the ABC’s, I Am a Child of God, and I Love to See the Temple.

Amelia (5yrs old next month) is such a sweet girl. She loves dressing up (herself and our lab Lola), ponies, horses, princesses, and fairies. This fall, her wardrobe expanded from exclusive dresses and skirts to include pants.  At the beginning of the year she started taking violin lessons and for the first few months would ask to go to lessons every day. Though playing is very demanding, her love of the violin has nicely overridden any negativity regarding the related challenges. Amelia has a love of learning. Her reading has taken off this year and she is also happily working on simple mathematics, penmanship, and spelling. This year marks the acquired abilities of doing a cart wheel and whistling. She loves to sing, have dance parties with her brothers, and to color and draw pictures. She is eager to serve others and is my right hand girl. Getting out the door is so much easier since she can get herself all ready and also helps me with the boys. Each night Amelia reflects on what she is most thankful for and her favorite part of her day.

Tim traveled outside of the US for the first time in September to present and attend a convention at Oxford University. Tim’s mom, Therese, willingly came down and watched our small brood so I could go with him! It was wonderful to spend 8 days together while also enjoying science (Tim), London (me), and all the nostalgia of Oxford. Though our time abroad was enchanting we were so relieved to return safely home to our children. We love being parents. It continues to be the hardest thing either of us has ever done but we wouldn’t trade Amelia, Miles, or Brodrick for the world! 

We are so grateful for all of our blessings especially our knowledge of the restored gospel and our testimonies of the Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ. We pray this letter finds you well and that you will feel the special spirit that accompanies this Christmas season.