Our Holiday Letter

Every year, we start off our letter like this...."We can't believe that _____ (year) is already over!" Well, we're going to say it again! We can't believe that 2010 is already over! This past year has gone by quickly and was filled with lots of memories, lots of good and some bad.

Tanner has had a very healthy year, quite possibly some of the best news of the year! He had ZERO hospitalizations and only one asthma attack; his doctor was able to treat him aggressively in the clinic for the day and avoid the dreaded ER/hospital visit. Yeah for Tanner (and sleep)! Even when the rest of us have gotten sick, Tanner is staying healthy! He does have an immune system after all! He is thriving in so many ways. He has really grown this past year (amazing what feeling good does for a person!) and also started preschool this fall. He goes to school 2 days per week and seems to enjoy his new friends and all of his school experiences. He loves to play with trucks, power rangers, and most of all dress-up! His favorite outfits to  wear include his dress suit, his "firefighter" suit (snow pants, snow boots, and a tank top?!?), "working man" outfit (carhartts, boots, shirt), and "basketball" boy (shorts, tank top, headband, basketball shoes). He has such an easy-going temperament and just goes with the flow most of the time!

Trista has grown in the past year as well. Not only is she lots taller, but she is now in Kindergarten! She is learning to read and doing very good with that. She is constantly spelling out words, sounding out words she wants to write, and drawing/coloring lots of pictures. A coloring book and crayons is about all she needs for hours of entertainment! She still likes playing with Tanner most of the time and they also tend to sleep in the same room each night. It is nice seeing what great little buddies they are! Trista and Tanner both played T-ball in the summer and Trista is signed up for basketball this winter. She is very excited about that! Both kids also got to ski last winter so we are hoping that can happen again this winter!

The biggest "event" of the year was moving into our house! Curt started working on our house August 2009 and we moved in June 2010! We survived 7 months in the 5th wheel and that made the new house even more exciting! It turned out beautifully and I am so impressed with Curt's skills. Even though I see some of the great houses he works on, it is different when it is your own house! WE LOVE IT!! There isn't anything we would change and we continue to hope that the outside will "finish itself." If it doesn't, we will be painting away come summer! The dogs and kids have adjusted to having more space as well. We finally seem to be back in sync after moving from house to 5th wheel and back to house!

The economy has definitely affected both of our jobs, but we still have jobs so we are grateful! Curt has managed to keep busy, but not nearly to the extent he used to be. Again, we are thankful for what he has had and remain positive that things will start to pick up. Things are no different in the health care sector; while my job hasn't been affected, there have been jobs eliminated and that is very difficult to see. We know that we have not been impacted to the extent that so many families have been and we hope things turn around soon.

Curt isn't coaching basketball this year. While he misses the interactions with the kids, he is happy to have more time to spend with us! Between work and serving on the fire department, he manages to keep busy enough! We love seeing him each evening too!

We are posting pictures of our house in the next few days so be sure to check back! Too bad we didn't take the pictures once we got our Christmas decorations up, but at least we finally took some pictures! We hope that you have had a good year and that 2011 brings your best year yet! We are keeping those who have lost relatives and friends in the past year close to our hearts; the holidays are difficult times for so many people!

Love,
Melissa, Curt, Trista, Tanner (and Samoa & Diesel)