Merry Christmas 2012

Dear Friends and Family,

Merry Christmas! We love taking the time each year to connect with all of you, to celebrate the birth of our Savior, and to cherish the blessings of good friends and family.  Here is an update on our family happenings  this year:

Jared works hard as a neurosurgery PA .  He enjoyed spending a week in Toronto this year for the national PA conference and is now a Canadaphile (not saying he wants to build a summer home there, but the trees are actually quite lovely).  Jared has worked hard at home putting up a shed in our backyard, tiling our entryway and bathroom, and fixing things around the house.  Jared also works hard as a  home teacher and served as Elder's Quorum President in our old ward before a recent boundary realignment.  He is now an Assistant Scoutmaster in our new ward and loves it.  He is happy to have an excuse to do more camping, and wonders why it has taken 10 years until being called to scouts.  Jared has a new look this year as well since he got his braces off and had Lasik eye surgery.

Mary spent most of the year pregnant and is very happy to have her body back to herself.  She was excited to start her first year of official homeschooling and loves teaching Abby and Maddy at home.  She also enjoys doing a preschool co-op for Nathan.  Mary loves caring for her little Thomas and is happy to have him home with her.  When Mary can find a few moments for herself she enjoys reading.

Abby (6) finished up kindergarten this year and started her first year of homeschool.  Her favorite part is studying the Story of the World series for history.  She also enjoys attending workshops for 6 hours a week at Homelink (which offers classes for homeschoolers).  Abby's favorite class is her American Girl class where she reads and discusses the books.  She also enjoys playing with her Felicity mini American girl doll that she got for her birthday.  When she isn't playing dolls or ponies with her sister,  Abby can most often be found with her nose in a book.  She reads constantly.  Abby is also excelling at the piano and loves creating pictures and doing crafts such as weaving and needlepoint.

Madeline's (5) favorite thing is playing dolls and My Little Ponies with her sister.  A close second is doing arts and crafts.  She loves coloring and is getting to be a great artist.  She is a good reader and is excited to start playing the piano like her big sister.  Maddy is finally outgrowing her shyness and we were really proud of her when she overcame her fear of the water and passed the first level at swim lessons this summer.

Nathan (3) has grown and learned a lot this year.  He is finally potty trained and he enjoys learning with his preschool friends.  He likes playing cars and was excited to have his own CARS birthday party.  Nathan also loves space and informed us he is going to be an astronaut when he grows up.  He was thrilled to get his very own astronaut suit for Halloween.  Nathan loves "helping" daddy and he is really excited to have his own little brother to play with.

Thomas (2 mo) was born at the end of September and we feel very blessed that he is here safely and doing so well. He had a lot of challenges his first month of life: premature birth, Hirschsprung disease, Down Syndrome, and a heart defect that will need repair next year.  After a week at Kadlec NICU and a month at Seattle Children's, he is finally home.  He is growing well and will hopefully be big and strong enough for his two up coming surgeries scheduled for this year.  Thomas is very sweet and a joy to have in our family.

This year our family took a trip to Utah and several weekend trips to Boise to visit family.   This summer we had a wonderful Donaldson family reunion on the Oregon coast where Mary was able to spend time with many of her siblings and nieces and nephews she hadn't seen for years.    We also enjoyed exploring Seattle during the month we spent up there with Thomas.  We love traveling, but we have also had a lot of good times at home.  We've enjoyed swinging in our hammock, gardening, berry picking, playing soccer and doing archery in our backyard.   We love family walks by the river, picnics, and outings to the park.  Basically we love spending time together.

We are grateful for the time we've spent with you.  We would love to hear from you.  Have a Merry Christmas and best wishes for the coming new year!

Love,

Jared, Mary, Abigail, Madeline, Nathanael, and Thomas Collett