Merry Christmas! We feel very blessed to have so many wonderful people like you in our lives. We are also grateful for Jesus Christ and His gospel. We join with you in celebrating His glorious birth during this wonderful season.
Here is what our family has been up to this year:
We just finished out our first year deep in the heart of Texas. It's been a hard adjustment because Texas is very different from what we are used to. Probably the hardest part has been living so far from family. Luckily that changed in September when Mary's sister and her family moved to Waco for her husband to start a post-doc at Baylor University. The kids miss Homelink and their friends in Washington, but they have enjoyed our new homeschool co-op as well as the amazing zoo, children's museum at Baylor, and the pool at the YMCA.
This year we took a couple trips down to San Antonio and New Braunfels where we enjoyed the Natural Bridge Caverns, the Alamo, the Riverwalk, the missions, and the beautiful San Antonio Botanical Gardens. In April, Mary took the kids to Arizona to see her brother Joseph and his family. In June we took a family trip/job interview in Sequim, Washington. Jared decided not to take the position, but we did enjoy Olympic National park, the Hoh Rainforest, and the Sequim Lavender Festival. In September, Mary drove up to see family in Utah, and then Jared joined Mary and the kids in McCall, Idaho for a fun Collett family reunion. In October we found out that our landlord wanted to put the house we were renting up for sale, so we did a quick last minute move to a new house 4 minutes away. Moving a household as big as ours twice in one year is not recommended, but it is a good exercise if you find you are accumulating too much stuff.
When Mary isn't busy packing and unpacking boxes from our moves, she is homeschooling and taking care of Audrey. She loves teaching her kids and she is super excited to finally have a room she can use for homeschooling in our new house. In her free time Mary enjoys yoga classes at the YMCA, swimming, reading, and dates with Jared.
Jared works hard and has been very busy doing neurosurgery with Dr. O'Grady at Providence Hospital. In addition to a demanding work schedule, Jared served as the Executive Secretary before recently being called to be the Elder's Quorum president in our ward. Despite his busy schedule, Jared makes time to read to the kids at night, which is the highlight of their day. In the rare moments when he has time for himself, he enjoys woodworking, reading, and dates with his wife.
Abigail (9) is growing up to be a very responsible and helpful child. She is great at keeping Audrey entertained and out of trouble. She is very creative, and I often find her busy with sewing and crafts. Abby is happiest when she is reading, doing gymnastics, swimming, building with LEGOs, or playing the piano.
Madeline (8) decided to be baptized this year, and we are very proud of her decision to follow Christ. She loves playing the piano and learning new things. Maddy is a great reader, and excels at math and science. She enjoys playing LEGOs with Abby and Nathan, and she is very sweet with her little sister Audrey. Maddy is our girly girl who delights in all things princess, sparkly, fashionable, and fancy.
Nathanael (6) sometimes has a hard time being surrounded by girls, so he was super excited when 3 boy cousins moved to town. He loves having Nerf gun battles and playing Harry Potter and Star Wars with them. Nathan also really enjoys building things with LEGOs. He has gotten really creative at coming up with his own designs. His favorite subjects in homeschool are history, science, and reading (he recently finished the Magic Tree House series).
Thomas (would be 3) is loved and missed greatly. We think of his sweet, gentle spirit a lot during this Christmas season.
Audrey (13 months) has grown a lot this year. She is now walking, signing, and saying a few words. The milestone we are most excited about is that, after 1 year of trying, Audrey finally started sleeping through the night! Audrey loves books, coloring, cuddles from mommy, and rides on her toy car. Audrey is very busy exploring the world around her, and we love rediscovering the world and all its wonders with her.
Love,
The Colletts
4 comments:
I sure love your sweet family. Thank you for the update. I'm glad you are finally getting a little sleep!
Great letter, I especially enjoyed the part where I move iN ;) Really, you guys have lovable family!
Merry Christmas to you too. We love you, so excited to see you guys next. I wish we lived closer. I love your vegetarian Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful new year. I hope it sees us in Texas visiting soon.
Merry Christmas! We love and miss you! Thanks for the pictures and updates.
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