I don't normally mail our letter to people who are local, since those live away from us are the ones who need an update of our year. But since I have this blog, I thought I could post it here for anyone who is interested.
Dear Family and Friends,
We have realized time passes us all by so fast! Elias is now in kindergarten and Bella has grown almost as tall as Elias and she is becoming quite a self-proclaimed princess! We passed by the baby department of Target the other day and couldn’t believe that our days of shopping there and the toddler department are over.
The year started calmly. Bella turned 3. Elias was attending preschool ½ a day and turned 5 in March. Josh & I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary in April. But when school ended, we were a buzz of activity.
We traveled A LOT this summer. We visited with some family & a few friends. We went to Kentucky to celebrate our 10th year reunion from college in June and we went to Oakland to celebrate my 15th year reunion from high school. Elias had his first real sleep over with a friend and, during one of our stays with family, learned to ride a bike without training wheels. Isabella is learning quickly on her bike and I don’t think she’ll need her training wheels too much longer. They both improved their swim skills & were much more comfortable in the water compared to last year.
The biggest change in our lives this year occurred when Elias started kindergarten this fall. After a busy & carefree summer, the routine was welcome and an adjustment all at the same time. Bella took Elias’ absence harder than we expected, since he had been gone a few hours a day for preschool last year, but she bounced back pretty quickly. Elias was excited to start “real school” & did well immediately. He has learned so much already this year and we are proud of how hard he is working and how well he is behaving. Isabella is learning right along with him. She picks up so much, just by sitting with us while we are working on Elias’ homework. Elias began playing soccer weeks after school started, so we also had to include games & practices into our schedule. He did very well & his coach said he was very teachable & would do well in the sport if he keeps playing. We loved cheering for his team, but would have loved it more if it hadn’t rained at almost every game!
Bella has been changing so much also. She loves to play on the computer & is very mechanical. She often is more interested in understanding how things work, than simply playing with them. She constantly wants to wear dresses and she changes her clothes constantly. She dances around & says she’s a girl (pronounced more like gal) & has to do girly things. Of course, when Elias and Josh are wrestling, she is always ready to join in! She is small, but she is very scrappy! She can definitely hold her own in a wrestling match!
Josh and I are still volunteering with our church and with Compassion International. Josh has just completed his first year of employment at Northrop Grumman and never gets enough sleep. I am still enjoying being home and have enjoyed the extra time with Bella while Elias is at school. I volunteer at Elias’ school one day a week & also help with parties and field trips. I feel very blessed to be able to volunteer at the school. There never seems to be enough time in the day, but we are glad that we healthy and able to do so much.
We send this hoping that your Christmas and coming year are filled with “tidings of comfort and joy”.
Merry Christmas,
Josh, Jennifer, Elias and Isabella
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