Merry Christmas!

I decided instead of mailing a Christmas letter with each card, I would just post our letter on the blog. It’s been a wonderful year for us; we had several big family events including Amelia’s birth and blessing, Ethan being ordained a deacon in our church and Maddie’s baptism. We were able to see every member of our immediate family as well as many extended family members during family reunions and vacations. We had Munk, Higginson, and Yeoman family reunions in Idaho and we took family vacations to Moab, Park City, Idaho and Minnesota. That is probably the highlight of the year for our kids—they love spending time with their cousins!

Keri keeps busy taking care of her house, husband, 5 kids and 2 large dogs. Running, biking and swimming keep her (somewhat) sane. Scott is currently working as a Development Manager for Symantec and enjoys both the job and the people he works with. His job gives him plenty of flexibility to attend the kids’ many activities. Ethan (12) auditioned for the percussion class at the junior high and was selected, so he has been in a couple concerts with the school band and is eager to audition for the Jazz band next year. He is taking piano lessons and also participates in Boy Scouts. Ethan is still fully invested in soccer, which goes all year—regular season games in the Spring and Fall, 2 seasons of indoor soccer in the Winter, and practices, camps and tournaments in the Summer. Nate can’t understand why we’re hesitant to allow him to participate in competitive soccer! Nate (9) does more of a variety of things and always wants to try new ones. He has been taking gymnastics for a few years and loves it. He also plays soccer, takes piano lessons and attends Cub Scouts. This year he tried basketball, but didn’t enjoy it too much. He tried out for the school play and was cast as a dancer in A Christmas Carol; he looked so cute! He has also started taking an after-school Japanese class. Madeleine (8) just started piano lessons this year and still takes jazz and hula. It’s so fun to watch Maddie perform in her dance recitals, because you can tell she really loves to dance! Harrison (3) has been quite a challenge since he turned three, and we’re not sure if it’s the age or the birth of his baby sister. The fact that he is so cute is what is keeping him alive. Besides getting into trouble, he loves, cars, playing with his friends Brendan and Carson and watching his favorite movie (which changes every few weeks and is currently School of Rock.) Amelia (7 months) continues to be a joy in our family. Everyone comments on how happy she always is. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, so she’s gearing up to crawl, but I don’t encourage that! Our favorite move is her platform pose (see picture.) She’s just our sweet baby girl!

We have been greatly blessed this year. We have wonderful family and friends and we have the blessing of the gospel in our lives. The knowledge the gospel gives us brings such peace and joy to our family. May your Christmas also be filled with peace! Merry Christmas! We love and appreciate you all!