Christmas Letter 2010
The highlights from this year (so hard to pick just one photo!). Click on the month title to read blog posts from that month.
January
Quiet Januarys are always good, and when I look back from 12 months later I am sure our January was calm and quiet. Maybe it didn’t seem so at the time, but perspective can be a wonderful thing! At the beginning of the year Nathan was 4 and Katya wasn’t quite 2. Than still works at Southern Gables and I still care for our home and teach piano lessons.
February
Than gave me a new office as a Christmas present, and we finished the remodel in time to enjoy crafting while watching the Olympics. Nathan continued taking piano lessons and Katya continued growing! (Well, Nathan did too, it just seems to go faster when you are nearing 2!)
March
Katya’s second birthday brought a fun dog cake, and her obsession with all things dog continues to this day. There are lots of other family birthdays to celebrate in the spring so it was a party month! We took a mini stay-cation, staying at a hotel on the other side of Denver and visiting some museums with the kids. It was a good way to see some things in our city that we don’t normally have time for, but next time we’ll make sure the hotel pool is operational!
April
In April we enjoyed the coming of spring, some snow, and the coming of spring again! (That’s Denver for you!) Nathan took swimming lessons, so of course Katya had to test out her swimsuit too (just not in the water!) We did craft projects, lived life, and looked forward to summer.
May
May brought a few firsts to our house. Katya had her first night in a big girl bed, Nathan played in his first piano recital, and Than delivered his first sermon at Southern Gables.
June
Nathan celebrated his 5th birthday with a purple train cake and a new two-wheeled bicycle (with training wheels, but we’re working on it!) The kids and I enjoyed spending a few nights in Vail, and I had the huge gift of a week in Beaver Creek at the Suzuki Institute while the kids stayed home and “helped” Than with VBS. We welcomed a new nephew, Micah, to the family. Than and I also celebrated our 9th anniversary with a not-as-planned-but-very-special adventure.
July
Independence Day in Idaho Falls is a tradition we continued this year. We were able to spend about a week with my parents and fit in a camping trip, visits to several parks, plenty of ice cream at the dairy, the big city fireworks show, the parade, and two home fireworks extravaganzas. Only a day after arriving home, Nathan managed to knock out two teeth when he fell onto the corner of his desk, so he now has a charming gap-toothed grin and will wait patiently for those big teeth to grow in a few years!
August
I celebrated my 30th birthday and have greatly enjoyed my new camera, hence the difficulty in choosing just one photo per month for this letter. The huge event of the month, however, was Nathan starting Kindergarten. He transitioned great, and mommy eventually got used it it as well. We are very happy with his school and Katya can’t wait to join him. He certainly comes home tired after a long day, however. Katya got her jump into education too, when she started Sunday school for the first time. We added another nephew, my sister’s son Keon.
September
Back to teaching music lessons again, although I still haven’t figured out how to fit Nathan’s practice time into the rest of life! My mom came for a visit and we enjoyed seeing Tiny Town and riding on Thomas the Tank Engine at the railroad museum. Katya officially finished wearing diapers and there was much rejoicing. We went camping over Labor Day, hosted a baby shower and a graduation party, and then sadly said goodbye to our very good friends as they left to move to Houston.
October
October brought a mini-getaway to a friend’s condo in Estes Park. We enjoyed driving with Than’s parents into Rocky Mountain National Park, and were just happy to have some time as a family. Nathan also got to go trick-or-treating with his cousins and both kids enjoyed Than’s hard work in organizing our family fall festival at church.
November
Our long awaited trip to Houston arrived and we flew to see our friends in their new home. It was a great way to celebrate Thanksgiving–who can argue with parks everywhere, 70-80 degree weather, and someone else to bake the cherry pie and grill the turkey? We also celebrated Than’s birthday by hosting another mystery dinner party, and we excitedly welcomed a new senior pastor to our church.
December
Plenty of family time coming up in December, but our big accomplishment is the remodel of the guest bathroom. It was a bigger project than we anticipated, but my brother-in-law and sister walked us through it and worked very hard to make it turn out beautifully. We look forward to sharing it with many of you!!
We are grateful to God for all of the growth He has brought to each us in this year. We are thankful for his rich blessings and abundant provision. We rejoice in the new experiences and relationships He brings our way, and we honor Him for the ways he cares for us and shows us His grace.
