Merry Christmas

I wrote a Christmas letter this year. Sadly, I never had it printed and actually put in the Christmas cards. So I'm posting it here to make myself feel better! Merry Christmas!

Dearest Friends and Family,

Can you believe Christmas is upon us and it is almost 2009? The last time we sent a Christmas letter we were telling the world that we were expecting our third baby. Ella Kate is now two and half years old and we have almost adjusted! So it’s time for another Christmas letter. No big announcements this time though!

Actually that could be the theme of this letter, no big changes. We still live in the same house, across the street from my parents and my sister Sari (when she isn’t working an auto show or visiting Jim in Atlanta, which is less than one week per month!) My Mom still can’t decide if she wants to retire again. She really loves her kids at school. Dad loves being retired, but fell in November cracking his hip joint and has been in the hospital or a rehab facility ever since. He is getting stronger and doing better everyday. We are hopeful that he will be able come home during the holidays! Rob’s parents are still in Denison and celebrated their 45th anniversary last February.

Rob is still crunching numbers for L-3 Communications while going to grad school for his MBA on the side. He still coaches Rhett’s soccer, baseball and basketball teams. Rob retired from refereeing High School basketball last winter to allow for a long overdo shoulder surgery. Even though he did not enjoy the three month recovery period, he is happy to have a shoulder that does not hurt when he lobs a softball. Rob is a busy guy.

Our oldest daughter Kolby will be eleven in February. Kolby left elementary school behind to start intermediate school last Fall. As is usually the case, she took to the change faster than her Mom did! After a few weeks she was fine with being in school with 950 other 5th & 6th graders, changing classes, and having 8 different teachers every day. She loves it! Kolby is in her 6th year of dance and is on a Junior Jazz Dance Competition team. She is playing basketball for her third year. Kolby loves our church youth group and thinks of church summer camp as the highlight of her year. This summer she plans to head to ACU for leadership camp and can’t wait for that adventure! Being the oldest of three suits Kolby well. She has the helpful older sister role down pat and is a big help.

Rhett turned seven in September. Rhett is all boy. He loves any type game. He seems to share his Dad’s love of baseball but has his own passion for soccer. Basketball fits in there too somewhere. Rhett wants to play football but Mom’s “one sport at a time” rule has not allowed him to play yet. (We’ll see how long Mom’s rule last against Rhett’s and Dad’s love of football!) Rhett is an easy kid. He likes school, loves to read, likes most any kid he meets, likes to keep his room clean, and has yet to find a game or sport he doesn’t enjoy. He is also a very good brother to his sisters, taking care of the little one and keeping up with the big one. He likes to say he is the meat in a sister sandwich! The boy cracks us up!

Ella Kate plays her roll as the baby perfectly! She is a mess. She loves to “read” books, do “homework” like her siblings, and adores babies both real and pretend. She seldom lets her 2.5 years keep her from attempting the things her brother and sister do. She truly thinks she is big enough to do anything. Amazingly, she is right 85% of the time. EK keeps me on my toes! She loves going to Mother’s Day Out at church twice a week and loves church and bible class. Ella Kate is extremely loving, social, and talks non-stop. (Don’t know where she gets that!☺) Ella Kate makes sure we all get at least one good belly laugh in a day with her antics. I can’t believe how fast she is growing! Where do the days go?

As for me, I am knee deep in PTA at Rhett’s school. I hadn’t planned on so much of my time and energy going to SVE PTA, but it has! However, I have made great friends and am truly enjoying every minute I spend there. Being at SVE so much has made me wonder if teaching there could be in my future? Maybe when Ella Kate starts kindergarten? I am in a home re-decorating phase and love all things HGTV. Hopefully this phase will be over by summer. My main focus right now is keeping my family on task and getting everyone where they need to be, when they need to be there, with what they need to have with them. In my spare time (HA!) I blog, read, and have become addicted to Facebook! Rob also has a Facebook page so, it you haven’t already, come find us!

If you happen to be traveling through Central Texas, we live just a mile or so off I-35 about half way between Austin and Dallas, aka the perfect spot for a bathroom break! You are welcome to use our house for a pit stop, just give us a call and pull in for a visit! We would love to see you! Until then, we hope you and yours are enjoying a happy and healthy Holiday season. May God bless and keep you close in 2009!
Sincerely,
Rob, Stephanie, Kolby, Rhett and Ella Kate

I truly hope you and yours have an excellent Christmas!
PS If you have moved in the last 18 months and think I have your old adresss, could you send me your new address?