So You See...We Are A Happy Family!: 2006 Family Christmas Letter

Hello everyone, and welcome to our annual year-in-review! What an exciting year we've had! We have been very blessed to see lots of family this year, and have some new adventures.

In March, after being at Computer Nerdz for 4 years, Dan decided to go out on his own and started his own computer repair business as "Dan the Computer Man." He had been contemplating this move for a couple of years, but was hesitant to actually make the jump. However he received a firm, but loving, swift kick in the butt from Heavenly Father in February, and faithfully he chose to flap his wings and fly. And fly he has!! The work has been getting fairly steady, and Dan was fortunate to have some good, faithful clients during his time at Nerdz. Working with this client base, he has slowly but steadily built his business. We are so ever thankful to Heavenly Father for truly giving us our "daily bread" by constantly watching over us and providing for our needs through Dan's work.

In June, Dan's grandmother came to visit for her 85th birthday, along with Dan's mother and sister Sarah. She had an absolutely wonderful time playing with 6 of her great-grandchildren, and everyone threw her a surprise birthday party.

Dan's parents and sister came back in July for their annual summer visit.

In June Jean got to take the kids to Colorado and see her sister Alison and her family, whom she hadn't seen for 3 years.

They also saw her mom and cousin Heidi, who all live in the same neighborhoods. Dan joined them later in the trip, and we attended our nephew Nathan's baptism.

We took a whole day to drive into the foothills, and saw some breathtaking views and beautiful landscapes.

In August, we drove 5 hours north to Denton, TX and met up with Jean's aunts Susan & Gwen Herker, who were on their way back from vacation in Arkansas. We spent the weekend in a little motel, swimming, playing with the kids, and sharing stories.

Before we returned home, we took a 30 minute drive east to see Jean's uncle Dennis and his wife Mipette in McKinney. Her grandfather also lives with them, and it was the first time he got to see his great-grandchildren.

In September Jean's dad and stepmom came to San Antonio for a week. They enjoyed the sightseeing and various activities around town-- the Alamo, the golf courses, the Riverwalk, the golf courses... Did I mention her dad likes to golf?

The kids loved having their grandparents here. Grampa and Stephen always sat together at dinner and became good buddies. The kids introduced their grandparents to some of their favorite things, including Veggie Tales and Junie B. Jones.

In November we went back to McKinney for Thanksgiving. We ate LOTS and LOTS of food the entire week, and took the kids to the playground very often.

Mipette LOVED playing with Stephen. She even offered to have us back for Christmas, on condition that Stephen got to stay at her house until we came back in December. We graciously declined :)

In July we started working with the 8-9 year old Cub Scouts at church. We're not sure we know what we're doing, but as one of our leaders recently told us, "None of the parents are complaining, so you must be doing a terrific job!"

In October Dan's car got smashed, which meant he had to start using the family van for work, and Jean was without transportation. Heavenly Father has graciously blessed us with enough work since then (and a good insurance payment) to afford another car. However, Dan can't find enough time to actually go car shopping. (Well we're definitely not going to complain if his work schedule is staying full!!) So as of this point, we are still a one-car family. But Jean is managing well without wheels. Our church is a 15-minute walk from our house, so most Tuesday mornings she loads the little ones into our double stroller and walks to the church for a weekly craft group. Jean also joined a local crafters charity group this year. She crochets hats and sews little blankets for newborn babies, and collects various baby supplies. Most of it gets donated to local hospitals.

We took April on a special "date" in November to see the Nutcracker Ballet downtown. She was so excited during the show, especially when the Christmas tree onstage grew taller and taller, and when the Mouse King jumped out and started duelling the Nutcracker.

Jean had the opportunity to learn how to sing in French this Christmas season. She was asked to sing O Holy Night at a church dinner, and when her friend found some music for her, it had French lyrics as well as English. She said, "What the heck! I've never known how to pronounce French, so why not learn now?" Her performance was a smash hit, and everyone was convinced she had majored in French (really she didn't have a clue about what she was saying!)

April was accepted into the gifted/talented program at school at the beginning of the school year. She is an excellent reader, and you can often find her curled up in a chair reading Junie B. Jones or Magic Tree House books.

Emily and Stephen are good buddies here at home, most of the time anyway. They like riding their bikes together in the driveway and around the outside of the house. The go exploring in the backyard, and play on the seesaw often. Of course, all of the kids love playing with their Daddy the best. He is by far the best jungle gym we ever invested in :)