Merry Christmas!

Hello friends and family! Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas! We (I) decided to skip Christmas cards & neighbor gifts this year to save myself some anxiety and money. So know that I love you all and please accept this blog entry as a humble replacement. Here's the best picture I could get of the kids and a little note about our year.

Jack is now 3 and full of energy, personality and funnies. He's always pushing our limits and making us laugh. We potty trained him this past spring and on the 4th day I was trying to get him to use the potty after his doll friend, a life size Diego (a friend of mine recommended using a doll, which worked great actually!). Anyway, I said, "Jack it would make Diego sooo happy if you would use the potty." And he said back to me quickly, "NO, it would make YOU so happy."

Lately we've been trying to teach him about the sacrament and what it means to take the bread & water at Church. We've told him that it's just like being baptized each week and if we say we're sorry and take the sacrament, Jesus takes all our spankings for us and we can be fresh and clean. (Not sure if that's the best thing to teach, but it's the best I could come up with for a 3 year old.) This past Sunday after he ate the bread, he hollered out quite loudly, "I feel better already!" It provoked some giggles from myself and some families sitting around us. I was much more proud of this loud statement than of the times past when he's blurted out four letter words during the sacrament.

Halle just turned 18 months. She's in the 75% for her height and -5% for her weight...still not quite 19 lbs. She's sweet and cute and lots of fun. She's started talking quite a bit this past month or two and now tells us, "Love you." (We do have to ask her to hear it though.) She loves playing with Jack, when he's not beating her up, and still lets us snuggle her on occasion. She loves baby dolls, her blanky and of course, her binky.

Dusty just passed his Security+ test for work and is now certified for life. He studied for weeks and worried he'd fail, but actually passed with an 895 out of 900. Way to go, Sweetie! Now he can keep his job. We're hoping he'll be picked up by the new IT contract out at Hill AFB next year, whenever they figure out which company will be taking it all over.

And I'm just enjoying being at home with the kids. I'm looking forward to Christmas and all its traditions, as well as visiting with lots of family. This year is the first that Jack really understands the whole Santa concept, so Dusty and I are excited to watch him Christmas morning. (And the whole naughty or nice threat has been working on occasion as well.)

Thank you for all the cards and neighbor treats we've received already. You are all wonderful and have such cute families! Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...

Love,
The Anderson Family