What to write about in our annual Christmas letter? We've pretty much updated everybody on our list on Facebook, usually about the kids' capers, Zen thoughts for inspiration, a sprinkle of poetry when the mood strikes, and pictures, pictures, and more pictures. Start-overs are a common occurence in our household especially after a bad day. The good ones...we don't want them to end. In fact, we want more of those. The year in retrospect is an affirmation of everything good in our lives - close ties with families, true friends and an abundance of opportunities to realize that we have been blessed. Even in our saddest moments we recognize these gifts. Ninety-three years was not long enough to have my Dad in our lives. Still, there was serenity in his passing and makes more precious the presence of two grandmothers and a great-grandmother for our boys. Jared and Kyle (11 and almost 9 respectively), touched base with their Filipino roots for the first time and the trip will always be remembered as bittersweet as they said hello and goodbye to their Lolo for the last time. Showing them the house where I grew up was a dream come true. There will have to be future trips.
Dennis (23) keeps busy with his personal training business.We try to watch what we eat when he is around. He is the only one who can make the boys eat tuna with green beans and makes doing sit-ups more fun than any video game. And watching the three of them (yes, them three) create with their Lego sets lets me live with the fact that there has to be thousands of Lego pieces on their bedroom floor on any given day. I just wade through them at night to kiss the young ones goodnight, my feet like windshield wipers with a mission. I cringe when a piece or two does not survive the vacuuminator. Perhaps I don't have plantar fasciitis after all - if I can just pull out the Lego pieces stuck to my heel.
As for Randy - I give him credit for waking up early every day to get the boys ready for school. And for all the fluffy pancakes he makes on weekends when we're home. And for the silent nights we've had lately. Only he knows why. ;-)
Me? Just when I think I'm losing my sanity, I realize at the end of the day that there's always tomorrow. For start-overs.
And so this is Christmas. And that's what we've done. Another year over. A new one will begin.
Wishing you all peace, joy, hope, a stronger faith now and in the New Year to come. And love. Mostly love.
Merry Christmas from
Randy, Susan, Dennis, Jared, and Kyle
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