Merry Christmas!

 Our most recent family picture at the church Christmas party

What have each of us been up to in 2014?

Gordon: Learned how to ride a bike without training wheels, learned how to swim, started kindergarten, is learning how to read and write, and loves being outside. He is definitely the most active of the kids and needs lots of time outside to expend his seemingly endless amounts of energy. We are seeing sports in his future. He is showing interest in music as well, like his sisters, but doesn’t have the attention span for it yet. He has made leaps and bounds this fall in kindergarten and is loving learning right now. With his emerging writing and drawing skills, he will sit alongside Jillian and draw and color with her. 

 Jilly: Turned 8 and got baptized, started 2^nd grade, improved as a swimmer, started piano lessons, and loves to draw and write. She still loves miniatures and anything with chickies or duckies. She remains the more cautious and conscientious of the kids. If she’s going to do anything, she’s going to do it 100% and correctly. She is very empathetic and makes friends easily.

 Evelyn: Started 4^th grade, lost two molars (with more to follow soon), started playing the viola and piano, improved as a swimmer, and enjoys reading books and writing poems. She comes up with new rhymes all the time and amazes us with her budding literary skills. She started calling herself “Queen of the toddlers” this year after finding that toddlers seem drawn to her and enjoy her company. She’ll make a great babysitter in a couple years.

 Shaunie: Got a road bike last spring and occasionally joins Ben on some rides (which, Ben thinks, is the most amazing thing ever), and continues work part-time as a member of the administrative staff for the housing community in which we live. She is also coming up on four years of teaching beginning piano to several of the neighbor kids. When she has a bit of spare time, it’s usually occupied by practicing the piano, sewing or staring at cookbooks or blogs to come up with new meal ideas. Volunteering at the kids’ elementary school is also a rewarding outlet. This year, she is teaching art to Gordon’s kindergarten class about once a month.

Ben: Lost a few pounds (and kept them off!), continues to enjoy cycling, and thinks that bikes are the most amazing thing ever (other than his family). More than a few times this year he wished he’d majored in computer science. Ben enjoyed the World Cup this summer and finds soccer as exciting, if not more so, than baseball. When he’s not researching, writing that darn dissertation, or taking care of teaching responsibilities, he can be found on his bike, playing with the kids, grooming his beard, or feeding his love for movies and music.

Two of the many highlights this year:

 Having cousins come to spend a week with us in August enjoying the beach, pool, In n Out, and Disneyland. 

Having both sets of grandparents visit for Jillian's baptism in November.