Merry Christmas!

I thought I would write a Christmas letter this year and just post it to my blog instead of wasting all that paper printing it out.



Life around our home is busy, but very enjoyable. The children are growing much faster than I’d like them to, always changing and constantly learning new things. Most of the time they are a real joy, but each day brings on a different challenge.

Jaren just turned 5 on Dec. 20 and is in preschool this year. He attends Sonshine Preschool on Mon/Wed mornings, which is located within the Oskaloosa Christian School. He has made a lot of new friends and is so excited everyday when I pick him up to tell me everything he did. We celebrated his birthday with a dinosaur themed party – his favorite animal right now (see post below). Scary dinosaurs, crashing cars, and teasing his sisters are what he likes the best. Jaren started taking swimming lessons this year and had a great time. We are taking a small break right now and will start him back up again in the next few months.

Bethany is 2 (almost 3) and a very sweet little girl. As Kurtis put it “Only Bethany can make the word generator sound so sweet.” As you can tell she has her daddy wrapped around her finger. By the way, she was talking about a generator because last week we were without "regular" electricity for 3 days due to an ice storm and so had a generator running. Bethany fills her days dancing, playing in her kitchen and trying to do as Jaren says. They get along great, but you can definitely tell that Jaren is the boss (typical oldest sibling). :) They love pretending to go camping and on picnics. Bethany can’t wait until she turns three so that she can attend Sunday School and Kidshine at church.

Erica as you can tell from the picture is a little bundle of energy. She can be quite the handful at times, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Erica will turn 1 on Feb. 2. She loves exploring, getting into Jaren's & Bethany’s things and climbing the stairs (if only she could figure out how to get down). She is not into sitting still for more than two seconds because then she might miss out on something. Erica is also starting to follow in Bethany’s footsteps and is getting daddy wrapped around her finger as well.

Kurtis is keeping very busy on the farm with the hog work and most recently the harvest. Times like now when the electricity goes out adds more work to his full schedule, so thankfully that doesn’t happen often. He also moves trees for my dad and really likes the change of scenery from the farm. Kurtis is enjoying his time at being a Deacon in the church and also being head of the sound committee. With everything going on, it leaves little time for recreational activities. Kurtis is going to be going to Colorado skiing the beginning of January with the guys in his family. This is a much deserved vacation for him and he is really looking forward to it. We'll let you know if everyone comes back in one piece. :)

I continue to be blessed to be able to stay home with Jaren, Bethany & Erica. I also enjoy being able to go to Momshine at our church. We meet every other Thursday morning for crafts, speakers, and socializing. It is a great time and I look forward to the small break I get from the kids. I also keep busy by watching Micah & Becca DeHaan three days a week. Micah is 3 and Becca is 16 months, so they are the perfect ages and get along great with my kids. It is great to see their friendships grow, especially Becca and Erica’s.

We hope that you all have a very enjoyable Christmas and that the next year will be a blessing to you.

Love,
Kurtis, Lisa, Jaren, Bethany & Erica