Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas friends and family!!! Here is our Santa photo of 2010. We have had an amazing year of fun, family, and friends.

Sarah turned 1 in June and continues to amaze us with her achievements. She is trying to keep up with the boys and does a pretty good job!! She started walking at 11 months and she is now running and jumping. She loves shoes, "pretties" (anything jewelry or hairties, although she doesn't quite have enough hair to wear bows yet. :0) ) , kitties, and of course all of the Christmas lights. She loves to dance and sing songs.

Callum turned 4 in July and started preschool this year. He is doing well. He loved the firefighter unit and he loves to play on the playground. Thankfully, his preschool teachers are very patient and love his humor. Most days when I pick him up, he does his own version of the robot coming to the door. He continues to make me laugh everyday. He loves to play any sport with a ball and he got to see a Rapids (professional soccer) and an Avalanche game this year. He is also loving swimming. He can swim with his face in the water and wants to take more lessons in January.

Alex turned 7 in November. He is loving first grade. His reading and writing are amazing. Writing is his favorite subject and he has written about his family, the tooth fairy, and his rat. Yes, he got a rat for his birthday and we are all enjoying playing with Darwin. He has also started Cub Scouts (his daddy is very proud) this year and they have visited a radio station, a fire station and are planning on going to a Mammoth (professional lacrosse) in January. It is a group of boys from his school and so they enjoy playing and doing activities together. He just got his block of wood and wheels for his pinewood derby car and both Tom and Alex are itching to get it built.

Amanda started the year doing childcare for little Izzy, however, that came to an end in July and I was faced with the decision to try and do more childcare or something else. After much consideration, I decided to try and get a job waiting tables at Village Inn. I could work evenings when Tom was home and I would be free to help out in Alex and Callum's classrooms and do car shuttle to and from school. God was so good and I was able to walk in and ask for a job and get in. (My sister Melanie worked there and she put a good word in for me. :-) ) It has worked out really well!! I have also stayed busy with church and the kids activities.

Tom began his second year at Freelance Enterprises working on the edgebander. As the year went on he was given more responsibility in purchasing and ordering, some drafting, fork lift operator and materials handler. It has been a tough year for Freelance and when the opportunity came to apply at Coors, Tom decided to try and get a job at Coors. He started at Coors in December and is really liking it. (other than having to shave his beard because he can't stand wearing a beardnet. :-( ) He has also been very busy with school and will graduate from Red Rocks Community College with a degree in applied science in May. He will transfer to Metropolitan State in the fall and start working on a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology.

Some fun stuff......

We took a very fun camping trip in July. We went rock climbing (the boys were amazing), four wheeling (Amanda had to close her eyes several times), and we introduced the boys to BBguns. They had a great time shooting at pop cans.

In November we took an incredible trip to Hawaii to celebrate my grandparents (John and Peggy) 60th anniversary. The whole family (about 20 of us) all flew to Maui for 8 days right before Thanksgiving. It was amazing. We took the boys kayaking on the ocean and swimming with the sea turtles. They weren't very excited about snorkling, but our guide brought up a sea urchin, an octopus, and a sea sponge for them to see. They also saw the turtles swimming on the surface from the kayaks. We spent ALOT of time at the beech and swimming in the hotel pool. It was a very special time with my grandparents and we are so fortunate to have an amazing family.

I pray that as we celebrate the birth of our Lord, we really take the time to celebrate and be thankful for the blessings in our lives. The Lord is good, all the time and he can help us through anything. It is the hope of one day being in eternity with our Creator that gives me the love, perserverance, and joy to keep going everyday. Have a wonderful, blessed Christmas and an amazing 2011.

Love,

the Hoskins