Warm wishes to you and your family this holiday season!

This is my attempt at a Christmas letter.  I thought I would give a little update on what we are up to:

In April of this year, BJ earned his Masters of Technology degree.  He got a job working as a quality analyst in Salt Lake City.  He really enjoys his job.  He has also developed a new hobby: building custom computers.  Life got so busy that he didn’t even get a chance to go camping at all this past summer.  You can be sure that he will make up for it this coming summer….

As for me: I have been loving living in civilization!  I think it is safe to say that I am definitely a city girl.  I recently started my photography business up again.  It has been a big effort to get re-established in a new area, but I feel optimistic about the new year and have a lot of plans, including possibly opening a basement studio.  So, stay tuned for that.  Other than photography, I have been keeping busy cleaning, doing laundry, helping with homework, practicing the piano, etc.

Missy is still the responsible older sister.  She loves art and is often creating something amazing.  I think she got that creative gene that somehow skipped right over me.   The other day we were at JoAnn’s and everything I selected, she patiently reminded me that I don’t know what to do with it.  I added some yarn to my cart.  She said, “But Mom…you don’t know how to knit.  Or crochet.”  Then, I selected some fabric.  Very concerned, she said, “But Mom.  You don’t sew.”  When I was picking out buttons, she asked me what I was planning to do with them.  She was very confused.  Rightly so.  Luckily, I have no plans to actually do anything myself with the items I bought.  The yarn will be knitted into hats/wraps for newborn photography…but not by me.  I found someone to make them for me.   The fabric requires no sewing skills at all.  I will simply be stretching it to wrap around newborns during photo sessions.  HaHa.  Anyways, Missy loves having her own room and is very protective of her space.  She makes friends very quickly and is always instigating a fun game or activity.

Mae Mae is a happy and loves to have fun.  She got some ice skates at a yard sale this summer.  She has gone ice skating once so far this winter and cannot wait to go back!  She has endless amounts of energy and really loves to play outside.  Both older girls learned how to ride bikes this summer and spent hours  of every summer day out riding up and down the sidewalks in front of our house.  Mae Mae is a great reader, reading several grade levels above where she is “supposed” to be reading.  She likes to color, create little spaces (forts out of blankets) and is a great helper (when she is in the mood.)

The Foof is our family peacemaker.  She has also been attending speech lessons through the school district and has improved so much.  I still love the few words/sounds she mispronounces just because they are so her, but I am glad that she is doing so well and learning so much.  She looks forward to her weekly half-hour speech lessons all week.  Our Foof is calm and helpful.  She plays well by herself, but loves when she is lucky enough to have a friend over.  I love this little angel girl!

The Bub:  He is funny!  His favorite thing to do is make people laugh.  Dinnertime often turns into a laugh-fest.  He is laid back and happy.  He is great at sharing.  But he is especially good at being mischevious.  He really likes getting into things.  He is loving.  Whenever one of his sisters is sad, he hurries over to give hugs and love.  Though he still only says a handful of words, he understands everything we say and is really aware of what is going on around him.  He is still a big Mommy’s boy and I love it!  (most of the time).

So, that is our crazy family.

We love the Christmas season for what it symbolizes.  We are so thankful that Jesus Christ was born.  We love Him!

We hope you each have a very Merry Christmas!

*Thanks to my amazing sister Holly for the beautiful family portraits* (www.hollybrimhallphotography.com)