Christmas Letter 2010

December 20, 2010

This is my first Christmas letter via the blog!

Our big change this year was moving, again. In May we moved from Red Deer to Olds. Olds is pretty much halfway between Red Deer and Calgary. It's a town of 7,000 people but serves the surrounding area of 40, 000 people. This means it has a Super-Walmart, Canadian Tire, Home Hardware and most of the standard fast food places :) We decided to build a house, again. Unfortunately I've made many trips to Red Deer and Calgary to choose things for the house as Olds doesn't have alot of options. The house will be done sometime in January and we can't wait as we've been renting a small house in an older neighborhood. We'll definitely miss the big trees and the huge backyard!

We moved for Warren's new job as Vice President of Finance for Mountain View Credit Union. They're a little bank with big aspirations! Warren is loving his job as it is challenging and he feels he can contribute and make a difference. Warren was busy teaching early morning seminary in Red Deer but is now the Choir Organist. His new calling allows him to get more sleep and more importantly, I get to hear the piano being played at home! I think the highlight of Warren's year was a week he spent dirtbiking in Utah with some friends. He loves to dirtbike and is encouraging our girls to like it as well. Ally even became the proud owner of her own dirtbike and is excited and a little apprehensive about learning to ride it next summer :)

When we moved, I left my calling as Young Women's President and am now enjoy working with the Activity Days Girls! What a sweet age 8-12 is! I spend the rest of my time trying to keep my family fed and my house clean. I've spent many, many hours planning for our new house and am hoping that, this time, we might stay put for a while :) Thanks to my two sister-in-laws, I've discovered the world of blogging and am enjoying using it to record our little family's history.

Our baby, Grace, will turn 3 in March. How time flies! She has become a very delightful little girl. She loves to play with Ally and wants to do everything Ally does. Grace thinks she's a princess and dresses up in fancy dresses every single day. For a while, she even referred to herself in the third person - "The princess is hungry!" She loves to dance, sing, read books and loves Dora.

Ally will be 6 in March. She started Kindergarten in September and has grown to love it. She is in all-day Kindergarten which has proved challenging for her. She misses being at home but has made new friends and seems to be adjusting. Ally did not adjust well to our move to Olds and many tears were shed over missing our old house and her friends :( Ally keeps herself busy with drawing pictures and writing stories. She is most happy with a bunch of craft supplies and some glue. Ally loves Gracie and becomes very frustrated when Grace doesn't want to participate in Ally's "plays" and "dance recitals."

As a family we enjoyed another summer of camping and dirtbiking. I think we camped a record amount of times this past year!

As we've had time to reflect on the past year, we're very thankful for family, friends and for our Savior. We love this time of year when we get to celebrate his birth. We have been so blessed and are excited for 2011 and all it may bring. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a great New Year!!