Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,
We decided to save some paper this year, and send you all here to read about our year. Kirsten is a little bit old fashioned, and isn't sold on the idea - so you'll have to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Here are some highlights of what we've been up to - you can read our old posts if you want to read more and see some pictures!

Dave just finished his first year at the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab. He spent the first three months at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) as an intern and works with them as a DARPA transition officer at the lab. Dave is thankful for a great wife / mother / teacher / friend in Kirsten. He's also thankful for four kids that don't need diapers. Finally, he's thankful for over 12 years of unconditional love from two furry friends.

Kirsten kept busy much of the year with homeschooling the children. When she wasn't teaching them, she was driving them to soccer, baseball, basketball, AWANA, ballet, gymnastics, piano, and to their friends' houses. She still found time to meet up with her running buddies on the weekends, and logged a few miles. She made Dave join her for the Rock 'N Roll Half Marathon in August ... that's not the best time of year to run in Virginia Beach! She and the kids joined a homeschool co-op at our church this school year, and they are really enjoying it. She has enjoyed being close to her family and being able to visit with them regularly.

Erica turned 11 this year and is in 6th grade. She played basketball in the winter, but her true love is still soccer! She started piano lessons this year and is enjoying it - she hopes to add voice lessons sometime next year. She loves her cell phone, her friends, and is quite interested in the latest fashions! She reached quite a milestone this year - she is now taller than her Nana! At 5'2", she's taller than most of the women in Dave's family.

Grady is 8 and in the 3rd grade. He loves playing basketball and baseball, and was able to do both this year. He is a Lego fanatic, and is quite imaginative when he's creating things. He decided this fall that he wanted to grow his hair out, much to his father's dismay. He has no interest in playing the piano, or even the guitar - he would really like to play the drums. Dave will have to soundproof the basement before that can happen!

Liam is 5 and in kindergarten. He tried tee-ball in the spring, but was eager to pick up soccer again in the fall. He loved playing soccer, but would also like a chance to play football. He has become a football fanatic, and is a big fan of the Hokies. Dave took him to his first Hokie football game in September, and he loved it! He is learning to read, and is eager to write. He still loves to draw and makes many pictures each day - all of which have to be saved in his special bag.

Jenna is 3 and thinks she's in kindergarten. She is eager to be big like the other kids, but her mom and dad would like her to stay little! She started ballet this year, and is so cute to watch. She also started Cubbies at church, and we have discovered that she's a perfectionist - she gets upset if she struggles with learning a verse. She loves playing with Polly Pockets and Barbie dolls, and is hoping she'll get an American Girl Doll for Christmas.

Kadie and BJ, our first "babies", both passed away this year. They were great dogs, and we miss them a lot! The kids are hoping that we'll get a puppy sometime in 2009 ... we'll see what happens.

As we end 2008, we are thankful for all that we have been blessed with! We are thankful for our friends and family, for good health, for food and shelter. But most of all, we're thankful for the reason we celebrate Christmas - the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We hope that you have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy 2009!

With Love,
Dave, Kirsten, Erica, Grady, Liam, and Jenna

The big decision...

Anyone who knows Dave and I knows that decision making is not a strength of ours. There are times that becomes a real problem ... like when we're trying to pick out a Christmas tree. It's not that we were too picky, it's that any of them would have been fine. It took us longer than everyone else we saw at the farm, but we did manage to make a decision - and we're very happy with our tree.

This is my first real Christmas tree - Dave can't remember if he ever had a real one growing up, so maybe it's his first real tree, too. Dave and I have always had a fake tree for practical reasons - because we had a male dog, and to him, a tree was a tree. BJ lifted his leg on a fake tree once - we knew we'd never be able to stop him from going on a real one. Here are some pictures of our first trip to a Christmas tree farm:

The boys are cutting down the tree while Jenna and I hold it

Dave and the kids in front of the one

Jenna and Erica all bundled up

Santa and Mrs. Claus

Missing our Kadie dog

On Saturday, we had to say good-bye to Kadie. Her health had been failing for a while, but by the end of last week, she was really starting to struggle. It has been tough to lose both of our beloved pups in such a short amount of time, but the kids are handling it well. Of course, they do keep begging us to get a puppy.:-) It will be a few months, but I'm sure we'll venture down that road again - we had so much fun with Kadie and BJ , we can't imagine not having a dog again. For now, we'll just enjoy our sweet memories - and be thankful for the (almost) 13 years we had with Kadie. We miss that girl!

Liam's Last Fall Soccer Game

These are pictures from Liam's last soccer game this fall. He had a great season. He learned a lot and had a lot of fun. Click on the video below to see him in action.

Trick or Treat

The kids (and parents) had a great time Trick or Treating on Friday night. We met up with some neighbors, and the kids loved hanging out with their friends - even Jenna had a friend to go with! Last year she tried so hard to keep up with the bigger guys, but this year she didn't mind being a house or 2 behind. Here's what they looked like before we left:

Grady as a Clone Trooper

Erica as Miss Stafford Lakes

Jenna, the Hokie cheerleader

Liam as a Redskins football player**

Liam REALLY wanted to be a Hokie football player, but we couldn't find a helmet anywhere - except the real ones that cost $200. His next plan was to be a Patriots football player, but that didn't work out either. When people asked if he was a Redskins fan, he let them know that he liked the Hokies and Patriots better.:-)

Pumpkin Patch

We love Fall at our house ... we like the cooler air, the changing leaves, pumpkins, football, and the return of hunting season. We try to visit a farm each year to pick out our pumpkins, and this year we found a great place! It had hayrides, 2 pumpkin patches, a corn maze, a hay maze, a playground and petting zoo. We had lots of fun, and I even remembered to take pictures! Here are just a few:

Jenna and Erica on the hayride

Grady with his big pumpkin

Liam, Jenna, and Mommy in the corn maze

Daddy and the boys on the hayride

Trip to Massachusetts

I'm a few weeks behind and many pictures short, but it's the thought that counts, right?! We went to Massachusetts earlier this month to help my aunt and uncle celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing family that we hadn't seen since we were up there the last time - nearly 6 years ago! My parents are both from there originally, so most of my extended family is there. We had a great time reuniting with aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, second cousins ... you get the idea! Unfortunately, we were so busy visiting with everyone that I only took a few pictures. These are a few that we took when we visited Patriot Place with my parents. The kids enjoyed hanging out there, and Liam has decided that he wants to play for the Patriots when his career with the Hokies is over. In addition to visiting with extended family, we had a chance to hang out with my parents more than usual. The kids really enjoyed having sleepovers in Mimi and Papa's hotel room! We hope to go up there again sometime - 6 years was too long to go between visits.