MERRY CHRISTMAS!
I was a huge slacker this year and didn't get the Christmas cards finished til today - just a week late, but they're still going out in the next few days! Instead of adding a page of what we've been up to as a family this past year, we figured we would save the ink, the paper and the extra postage and just use my blog to give you all an update. So what HAVE we been up to?...
Brett: Cuter than ever and the biggest personality I have ever seen in a little man just shy of 2. He's ginormous (way off the charts for his age), so people expect a lot more of him than they should for how old he really is. He lives up to the expectations, though, and is starting to talk a lot more, scale all the furniture in the house to get to what we've put up out of his reach (including the top of the piano!), and do a million other things we wish he wouldn't yet. He wants to do exactly what 
Matthew is doing most of the time but will plop down in your lap for some extra love if Matthew can't be found. He's not really a cuddler but feels like he should have your attention when he's ready for it. He's silly and fun and we can't imagine life without our little Beaner-man.
Matthew: Turned five on Christmas and decided that he's not a child anymore. Declared that he was going to marry a girl in his primary class at church, be a dentist and a race-car driver, and have 17 kids. Where did that come from? He's a crack-up. Always trying to tell us jokes (they never really 
make much sense to us, but he tries so hard we laugh anyway). He told us Christmas morning that "I was right! Santa IS real! See. I TOLD you!" - because there was a skateboard with knee/elbow pads under the tree for him. He's starting to add everything and is obsessed with numbers and counting and his score on video games - he has to make sure he's winning! Competitive little guy that will hug you in a heartbeat and melt your heart - especially when he's being naughty.
Mikala: AMAZING girl! What didn't she do this year? She started 8th grade in the fall. Her coach put her on the varsity swim team, her math teacher put her in honors math (she skipped a class or two to get there and still pulled off that A!), and her lang arts teacher requested she be moved to her honors class as well. She left off 7th grade as the 1st chair trumpet player in band and picked right back up where she left off for this school year. Her first trimester she brought home a report card with straight A's. I was out 20 bucks, but I was so proud of her! She loves creating miniature anything - out of clay or recyclable materials or just drawing them... She's amazingly creative and is forever doodling. I never have to ask her to do her homework because it's already done (I know she isn't lying to me - I can go online and check on 
her...). And she's rarely even moody or tempermental. I know, I know. Karma says I should have had one just like me, but I got the perfect one instead. :) No complaints from me! She's the sweetest, most responsible girl in history.
Cathi: Don't know where to start, really. The year started off with me trying to develop a webiste and in the process of learning more about websites and how they work, I started another one for hair instructions. Because of that website, I got work as a freelance writer for another website (which turned into maybe 5 or 6 other sites by the end of the year). As of Dec 31, I think I wrote over 100 articles for hair websites that are visited monthly by more than a million different people. In the summer, I was asked by a friend to come work at an Aveda salon they were building in a corporate headquarters here in the Twin Cities. Due to the downturn in the economy, the salon still hasn't opened, but while waiting for things to be ready, the owner of the salon had me attending classes at the Aveda Institute to learn about their color line, cutting techniques, products, etc. One of the instructors for a class I attended invited me to be a freelance artist on their team doing weddings on the weekends in the twin cities and surrounding areas. I get to do up-dos and makeup for brides and bridesmaids. Fun! I was also asked by Aveda to be one of their freelance makeup artists. I get to travel to different salons in the twin cities and surrounding areas to do special events (put makeup on people all day and teach them how to do it on their own). Love it! I use all these separate events as an excuse as to why I haven't gotten a ton done around the house and with my own hair website. :) Jeremy and I also just started training to run a half-marathon in August with a group of friends. We'll need all the support we can get for that one!
Jeremy: Got asked to be one of the local umpires for the St Paul Saints (an independent professional league team in the American Association). Cathi got to go to a few of these games and he did an amazing job! The 4th of July game was the best because we stayed for the fireworks afterward and he got to sit with the family in the stands. He finished his third year with Minnesota Youth Athletic Services as the Director of Umpires and Baseball Special Events and has also been keeping busy as an official for high school football, as well as high school varsity and college basketball. He picks up being an umpire for college baseball games again starting in February. What's he looking forward to this next year? Helping Matthew start his baseball career as a volunteer coach for Matthew's team this coming summer. He keeps really busy making sure the family is happy and safe. :)
So that's the rundown of the fam for the year. Hope the new year is full of exciting things for everyone but that you can take time to enjoy what you have. Love to you all!
Jeremy, Cathi, Mikala, Matthew and Brett
