Christmas Letter 2007

Merry Christmas, Everyone!
As usual, it has been another wonderful, crazy year for us. It seems like days just zoom by with all of the activity that is in our home.

Probably the newest thing for Larry this year has been the weight loss competition that he started in April and ended in August. Through lots of running (up to 90 miles in one week) he was able to win the contest and use his prizes to buy his new plasma TV. Since then, he has been weightlifting to build up muscle again, and has met his goals so far. He is still at Intel, and continues to be a diehard BYU and Blazer fan. GO LARRY!

As for me, life is relatively the same, except busier this year. One big highlight of the year was my trip to Disneyland with my mom and sister. It was so fun to hang out and be kid-free for a few days! Let’s just say that things got a little wild at times! Other than that, I teach Spencer’s preschool occasionally, go to the gym, play the piano and organ at church, and teach the 8 year old cub scouts. Sometimes I even manage to read a book or go shopping.

Miranda is really growing up! She’s 6 ½ now. She still loves to be creative and make things. She even had one of her paintings in the Hillsboro Art s Center for a while. Miranda is now in first grade and laments that she doesn’t get to play as much as Kindergarten, but she is doing well, and enjoys her friends as much as ever. She is very sensitive to others feelings and is always ready to cheer up anyone who is feeling sad.

Derek just turned 5. Since his first introduction to the world of Star Wars his summer, he has been ADDICTED! It’s all he can talk about. You should have seen his excitement to get the ‘Star Wars Visual Dictionary’ at the library. He poured over it for hours. Other than that obsession, Derek has learned to write, and loves to watch sports (thanks to Larry). He wants to know how everything works and why. He loves to read, play with his best friends, and dance around and make silly sounds. He’s quite a character.

Spencer continues to be our fun-loving little boy. He’s now 3, and says the funniest, most random things. He constantly thinks that his finger is falling off because he has hangnails. He also says that there are dragons under his bed, but they aren’t scary. And whenever we eat grapes, he sticks them in his cheeks and says, “Touch my cheek!” And you’d better, or he’ll keep asking. Spencer has a VERY active imagination and can spend long periods of time playing in the sandbox, with his stuffed animal dog, or with a pile of blankets. Once I found him with two orange cones on his feet. “Mom, look at my ice skates!” he exclaimed.

Lindsey is 1 now, and finally walking. Actually, she walks 1/3 of the time, crawls 1/3 of the time, and walks on her knees 1/3 of the time. She is quite opinionated with the foods she likes. She really loves being in water and watching people do silly things. She has even started some antics herself. She’s got us all wrapped around her little finger!

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas Season!

Love,

Larry, Michelle, Miranda, Derek, Spencer, and Lindsey Dickinson