Merry Christmas

Hello all and Merry Christmas! (Names have been changed to hide our true identity... my Dear Hubby didn't like I had used real names so He asked me to change things a little.)

Hope this year find you all doing well. It has been another crazy year for our family!

DD is almost 3 years old. What a drama queen! She loves to sing and dance. She is very much a princess. She can recite her alphabet and count to 20 without any help (most of the time). What a clown! When asked what she wants for Christmas this year she said, "Presents."

DH has been working for Sweeney Controls for 8 years now. They have gotten a contract that has caused Galen to do a lot more traveling this year than ever before. Since January, he has been to Plattsburgh NY twice, Burlington VT, Orlando FL, Fort Dodge IA, Norfolk NE, Toledo OH, White Plains NY, Lawrence NY, and Manchester NH in addition to the hundred or more cities in the tri-state area. This fall he was gone so long that DD and I FLEW to New York for a long weekend so we could spend a little time with him.

My year has felt like a single mother with DH gone so much. Without the support of my friends and family I don't know how I would have survived DD's terrible twos! In addition to raising her, We are expecting baby 2 in February. It has been an uneventful pregnancy for which I am so thankful. I worked part-time from home for a friend doing bookkeeping for most of the year. I really enjoyed the challenge and was sad when my services were no longer needed.

As a family, this has been a good year. We were able to take a long vacation to Colorado to visit DH's sister and her husband. We went on the annual Jensen family camping trip held at Lake Shetek State Park (MN). And we took a long weekend and went camping with friends in Two Harbors, MN. We even managed to find time to get our house painted... well, I did with the help of friends and family as DH spent most of this fall on the road.

Up in Warren, my Grandpa passed away in May. Grandma is doing well and still living in her apartment. I got to spend a couple days visiting with her a few weeks ago. My Mom and Dad are doing great! They spent a lot of time camping and fishing this summer, visiting several Minnesota State Parks. In Pelican Rapids, DH's Grandpa is doing well and he keeps hanging in there. DH's Mom and Dad are doing great too! They've spent a lot of time with Grandkids and have put the business up for sale as they prepare for retirement.

In the coming year, we look forward to the new arrival in our family and may start looking for a bigger house to accommodate our growing family!

Hope your year was as happy and blessed as ours!


PS: Just got back from my parents and celebrating my Grandma's 87th birthday. There were over 30 of us kids, grandkids and great grandkids there to celebrate. We also had our first of 4 Christmas's with my parents, sister's family and younger brother. Last night DD, DH and I opened presents at home. The coming weeks have us celebrating Christmas 2 more times, once with DH's family and once with the rest of my family.