We're less than 48 hours away from departing for our vacation to Florida. The preparations thus far have been quite smooth. We really don't have any last minute things to do, so the last night home will be a calm one.
We're headed down to Orlando, Florida to spend Christmas with a certain Mouse and several Princesses. It will be a dream come true for two little ones. It's nice to be able to grant wishes.
I checked the temps today. It looks like it will be in the 60s when we're there. That's about 50 degrees warmer than it is here, so we'll enjoy it. I'm hoping it will be too cool for others to think about going to the Parks and the lines will be that much more manageable. We'll see.
So maybe you'll hear from us during the week and maybe you won't.
If not, well...I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. We'll be thinking about you.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Merry Christmas to One and All!
Christmas Eve, 2008
Despite the Christmas music playing, the tree lights shining and voices heard saying, “Merry Christmas”, I am having a difficult time believing Christmas has arrived. So I will try to slow down and reflect for a few moments on the year that has been.
Despite the Christmas music playing, the tree lights shining and voices heard saying, “Merry Christmas”, I am having a difficult time believing Christmas has arrived. So I will try to slow down and reflect for a few moments on the year that has been.
We are thankful for…
New adventures
Cate is now in full-day kindergarten and loving it! It is amazing how much she has matured since starting school. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect teacher to jumpstart her academic journey. As you can imagine, Cate is quite social and ensures everyone feels included, so Ms. Mishler took advantage of that trait. Cate is now a helper for fellow classmates who come from the “Butterfly Room” (children who are in the autism program) and in November, she was recognized as a Student of the Month. As if starting school wasn’t enough, she ends her day in a different location—three days at an after school program, one day taking the school bus to my parents and one day getting picked up by Kyle’s parents.
In early 2008, we said good-bye to the crib and hello to bunk beds. Sometime in the summer, Max grew tall enough and strong enough to open the bedroom door. I’ve been wishing for the crib back ever since! At 2-1/2, Max is making potty-training a very frustrating adventure. Grandma and Grandpa are trying to motivate him to use the potty by rewarding him with watching his favorite movie, Fantasia should he “do the deed” on the pot. With Cate at school everyday, Max really likes to have his grandparents to himself 85% of the time.
Working at ShopNBC is always an adventure for me. I don’t know that I have ever sent a holiday letter and not talk about change in my work responsibilities. This year is no different. To date, I have been on the positive side of re-organization and have changed positions four times (in just one year!), each time moving to a better and more challenging position. I am currently the Marketing Manager for Events and Promotions on ShopNBC.com. With our stock at a current all-time low of $0.30 / share, I have a feeling my career adventures will continue into the New Year.
Happy Times
We spoiled ourselves this year with two family vacations. In April, we flew to Washington DC and spent a good amount of time with our dear friends, the Colemans. In July, we went “up north” for a week with my family at our favorite family resort. A good time was had by all. As you would suspect, Kyle keeps up his Wednesday night out gig and also meeting up with Shawn and Mark monthly. I have added some more church activities and still manage to get girlfriend lunches and nights out whenever possible. When we’re home, Cate and Kyle’s highlight is to play Lego Star Wars on the Wii. Max has fun watching all the light-saber action. In the spring, when I had more time, I ran my first 5K. Shocking, I know. I also picked up a new hobby of blogging. As a shameless plug, check it out if you are ever near a computer and think of us: http://jensens6021ramblings.blogspot.com/. Don’t be afraid to leave a comment once in a while.
A roof over our heads, food on the table and a yard to play in
We did not have any major home projects this year (of which Kyle is particularly thankful for), so we just enjoyed…living. We are still very much in love with our kitchen remodel. Cate enjoys cooking and baking, so we are trying to get her involved as much as possible. We decided to plant hosta in the front yard—all transplants came from Kyle’s mom’s garden. Unfortunately, a week after all were planted, we had one heck of a spring storm which wiped them out. What wasn’t destroyed was nibbled down by our neighborhood rabbits. We’re keeping our fingers crossed they will return in the summer. The hosta, that is…
New adventures
Cate is now in full-day kindergarten and loving it! It is amazing how much she has matured since starting school. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect teacher to jumpstart her academic journey. As you can imagine, Cate is quite social and ensures everyone feels included, so Ms. Mishler took advantage of that trait. Cate is now a helper for fellow classmates who come from the “Butterfly Room” (children who are in the autism program) and in November, she was recognized as a Student of the Month. As if starting school wasn’t enough, she ends her day in a different location—three days at an after school program, one day taking the school bus to my parents and one day getting picked up by Kyle’s parents.
In early 2008, we said good-bye to the crib and hello to bunk beds. Sometime in the summer, Max grew tall enough and strong enough to open the bedroom door. I’ve been wishing for the crib back ever since! At 2-1/2, Max is making potty-training a very frustrating adventure. Grandma and Grandpa are trying to motivate him to use the potty by rewarding him with watching his favorite movie, Fantasia should he “do the deed” on the pot. With Cate at school everyday, Max really likes to have his grandparents to himself 85% of the time.
Working at ShopNBC is always an adventure for me. I don’t know that I have ever sent a holiday letter and not talk about change in my work responsibilities. This year is no different. To date, I have been on the positive side of re-organization and have changed positions four times (in just one year!), each time moving to a better and more challenging position. I am currently the Marketing Manager for Events and Promotions on ShopNBC.com. With our stock at a current all-time low of $0.30 / share, I have a feeling my career adventures will continue into the New Year.
Happy Times
We spoiled ourselves this year with two family vacations. In April, we flew to Washington DC and spent a good amount of time with our dear friends, the Colemans. In July, we went “up north” for a week with my family at our favorite family resort. A good time was had by all. As you would suspect, Kyle keeps up his Wednesday night out gig and also meeting up with Shawn and Mark monthly. I have added some more church activities and still manage to get girlfriend lunches and nights out whenever possible. When we’re home, Cate and Kyle’s highlight is to play Lego Star Wars on the Wii. Max has fun watching all the light-saber action. In the spring, when I had more time, I ran my first 5K. Shocking, I know. I also picked up a new hobby of blogging. As a shameless plug, check it out if you are ever near a computer and think of us: http://jensens6021ramblings.blogspot.com/. Don’t be afraid to leave a comment once in a while.
A roof over our heads, food on the table and a yard to play in
We did not have any major home projects this year (of which Kyle is particularly thankful for), so we just enjoyed…living. We are still very much in love with our kitchen remodel. Cate enjoys cooking and baking, so we are trying to get her involved as much as possible. We decided to plant hosta in the front yard—all transplants came from Kyle’s mom’s garden. Unfortunately, a week after all were planted, we had one heck of a spring storm which wiped them out. What wasn’t destroyed was nibbled down by our neighborhood rabbits. We’re keeping our fingers crossed they will return in the summer. The hosta, that is…
Our long-term health
In light of many loved ones battling illnesses from the pesky to serious, we are hopeful for good health for years to come. This year, we all seemed to be sick more often than in years’ past. Many co-payments were made at Urgent Care and the Clinic, which prompted us to finally sign up for a healthcare spending account in 2009. Cate had her first of many bouts of pneumonia in January. This eventually led to her diagnosis of asthma. Fortunately, it’s managed with a daily nebulizer treatment. She has been very tolerant of this addition to her routine because it guarantees she can do her favorite thing daily for ten minutes—drawing.
Kyle threw us all for a loop in June when his flu symptoms took a nasty turn and landed him in the ICU with diabetic complications. It was not the most fun weekend of our lives, but it certainly was a wake-up call for both of us to be diligent in managing his diabetes. He feels much better and we are thankful for all of the prayers you showered upon us.
Our family and friends
Without you in our lives, we wouldn’t be complete. We are thankful for our interactions; whether daily, weekly, or even once in a while. We wish all of you good health, a roof over your head with food on the table, new adventures, and plenty of happy times in 2009.
With love,
Kyle, Jennifer, Cate and Max
Monday, December 15, 2008
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...
I can finally cross a few projects off the list. This weekend we cleaned our house, decorated for Christmas and got our family photo taken for the Christmas card. Now maybe I can get going on my shopping list. Christmas is a little more than a week from now and I have only three gifts--and that covers only two people! Oh boy...
The kids were very excited to see the tree up with the lights on. While I am a fan of white lights, I lost that debate two years ago when little Cate formed an opinion and sided with Kyle in his desire to have colored lights. Oh well, it was a good run.
Cate and Max helped put decorations on for a while...
Their contributions yielded typical result--all of the ornaments they hung were in close proximity of each other and on the tips of the lowest branches on the tree. It was cute, but not really. Thankfully, they eventually tired of the whole decorating thing, so I made a few adjustments.
Here is the end result...
Kyle made the observation that the kids have so many ornaments that perhaps next year they can have their own tree downstairs. Maybe then I can get my white lights back. And I promise to resist modifying any of the kids' decorating. Who knows? It could happen...
The kids were very excited to see the tree up with the lights on. While I am a fan of white lights, I lost that debate two years ago when little Cate formed an opinion and sided with Kyle in his desire to have colored lights. Oh well, it was a good run.
Cate and Max helped put decorations on for a while...
Their contributions yielded typical result--all of the ornaments they hung were in close proximity of each other and on the tips of the lowest branches on the tree. It was cute, but not really. Thankfully, they eventually tired of the whole decorating thing, so I made a few adjustments.Here is the end result...
Kyle made the observation that the kids have so many ornaments that perhaps next year they can have their own tree downstairs. Maybe then I can get my white lights back. And I promise to resist modifying any of the kids' decorating. Who knows? It could happen...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
A great gift idea
I was watching the Today Show this morning and they had great gift ideas for under $25. Inspired by one particular suggestion, I emailed Kyle the following:
From: JenniferTo: KyleSent: Tue 12/2/2008 9:42 AMSubject: Should we get Cate and Max...A goldfish for Christmas?______________________________________________From: KyleTo: JenniferSent: Tue 12/2/2008 9:45 AMSubject: RE: Should we get Cate and Max...I don't think that's a good idea.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Testing...is this thing on?
Recently at a family gathering, a dear uncle thanked me for the fun-to-read thank you notes I sent on behalf of my kids for the Christmas gifts they received. He said I should've been a writer. I chuckled at the thought. I really do have a good time writing thank you notes--Christmas, birthdays. In fact, I get a lot of, "thank you for the lovely thank you. You have such a nice way of writing. I look forward to receiving them."
I try to tell a little story other than just:
It goes more like:
Damn, I digress on my first blog. Go figure. A friend introduced me to this site and so I thought, what the heck? Maybe I can write more than just a thank you note from time to time. Even if I am writing to myself, it could be fun to jot down the ramblings in my mind.
So....testing....is this thing on?
I try to tell a little story other than just:
Thank you for the toy. I like it a lot. I like to play with it all the time. Love, Cate.
It goes more like:
Okay, okay, I know that's not exactly how kids talk. But you get the idea and the recipients seem to enjoy it.Dear Uncle Cliff, thank you so much for the Groovy Girls sticker fun book. I love the groovy girls! It was the first thing I wanted to play with. I like to have the Groovy Girls surfing on the beach. I really think the treasure chest you gave me was a lot of fun. I ate my chocolate right away, I cuddled with my little bear, I placed my snowglobe in my room, I shared my candy with Grandma and Grandpa, I colored with my new crayons...phew! I hope mommy remembered anything. Well, I've run out of room. I can't wait to see you at the big party at your house. Love, Cate
Damn, I digress on my first blog. Go figure. A friend introduced me to this site and so I thought, what the heck? Maybe I can write more than just a thank you note from time to time. Even if I am writing to myself, it could be fun to jot down the ramblings in my mind.
So....testing....is this thing on?
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