Christmas Blessings to You

I am not one to write a Christmas letter. In fact, I don't write letters at all anymore, and that is a bit sad. I remember how much I enjoyed pulling cards out at Thanksgiving and writing personal notes to each of my friends before I mailed them my greetings. Now, I start my address list at Thanksgiving, have the cards printed by the end of December's first week, have stamps within the same few days, but never have the time (quiet time) to get the letters written. So, I hastily stuff the envelopes, address and stamp them and get them on the way. Someday, I hope to get back to writing the letters, but it may be after the kids are in college. I always enjoy reading other peoples' Christmas letters -- the ones that catch you up on everything that is going on, and somehow fits a year of family events on one page, so I thought maybe I'd draft mine here:

Dear Friends and Family,

What an eventful year we've had! It's been one that I felt constantly busy, but I'll have a tough time telling you what actually happened. It seems that chasing around three two-year-olds and a five-year-old takes its toll on the body and mind.

The year started as it always does -- with January 1st. With the new year came a long to-do list that I decided would be my resolutions spread throughout the year. Mostly, I feel we accomplished what we meant to do. In January, Will still enjoyed pre-K, and two of the triplets were enrolled in the mothers-day-out program one day a week. Each Thursday, I would spend one-on-one time with just one toddler. Two Wednesdays a month Ben, Jon, and Maddie were at Mothers-day-out while Will and I spent the day together. I truly treasured the time I spent with each of my children uninterrupted.

With February came a Valentine's wedding for Allen's brother. It was our first trip with Ben, Maddie, and Jon that was not to a grandparents' home, and our first time with them in a hotel, and our first time sleeping in the same room as all the kids. We all had a great time visiting with family, and overall, the trip was successful. (Especially since I had a good reason to get a great pair of shoes.)

In June, we went on our first real vacation with all the kids, and we were lucky that Sarah's parents joined us to help keep eyes on the little ones. We drove to Corpus Christi and the kids loved the beach -- another first for them. A few times this summer, we took the kids to pick blueberries and everyone had so much fun that we plan to make it an annual event.

Allen and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary in September, but the party started early when we travelled to Greece and Turkey for two weeks in August. The kids stayed with grandparents while we toured Athens and Delphi, then cruised the Greek Islands, Ephesus, and Istanbul. It was truly a dream-come-true that already seems like a lifetime ago. As soon as we got home, Will started kindergarten.

This fall two of the triplets continued to go to Mothers Day Out weekly while I spent the day with the third. I continued taking all three to MDO two Wednesdays a month and Allen convinced me to spend those two days doing whatever I wanted. A few of the days were used to paint and wallpaper big-kid rooms for Maddie, Ben and Jon, who turned three in October. Will just turned six and has been reading avidly since this summer. He has also enjoyed taking karate classes a few nights a week.

We spent Thanksgiving with Allen's parents, grandmother, brother and sis-in-law. You know the song, "In a cabin, in the woods,..." That's where we went. It was refreshing and enjoyable to spend time outside enjoying fall with family, and since there were eleven of us sharing three bedrooms and a bathroom, we got to call it an "adventure!"

It took a bit more time for me to get in a Christmassy mood. I think it had something to do with the 80-degree temperatures we hit in December. It's hard to think about the North Pole while you're digging all the summer clothes out again. Once Will got out of school, the Christmas fun began with a trip to see Nana and Papa, then another to see Gramma and Granddad. I remember as a kid losing track of the days when we had long breaks, and that's what's happened to me the last two weeks.

Our year has gone by quickly, though many days seemed like they would never end. We have been blessed beyond measure with the time we've spent with our families, the joy we've found with each other, and the health and well-being of the kids. Our family wishes all our friends and family a prosperous new year filled with many, many blessings! Thank you for keeping up with us.

Love, The Kaiser Family