2009 in review

We hope this Christmas season finds your family well. Our Christmas letters tend to be more of a year-in-review, so here goes!

We took some nice vacations – a Disney Cruise to the Bahamas and a trip out west to see both sides of our families (Utah and Oregon) for 2.5 weeks this summer. Also, Amber and Byron spend a few days in Aruba as an incentive trip from Byron’s work.

Zach (or Buddy if you ask Byron) is 2 ½ and talking more and more. He has been potty trained now for quite a few months, though we still have to remind him to go every few hours and sometimes we still have to bribe him with candy. But it is so nice to take diapers out of the equation. He’s at the “Zach do it” stage. He refuses help most of the time, so he often runs around with his pants on backwards but that’s all part of growing up. We also have had many spills because he will get into the fridge and pour his own juice. He’s in a big boy bed now, and gave up his binky the same week he potty trained. He was our easiest for those things!

Makenzie (or Kenzie if we don’t feel like saying a 3-syllable name) is reading well in kindergarten. She is the pest and silly one in the family, annoying Mikayla till Mikayla has had enough and retaliates and then Makenzie always ends up getting hurt. We don't understand why Makenzie keeps doing it when she knows what the outcome will be. She also sings and dances and can be very dramatic. It’s amazing how different she is from Mikayla, who is disinterested in those things and private about her feelings toward boys. Makenzie, on the other hand, has a collection of boyfriends and every day seems to add another. Last night Byron asked her why she thinks all the boys like her, her response in all seriousness "Because I'm hot!"

Mikayla is now 9 and in 3rd grade. She played soccer this year and did extremely well at goalie. The other teams’ strategies revolved around how to get past the “really good goalie.” She is brilliant at some things (like getting 100% on her standardized tests) but is still learning how to be responsible and to choose to obey even when she doesn’t want to. But then she blows us away with her understanding of difficult concepts and her memory of facts and details of what happened several years ago. She has been really blessed with great teachers who “get her” and really enjoy having her in their class.

Amber lost her job in January and misses working from home. She enjoys going to Zumba class once a week, playing tennis and ping pong with Byron, exercising and shopping of course. Lately she has spent her time looking for bigger houses and deep cleaning hers in preparation to sell. She also dreams of the day when her kids will stop fighting with each other.

Byron just found out that one of his best employees is leaving for another position. Other than that, life is good. He is the primary chorister at church. He would love to stay in our little house until it is paid off, but Amber is the one who has to be home all day, so we hope to sell our house and then buy a bigger one. We’re hoping interest rates stay low long enough for us to get a nice big one at an affordable monthly payment.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
The Shefchik’s