Merry Christmas from the Pattons! Another year has passed, and once again, I’m wondering where it went! We have stayed very busy, but also been very blessed. God has taken good care of us and grown us in big ways!
Julie is now 4 ½. Yikes . . . how is it possible that my baby is so old?? Her big accomplishment this year was learning to read . . . though we aren’t exactly sure how she learned that. Yes, we discovered that she had pretty much taught herself how to read, so we decided that we should probably start working through formal reading lessons with her. She went through her entire reading lesson book – all 100 lessons – in 5 weeks. (In fact, she’s reading this over my shoulder as I type! “Mom, I’m not old!”) What can I say . . . she is smart and
spunky and hilarious. She is often spouting what we like to call “Julie-isms” She has really come up with some deusies. One of my favorites this year was shared by her VBS teacher when she asked the class, “What is sin?” Julie answered without missing a beat, “Sin is when you drink the mouthwash when your mom tells you not to.” Oh, Julie . . .
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Meg is now 6. She is growing by leaps and bounds in height . . . the weight part is another story! She’s still our Skinny Minnie but it’s amazing how much food that child can put away. I’m pretty sure that Meg is one of the happiest kids alive. She’s always smiling and giggling and is quick to brighten my day. She is in the first grade this year and is doing an awesome job. She has really enjoyed moving into chapter books this year. Meg spends most of her free time coloring and drawing (along with Julie). Meg and Julie are pretty much attached at the hip. They love to dress as “twins” and Meg loves to have Julie sit on her lap when they watch movies. It’s quite amusing as Julie only weighs one pound less than Meg!
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Emma is 9 and continues to be the athlete of the family. She played her second season of soccer this year and really loved it. They even won 3 games (which is 3 more than they won last year – they never even scored a goal last year!) Soccer is over now and she misses it, but she can frequently be found in the back yard or in the basement kicking her ball around. Emma is in the 3rd grade now and is a very bright little thing. She easily keeps up with Ali in Science and History. Math isn’t such a favorite of hers anymore since long division came along. Also writing isthe bane of her existence. Unfortunately, Mom requires a lot of that! : )
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Ali is 10 now . . . yes we entered the double digits this year! She was on the same soccer team as Emma this fall and improved quite a bit. She enjoys the time with her friends more than the actual soccer part of it, but that’s okay. Ali got braces in January and is eager to get them off (It won’t be long now! They come off on Jan 19.) She is now in her 3rd year of piano lessons with Grandma Patton. She is currently working on “The Entertainer” and “Malagueña” – it’s really fun to watch her progress! She is still quite a bookworm and very happily curls up with a good book during her free time. Ali is in the 5th grade this year . . . last year of Elementary School! That means that next year she leaves the Children’s Ministry at church and steps into Student Ministries. She is definitely looking forward to that!
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Aaron and I celebrated 11 years of marriage in May! We are loving life and (as previously mentioned) staying busy. This year was a year of being thankful for good health insurance! : ) Aaron had knee surgery in April and developed a staph infection (resulting in another surgery!) I won’t get into all of our medical hassles . . . let’s just say that we are thankful for our healthy family! This spring and summer were spent putting in a hand-me-down pool and deck. (Whew! Glad that’s over, but we sure are glad to have it!) I am determined that we will have NO household projects next summer!
Aaron has now been working for Boeing for 7 years and is still enjoying it. He moved into a new position this year and has a full work load right now. I am still busy homeschooling my girlies and loving that (most days! : ) ) I have my family blog that I (try to) keep up with. (http://www.ourlittlewomen.blogspot.com/) I have also been involved in our Friday morning ladies Bible study, which definitely helps to maintain my sanity!
Overall it has been a very eventful year! We are thankful to have passed another year serving our faithful God. It’s by His grace that we can truly celebrate this season. May your Christmas be filled with the worship of our Savior who was born in a stable for the sole purpose of sacrificing himself on the cross, taking the penalty for our sins. The good news doesn’t end there! He rose from the grave, conquering over sin and death. That is truly something to celebrate!
Because He lives,
Aaron, Andrea, Alison, Emma, Megan and Julie Patton
