Merry Christmas!
This is our annual Christmas letter for those who didn't receive it in the mail. Love you all and Merry Christmas!
December 2008
Is another year gone again? Where does the time go? It went by so fast that I am in awe at the fact it is already mid December and I am just barely writing our yearly Christmas letter. I try to do a photo story of our family every year for our family but the time has just got away from us so this year all you get is this annual Christmas form/brag letter. We hope it finds you all well and happy. Let’s start with bragging about the children. They amuse us in the smallest ways and are truly a joy.
Natali is now 5 and started Kindergarten this year and LOVES it. She is now reading short books and is very excited about it. She is the most giving little girl as she is always making cards, letters, and the sort for her family, friends, and teachers. She is also very compassionate. She is always worried if someone gets hurt or isn’t feeling well. Her biggest concern is Zeus and his recent surgery. How sweet is that? She cries if you cry, and laughs when you laugh. She is a big help and loves to write and draw, tell stories, play house and her new found love is Webkinz. She also loves to cook (when Mommy is willing). Oh and she has the cutest crush on a boy at church and he is also in her Kindergarten class and his name is Barry. If you don’t’ know that story visit some old posts on my blog. I have come to accept her crush and now think it is kind of cute.
Noah is our brilliant four year old. He amazes us with his memory and knowledge. He can count to a 100 and then backwards. He can say his alphabet backwards too. He learned how in a matter of a couple hours and I am still struggling with doing it myself! He is reading all the books Natali brings home from school each week. He loves his computer games and absolutely loves playing with his little sister Kate. They are absolutely adorable together. They play their own made up game of tag, running back and forth from one side of the room to another screaming at the top of their lungs and laughing. Noah is also in Pre-school and loves every minute of it. He has become quite the “boy” curious about every little thing, hyper, and loud at times, he is not so quiet anymore. He loves to ask lots of questions about what everything is and why everything does what it does. He keeps me on my toes!
Kathryn, aka Kate, is now 2 and she is slowly starting to say more words. She drags around her stuffed animals everywhere she goes and loves them. She throws a fit if I tell her she has to leave them behind. She also enjoys playing with the play kitchen and making Mommy breakfast, lunch and dinner. She likes to color and has fun playing with her brother and sister. She is our picky eater and I wonder if she will ever like breakfast,(at least cold cereal)( she takes after me in that aspect) she just hates eating it. She insists on dressing and undressing herself and has recently shown interest in being potty trained, we hope that that happens sometime really soon. She always melts your heart by hugging and kissing you when you least expect it. She is such a girl in some aspects and some not so much. She loves having her hair done and loves her dolls and being a Mommy, but she hates the frilly dresses. All of the fun frilly dresses I put Natali in, she absolutely refuses to wear. I didn’t know 2 year olds cared about such things. But she does! She makes us giggle! She also loves to sing even though you can’t tell what she is singing you can tell she is singing.
Zeus: recently underwent surgery for another growth. Recovery has been awful! He ripped out his stitches and ripped off his bandage 3 times in 4 days. He has now been “hospitalized” at the vet’s office for a week now but he is getting better care there. I try hard but I can’t be with him 24/7 and those cones don’t do a bit of good. We do miss him! I really am not looking forward to what that bill is going to look like.
Nathan: Is a very busy busy man! The end! -- just kidding, well not kidding, he is very busy. He is still President of Whittrio (Stimulus Technologies) and he opened another computer security business, Network Security Risk Solutions (NSRS) that keeps him busy doing that too. Plus this year together he and I opened another business called Flyboys Nevada, we basically purchased an airplane and it is in a flying club where people rent and fly the plane. It is a great benefit in many ways. Nathan is also getting his pilots license so not only does the plane bring in revenue he doesn’t have to pay for plane rental. He pays the gas and for the instructor, however he did some work for them and so they have paid for some of his instruction as well. He will most likely have his pilot license by February. Needless to say he keeps busy between flight school, Whittrio, NSRS, his demanding wife and family as well as his calling. He was just recently released as Ward Mission Leader after 2 ½ years and his new calling as Sunday School President has been less stressful because the time commitment involved is quite a bit less.
Ruth: I am a wife, a mom, a chauffer, cook, maid, and a lot more…I don’t do much really but change dirty diapers, cook dinner, run kids to and from school and shopping in between. I can’t say I have done anything extraordinary this year except be a wife and Mom which I feel is great in and of itself. I have been attending UNLV very part time (1 class a semester) as I am trying to renew my teaching license. Who knows when or if an emergency happens and I have to go back to work suddenly. So I am doing it for “security” purposes really. I can’t say I enjoy it but I am doing it nonetheless. I decided to study Special Education because I love working with Special Ed students, however after this class, I think good general education teachers with good special education knowledge really are in high demand as well, so I have mixed emotions what I want to do. But teaching Theatre although I miss it terribly and directing shows, I feel is not great with having a family. It requires quite a bit of time commitment that I am not sure I am willing to give over my family.So I will continue to study Special Education although this last class was soooo monotonous. Hopefully this next class will be
better. This year I look forward to losing the last 12 lbs to my final goal, doing some more scrapbooking, and hopefully with miracles have another baby. That is one reason why I am taking my classes at UNLV now. I don’t have to have them completed until June of 2010 but I don’t want to be doing it with a newborn. Other than that my health is 90% better than before my surgery a year and a half ago. But the other 10% I need to have another baby is slowly but surely improving. I just keep reminding myself that it is in the Lord’s time, not mine. Patience is a learned trait-- unfortunately I never learned it before and am learning it now. Right now I am working on getting a sleep study done to see if sleep apnea might be a trigger in some of my heart palpitations. Nonetheless, I am a new person because of my surgery and am loving life.
Well, we hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! We look forward to hearing from all of you no matter how it is. We have a blog www.whittacre.blogspot.com or we have a website www.whittacre.com (which I am horrible at keeping up) but nonetheless, feel free to visit our sites to keep up with us. My email is also on our website. I also have a facebook profile, but you must request me as a friend to see it.
This season is all about our Savior. So serve him well. As a good companion of mine on my mission once said…”Don’t keep the faith, give it away” Serve him in all you do and those around you and spread the gospel like crazy! (if you are not a member and receiving this don’t take offense, call me and I’ll send you missionaries and a Book of Mormon your way” We love you all regardless of your religion but know we love you and would love to share it with you if you are interested.
We love you all and “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.”
Love,
Ruth, Nathan,
Natali, Noah, and Kathryn
Whittacre
