Annual Christmas Letter

December 2009

Dearest Family and Friends,

It seems almost impossible that already I am sitting down to type this year’s holiday letter, and yet, here I am. Weren’t we all just doing this, last year? The last twelve months have certainly flown by for the Carleski family, as I’m sure it has for all of you. We’ve had many new and exciting changes as our little (hardly feels like we can call it that anymore) family has progressed, and we are enjoying life to the fullest!

Mr. C is continuing to work for the same company he’s worked for these last five years. He does well, and finds the work challenging and fulfilling. At church, he was called several months back to be our congregations’ executive secretary, and it’s a calling that keeps him plenty busy, but is right up his alley. He loves to know what’s going on and the ins and outs of things, so between that and his amazing organizational and planning skills, he and the calling seem to be a perfect match. Hubby still enjoys our motorcycle, and with the help of friend has even been able to learn how to do some improvements and maintenance to it. He will turn thirty this coming March, so he’s enjoying the ‘last of his youth,’ while he can.

Katie seems to be living life in the fast lane, as usual. As a stay at home mom to four boys her days start early and tend to end rather late. She was called to be a seminary teacher (seminary is a before school religious education class for high school students) a few months back, so she is out the door most mornings on her way to teach class by 6 am. She loves being able to be with the youth, and has a special bond with the particular group she teaches, as she’s been involved with them at church in one way or another for the last six years. Besides her church involvement, she stays busy coming up with crazy adventures to take the kids on, learning how to cook ever more complicated dishes, and sewing. She’s made two quilts and several dozen other craft projects this year for friends and family members. She also taught herself how to can food this summer. A great deal of Katie’s day is spent driving the kids around, and so in what free time she does manage to grab, Katie still enjoys blogging, writing, and reading anything she can get her hands on. She also is in love with her Wii, and uses it nearly daily to work out.

Frog Prince turned the big 0-6 this December and will tell everyone in the world about it. He has had several big adventures this last year. In January he got his first pair of glasses, as we discovered from a check up that he couldn’t see well out of his right eye. His best friend got glasses as well this year, and he now calls themselves the, ‘glasses twins!’ He had his first season of tee ball in the spring, and discovered a great love for playing the game. While he’s not exactly natural, he worked hard and earned the most improved player award at the end of the season, for his team. He also started Karate over the summer and attends classes three times a week. He loves it, is quite skilled at it, and will test in two days time for his first promotion to yellow belt. In the fall he started his first year of elementary school, and is now a big Kindergartener. I can hardly believe my baby is that big already. He is reading and writing well, can count to 100, and is already starting to learn to do subtraction and very basic multiplication. His favourite things in the world right now are Frogs (still), Dinosaurs, legos, and the history of The Titanic.

Sheepie is still the sweetest little boy on the face of the planet. He is four and a half now, and is enjoying his last year of preschool. He too, is involved in Karate, and takes the schools ‘Little Dragon’s’ program every Friday. He is learning to read, and loves to play math games in his head, and sings all the time. He is a very empathetic boy, and loves to spend time trying to make his little brothers happy. His favourite things at the moment are also, The Titanic, Dinosaurs, and he is still more than happy to take his beloved blue blanket just about anywhere with him.

If there were ever a nickname for our little Boy, it would be, ‘trouble.’ That sweet little boy goes about 100 miles a minute and is always looking for and getting into whatever he shouldn’t be. He is 21 months old this month, and is such a smart cookie that sometimes you forget that he’s not yet even two. Speech wise he’s extremely quiet, but has a very good vocabulary of words. He loves to play with his older brothers and has a very strong grasp on how different things interact with one another. Recently, he has started potty training and is already about 60 % there, after one a week. He adores getting to be a big brother, and is very kind and helpful to his mommy. Some of his favourite things are Pixar’s Toy Story, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Star Wars Lightsabers (he likes to walk around and hum the Darth Vader music while waving them around). He is certainly a boy through and through, and we sure love him.

Twinle Toes was born August 8, 2009. He arrived three weeks early, but was still a healthy 7 lbs, 12 oz.; 21 inches long. He is the sweetest baby with beautiful blue eyes and a very fuzzy bald little head. He is four months old and loves to play with toys and smile and coo for his older brothers. He’s sleeping through the nights (something mommy and daddy love!) and is almost sitting up, already. He is our last baby for the foreseeable future, so I am hoping he doesn’t grow up too quickly, as I sure do love snuggling him and having him be my baby.

The biggest adventure in our family this year is that we put our house up for sale, after four years of living here, and will be closing on the sale, in the middle of January. We are excited for the next step in our lives, in which we plan to build something a bit bigger, with more room for four growing boys, and something a little closer into town. We feel we’ve been very blessed in this, at such a rough time for many. We are mindful of where the blessings come from, and because of such are grateful to be able to celebrate this Christmas season. We hope that it finds all of you well, and that you are able to enjoy the holidays with those whom you love. Happy Holidays!

Love,
The Mighty C's