The Christmas cards are mailed, the gifts are all shopped for and wrapped and now it is time to reflect on this past year, which is why I love the "Christmas letter"...or, in today's modern world, Blog Post.
It is so easy to look back on each year and remember the negative things, the hard things, the events that caused pain. But when I sit down to type out what I want others to know about our little family this past year, this activity helps me to remember the good things, the little moments that also made this year memorable.
I love receiving cards from people I rarely see and finding out what is going on in their lives and seeing the pictures of how their kids have grown. I know many don't like the "Christmas letter" but many friends of mine asked why they didn't receive one last year...not even a card. So this year, I made sure that getting cards out to family and friends was at the top of my list. Granted, Facebook makes it so much easier to connect with friends and family - and has cut down on my Christmas card mailing list immensely - but not everyone is on Facebook.
Bella
Oh, my Bella! What a wonderful blessing she is in my life!! She is currently in 8th grade and preparing {gasp} for high school next year. She is a beautiful young woman and has a great personality and sense of wit (which I'm sure she picked up from her two brothers). Bella is doing excellent in school and is a leader among her peers and loved by her teachers. When we went to registration, everyone knew her and called out to her...I joked that she is our "Social Tyrannosaurus Rex." (ha ha)
This year she started her own cake business and had a steady stream of cakes (1 per month) up until the holidays. She designs all her own cakes - they are each unique - and it is amazing to watch her work and create...I can't even frost a cupcake.
Bella was also on the Girls A Team Volleyball team this year. It was so fun watching her play, be competitive...but also bring the whole team together and build up the team members when they made a bad play or missed a point. She has an uncanny knack at knowing how to help others, all the while with a huge smile on her face and a song in her heart. Her team, the Eisenhower Generals, finished 3rd in the tournament...and I'd bet they would have done better if she had gotten to play the third game, but with a broken finger, her coaches sat her out. Disappointing, but a great experience overall.
Bella is a phenomenal young woman, she mends my heart and brings a smile to my soul when I am broken and she can make me giggle like a 12 year old girl. We have so many "inside" jokes that only we think are funny - and Trey and Paige are often left scratching their heads wondering why we are laughing so hard. Bella is wise beyond her years and has endured this past year's trials with resiliency and grace.
Andrew
We don't see much of Andrew. He moved in with his dad about a year ago, so our day-to-day interaction is limited to a text or two. He will be graduating from high school this year and is busy with school, hanging out with friends and all that being a teenager is about. He is a talented artist and musician and many of his classes involve those talents. Some of his artwork was featured in the Albuquerque Metro Art Show last year.
He joined us for a couple of camping trips this spring and summer and we had a great time...he sure knows how to make us laugh with his wit and charm.
Travis
It's been a rough year for Travis - a year ago, we put him in rehab for heroin addiction and he has lost a dear friend to addiction. He has spent most of this year in rehab and working on getting healthy - emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. He moved home in October and is doing well.
Travis has done a few speaking engagements at high schools and was filmed for a documentary, which will be released in the spring, on the harm and effects of heroin use. Unfortunately, as we are learning, across the United States this is an epidemic.
While I can't understand the battle that Travis fights everyday, I do know it is difficult and he gives it 100% of what he's got. Travis has taught me that part of building a child's self-esteem means letting them stumble, fail, and fall...and then letting them learn how to get back up and succeed. Travis' strength through battling his addiction - admitting he needed help, getting the help he needed and sticking with it - is truly an example to me of tenacity, courage, strong spirit and resiliency...you can get back up when you fall.
Paige
Paige is our "baby" but growing up more and more everyday! She is 9 - going on 19! She wants so badly to keep up with her big sister, to be "in the know" of what is going on...and we just want her to stay little! She is such a sweet, compassionate little girl - always has her pulse on the mood of everyone in the family and wanting to make everyone feel better. Her top present on her Christmas Wish List this year was "a happy family." Well, that says it all.
Paige is in a 4th-5th grade class at Hubert Humphrey and is doing excellent. Her teacher is just wowed by her ability to learn and her level of comprehension and commitment. She actually has to tell Paige to "stop" sometimes - to sit and read a book or draw and to wait for the rest of the class to catch up. She is a great example at school to her friends and reaches out to those that need help.
Paige still loves to read and do anything that involves her friends or family. She often asks to play a game after dinner, and even though we sometimes begrudgingly stop what we're doing to appease her, it is a reminder that we need to slow down and appreciate the quiet times and spend time together having fun. And I love that she still wants to curl up against me and snuggle - I'd better cherish that while it lasts!
Paige was on the City swim team again this year and WOW, that girl can SWIM! Trey and I quickly discovered that if we let her eat cotton candy (yes you read that right) before her meet, she swam faster. So we became "cotton candy pushers" at each meet....and Paige shaved an average of 3 seconds off each stroke. She finished 2nd in the City for her age group in the 50 meter Freestyle and also for the Butterfly, which is her best stroke. I can't tell you how much I love watching my little girl swim...it is amazing! I'll never forget her first year competing and she came in 1st place and we were so excited for her. She calmly tells us, "It's not about winning, it's about having fun." Several races later, she came in 4th and was LIVID that the judge didn't see her touch in 2nd place...winning suddenly became more important than having fun. Wonder where she gets that competitive nature....
Trey
Trey is still busy with his business, Lobo Wealth Strategies...it is a difficult time in this era of financial uncertainty. But he loves what he does, he treats each of his clients like a family member and the business continues to grow.
He didn't get much hunting in this year - just a deer hunt in November, which yielded a freezer full of deer meat, and of course the turkey hunt (and probably some other bird that I'm forgetting). But he did go to Denver to see his Raiders play the Broncos and we did a lot of camping in our new camper, so I don't think he's complaining much.
Trey earned a trip to St. Louis this fall and so he, Paige and I all went and had an absolutely terrific time...and saw every site there was to see, including a Cardinals and Phillies playoff game.
Trey is a terrific father, step-father and husband - he works hard to support all of us financially and emotionally too.
As for me, I am working at REDW, which is a full-service accounting firm. I work in the Benefits department as a Benefits Coordinator and I received my first ever "name candy" this summer - I am now a Tribal Human Resources Professional (THRP). I love working where my efforts are valued, I am challenged and I work with people that I like...it has definitely been a blessing over this past year.
I am involved in the Heroin Awareness Committee here in Albuquerque and have done many speaking engagements this year to help educate community leaders and politicians, parents, coaches, kids, on the dangers of heroin. I field calls and emails from parents everyday, whose kids struggle with this addiction and need help. I also facilitate a Family Recovery group at the rehab center where Travis was...it has been so healing for me to help others.
I am grateful for a year that has broken me, stretched me, pushed me and helped make me a better person. I am grateful for the friends, old and new, that have prayed for me, with me and have held me up when I wanted to fall down. I am grateful for Trey, who stands beside me and my children even when the going gets unbearable at times - I wouldn't want to journey this life with anyone else. I am grateful for my... wonderful children, who make me laugh...and cry...who break my heart, and then mend it right back...who teach me the true meaning of love and bring inexplicable joy to my life.
So that's our year in a small nutshell - because there isn't a big enough nutshell to hold it all!
From our family to yours, may your year be filled with love, laughter and blessings beyond measure. ♥
Love,
Trey, alicia, Travis, Andrew, Bella & Paige