Christmas Card Answers...how many did you get right?

We have now lived in Amarillo for 5 years and have established an amazing circle of friends, sharing vacations, birthday parties, sporting events, and the like. We’re thankful for our church family, too. As we’ve become more involved, First Pres is almost a daily stop for one or all of us.

Kalley was laid-off in January, but is grateful for the ability to stay at home with the kids (not that they don’t drive her nuts every once and a while). Thankfully, Matt has a stable job that he enjoys, even if he has to put up with all the lame lawyer jokes. The favorite family joke: “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Surprise!!” Matalley and Grayson tell that one over and over.

Dance parties are a regular occurrence at our house; the most popular song in our repertoire is “All the Single Ladies” with Matalley and Grayson singing the ‘oh, oh, oh’ parts.

Over the last year, Matalley has gone from a babbling, crawling baby to a running, talking, Miss Independent, now almost 2 year old. She is in her tortured artist phase; when she’s happy, there are hugs, laughter, and funny dances, but then there are those surprise outbursts, followed by crankiness and high-pitched screams.

Grayson is 4 and has morphed into a little boy who dresses himself, plays the part of a loving big brother (most of the time and despite a few wrestling matches to show her who’s bigger), and is still smarter than we think he should be (Yes, we’re biased, but aren’t all parents?).

In July, Kalley and Matalley avoided any serious injuries after a car accident. The only casualty was our Honda Civic, which was a total loss. No worries, Japan, we replaced it with a Honda Odyssey – so, we now have plenty of room for future expansion.

As we close the door on 2009 with the hustle and bustle of the holidays, Grayson reminds us all that a Baby changed everything, while Matalley points out ALL of the Christmas lights.

Merry Christmas! May you and yours have a blessed and bountiful 2010!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!!