Merry
Christmas to all our beloved Family and Friends.
It
is with a happy heart that I sit down to reflect on this great year
and its accomplishments. I recognize that nothing would be possible
without the Savior, and it is this reason that we celebrate his birth
and his life. I know that he lives. He is the fuel in all that I
do. I strive to be better each day as I follow his example and learn
to love as he loves us.
We
send our love to all of you!
2012
Troy
marches on at the head of our family. He is always encouraging us to
do our best and challenge ourselves. He still works hard with our
business and he plays hard: biking, stand up paddling and learning to
kite surf. He is a great dad, always taking the kids out to play.
He gets the good husband comment too, because he is a good guy and I
am am lucky to be his wife. He has also been taking Spanish classes
all year and he is hoping to get an opportunity to visit a Spanish
speaking country really soon.
I
have been trying to keep up with my crew and their passion for living
and playing. I started and coached a Cross Country team at our
Elementary school this year, which was a great experience. I also
trained and competed in the TriLanai which was lots of fun,
especially because my Mom came and watched the kids for Troy and I
over the weekend. I started working again, doing home health care -
very part time, but enjoyable to use my degree again. I am serving
in the Young Woman Program at church now and that is fun because
Sydney is in the group and we have a lot of fun.
Sydney
is 14 and in 9th grade. It took me about 9 months to come
to terms with the fact that I have a beautiful high schooler in the
house. (And that we have to get up so early for Seminary.) She is a
perfect teenager except that she is very responsible, diligent and
self motivated. She still swims on the Maui Dolphins swim team as
well as the High School swim team. She played volleyball this year,
charms the piano, draws really well, gets good grades, dances hula,
and rides her bike like a champ.
Ethan
is 12 and in 7th grade. He got glasses this year which
are really cute as well as helpful. He came in 6th in one
of his surf competitions this summer, competed in a couple of
Mountain Bike races, and he really enjoys skate boarding. He also
swims, but only because his mom makes him. He is a really good boy
as well as very nice. He attracts all the kids in the neighborhood,
so our yard is rarely empty and he never suffers from being the only
boy in our family. Ethan is also a good student, plays the piano and
the ukulele and he is a good brother to his sisters.
Ember
is 8 and in 3rd grade. Pretty as can be, Ember is very
creative. She is always making something and in the middle of one
project, she is thinking of the next. She designed and sewed her own
skirt this summer as well as hand sewed several little bags. Ember
is a great big sister, always helping Sophie do fun things. Ember
continues to study the violin and played for our church Christmas
party. In her school class this year she is excelling at the
recorder as well as at her grades. She also did a couple of mountain
bike races this summer, dances ballet, ran cross country and she has
started competing in the swim meets!
Sophie
is 5 and in Kindergarden! She was not too sure about school for the
first few months, but she is starting to enjoy it. She was chosen to
participate in the the school choir and they competed in the Na Mele
Competition. The songs are all in Hawaiian and she frequently uses
Hawaiian phrases in our conversions which is pretty cute. Sophie is
an amazing Mountain Biker and competed in her first race. She also
ran in one of the cross country races this year. She is all girl
until it comes to competition, then she is all business. She is very
excited to be a reader and she is working very hard at school. She
loves ballet and she is also a great artist, filling up the house with
her art work.
Thank
you all for filling our lives with your love and friendship. Have a
very Merry Christmas.
Hugs,
Troy,
Amy, Sydney, Ethan, Ember and Sophie Anderson
