Our Christmas Letter 2007

While vacationing in Vermont, I finally got the chance to write our annual Christmas letter. Here it is:

Dec. 31, 2007
Vermont

Dear Friends and Family:
Well Advent has come and gone, and we are enjoying the season of Christmas while we vacation in beautiful Vermont. It is my hope that our “Christmas” letter will be in the mail by the end of the Christmas season on January 6^th, the Epiphany. However, I am not optimistic as we haven’t even taken our family photo yet!!! Regardless of when this letter arrives, I hope it finds you well.

2007 has been a busy year, aren’t they all? We continue to live in our home in — which Len and I have enjoyed together for all of our 18 years of marriage. So many happy years shared together, where does the time go?

Hope is now a lovely young woman of fifteen and will be eligible to get her driver’s permit on her 16^th birthday in May. This has been a great year for her as we’ve gotten involved in a new Catholic home-school group. This has been an answer to our prayers for like-minded friends. The Citizenship group and Girls Latin Choir to which she belongs have been particularly wonderful. She continues to work at the local sewing shop helping with the children’s classes and has begun working as a clerk in the store.

Our big news is that Hope and I have started a sewing business, Lilies of Hope, focusing on alterations, sewing classes, and custom sewing. Len is in the process of designing our website which should be up in late January or early February. So we expect all you local folks to bring your alterations and sewing projects to us!!! And I’ll send out an email announcement when the website is up and running.

Lenny (12) continues to be my athlete playing travel soccer, Little League, and travel basketball. His favorite Christmas present this year was his new Ipod Nano. We’ve downloaded a whole bunch of audio-books and it’s been difficult to disconnect him from it!!!

Lily (7) is enjoying her studies – particularly her reading. She loves to play on a free reading website called starfall.com and is forever writing stories and letters to her cousin, Eve. She tried horseback riding this year but decided that she’d rather swim with dolphins. I told her not to hold her breath on that one!!!

Peter (3) is a joyful bundle of energy and motion. His parents, however, are an exasperated exhausted pair of forty plus year olds who are feeling a bit tired of the chase and at the same time are enjoying the magic of seeing the world through the eyes of a toddler.

Len’s company was bought by — and we are happy that he has survived the many layoffs that have taken place since the acquisition. He and Hope continue to do dog agility weekly with Dakota and Tobey, respectively. This year Len had one of his photographs published in an online guide to NYC.

I am busy with home-schooling the children and sewing for the family and our business. I enjoy being a homemaker and have worked on improving my homemaking skills. It’s taken 18 years but I finally feel like I’m getting the hang of this homemaking stuff!!! I’m a quick study, aren’t I? I thank God for a patient husband!!!

Well that’s all the news that’s fit to print…

Love,
Heather, Len, Hope, Lenny, Lily, Mary, and Peter

P.S. We have migrated over my blog, Doodle Acres (http://www.liliesofhope.com/doodleacres), to our website. Please come and check it out!!! Leave a comment and I’ll add you to my will!!!