Kids, Cakes, and Craziness!: Christmas Letter

It has been a while since I updated my blog, so here is our Christmas letter with all of our latest news. I will also be posting Piper's Kindergarten Christmas program, Christmas dance recital, and her singing in church hopefully tomorrow afternoon. I pray you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are looking forward to a great Christmas.

Happy holidays from our family to yours!
This year has been a very busy and fun one. We have had a lot of “firsts” this year! It has been so much fun to watch the kids grow in leaps and bounds this year! They grow up too fast, and we have been enjoying the time we have with them!
The first couple months of the year were mostly uneventful. We stayed inside most days, as it was too cold to play outside.
In March, Fargo faced the worst flood we have ever seen. Jeff and I spent some time sandbagging or babysitting so other people could sandbag. It was amazing to see how the town really pulled together to help one another out. It was really neat to be out on the sandbagging lines as we watched the waters rise and people were telling jokes and laughing. The hope amidst the desperate attempt to save the town was incredible. We sandbagged in the rain, wind, snow, and freezing cold temperatures with frozen sandbags, which really made things interesting. After a week or so of sandbagging, our family decided to get out of town. We went to Ottertail, MN and stayed with Jeff’s dad for a while. We ended up spending Piper’s 5th birthday there, and she had fun going to Thumper Pond once again.
Spring was a welcome sight this year since we had such a harsh winter.
This summer we tried to swim and play outside as much as possible. We had a lot of fun on the days that weren’t rainy.
In June, we brought Xander to the doctor for allergy testing. At that time, they ran a blood panel of common allergies to determine what source(s) were causing his skin rash and other complications. The blood panel came back that he was allergic to eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and was lactose intolerant. After switching his diet, his rash disappeared and his demeanor became much better! We had a happy boy finally!
In August, Piper started kindergarten. She loves school and is having a blast. She is what they call an “all day friend.” She is learning so much and is always excited for school each morning.
In September, we celebrated Xander’s 1st birthday! Amazing how fast that year went! We had a lot of fun celebrating with family and friends. We also celebrated our 2nd anniversary. Jeff and I went out to dinner and enjoyed some time together without children.
We had a lot of fun over the Thanksgiving weekend, and are looking forward to Christmas!

Work
Jeff is still working at NDSU in the IT Department. He works at the Help Desk most days, and also works in Computer Security. He has been there for 8 years now.
In September, we decided it would be best for the kids if I stayed home with them, especially with Xander’s allergies. So now I am at home with Xander during the day and am able to be more involved at Piper’s school. I am enjoying this time, even though it can be very difficult at times. I am also selling Norwex Enviro Products to help make a little extra money.
I am also working with MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) to get a Teen MOPS program started here in Fargo. I have been able to make some contacts, and I believe we will be able to start a new group come fall. Right now we are trying to raise some money for start-up costs as well as secure a meeting place and time. I have also been busy finding people to help with this, such as someone for publicity, fundraising, finances, small group coordinator, and mentor moms.
Jeff is also working part-time at the church working with the new Sunday School program called Hopekids. He is the technical supervisor, so if anything goes wrong with the computers or anything, he is there to fix it.

A special message from our family
We pray you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Years! We are thankful for all of you and the role you play in our lives! We are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family!!

Love,
Jeff, Adrianna, Piper (5), and Xander (1)