The Sorensen Family Newsletter

Downloading pictures is not working right now on the blogger, so I must do a post without pictures. I had the perfect project. I have been putting together our annual newlsetter. As many of you may or may not know we do not do the typical Christmas newsletter. I have found I , usually, have more time around Valentines AND I want all our close friends and family to know that we love them..it kills two birds with one stone. The letters should have arrived at your homes by now....unless you live in town or I do not have addresses for you. I figured I would send out the text part of the letter over the BLOG, then no one would miss out on the juice-(as if you were losing sleep over it I am sure). I could not include the pictures that went along with the newlsetter, as we do not have a scanner! IF you have a newlsetter already you can skip this post!! Hurray!

“Draw a circle, not a heart around the one you love because a heart can break but a circle goes on forever.”
-unknown
This year was not to be outdone by the past-we’d love to share a brief glimpse of our 2007-2008!

DANIEL RAY (31) - “To be content with what we possess is the greatest and most secure of riches”-Cicero
Dan is still the most content and passive person in the bunch. He added to his “riches” this year when we were given a red “roller skate” (Ford Aspire) as a commuter car. After 7 years of marriage, four children, LONG bus rides to graduate school and doctor appointments, and a lot of early morning loading of kids in the car, this has been a long time coming! Dan has taken on a lot more responsibility this year at his clinic and is seeing more patients than he ever thought possible. His office is breaking ground next week on a new clinic and they are excited for more breathing room with 2 new therapists. Dan works four 10 hr. shifts now with no lunch break so he can be home earlier, and now we ENJOY terrific Tuesdays with him home! Dan is the man and does the menu planning, grocery shopping, and is a serious COUPON CLIPPER. His week is made if he saves more than he spends in a shopping trip. He got drawn this year (again-that NEVER happens), for hunting whitetail deer and enjoyed some weekends with his dad “taking his gun for a walk”. The only animal he had success hunting this year was a local skunk we nicknamed Mr. Stinky, who we finally caught with a trap and relocated. Dan is the first one awake in our household (that has been a long time coming with babies) as he teaches early morning seminary. He was released from young men’s and put into the Elders Quorum Presidency. Not soon after, they asked him to be the early morning seminary teacher, and he accepted-where he had a brief stint of both responsibilities before being released from Elders Quorum. He is diligent and I rarely hear a complaint as he is waking before the sun is up!

ALICIA ANN (32)-“Don’t just take a trip--occasionally let the trip take you.” –H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Being a mom is the ride (or trip) of a lifetime! We did take a few trips as a family this year, despite a new baby. We decided to “break in” the new minivan and drove a two-day trip to Ashton, Idaho this past spring with Dan’s family. We enjoyed a day at Yellowstone, collecting wildflowers, hiking, and just being in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. The kids and I drove in a Western States circle when my sister and I drove to Provo for my grandfathers 90th birthday bash/reunion, up to Sacramento for a week of grandma’s camp with my mom, and then back down to Arizona! After those travels we have bunkered down and braved the sickness that runs rampant in our household. We did get a few days with my brother in LA while Dan was there for business training. Otherwise, I am the executive assistant for our household. I still enjoy a fabulous group of friends. I did, however, lose one of my dear friends after she had a postpartum-caused heart condition. I was able to help a little with the care of her baby that is a month older than Dacie, as well as helping organize a fundraising dinner for her family she left behind. I enjoy the outdoors in our newly landscaped front yard—I cannot wait to get my hands in dirt with my new garden plot (with no Bermuda grass in it!). I even learned to can peaches and make peach jam with the fruits of our peach tree. I am able to volunteer in Colton and Sterling’s classes and am always up for some good garage sales and bartering. I started a part-time job answering phones (at home) and help with billing for a local trash business. In my spare time, you can find me trying to keep up with the white tile floors, laundry, blogging (I am addicted to this form of journaling/scrapbooking, and family history) or on catastrophe clean up (see Ryland below).

COLTON RAY (turned 6 in July) - “What was lost now is found.” –unknown
Colton has us visiting the lost and found at school about twice a week. He cannot keep track of coats, lunch boxes, mittens, books, etc. He is just too busy being a boy! He has lost teeth voluntarily and involuntarily this year (good thing we are friends with our pediatric dentist). He is highly academic and can be found reading 3rd grade books when he is in 1st! He has two teachers that team teach at school and loves anything to do with Star Wars, Transformers, Pokémon, magnets, magic tricks and FRIENDS! He enjoyed t-ball, swim lessons and another soccer season. He has also learned to clean toilets (NICE) and tie his shoes (kinda). He is our size regular jeans.

STERLING DANIEL (turned 5 in November) - “Imagination is critical to their development”—Parenting magazine
If this is true, then Sterling is developing quite well, with his active imagination. He LOVES his new play kitchen and clubhouse. He had no kids his age in our circle of friends to do a preschool swap, so we enrolled him in a local preschool. He ADORES school. Sterling needs to buy stock in the Oxyclean line, as he keeps them in business. He manages to stain his clothes and leave a mess wherever he eats or goes! He is a friend to everyone, but mostly has close girlfriends and is always trying to figure out which one to marry (I told him he has plenty of time). He knows how to spell his name and write the alphabet. He has started sounding out the letters as well; reading is just around the corner! He just lost his first tooth. It was his first year in soccer and he never touched the ball! He also did swim lessons. He is usually Ryland’s partner in crime. He is our size husky jeans.

RYLAND KENT (turns 3 in March)-“AAAAH!” –his mother
Ryland has managed to paint the side of the house “barn red”, and customize our new minivan upholstery with black permanent marker. He can also be found dry-shaving with his dad’s razor in the backseat of the car or pouring all his bubble mix into the washing machine. We have to keep our eyes and arms around him. He LOVES to hug and give butterfly kisses. He has angelic features to keep his parents pacified. He thinks he is on the Atkin’s diet as he much prefers steak, hot dogs, or chicken over sandwiches and crackers. Maybe this is the reason he is our size slim jeans (so much for hand-me-downs with any of them!). He has a big year ahead with toilet training and ditching the pacifier--he will be getting quality parenting time!

DACIE ANN (turned 1 on January 25th) “Remember, there is nothing like a good night’s sleep to put things in perspective”-H. Jackson Brown Jr.
She started our year out with a bang! One of the biggest ‘feats’ this year was getting Dacie to sleep through the night. She was not as bad as Ryland, BUT was still worse than her older two brothers. She has been a blessing in our home and adds so much color and life to it. She is all girl and can get her feelings hurt BUT loves to be loved. She is very cared for by her siblings. Dacie is a social butterfly and enjoys being around people and smiling. She has helped her mom not feel so outnumbered. Dacie keeps us young with her impromptu dancing at ANY type of music, and she helps us have an eternal perspective with her baby innocence. She has the loveliest piece of hair that never disappeared with the rest- so that mommy can curl and pig-tail to her heart’s content. She has been our healthiest baby; largest in size at birth, but now the smallest. We LOVE watching her grow.

Our life is good. We treasure our moments in this life with each of you and each other. As we have lost some whom we loved, we have learned not to take friends and family for granted. May this season of LOVE find you “running circles” around those you love!
Hugs and circles-
The Sorensen Family