Well, in lieu of a Christmas letter, and to help make my holiday season more peacable, I am just going to post a Christmas letter on our blog!! I know it will not reach as many as I would like, but like everyone knows... this time of year is busy and it will just have to do!! I just cannot believe I am here to sum up another year for our little family. It has been a wonderful year for us!! We are so very VERY blessed.
First off--We are IN our new home!!! We feel so blessed to be here and love our home. Thank you to all who have helped in ANY way--offering support, asking about our progress, watching our children, or the lending of your hands in good ol' hard work!! We cannot express how grateful we truly are to all those who have helped us. It really is a dream come true!! There are more projects ahead of us, but we are grateful to be able to tackle them all under one warm roof. It has been a wonderful project for our family and we have learned SO much. It's been a great adventure!!
This year Drew started Kindergarten which was a huge milestone--for him and myself.... The very first day of school I went to pick him up and he saw me and came dashing toward me to end up in a big hug. I about started to cry thinking, "My Drew missed me SO much!!" But instead he said,"I forgot all about you guys!!" And it has continued in that way. He loves school and is doing well. He has had to change schools this last couple of weeks since the move, and of course I was way nervous as was he. But, he has adjusted very well and has made new friends. We've been very blessed. Drew has his first loose tooth that he is excited to have fall out naturally, he doesn't want to lose it by force!! Hopefully it will come out soon! Drew is a great big brother and a very patient person and is a blessing to our family in many ways.
Madelyn is doing very well. She is still as girly as can be and is constantly pretending something. All in about ten minutes I can be her sister, her daughter, and her grandma--sometimes it is hard to keep up with her wild imagination! She and Drew are still best friends and play together so well -of course that is most of the time. Drew and Madelyn took their first round of swimming lessons this summer. Going from no experience in the water whatsoever, to dog-paddling half-way across the pool with little assistance was quite impressive!! Madelyn just soaks up everything and has started to read. She just loves to do the things that Drew is doing. Madelyn is growing up so much. I can hardly believe she is 4. Just the other week she impressed me so much at how well she took care of Hannah when I was at Drew's new school filling out a bunch of papers. She was right there saving Hannah from terrorizing the school's library, etc. She is a joy to have in our family.
Hannah has changed so much of course in the last year. She started out brown haired and is now a blondie for one. She has beautiful blue eyes and a charming personality. She is quite fun to have around. She loves her brother and sister and being a big girl. Some of Hannah's favorite things: her blanky, babies, pomegranates--seriously, the male gender--she will randomly walk up to male strangers and act like she has known them forever, and undecorating our Christmas tree to name a few. She has started to say some words, but of course she says "blanky" very well. We love that little girl and are so happy to have her with us!!
As for Jed, this last little while has been like crunch time for us and he has put in so much time and effort into the house so we could be in by the holidays. He is such a great husband and provider. He really is my better three quarters!!
We do have a little announcement, if you will: We are expecting another little Denning to come into our home come early June! We are excited about our little growing family and hope all continues to go well with the baby. We have so much to be grateful for, but we are most grateful for this special time of year that we have to focus on the birth of the Savior and His great gift to us. We are so grateful for a knowledge of His love for us. That is what brings us so much joy!
"Let all within us praise His Holy name!"
Merry Christmas!!
Love,
The Denning Family
