Dear
Friends and Family,
What
a year it’s been. 2012 has been one of
the most joyful ones ever.
After
a year, we feel like we’ve finally settled into the DC area. We can even find our way around without GPS
(most of the time). We’re getting good
at keeping our heads down through hurricanes, earthquakes and derechos (derecho
[dey-RAY-cho ] noun. Big wind storm
that knocks power out for 4
days, in July heat, when the in-laws are in
town).
Leo
turned one in November and we couldn’t be happier with our little guy. He is very curious and likes to look around
and touch everything. His favorite
activity is to climb the stairs. We
can’t keep him off them. We’ll turn
around and there’s a giggle at the top of the stairs. It gives his mom a heart attack every
time. He especially loves books of any
kind and can often be found flipping through one.
Gentri
is happy to spend her days with Leo. It
has been a year of helping him to learn and grow. She has been very active in mom groups and
with her church activities. Every week
she spends an evening in the glass studio melting glass, making hollow beads
and icicles. She is looking forward to
mastering new techniques but especially learning about boro glass in the next
year. She has also been teaching classes
at the bead store.
Heber
has finally accepted the fact that DC traffic has forced him to rise before
6:00 a.m. to keep his commute reasonable.
Thankfully he’s got a good
carpool buddy to keep him awake. He’s continued his work at the Naval Research
Laboratory on a space satellite project.
He’s been exploring biking trails in the area and has found several
opportunities to ride with buddies.
Weekly guitar lessons have been paying off and he loves coming home and
helping Leo to learn how to crawl and climb the stairs. He is not above bribing Leo with popsicles
and ice cream.
Living
on the East Coast, we were able to get out and see some wonderful sites. We spent a weekend in the Shenandoah
Mountains (we so miss our mountains) and saw our first Civil War
Reenactment. We celebrated a Lincoln
summer and visited Fords Theatre, Gettysburg and the Lincoln Memorial. We welcomed visitors from across the US to
come and stay with us and were able to see many of the DC sites.
In
September, we rented a house in the Outer Banks with some friends. Heber fulfilled his dream to see where the
Wright brothers took their first flight and Gentri braved the big waves and
swam in the ocean. Leo had the best time
crawling in the sand and exploring. We
LOVED it and hope to spend many more vacations there.
We
have been so blessed by supportive family and friends this year. You are welcome at our home anytime. There’s a bed and basement “suite” waiting
for you. We promise lots of Leo kisses.
We
are so thankful for you and wish you the happiest and healthiest of new years!
Much love,
Heber, Gentri and Leo
