We are doing a Christmas letter a little different this year. We have had many milestones and the easiest way to show them all would be through writing and pictures. So to begin:
Stacia took a leap of faith this year. She decided that this was the year that raising the kids were more important than working for the man! On July 1st this year, she quit her job at The Standard (that she had been working at for 4 years) and started on a new adventure of being a stay at home mom. The day she quit, it was also decided to meet James in Washington for a month and a half long needed vacation. We drove from Texas, up through Oklahoma, up through Colorado, through Utah (where we stayed at a cousin's house to celebrate the 4th of July), through Idaho, through Oregon and finally up to Washington. After James went back to work, Stacia continued back down to Oregon to visit her family and friends. On the return trip home, we went through California, Nevada (stopped in Vegas for a couple of days to see family there), Arizona, New Mexico and finally back into Texas. Towards the end of the year, she also decided that she needed to go to college, so she is starting Spring 2012. She continues to enjoy her time as a Primary teacher within her church (LDS or more commonly known, Mormon) and started Joy School for Bella with other moms.
Drake hit a couple of milestones himself this year. Graduated from 5th grade and begun a new chapter of Middle School as a 6th grader. He has excelled this year just as we expected because you have 7 different periods to move around in now. He was super stoked to go away for the summer especially since it was so hot in Texas that we were in sever drought for 8 months and the highs were above 110 degrees and the lows were at 90 degrees. He continues with his love of video games and has discovered that he likes to find glitches in games that are not supposed to be there. He, also, has become interested in basketball and hopes next year (7th grade) he can get on the team. Since that is still a year away, he practices outside using our neighbors hoop. He is still in Boy Scouts and has earned up to his 2nd class (which is really good for only being 12). Also, in the Mormon religion, turning 12 means he becomes eligible to be a deacon and help pass the sacrament. He even enjoys his mom being home.
Bella is still a spitfire! When Stacia decided to quit, she was approached about doing a Joy School (which is like pre-school) with 4 other moms and thought it would be awesome. Bella loves it. She is the youngest in the group because of how her birthday falls for the school year. She has gone on field trips to a lake (for a nature walk) and the zoo. She is learning to write her name, learn her letters and numbers. She looks forward to every Monday and Wednesday when they have Joy School to learn more. She was really good for the drive on the vacation. We have a community pool and during the summer try to go as often as possible. Bella has a life jacket that we use while she is learning to swim and once she gets used to the water, there is no stopping her. She loves to sing and dance. She loves helping mom clean and cook. She enjoys the time she gets with mom and dad and even brother!
We hope this finds you well and that you have had a wonderful 2011 as we have. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
The Danielsons
