Our 2007 Christmas

We had a fun Christmas and I loved the time at home with Nancy and the kids. We spent a few days before Christmas in Delta visiting with family and attending family Christmas parties. The kids had lots of fun with their cousins and it a was treat to have the Florida cousins in Delta. Justin was pretty emotional when we left. Too bad we can't spend more time with all the family. We are hoping to spend Christmas in Idaho next year.

I think the kids got everything on their wish lists. Justin received a Star Wars Lego set from Santa and a Lego Bionicle from baby Madelyn. Elizabeth loves her jewelry making kit and Santa brought her several American Girl doll items. Will got a Leapster from Santa. Santa gave Bruce a pirate ship of which Will is very jealous.

Zimmer has a company wide shutdown between Christmas and New Year so I got to spend lots of time at home. It just doesn't get any better than this time of the year; lots of family, food, presents and football. If only I could find a way that both Nancy and I could be stay at home parents then I would really have it made. In the meantime I'm just hoping that Ohio State will win the BCS National Championship. It still just doesn't seem right that the game is not on January 1st.

Last night we received over 12 inches of snow. I am not sure what the official amount was but it looked like 18 inches. Church was cancelled so we got to sleep in a little which was nice. I haven't see this much snow since I was a kid. So much for that global warming stuff Al Gore! The kids had a great time helping me clean the drive but it wasn't too bad. One of the neighbors has a large John Deere tractor with a snow blade. We heard him plowing the drive around 7am but by the time we went out there was another 3 or 4 inches. This time there was no fighting over the snow shovels. After the last storm we bought more shovels so each has their own. Bruce wanted to try using the snow blower but could hardly pull the cord. They have already cancelled school for tomorrow. I am so jealous and would love another day to spend with the family.

Merry Christmas family and friends! The year 2007 was a very fun-filled year for us. Here are a few highlights…

Justin turned eight in February and was thrilled to be baptized in March. He loved having many family and friends come for his baptism from Ohio, as well as Grandma and Grandpa from Idaho. Justin began Cub Scouts and has earned his Wolf badge. He had a lot of fun making his Pinewood Derby car and attending Day Camp. He played basketball in the early part of the year and soccer in the fall (both coached by Dad). He got a dog, Buddy, in March and has been pretty good about taking care of him. He is in third grade and is a very good student.

Elizabeth turned seven on the seventh of May (her “special” birthday) so we surprised her with a day in Chicago and visited the American Girl store. She loved it and especially loved getting her doll’s hair done at the in-store doll salon! She is such a good little mother to her younger brothers and sister. We can see her as an elementary teacher one day, and definitely a good Mom! She is in her third year of ballet and started taking piano lessons in the fall. Elizabeth is in the second grade and is also a very good student.

Will turned four in July and is in pre-school this year. We have begun to nickname him “The Incredible Hulk” because he is this sweet little boy, until he loses his temper and he becomes so emotional. Luckily, 99% of the time he is a sweetheart. You just don’t want to see the other 1%! Will played soccer this fall for his first time and had a lot of fun.

Bruce turned three in November and keeps me on my toes. He is so good natured and loves to play with anyone. He is especially good at holding his little sister. He is such a Daddy’s boy! We had our first trip to the ER for stitches with Bruce this summer.

Madelyn was born April 12, coming almost a month early. She weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces and was healthy. She has been such a delight to have in our family. I love seeing each of the kids with her because they each love her in their own way and she lights up when any of them give her any attention. She has remained small for her age, but is very active and is starting to scoot around.

Aaron enjoys his job at Zimmer and has had fun coaching the boys in basketball and soccer. As if our lives aren’t busy enough, he is beginning an MBA program in January at Ball State.

I feel like I just run around crazy all day long trying to keep up with our family, but I know these days will go too fast. I have been able to get back into running again. That is the one activity that I feel helps me keep my sanity. I’m hoping to run another half marathon sometime next spring.

Our year for the Buckeyes didn’t start out too great, but we’re grateful for another shot at redeeming ourselves in the national title game. We love this time of year as we spend time with friends and family and count our many blessings. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and pray the Spirit of Christmas will be with you throughout the year.

Love, The Allens

2007 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas family and friends! The year 2007 was a very fun-filled year for us. Here are a few highlights…

Justin turned eight in February and was thrilled to be baptized in March. He loved having many family and friends come for his baptism from Ohio, as well as Grandma and Grandpa from Idaho. Justin began Cub Scouts and has earned his Wolf badge. He had a lot of fun making his Pinewood Derby car and attending Day Camp. He played basketball in the early part of the year and soccer in the fall (both coached by Dad). He got a dog, Buddy, in March and has been pretty good about taking care of him. He is in third grade and is a very good student.

Elizabeth turned seven on the seventh of May (her “special” birthday) so we surprised her with a day in Chicago and visited the American Girl store. She loved it and especially loved getting her doll’s hair done at the in-store doll salon! She is such a good little mother to her younger brothers and sister. We can see her as an elementary teacher one day, and definitely a good Mom! She is in her third year of ballet and started taking piano lessons in the fall. Elizabeth is in the second grade and is also a very good student.

Will turned four in July and is in pre-school this year. We have begun to nickname him “The Incredible Hulk” because he is this sweet little boy, until he loses his temper and he becomes so emotional. Luckily, 99% of the time he is a sweetheart. You just don’t want to see the other 1%! Will played soccer this fall for his first time and had a lot of fun.

Bruce turned three in November and keeps me on my toes. He is so good natured and loves to play with anyone. He is especially good at holding his little sister. He is such a Daddy’s boy! We had our first trip to the ER for stitches with Bruce this summer.

Madelyn was born April 12, coming almost a month early. She weighed 5 pounds, 13 ounces and was healthy. She has been such a delight to have in our family. I love seeing each of the kids with her because they each love her in their own way and she lights up when any of them give her any attention. She has remained small for her age, but is very active and is starting to scoot around.

Aaron enjoys his job at Zimmer and has had fun coaching the boys in basketball and soccer. As if our lives aren’t busy enough, he is beginning an MBA program in January at Ball State.

I feel like I just run around crazy all day long trying to keep up with our family, but I know these days will go too fast. I have been able to get back into running again. That is the one activity that I feel helps me keep my sanity. I’m hoping to run another half marathon sometime next spring.

Our year for the Buckeyes didn’t start out too great, but we’re grateful for another shot at redeeming ourselves in the national title game. We love this time of year as we spend time with friends and family and count our many blessings. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and pray the Spirit of Christmas will be with you throughout the year.

Love, The Allens

FW: 11 pictures for you

Here are our latest pictures for the last couple of months, along with a little update:

Justin received his wolf badge in scouting last month. Building the little ladder for our trampoline was his final project he and Aaron worked on together.

We are still spending about every weekend cleaning up leaves, but our trees are looking pretty bare so that's about to end. Never have bare branches looked so beautiful! It's been fun to get out and work together as a family, but we are looking forward to life beyond burning leaves.

Bruce celebrated his third birthday yesterday. He is such a happy little boy and always so full of life. I'm celebrating that he is finally potty trained.

Madelyn is now seven months old and sitting up on her own. She is eating baby cereal and food and loves it! She will no longer sit in her swing while we eat dinner anymore. She thinks that if we are eating, she should be as well. She just loves all of the attention she receives from her siblings and there always seems to be plenty.

We wish all of our family and friends a Happy Thanksgiving.

The Allens

Allen family update

Hello!

We have had a busy few weeks and are happy to say that we have survived another season of soccer. Aaron was the coach for both Justin and Will's soccer teams this fall. Will's team was clueless most of the time and played just to get the snack at the end of the game. Justin's games were fun and exciting to watch. He has been playing soccer at reccess everyday and it shows in his play.

We had my sister Amy and her two kids here with us for a few days the beginning of October and had so much fun with them. We went to an apple orchard and enjoyed just hanging out with them. Their last night here all of the kids were begging Aaron to throw them on our big bean bag. So much fun!

We have been busy with the never ending task of cleaning up leaves at our house every weekend. Last Saturday Aaron and the kids were out in the yard working for about four hours. I made it out to rake up some leaves in between loads of laundry, taking care of Madelyn, etc. Justin was in charge of keeping the leaves burning and did a great job. We would welcome any help from family or friends as it looks like we will be doing this every weekend for at least another five or six weeks. It is depressing after we have finished cleaning up to look up in the trees and see how many leaves there still are to fall!

Madelyn turned six months old last Friday and is trying to steady herself and sit up. I think she will figure it out soon, but until then she is receiving plenty of help! I took her in for her check-up yesterday and the doctor was a little concerned with her weight (12 pounds, 6 ounces)so they are going to have me bring her back in in a few weeks for another weight check. She has just started cereal and seems to like it so we're hoping that will give her the boost she needs.

We are enjoying these last few weeks of nice weather before it gets too cold and trying to go on walks and bike rides all we can. Bruce and Will are quite speedy on their bikes now so I get to walk at a good pace to keep up with them.

Happy fall!

Aaron, Nancy, and kids

July 2007 Trip to Idaho

Devils Tower - Eastern side of Wyoming

In July we made our annual trek to Idaho this time with 5 kids. They all did really well in the car. The first day we drove about 26 hours until we arrived at Brian & Julie's place near Harlowton Montana. We stopped in Wyoming to see Devils Tower, which is the nations first National monument. I always like to pick something to see on the way out or back. Last year we visited Mount Rushmore.