Christmas Newsletter 2007

Dear Family and Friends,

Well another year has gone by and it is time for the Christensen family annual report. We have enjoyed another fabulous year here in Lexington, KY. We absolutely love living here and enjoy all the culture and scenery Lexington has to offer. Our biggest news this year is that we added a new little person to our family – Marin Gem was born on January 10^th – a beautiful, healthy, and happy baby. We had one summer vacation when we went to Texas for a Martin family reunion, which was an absolute blast. We had several visitors this year, including both sets of grandparents; Uncles Toby, Neil, Chris, and Adam; Aunts Mitzi, Chani, and Kindra; cousins Brooklyn and Bailey; and the Bastins from Utah. We invite anyone to come out who wants to see the beautiful land of horses before we leave! Here are the updates on each of us individually:

Zeke: Zeke still attends the University of Kentucky where he is finishing up his PhD (target graduation – Summer 2008). He is very happy that he does not have to take any more classes but just do research. He is riding his bike a lot (a little bit more that 5 miles to and from school several days a week). On the side, he stays busy being a father, doing his church calling, playing video games, and crunching baseball statistics.

Alyssa: Alyssa went to a wedding in California and a high school reunion in Dallas this summer. It was great for her to catch up with her friends and family. She is busy being a mom, but mostly just enjoys sitting on the couch watching courtroom t.v. while stuffing herself with Crunch ‘N Munch – the kids are good enough to leave her alone for hours on end every day to do this.

Ryan: Ryan started Preschool this year through the local school district. He has learned to love school, his teacher, and has even made a friend or two! He goes for three hours a day and this is just perfect. Ryan still loves trains, but his newest craze is drawing. He draws for several hours every day (about ½ trains, ½ other things going on in his life). It has been a great creative outlet for him and a very interesting glimpse into his mind for his parents. He also LOVES to watch Zeke play Mario Kart video games.

Katelyn: I have to admit Kate went through some terrible twos this year, but is slowly getting better. Her favorite things are Cars cars and the Disney Princesses. She too is starting to like drawing (perhaps because of Ryan), but mostly she likes increasing the general entropy of our home. She is a very loving child though and always good for a snuggle.

Marin: Marin is our little doll. She has an easy-going, happy-go-lucky personality. Sometimes I can’t believe it when I put her in her crib, work on something for 30 minutes, go back, and she is still awake, but hasn’t made a peep – what baby does that? She is still crawling and not really looking to walk yet, which is o.k. with us! She is somewhat curious about her surroundings, but mostly she likes to eat food. And more food. She is a darling roly-poly not-so-little thing.

We hope this letter finds all our friends cozy and warm. We also want to reaffirm our thankfulness to our Savior Jesus Christ and for the sacrifice he made for all of us as we celebrate his humble birth this Christmas season. His is the greatest gift of all.

With love,
Zeke, Alyssa, Ryan, Katelyn, and Marin Christensen.