Monday, November 19, 2007

Christmas Letter

Hi there! This is our annual Christmas Letter! I wrote it a few weeks ago. I may get these in the mail. . .sometime. Right now, I don't want to see another Christmas card for at least . . . a year.


I guess that works. . . Greetings All! Happy Holidays! Christmas Letter 2007


For those of you whom we haven't seen in a while, we now have 7 children, three blonds and four red heads, 5 boys and 2 girls. The years have flown by. Life speeds on. Hope you are all well. . .

Probably our biggest highlight this year was Mama's and Laena's choir trip to New York. Their tee shirts weren't kidding. “Here Comes Treble!” Uh-huh. No joke. Not sure I'll do the chaperon thing again. But seriously, it was a lot of fun. Next year it's an exotic tour of California. . . Disney Land, etc. Who knew that teen-age girls would be expensive. . All these blinking extra-curricular activities, and I'm not just talkin' about school. Sigh. They grow up too fast. Anyway, Laena's life is all a-whirl, with 5 honors classes, music gigs, work, redoing her bedroom. . . and now she wants to take dance classes too. . . Oy. My baby Laenabug. : ) Always ambitious. . . .

Our eldest son, Clinton, (who is most decidedly NOT named after a certain ex-president), is now in the 10th grade. He's doing what most boys his age like to do. . . it's a delicate balance, trying to juggle sleep, video games, sleep, Halo parties, sleep, comic books, sleep, volleyball, and oh! if there's time, a little homework every now and again. : ) Boy, oh, Boy. He practices the drums sometimes, blessing our humble home with the joy of music. Clint's currently working on his Eagle project, “Scare Away Hunger”, (now “End Hunger for the Holidays”) a humanitarian effort to benefit the Utah Food Bank this Holiday Season. (Bribery, my friends, bribery.) He wants to take fencing lessons, and has started collecting swords. . Watch out! : )

Eric Charles, kid # 3, is adjusting to High School, but stubbornly insists that he doesn't want to grow up. He's discovered that he really likes to take pictures. Can't imagine where he picked that up. . (snicker snort) We might have to buy him a nice camera if he signs up for that photography class . . Yes, the rumors are true, mis amigos. High School ain't free. Eric keeps trying to drag us to the zoo. I suppose we'll have to break down and get a membership. Sigh again. Just kidding. :) We love the zoo. Eric's a good kid, and a light unto our family. He's growing his hair out so he can be a were wolf for Halloween. :) He ran Track in the spring, and is in fantastic shape. I blame his eccentric hatred of cheese. : )

Tommy, the Tominator, has recently decided that he would like to be called “Tom.” I'm not sure what to think about that. I guess he is 12 years old now. . . a young man, as it were. . . But just because he's as tall as I am doesn't mean that he's not my Hunny Baby. : ) Wow. Middle school. What can you say? The formative years. Double sigh. : ) Tommy has taken up the cello again, and seems to be really enjoying school. He's always been our casually hip, All-American kid, tan and tow-headed, tee shirts and jeans. Harry Potter and Star Wars. And lots of dirt. That's our Tommy. Tom. Thomas. Just bigger. We love 'im. : ) Right now he's learning how to throw knives with the guy down the street. : )

Aleia, our 7 year old, is the moodiest little princess that you ever did see. Highs, and lows. . . pouting and projects. . and always DRAMA. : ) There's never a dull moment. You definitely can't buy entertainment like this! : ) Last year she planned a Halloween party two weeks after we'd had the baby. She invited half the neighborhood and forgot to tell us. Ah, but it's all part of the adventure, right? Thankfully, Clint saved the day with his homemade Jack Skellington pinata. : ) The boy's got talent. And always, Lea, our Rosebud, brings light and energy into our home and our lives. We had a lot of fun at her soccer games. : ) P.S. If 'Hello Kitty' was running for President, Aleia would have no problem recruiting the whole school. : )

Our Deedle Jeffy, or Jefferson, (absolutely named after a very honorable president), has started preschool this fall, with Teacher Joy. Yet another sigh. It's very hard for me to believe that my baby is almost 5. I guess the older you get, the faster time goes by. . . But, snapping back, Jeffy is having a great old time, home with Mama and baby brother. He smiles and bounces and plays with his cars. He loves to go to the store. They have balloons, you know. : ) He likes to call Daddy at work and ask for a “little bag of chips”. Daddy's sometimes bring home treats. : ) In September, Jeffy went on a field trip to the zoo! And then, the very next day, Mommy took him to the circus, with Eric and Lea. Wow, to be 4 years old again. . . He said it was the best day ever! Twice. : )

Lincoln Tanner, otherwise known as Linky the Binky, or “little Precious”, continues to be the light of all our lives. He just turned one, about the same time as the leaves on our maple tree began their journey to brilliant yellow. I love Fall. Circle of life, promise of Christmas. . . : ) Our baby is the spittin' image of his Daddy, a little carrot top with those ocean-like baby blues. : ) What a little angel, my baby Binky. He has the cutest dimples! He's Daddy's 'little Chub'! : )

Speaking of Daddy, Charlie is now Scoutmaster, and Amy's back in Primary again. Charlie's Dad passed away earlier this year after a relatively short battle with cancer.

We really do miss all of you, and wish we could see you more often. . . maybe toss a football at the park, catch a movie, get together for a barbecue. . . .


Merry Christmas to you all. May the magic of the Holiday Season

sparkle in your eyes. All winter long.


The magic is His Love. : )


Warmest wishes, The Mason Family


blupebbles@gmail.com

http://blupebbles.blogspot.com

be sure to check out my bros on iTunes: Mark Tanner/Tomorrow, and

Benj(Cows Never Die)/She Usually Wears Mittens

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