You’ll be happy to hear that Millie kept her new year’s resolution and is now fully potty trained. In April she started nursery and now goes five afternoons a week. She is a very happy and independent three year-old. She enjoys playing with friends, singing, writing and drawing, listening to books, swimming lessons and has a particular passion for irritating her sister.
Libby is now in Year 1 and can read just about anything. Her favourite subjects are maths and science, and she is proudly serving as Year 1 school council rep. At parents’ evening we learned that she likes to organise the class and let everyone know the best way to do things- no idea where she gets that from! She is still taking swimming lessons and doing well. Her favourite things are TV, using mom’s computer, art and playing with Millie (when they aren’t arguing).
Gareth has just finished his first year of his new job at Synectics. Commuting to an office every day was a bit of a shock to the system after commuting across the landing of the house for 8 years, but Gareth is thoroughly enjoying working as part of a team and finds the work itself both interesting and challenging. In his spare time, he continues to play guitar and bass in the church worship band and helps to lead the youth group. In September, he also decided to put years of being sedentary and unfit behind him and started cycling 5 miles 3 times per week.Kat is still at home and “not working,” but when she’s not busy eating bonbons and catching up on reality TV, she manages to be a full-time mom, run the playgroup at school, serve as both churchwarden (without a vicar) and vice chair of the school governing body and is writing fiction and trying to get her first short story published. With all the spare time on her hands, Kat took up running in the spring and ran her first (of hopefully many more) 5K in September.
We’ve had some terrific times this year together and with family and friends. We took a family holiday for a week in St Ives, Cornwall in July. Then Kat and the girls spent four fabulous weeks in Michigan in July/August, with Gareth joining us for the last two weeks, including one week on the beach in Saugatuck. We came back to England to go to Grapevine camping with friends from church followed by five days’ camping with Gareth’s parents near Whitby. Plans are for us to have an early summer holiday in France and then be back in Michigan next summer for a month.
We hope you and your loved ones are happy and well and enjoy many blessings in the year to come.
We hope you and your loved ones are happy and well and enjoy many blessings in the year to come.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,
Gareth, Kat, Libby & Millie
