2008 "Christmas" Letter

After 2 months of not mailing out our Christmas Letter here it is on the blog.

December 20, 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

This year has had a lot of firsts for our daughter Katelynn. She had her first birthday, first time rolling over, first and second plane rides, first time in the ocean, first steps, first time in Disneyland, first time on Lake Powell, first haircut, first time Trick-or-Treating, first time playing in the snow, first time in a big-girl bed, first time in Nursery, and not to forget the first time with marker on her face.

The year welcomed us with Jed being diagnosed with Chrons disease. Once again our little family spent more time in the Emergency Department with test after test being run on Jed but after months of testing and pills Jed's Chrons is now under control.

Katelynn celebrated her first birthday this year. We had a party with our parents and some friends. Katelynn seemed to be more excited about the boxes and her little first birthday cake then she did with the actual presents. We couldn't bring ourselves to let Katie tear through the entire cake so we just gave her a piece to eat. All would have gone fine until her Grandfather Patrick gave her an orange frosting balloon; it is amazing how far that frosting can go to mess up a cute little girl's face.

We went to Hawaii with the Barton family where we participated in many of the Barton Hawaii traditions. Jed's personal favorite was the daily haupia pie from Ted's bakery. We stayed in a beach house with all the Barton's, including the newly married Stephanie and Travis as well as Matt, Nicole and Parker. Katelynn learned to walk in Hawaii, which Jed thinks she did just so she could hang loose with the rest of the family. We went to visit the temple while we were there which was the chance of a lifetime. The hardest part of the trip for our dear sweet daughter was take off and landing of the airplane, with her Aunt Stacie taking care of her, the actual trip was very smooth.

This year seems to be our year of trips, where we also went with the Patrick family to Disneyland to visit Mickey and Jed's sister Tia. It was a fun experience to take little Katelynn down to see Disney, Jed however was very glad to have one of those child leashes to keep Katelynn close to the family. Katelynn really enjoyed taking pictures with Mickey and Minnie along with other Disney guests who enjoyed taking pictures of our cute Katie. We stayed close to the park so that we could get Katelynn to bed on time while maximizing her Disney time. It was great to go with Jed's parents due to the great help they were in taking care of our little Katie.

In September we found out that we are expecting another baby, which we of course had to double check before we were sure. We recently found out we are expecting another baby girl, Abigail Mae, due April 27, 2009.

We went to the Deer Hunt this year with the Barton family, yes even Jed. It was an interesting experience; Jed went out on the hunt one day much to Carrie's surprise and actually spotted the deer that Royce shot.

We began the long, and ever increasing in length, process of building a new home for our family. It will be the house that we raise our children in and make our permanent home. After months of thinking we would be moving out of our current home it now looks like we will begin breaking ground at the beginning of next year.

Jed did it! Despite a ton of problems, setbacks, and other issues preventing him from finishing he has finally finished school. He now has a Bachelors of Science degree in Information Technology Management. He had thought about this moment for so long, what he would feel, do, how he would act. His first thought... “Gee should I go back and get my masters degree.” Thanks to Carrie, who basically sacrificed her world with Jed in order to let him get finished, and we would like to thank Jed's parents for the time they let us hang out with them so Carrie and Kate would not be alone

On the work front, Jed has become the resident fix it man around the area he works. All of the information technology staff in the State of Utah has been centralized into one department along with Jed. So although he hasn't moved buildings he now works for a completely different department being there go to guy on cell phones, computer specification, and software recommendations.

Carrie is one of the greatest stay at home moms around. She and Katelynn are the tightest two people in the world. Whenever you ask Katelynn who she loves it is always Momma.

The year has come to a close with a few more medical problems for Jed. We are currently scheduling appointments to check on Jed's enlarged spleen. Carrie had the opportunity to substitute for Jed's mother for the whole week before Christmas, including her Christmas program, which proved to Jed how completely attached Katie is to her mother.

We would like to wish all of our friends and family a Happy Holiday season. Although we are late at sending this letter, realize that we care about each and every one of you.

Love,

Jed, Carrie, and Katelynn

P.S. We have jumped on the Blog bandwagon and wanted to include our address in this letter.

http://patrickisims.blogspot.com/