Saturday, December 18, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Christmas Letter 2010
Another year may have gone by but there has been so much packed into that year. At this time last year our home, in Ferndale, was on the market. Steve was working down in Portland, while the kids and I were still up north. Now we are in Oregon, and we are all together for Christmas!
Our house sold in February and we found a house we loved in Clackamas, Oregon. Packing up and leaving is always hard, but we knew this was what God was leading us to do. Our official move date was February 19th and the boys started at their new school the following Monday. We wouldn't be able to close on our house down here until the end of March; so we found an extremely small rental house, that was willing to rent to us short term (7 weeks), which meant moving a second time. Of course, as we quickly found out, it was in a part of town affectionately known as "felony flatts". The new school meant early mornings for the kids and I, as second bell rings at 7:40 and we had a 15 minute drive to get there! Needless to say, we were more than thrilled when we were able to move into our new house, that is just down the road from the school!
Steve is loving his job and has now been there for over a year. Hard to believe since we haven't been down here that long yet! He is studying to take his Oregon PLS exam in April, then, hopefully, he will be a licensed land surveyor in both Washington and Oregon. The house we bought has a lot of work that needs to be done and this past year Steve has spent a lot of time at Home Depot and on projects around the house. I am thankful that he is so handy with home improvement projects!
Collin is in 4th grade this year and is doing well with his school work. The move was especially hard on him. He has had difficulty adjusting to his new school and stepping out of his comfort zone to make friends. He still loves to read and can often be found with his nose in a book. He is getting away from "little kid" things and is growing up so fast.
Brian is in first grade and also does really well in school. He adjusted easily to his new school and new life here in Oregon. It is not uncommon for him to walk right up to someone either from the neighborhood or at school and say "Hi, my name is Brian, what's yours?" It does not take him long to make friends! He loves legos and playing video games, but we have to be sure we are paying attention to how much time he spends in front of the Wii. He could easily stay there all day if we let him.
Allison just turned 3 and is full of personality. She has the sweetest smile and does not let us forget she's around. She may be the youngest, but she keeps us all laughing and tends to be the center of attention. The boys dote on her and spoil her rotten! She moved into a "big girl" bed this year and loves being a "big girl!" She is just now potty training, as the move was hard on her. She was very happy to move into our house, once we finally were able to, and has loved having dad around again. She did not like it when Steve was working down here, while the rest of us were still up in Ferndale!
I've been keeping busy as well. It was hard to move, and once again, leave a great church family and have to start over. We've had a hard time finding a church that we can call home, but we are hoping that where we are currently attending will become just the one. This year, I joined the PTO board in an "in-training" role, to help with a smooth transition when I step up to a board role next year. It has been a great opportunity for me to not only be a part of the boys' school but to get to know some of the other parents. I've had the opportunity to participate in focus groups with the Clackamas school board, regarding next school year's budget shortfall. I'm also the room parent for Collin's class and I volunteer in Brian's class once a week. I love it here, but still feel lonely at times.
Overall, it has been an extremely busy year, but we feel blessed in so many ways. We are thankful that God provided a transfer for Steve rather than losing his job, when they closed the Bellingham office. We are so thankful for the home that we have with a huge backyard, and a creek to explore. We love the area we found and the boys school which is brand new. We have great neighbors and live in a big cul de sac that is safe for the kids to play. We know that God has brought us here, and we will continue to trust that He has a plan for us.
I have added a Year In Review in pictures. Besides moving we also welcomed my new niece, Camryn to the family as well as went on a family vacation to the beach and hosted a family reunion with my side of the family. It was so great to spend a week together and wish it could have been longer.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and pray that 2011 will be even better than 2010!
Love,
The Williams
Steve, Erin, Collin, Brian and Allison
Our house sold in February and we found a house we loved in Clackamas, Oregon. Packing up and leaving is always hard, but we knew this was what God was leading us to do. Our official move date was February 19th and the boys started at their new school the following Monday. We wouldn't be able to close on our house down here until the end of March; so we found an extremely small rental house, that was willing to rent to us short term (7 weeks), which meant moving a second time. Of course, as we quickly found out, it was in a part of town affectionately known as "felony flatts". The new school meant early mornings for the kids and I, as second bell rings at 7:40 and we had a 15 minute drive to get there! Needless to say, we were more than thrilled when we were able to move into our new house, that is just down the road from the school!
Steve is loving his job and has now been there for over a year. Hard to believe since we haven't been down here that long yet! He is studying to take his Oregon PLS exam in April, then, hopefully, he will be a licensed land surveyor in both Washington and Oregon. The house we bought has a lot of work that needs to be done and this past year Steve has spent a lot of time at Home Depot and on projects around the house. I am thankful that he is so handy with home improvement projects!
Collin is in 4th grade this year and is doing well with his school work. The move was especially hard on him. He has had difficulty adjusting to his new school and stepping out of his comfort zone to make friends. He still loves to read and can often be found with his nose in a book. He is getting away from "little kid" things and is growing up so fast.
Brian is in first grade and also does really well in school. He adjusted easily to his new school and new life here in Oregon. It is not uncommon for him to walk right up to someone either from the neighborhood or at school and say "Hi, my name is Brian, what's yours?" It does not take him long to make friends! He loves legos and playing video games, but we have to be sure we are paying attention to how much time he spends in front of the Wii. He could easily stay there all day if we let him.
Allison just turned 3 and is full of personality. She has the sweetest smile and does not let us forget she's around. She may be the youngest, but she keeps us all laughing and tends to be the center of attention. The boys dote on her and spoil her rotten! She moved into a "big girl" bed this year and loves being a "big girl!" She is just now potty training, as the move was hard on her. She was very happy to move into our house, once we finally were able to, and has loved having dad around again. She did not like it when Steve was working down here, while the rest of us were still up in Ferndale!
I've been keeping busy as well. It was hard to move, and once again, leave a great church family and have to start over. We've had a hard time finding a church that we can call home, but we are hoping that where we are currently attending will become just the one. This year, I joined the PTO board in an "in-training" role, to help with a smooth transition when I step up to a board role next year. It has been a great opportunity for me to not only be a part of the boys' school but to get to know some of the other parents. I've had the opportunity to participate in focus groups with the Clackamas school board, regarding next school year's budget shortfall. I'm also the room parent for Collin's class and I volunteer in Brian's class once a week. I love it here, but still feel lonely at times.
Overall, it has been an extremely busy year, but we feel blessed in so many ways. We are thankful that God provided a transfer for Steve rather than losing his job, when they closed the Bellingham office. We are so thankful for the home that we have with a huge backyard, and a creek to explore. We love the area we found and the boys school which is brand new. We have great neighbors and live in a big cul de sac that is safe for the kids to play. We know that God has brought us here, and we will continue to trust that He has a plan for us.
I have added a Year In Review in pictures. Besides moving we also welcomed my new niece, Camryn to the family as well as went on a family vacation to the beach and hosted a family reunion with my side of the family. It was so great to spend a week together and wish it could have been longer.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and pray that 2011 will be even better than 2010!
Love,
The Williams
Steve, Erin, Collin, Brian and Allison
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