Years of letters

Every year for the past six years I have written a holiday letter that is sent to family and friends. Some years the words come easily, while other years I struggle to find the best words to encapsulate and entire year's worth of goings on.

Here is this year's letter, minus the formatting and pictures:

We've had a happy, busy year here in the Paċe-James household! It's always nice to look back over the year and remember what has happened, as well as taking some time to count our blessings. As you can imagine, there is never a dull moment in our house - and we wouldn’t have it any other way. As we watch our children grow and discover the world around them, we are constantly reminded of how truly lucky we are. There is often much chaos and craziness in our little abode, but there is also an abundance of laughter and love.

An accomplished 5 ½ year old, Aidan is now in Senior Kindergarten, in a French Immersion program. He has a knack for picking up French, and will spontaneously break into song (in either language) at any moment. His boundless energy continues to astound us – as does his enthusiasm for soccer, hockey and anything involving cords, construction and electricity. He is maturing into such a big boy, and can be such a helper around the house and with his brother and baby sister (Shannon will erupt into gales of laughter any time Aidan does anything remotely funny for her).

At 3 ½, Quinn is a very social little boy. He has lots of buddies at his daycare, and is a bit like Norm from Cheers when he walks in: all his friends run over saying: “Quinnie!!” Quinn has quite a creative streak, and likes to make up stories about dragons and witches. He loves to play with his big bro, and can often be heard saying: “Ee-den, want to… (insert evil scheme here).” Quinn also LOVES doing gymnastics (or ‘nastics as he calls it) and karate. Watch out for his Kee-Yaw!

Now 14 months old, Shannon is steadily mastering the fine art of walking. She has fully grasped the ‘monkey’ walk (hands up, legs stiff, and a self-satisfied smile on her face), and is slowly moving on to the mad dash. She keeps herself busy chattering away, and loves to say “mama”, “hi”, and “more”. Shannon has no problems keeping up with her big brothers, and often scoots her way into the thick of things when they are busy playing. Her natural ‘curiosity’ has led to her inheriting the nickname “Destructo”, as she has the unfortunate tendency to knock over her brothers’ creations in her enthusiasm to see what they are up to. They have quickly learned that intricate inventions and constructions are best done behind closed doors! Nonetheless, she is our little Miss Sunshine, and keeps us entertained with her perpetual smile, and easy-going disposition.

Much to our complete and utter surprise, shock, and disbelief, we discovered that we are expecting baby number 4 in March. The doctor and the ultrasound have convinced us that this one will be a girl – which means that we will have a nice balance of power in our house. The boys are VERY excited about a new baby, and are even more excited at the prospect of sharing a room once the baby comes. As of yet we are still searching for names, so any and all suggestions would be appreciated!

We hope this letter finds you happy and well. Thanks to everyone who sent a Christmas card or email this year -- we appreciate hearing from all of you. We think of you often, and look forward to seeing you again whenever that may be.

From our family to yours, we wish you the very best during the holiday season,
and a wonderful New Year to come!

Tara, Chris, Aidan, Quinn, Shannon and Baby #4