The letter I wrote but didn't include with our Christmas Cards.

Dear Friends and Family,

Last year was the first year we ever sent out Christmas Cards and I thought “hey! Why not include a letter with this year’s card?” So, here’s a letter. Hopefully it’s not too annoying . . . because we are all pretty happy right now. Knock on wood.

Robert, or “Bob,” depending on who you are, is settling into his job quite well. At home, he is the builder of blanket forts, banjo accompanist to Jack, Creed, & Stella’s musical numbers, and resident dog trainer extraordinaire. One day he was walking the dog and came across a bull with its head stuck in a fence. After unsuccessfully attempting to locate the bull’s owner, he rescued the poor creature himself. He also rescued a baby deer this year.

Jack continues to excel in school. He is 14 years old and in the 9^th grade. He joined the National Honor Society this year. He enjoys tennis, guitar, and chess. He and Creed learned how to wake surf this summer and can even go “wireless.” He is taller than all of us and at a whopping size 12 ½, his feet have finally slowed down on their growth. It is nearly impossible to buy him new pants, because by the time he makes it from the dressing room to the cash register he has already grown an inch. Let’s just say that he spent the better part of this year ready for any floods.

Creed, on the other hand, hasn’t grown since 2011. I am seriously ready for him to grow out of a few items in his wardrobe. He is a dedicated artist, pianist, and imaginer. He loves to lead Stella and George on backyard quests to kill dragons or slay zombies. He loves to play Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. He and his brother convinced me to take them to the midnight showing of the new Hobbit movie. I figure it won’t be long before they are actively avoiding spending time with their mother, so I’ll soak them in while I can. Creed is an excellent student and is looking forward to soccer season. He is involved in the school paper writing a comic strip. He is 12 years old and in 7^th grade.

Stella is the kind of girl I wish I would have known in fourth grade. She is funny, smart, and conscious of being inclusive to everyone. She loves to ride her bike everyday, discovered Dr. Who this year, and sings with our church choir. She and Jack sang a duet in church on Father’s Day for the whole congregation. She danced in St. George Ballet Company’s production of the Nutcracker as the Party Princess for the second year in a row. Like fourth grade girls all over the country, she loves making bracelets out of tiny rubber bands. Her wish list for Christmas had three items: animal family figurines, a water cage for her bike, and new underwear.

George, George, George. Let me tell you about George. I bought him a pretty cool t-shirt with a shark on it. He refused to wear it because it had a little bit of pink on it. He is girl crazy in a way that his brothers never were. The kid loves blondes. Also: I’m pretty sure he was motivated to learn to read so that he could navigate the DVR by himself. He only likes bands with male lead singers with “good guitar” and prefers real rock and roll to anything pop. (Notwithstanding the fact that he can sing every word to “We Are Young.”) He is the King of Kindergarten, makes friends easily, and is pretty good at doing his chores. We are working our way through The Chronicles of Narnia together in the evenings.

You may have noticed in the pictures on our card that we have a baby. Her name is Lucy Pearl and she was born on April 25. Both girls have their daddy wrapped around their little fingers. She’s a baby, so she doesn’t do much besides entertain us all with her baby-ness.

My big news was the birth of Lucy. Watching her big brothers and sister dote on her is nothing less than delightful. She is almost 8 months old and I am still wearing maternity jeans . . . not because they are the only kind that fit but because they are the only kind I have and I’m too lazy to go buy new ones. Jeans weather doesn’t last long in St. George, anyway. I have reached the Taxi Driver stage with the older kids and I love the time I get to spend with them in the car. I am back in school and took an art class last semester so now I think I’m an artist. I have acclimated to the weather in Southern Utah quite well and love to complain about being cold when it gets down to 50°.  We are within 3 hours of seven National Parks and we absolutely love it.

Bob said this letter is too long, but I think you should just read it in the bathroom.

Let’s connect on Instagram!

Robert: @bob_r0se

Liz: @rosiedays

Jack: @pv_pumpkinking

I also (half-heartedly) keep up the blog: rosiepeaches.blogspot.com