Christmas and New Year’s Letter 2007/2008

Merry Christmas from the Jessop Family! We hope you had a wonderful year and that your holidays aren’t too hectic to enjoy the spirit of the season. We just got done making a gingerbread village and we’re getting ready to watch “Miracle on 34th Street.”

Our family is growing up fast and we’ve had an eventful year. Our sweet little Jack arrived at the end of April and he’s just cut his first two teeth. We argue over who gets to hold him and for how long. He’s started crawling and manages to let us know exactly what and who he wants. He’s been eyeing the stairs lately so we’re in for trouble.

Kate and Lizzy are busy, busy girls and wish they had more hours in the day. They both play club soccer and Kate added a season of play with her high school team. Kate is a freshman and she’s loaded up her schedule with honors and AP classes while remaining on the honor roll. She enjoys performing with the Advanced Orchestra and spends many hours a week practicing her bass. Kate is working hard to get her Young Women’s recognition award. Kate and Lizzy both set a good example for us with their personal scripture reading and prayer. Kate will start driving with us as soon as she passes her driver’s exam – wish us luck!!

Lizzy turned 12 this summer. She joined Kate in Young Women’s, went to girl’s camp and started junior high. She’s not sure if she likes junior high but she works hard to stay on the honor roll. Lizzy won an award for a wonderful rendition of a bilingual story at a Storytelling Competition. She added a French class this year and likes it very much. She’s doing well with her guitar and practices without being reminded. We love that!!

Alexander and Andrew are active, energetic boys. They love to rough-house with their Daddy, play soccer and throw the football around. Alexander plays the violin well and is a very good singer. He moved to a new school this year and is in second grade Spanish Immersion. He loves his baby brother and helps his mom a great deal. Alexander is sports obsessed and will get sucked into any game or sport on TV.

Andrew is adjusting well to losing his position as the baby of the family. He’s a bona fide smarty-pants and we have to work to keep up with him. He is in half-day Kindergarten and spends the other half of the school day in combination first/second grade computer & science classes. He is an excellent reader and actually likes doing homework!

Kevin and I have had some stress this year with a new baby, a major house flood and Kevin’s mountain bike accident. Just before Jack arrived, Kevin broke his femur on Slick Rock after running the Moab half marathon. Then this summer, we arrived home from a trip to Vail to find a broken toilet and our house filled with water. Thankfully, the femur and the house were repaired and we’re thoroughly enjoying Jack-Jack. Kevin got into the Moab half again this year – so wish us luck there too!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours!