I can’t believe that it’s that time of year again but…. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! And a very Happy Hanukkah to our Jewish friends too!!!!! Kwanza…Festivas for those of you who celebrate those…. Am I leaving anyone out? In this amazing year of hope and change I want to make sure that we are all included.
Our lives continue to be full of new experiences and lots of growth. The kids are all getting so big. Sophia is 8 (almost 9) and has lots of interests. She’s played tennis, basketball and soccer this year. There has been lots of crafting, sewing and fiddle lessons too. This is the age of trying out lots of new things. Sophia is already turning into a t’ween. I can hardly believe it. She is a lovely young lady who is protective of her brothers and is so very smart.
Coulter will be six, four days after Christmas. He is very energetic and funny. He played soccer this year and LOVED it. He also tried tennis and seems to be a natural. Time will tell. He is learning so much in kindergarten. One morning I got up and saw a bunch of math problems written on some scratch paper. I asked, “Who helped you with this?” Coutler looked confused and said, “No one.” Like duh mom…. He’s reading and spelling too. I marvel at how their little brains absorb so much, so fast. It’s like watching God work right in front of me. It’s amazing to say the least.
Kees is 4 now and loves school. He is there 5 days per week and is in Debbie’s class. Most of you don’t know Debbie but Sophia and Coutler had her and now it is Kees’ turn. He marched in the first day of school like he owned the joint. He too tells me about all the things he is learning. He has a real sense of wonder in his big brown eyes when he tells me about his discoveries. He’s also very funny. When we’re driving around we pick out Cruisers, Minis and Buggies. On a recent drive Kees reported, “I just thaw an inbisibul puhpuw cwuizer.” Bob said, “How can you see it if it’s invisible?” Kees said, “I duthst have beddah eyes den you.” Funny boy.
We had LOTS of adventures this year. 2009 was the biggest year of travel so far. We started at the Oregon Coast for Spring Break and had a marvelous time playing together. It’s always so relaxed and fun out there.
Summer travel…. First Atlanta for a week the day after school got out. We had a great time with family and a few friends. It’s always so hard to see everyone we’d like to see. Next it was off to the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas for 9 fun filled days. It’s amazing! The water park, the Cove Cabanas, swimming with dolphins, great food, friends, family and for us there were VIP Parties. That you’ll have to hear about in person. We had two sitters with us, Mackenzie and Clara, and that made it more fun for us all. I’m pretty sure they didn’t feel too stressed with their “work load.” Then it was back to Atlanta for a couple days with family up at Lake Lanier. Good times.
We spent the 4th of July in Manzanita with Mom, Ed and our friends the Wangs. It’s so much fun with the small town feel and big fireworks on the beach. The kids all rode on the fire truck in the parade down the main street. And to top it all off the weather was perfect.
I took a road trip with the kids to the Bay Area where we stayed with our good friends the Slacks. They were gracious hosts. So much so that this could become an annual event….poor Slacks. They live in the East Bay Area so we took the BART into the “city” a few times and really enjoyed that experience. We visited many tourist spots, rode the cable cars a lot and spent quite a bit of time in Chinatown. The kids loved that. We visited our friends the Sobels and had a lovely lunch with them. It was very successful and the kids set the pace.
We took our annual Decatur Island trip in the San Juans. It was, as usual…GREAT! Our friends the McGanns couldn’t make it this year but the Shannons and Leeks did our best to keep the tradition going. Clara and Mackenzie made the trek to the island with us too. Clara’s parents, Rebecca and Greg, came for 2 nights. They’ve been hearing about the island for so long and were dying to see what it was all about. It was everything and more they had imagined. It’s a magical place for us all. The kids gained a little more freedom this year and the big girls were allowed to go kayaking on their own. The weather was perfect and as usual…the food and friends are always the best. There is nothing quite like standing around the big spool at sun set, eating piles of fresh crab with great friends. It’s heaven on earth.
I have taken a couple nights away on my own. I recently went to a wedding in California where my friend Marilyn married Majid Karimi. He is so warm and lovely as is his family. Marilyn’s family was wonderful as well. The Karimis were like my long lost Persian family. It was great fun and I was able to catch up with friends too. My good buddy Ellen took excellent care of me there.
Most recently we spent a fun filled weekend on Mt. Hood with 4 families. All the kids had a blast and there was hardly a cross word among them. We had the last sunny weekend on the mountain. The views from 7000 feet were breath taking. The following weekend it snowed a foot and a half. Yikes…we just dodged that one. Thanks so much to Becky and family for that experience.
Bob continues to be very successful with Kaiser Permanente. In May he was promoted to CIO of the Sunnyside Hospital in Clackamas. And recently, he was asked to take on some additional duties supporting the CEO of the hospital. He’s busy and happy and that’s how he likes it. They’re all still in the “Love fest” phase… “You’re so good at thus and so. You really nailed it.” “Oh thank you, I couldn’t do it with out your help.” It’s the best.
Our lives have been so busy this year and equally blessed. We enjoy that our kids are happy to share experiences with us and that they are great travelers. It’s a wonderful time with our small people. They are quite excited for Santa to come and are leafing through the toy catalogs that come in the mail. They cut out things that look like fun and glue them to paper for their wish lists to show Santa. When I look sideways at the expensive or odd choices Sophia says, “What do you care? You don’t have to pay for it.” She may be becoming a t’ween in some ways but she’s not there yet.
May you share in a child’s wonder of the season this year. It is such a blessing. Christ came as a child to be with us as a human and may we, in turn, see God through the children in our lives.
Please keep in touch. We love hearing from our friends. Our information remains the same.
THE LEEKS,
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