THE
(This is the first edition of our new, online Christmas letter and we hope you will enjoy it as much as you have our "snail-mail" greetings of the past.)
THE
HIGHLIGHT OF THIS YEAR...
...came at the
end of March -- and was SO worth waiting for because we welcomed our newest
family member,
Élodie Brooke Horan Handler
Bright-eyed from the first minutes after her birth, she wasted no time getting to know everyone. It was love at first sight between Élodie and her big brother, Brendan, and things still haven't changed a bit, even though Élodie is now crawling into Brendan's space, grabbing his toys and defending herself against his frequent and energetic hugs and kisses. She still cannot keep her eyes off of him and smiles with delight each time he appears.
Élodie, now 8 months old, has 2 teeth, crawls and is starting to pull herself up on things and tries to copy everything her brother does. She loves music and clapping along and loves to be outside and ride the swings (the higher the better).
Brendan and Élodie are BOTH going to preschool this year. Brendan attends TWO, and he started going to preschool without Mommy this fall. Jen and Élodie enjoy a Friday afternoon class together while Jim and I get Brendan all to ourselves.
They both love to have Mommy & Daddy read books to them - Élodie loves "Babies" and Brendan loves "Hat" & "Ham" (the Dr. Seuss books, you can figure out the whole titles from the hints.)
We had been anxiously waiting for Brendan to begin talking because we KNEW we would be amazed at how much information he has been storing in that little head.
It turns out that Brendan knows all his colors, can recite his ABCs and can count to at least 13. He loves trash trucks, fire trucks, ambulances, school buses and riding slides (the bigger the better)!
We have really been enjoying ourselves with the grandkids, but we do have other activities that keep us busy.
Jim has had an easy-going year - with only a couple of fishing trips this season because of a late very, very hot summer and then an early cold snap in the Sierras. However, that didn't stop him from catching a year's supply of rainbow trout. We love having the family come to our fish fries and to share the bounty, while spending time catching up.
My Senior Olympics volleyball team, the Silver Belles, continues to bring home medals from various competitions. We recently won the Silver Medal at the Pasadena Senior Games and the Bronze Medal at the Anaheim Senior Games -- and we are looking forward to competing in the Palm Desert Games in February.
In the meantime, I'll be playing in a league each Saturday this winter, as well as the regular Tuesday games at our local park. I creak and groan more these days but I'm hoping to be playing for at least another decade.
Shannon's love life has undergone a radical change. She and Steve ended their long-time relationship earlier this year. Although content and enjoying her new 'single' life with her pup, Rosie, after a few months, Shannon was surprised to meet a man to whom she was instantly attracted. His name is Mike Murphy (yep, he's of Irish descent - that was a big plus for Mom and Dad) and they have really hit it off.
Mike is an artist and graphic designer and Shannon is a graphics producer, but they have found that they enjoy more than that in common.
Mike has a great sense of humor and he and Shannon love to laugh and travel together. They have attended the wedding of Shannon's friends, Bryan and Heather Keeling, in NYC and a big gathering of Mike's friends at a music event in Humboldt County - as well as spending all of their free time together.
(Yes, this is looking pretty serious. We are delighted that Shannon has found someone that makes her so happy.)
My sister, Teesa, finished a big remodeling job on her house this summer, complete with a brand-new double garage. During the same period, she and Lauren made several trips to Arizona to visit with and care for her dear friend, Carole, before she passed away.
Brendan likes to have Teesa read to him too.
HALLS!"
So, Dear Friends and Family, that's it for this year. We would love to hear from each of you about your activities in 2007.
Please feel free to email us anytime at our new (and hopefully permanent) email address: LHoran@JandLEnt.com
And may you have a joyful holiday season, filled with love and hugs and good health -- and may your New Year be more of the same.
Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas,
Jim and Lynda
