2011 Christmas Letter

Greetings Family and Friends!

Congratulations! You've found our blog...and this year's Christmas letter! I thought since I would probably be writing the same things on the blog that I would in the Christmas letter, I would just put everything on here. And, those of you who hadn't visited our blog before can become regular visitors! :) Feel free to browse our older posts for an even more detailed review of our year, but I'll share some highlights with you now.

Rodney is working hard right now, as usual. He's still working for Family Christian Stores, and doing a great job. He went to Grand Rapids, Michigan, this year for a major conference and kind of grand gathering with concerts, speakers, and he came home with lots of neat goodies. When Rodney isn't at work, he is volunteering a lot at church. He is the head of the Spiritual Leadership Team (Elders), works the sound and A/V boards, and teaches Sunday school. Oh, and he was a Zebra in VBS this summer! Don't worry, he still has plenty of time to spend with us! We also love to go to Las Vegas and visit Rodney's family whenever we can.

I started out 2011 with a road trip with Colin and my parents back to Missouri. We loved it- even snow! But, we missed Rodney a lot too! I stay busy here at home keeping everything in working order for my boys. I've been in MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) again this year, and volunteering at church as well. I help out a lot with Children's Ministry teaching and doing some computer work on the side. I always look forward to any time to get together with the church or MOPS ladies without the kids! We're looking forward to my parents coming next week to spend Christmas with us!

And of course, our littlest family member, Colin! He is a busy, busy little boy! Colin is now 2 1/2, but the size of a 4 year old! He definitely keeps us on our toes. He had a great 2nd Birthday with my parents and Rodney's sister's family visiting to help celebrate. He of course has his moments of "terrible twos" but many more times he has that bright smile we love so much. Right now he is doing great on repeating a lot of words. Some new ones include, "awesome!" and "mismis" (Christmas). He is also Mr. Independent. If we move something he wants to do on his own he'll put the object back where it was and move it himself. If you try to help, he'll get angry, but if he asks for the help he's fine. You've got to love the toddler mind! He loves to play outside, especially to swing and slide on the playground. He still loves his letters, and know all the upper and lowercase letters, and is getting better at counting. He loves books and we try to get a fresh supply at the library as often as possible. He loves to laugh at anything silly, loves Buzz Lightyear, and older kids. He's just a joy to have with us every day!

Well, feel free to look around our blog and see all of our photos and entries. We wish you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a blessed 2012!

Love, The Verner Family