Christmas 2012
The White Family
2012 has been a big year for our family. With the purchase of our first home this Spring and the addition of two cats and a truck, we are officially suburbanized! Much to the delight of our neighbors, we’ve spent the majority of our free time cleaning up the landscaping, replacing doors and windows, patching drywall, and taking dump runs. It’s been a lot of work. We are making progress, but still have a long way to go. God placed us in a great neighborhood in Everett where Tucker’s work commute is now minimized and we are surrounded with friendly neighbors and families with kids. Isn’t it wonderful how things fall into place?
Thomas just turned four in November. He loves going for rides in “Da-Da’s monster truck”. The boys take outings to the grocery store to stock up on things like macaroni and cheese, cookies, and all other sorts of things that mommy doesn’t buy. Thomas LOVES going out with his Dada. They are best friends and even have a special hand sign that says so. Thomas is into monster trucks, skeletons, tractors, and snuggling with his mommy (please don’t ever grow up!). He has taken several series of swim lessons and really enjoys being in the water. He is the best big brother in the whole world and has so much patience with his little sissy. He finds great pleasure in wrapping up his toys to give to her. What a treasure he is… my heart just about bursts at the thought of him.
Our sweet little firecracker Anna, aka “little missy” turned one in June. She just recently started walking full-time and now has about half of her baby teeth. Anna enjoys dancing and looking at pictures of animals in her favorite books. She is a little explorer and spent a lot of time this past summer crawling around the backyard and playing with the kitties. She can say “Daddy, Mommy, Meow, Doggy, and No! No, No, No! She just loves to say No!” I have just treasured having another baby and I am savoring her small years as much as I can because she is growing into a toddler all too quickly. Anna lights up when she sees her Daddy walk through the door, and boy does she already have him wrapped around her little finger. Anna is easy to smile and laugh and can shake her little booty like nobody’s business. She adores her big brother and wants to do everything that he does.
Tucker continues to amaze us with his hard work and perseverance. It was my dream to get into our own home by Spring, and he made it happen despite many obstacles. I am so grateful for all of his hard work. When Tucker isn’t out working on projects for his customers he is at home turning up the volume on his new speakers and keeping things lively around the house. Although we have had our hands full with home improvement projects, Tucker is always good at getting us out of the house to do something memorable. As always, he takes pleasure in bringing people together around a table of amazing food, and he is still the funniest guy I know (at least ‘neck and neck’ with Uncle Chad).
As for me, well I seem to find time to shower everyday which in itself is a small miracle. I have the best job in the world, staying at home with Thomas and Anna and playing with them to my heart’s content. Picture Globe is still kicking during the Christmas season and I am thankful for that. I think I have surprised Tucker with my ever-increasing home improvement skills. For a while there he must have been afraid to leave for work, not knowing what he would return to (the siding removed, bathroom torn apart, walls taken down). He has been a good sport about it. What can I say, I have always been a ‘nester’ and now we have a nest. It’s great!
We were fortunate to be able to visit our family in Charleston and New Hampshire this year. We made our annual venture to Edisto Island during the springtime to enjoy some down time with Grandpa Doug, Grandma Lisa, Ann-Chambers, and the rest of the Charleston crew. Thomas fondly remembers the tiny door leading to the attic and of course the golf cart rides under the live oaks and “funny palms”. For me, sitting on Doug and Lisa’s enclosed porch was heaven on earth; sipping coffee in the morning while overlooking the marsh with its blue herons and eagles, listening to the crickets and resting in the sun… we can’t wait to be back there.
The fourth of July was spent in the Lake Sunapee region of New Hampshire with Great Gramps McCormick, Grandma Kimmie, Aunty “Khaki” Cally, Uncle “DeeJee” Dillon, and the whole McCormick/Hambley crew. BBQ’s, bonfires, days at the Lake, naps in the hammock, and fresh mountain air, are truly the things that dreams are made of. We have so missed Grandma Kim’s visits here in Seattle, but she is always in our hearts and thoughts.
As Thomas has gotten older it has been nice for him to spend a day here and there with his Grandpa Mitch. They go for boat rides, play on the beach, and do all of the things that grandfathers and grandsons do together… memories which I’m sure Thomas will cherish. Thomas and Anna also get to go for overnights at Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Ron’s house where they check the chicken coop for fresh eggs and Thomas takes great pride in working the farm with his tractor. At these times, it is nice for Tucker and I to have an uninterrupted meal together and remember how things were before our home was filled with sweet, noisy little people. Thomas is always ecstatic when Auntie Nikki and Uncle Chad visit from California. Oh how I wished they lived down the street!
We are grateful to God for the blessings He pours upon us, and especially for the ways that He continues to move in the lives of our family. We continue to be works in progress, and that’s how it goes… We are a family, figuring things out one day at a time just like everyone else and enjoying the ride. We light a fire in the fireplace, turn up the music and dance together in the living room. We are silly, and imperfect, real with each other, and in love, we have good days and bad days, but mostly good days and at the foundation of our family is our Lord and Savior and for us, it doesn’t get any better than that.
We are sending out so much love to you this holiday season. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!
Tucker, Heather, Thomas and Anna
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