December 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

As we reflect on the year, we have grown not only as a family, but individually as well. Jeremy and I enjoy being parents, for the most part, to four wonderful children. They each bring their own strengths and challenges, but, then again, so do Jeremy and I! I asked the kids to think of what their favorite thing was that they accomplished this year to put in our letter. Here goes…

Scotty turned three in September and learned, very quickly, how to ride a strider balance bike (a bike without pedals or training wheels). Sounds weird, I know, but he is very confident on it and loves to stride along as we ride our bikes. He is very good at balancing on it. He also loves to sing and dance. Anytime there is music, he is moving and shaking all over the place! He can’t wait to start preschool next year and is looking forward to leaving nursery and starting primary next week. He is a very sweet boy and his mommy loves having some alone time with just him at home. One sweet experience we’ve had this year is to take my grandmother who is 94 to get her hair done every other Tuesday. He loves to go with me and loves his Bedstemor. Of course she spoils him with lots of hugs and treats!

Wyatt is six and started kindergarten. He loves it! He is excelling in English and Spanish and we are so glad we waited a year to put him in. He loves to dance and tries “free styling” all the time. He just started a hip-hop class and we’ll see what that brings. He also lives on his dirt bike during our trips out to the desert. He has no problems riding and keeping up. He has tried climbing hills, but will promptly tell you that his bike won’t make it up since it doesn’t have enough torque. He is such a joy to have in our family and has one of the biggest hearts!

Atalie is nine this year and really loves fourth grade. She is a wonderful student and her proudest accomplishment wasn’t doing the splits in dance, but making the Super Quiz team at school! She is very excited to be studying her book and making sure she’s ready for the challenge. She gets to take a field trip to Sacramento this spring. She loves her lyrical dance class that she gets to take with Cozette and is great at it! We love having Atalie in our family and are thankful for her spirit and help.

Cozette is eleven and in sixth grade and boy does she have a lot of homework! She is a great student and wants to get all A’s this year and is very close. She and Wyatt both played soccer this year and she loved playing goalie. She did a great job and learned a lot. Her team even got second place overall! One of the coaches nick named her “Tinkerbell.” We are so thankful for good coaches and teachers who love our children. She loves to play the piano and trumpet and we believe she wishes she had more time to practice. We will find her and Atalie up late some nights, both buried in books with their lights off and headlights on, books in hand.

We could go on and on about our children. It’s nice to have time to reflect on the good things and hopefully forget the rough patches! Jeremy is still working at Verizon and enjoys it for the most part. He is always exploring other options, trying to figure out where his talents can be best utilized. He is a hard worker, wonderful husband, who puts up with me, and a great dad! He enjoys dancing with the kids, riding his dirt bike, of course, and working with the eleven year old scouts at church. This last year we were able to be team teachers for Cozette’s Sunday school class. It was very enjoyable and we learned a lot from these great kids! I learned that most of those lessons I taught weren’t for the kids at all, but for me!

I am still running and hoping to get my half marathon time in less than two hours. I was very close with the last one I did in September. I also got to go to Girl’s Camp as the camp leader for our ward. I was very spoiled to be in the same cabin as my older sister Kirsten and with our Aunt Gayle. It was a great experience.

I love this time of year to remember our Savior even more and try to be like him even more. I truly am thankful to have Him in our lives and Jeremy and I are trying to instill His principles into our children’s lives as well. They are the future! May we continue to look for the good in others and remember our Savior and all that he blesses us with.

We love you all and hope you have a wonderful new year!

Love,

The Wagers

Jeremy, Ditte, Cozette, Atalie, Wyatt and Scotty