Our Christmas letter -- a little late

Swensen Family Letter ~ 2008

We had a very busy year. In March for Spring Break the whole family went on a Caribbean cruise. I think we will wait until the little boys are a bit older before we try that again. We had fun, but it was a lot of work. In July our pool was finished, and we got to swim until October before the water was too cold. The holiday months were super busy (that’s why you are getting this letter now). We went to my parent’s house for Thanksgiving. My 2 sisters and 4 of my 5 brothers were there. The day after we got home from Thanksgiving break, the twins both had tubes put in their ears. They had each had about 8 ear infections in the past year. Then Dec 17, the big kids, Mark and I went on a little trip to Southern Utah, the Grand Canyon, and Hoover Dam. We were home 3 days to have Christmas, and then we were off to a Swensen Family reunion. We drove 27 hours straight through to get to Idaho. 2 of Mark’s 3 sisters and his 4 brothers were there. The big kids got to ski, snowmobile, sled, and play with cousins. The little kids got to sled (they call it skiing), ride the snowmobiles and play with cousins. We arrived home in time for school to start.

Mark- turned 40 this year. I surprised him with a party. The biggest surprise for him was that his mom came from Idaho for the party. Mark is still working at Valero Energy. In August, his job at Valero changed to “Director of Optimization in the Planning & Economics Dept.” which, as far as I’m concerned, is pretty nebulous and vague. Actually his job is to implement an “integrated scheduling and blending system across all 15 Valero refineries”… which still really doesn’t tell me much. He tries to describe it as a “business process reengineering, including an organizational realignment and a software overlay.” He thinks it will take about 3 years to complete this project. I think he is going to start traveling more again. Mark is busy at church serving as the 1st counselor to the Bishop of our congregation. This past year he lost almost 45 pounds. The last 7 or so came off during the 85+ mile hike he did at Philmont Scout Ranch. His big goal for 2009 is to re-lose the bit that crept back on and run in a 5k or two. He loved hitting the ski slopes over Christmas Break.

Dorias- enjoys being at home with the kids…. Yes! I really do! Sometimes it is quite hectic and noisy, but that’s what having 4 kids will do. I am busy serving as the Enrichment counselor in the Relief Society organization at church. I also substitute on the organ occasionally and play accompaniment on the piano for special musical numbers at church. I have really been busy with quilting and embroidering this year. I completed a quilt for Matthew’s room and made several lap size quilts as gifts. I am also taking a quilting class and have learned several new techniques on my Bernina.

Matthew (14)- is now pushing 5 ft. 11 in. He has really grown up in size and maturity. Over the summer, Matthew worked for the tree trimming company that had previously done our trees. He also was able to go to Philmont Scout Ranch for 2 weeks. They hiked over 85 miles in those 2 weeks. Then about a week later, he went on a Boundary Water canoe trip (Minnesota/Canadian border area) with his Grandpa Bell and 2 of his Bell uncles. He also attended Youth Conference and Especially for Youth (church youth retreats) during the summer.

Rebecca (12)- is a delightful young lady. She is excited that she finally reached the 5 ft. mark. We home-schooled her for the second semester of 6th grade, but she decided she wanted to go to the middle school for 7th grade. She joined the choir and is learning a lot. She even made regional choir in the fall (one of three girls from our school district to be picked). Rebecca was able to attend Young Women’s camp this past summer, and loved it. She is still doing gymnastics on the recreational level. Rebecca loves to read and seems to knock out at least 200 pages a night. We have become frequent visitors at the library.

Richard (3)- is full of energy and excitement. He is all boy. He just makes us laugh. Richard is attending preschool 2 days a week. He loves to take things for show and tell. (frogs, rhino beetles, rocks, etc.) He really enjoys digging in the dirt, climbing trees, and riding his big wheel. He is becoming quite proficient at cleaning the bathtub for me each week. This year he and Robert both started “real gymnastics”, meaning they graduated from the Mommy & me class to a class they go to all by themselves. He loves wrestling with Matthew. He also loves our golden retriever, Lucky.

Robert (3)- is more reserved than Richard but he is still a bundle of energy and all boy. They are the dynamic duo. Robert is also attending preschool 2 days a week. He loves his teacher and all of the kids in his class. Robert sings all the time. He makes up words to tunes he has heard. During one of Rebecca’s choir concerts he sang right along with the choir-even the song in Hebrew. Robert also really enjoys riding his tricycle. He has a vivid imagination so we get to hear all kinds of stories. For some reason he thinks that in order to be a superhero, the only articles of clothing he can be wearing are his underwear and his cape… so we have a tough time keeping him dressed.

Our family has truly been blessed this year. We have learned to trust more in the Lord. We are so thankful for our Savior and the Atonement. Mark and I are thankful for our children and the joy each one of them brings. We hope you all have a great year in 2009.
The Swensen Family