Christmas Letter 2008

Greetings from Texas, Home of the Bohmans!

This year Steve suggested we post our Christmas letter to our family blog. Cuts down on paper and anyone who doesn’t really want to read the letter, doesn’t. So, if you are reading this, thank you & MERRY CHRISTMAS!

2008 was too busy, too action-packed and too much fun! We have had a great year, and have a lot to be grateful for. Our lives continue to revolve around our family and our growing children. They are at a very nice stage right now, independent—but still children. This is the stage I wish I could freeze. This is it.

Ashley is twelve. Twelve years old is awesome! She is in 7th grade and just started Middle School. In the last year she has participated in art club, choir, trumpet, swim team, Boerne Outdoor Academy, Girl Scouts, and the YW program at Church. She continues to love nature and animal life. Ashley had a special opportunity to stay with her Ammah & Ampah in Oregon for a couple of weeks over the summer. She made a beautiful quilt while there. She also participated in Underwater Exploring at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium. Ashley is now the proud wearer of braces and will be a teenager in February!

Alyssa is ten, “double digits.” Alyssa is hard-working, conscientious, and sweet. Parents know what a blessing that combination is! Alyssa loves to spend time with her friends, is a great student and loves anything puppy related. This year she’s enjoyed reading, writing, designing “dream houses,” swimming (especially backstroke), playing the viola & piano, Girl Scouting and Activity Day. In July Alyssa and cousin Spencer took a trip with Grandma and Grandpa Bohman to the LDS Church history sites in their motor home. They did a loop from San Antonio, up the East coast to New York and back home by way of Illinois and Missouri. The day after she got home she was on the San Antonio Living Show with Mom for a segment on Etta’s Book Club.

Arianna just turned eight and is really looking forward to her upcoming baptism. Arianna loves learning! Her teachers really enjoy her, probably because she is so interested in learning new things. Anna constantly surprises me with what she knows and has a terrific memory. She continues to enjoy artwork and playing on the computer, especially Webkinz. She participates in Super Squad two days a week and we think it’s really good for her to have the physical activity. She has developed into a bright, healthy, and happy little girl.

DJ just turned five on the 2nd of December. He attends preschool two days a week, which he absolutely loves! He is learning the basics and making a lot of friends. He attends speech for one hour a week, and also participates in a Mommy & Me music class once a week. Steve is keeping his dream alive of having a football player in the family. DJ’s at the top of the growth chart, so that helps. When DJ grows up, he still wants to play for BYU or the SPURS (wonder who planted that seed.)

Heather kept busy with Etta’s Book Club, Church, the P.T.O., Girl Scouts, and everything else. We now have club members in 8 states! I especially enjoyed my invitation to Indianapolis for the Christamore House Book & Author Event earlier this year. I was treated like a V.I.P., but don’t worry, my children brought me right back to reality the minute I got home. Lately I’ve been writing and working on layout/design projects freelance. There’s never a dull moment and I love it!

Steve is our family’s anchor. He is always supporting and guiding each one of us. He says he is a “normal guy, just trying to make it through the universe the best [he] can.” I argue the whole “normal” notion! This year Steve continued to work like crazy, but he managed to take some time for the finer things in life, a trip to Santa Barbara, California, Disneyland, Carlsbad Caverns, BYU football, Sea World, and summer nights playing with the kids in the pool.

If you got all the way to the end of this letter, you are good! We love receiving Christmas letters from our friends and family this time of year, so you better write back!

Merry Christmas Everyone! May the joy and love of the Savior be in your hearts now and throughout the coming year.

Love,
The Bohmans

Three Birthdays in 8 Days!

DJ, Anna & Grandma have birthdays early in the month which keeps us busy celebrating! December is just one non-stop party for us Bohmans. We go from birthdays to Christmas to New Year's.

This year for Grandma's birthday we made her something special. We decorated a nice wide mouth jar and tucked in 100 "things we love about Grandma" on little strips. The whole family got on board, but we had a few funny moments, too. Arianna whined, "100 is a lot! Do we have to do 100?" Honestly, there was not even a pause for the first 50 we jotted down, they just came so fast. Then there was about a 10 second pause and someone suggested, "maybe we should just do 60 or so. I think that would be enough." Kids! I told them I was sure they could do it and I was right (of course.) Grandma never lets us down with things to love about her!

We usually have "birthday dinners" for each person at Grma & pa Bohman's, but this year the three combined for a night out to Chili's. We had a great dinner, but there were a few problems that the wait staff apologized for and we ended up getting free desserts for everyone!

Happy Birthday You Lucky Three!

Happy Birthday Arianna!

Arianna turned 8! One day she told me she knew what she wanted for her birthday. I asked her what and she said, "I want a real Etta's Book Club Welcome Kit with a charm bracelet and everything!" Reminded me of the shoemaker without shoes for his children! I put together a deluxe birthday package for her and included a new "Happy Birthday" charm. She loved it!

To celebrate, we invited some of her friends to Artworks-Art Studio for Kids in San Antonio. Everyone had a wonderful time. The staff was really friendly and the accomodations were great. Our children were right at home with all of the creativity stations. Best part? No clean up!

Our Five Year Old!

It's hard to believe our baby is FIVE! He celebrated with a Speed Racer themed party. I felt bad for his little girl friends. His party was all BOY. It was super noisy with every car and track toy in the house zooming around. We were so thankful to have friends celebrate the day with us.

Having DJ in the family has been wonderful. I can't imagine life without him. His mom adores him (he is the cutest boy ever) and his dad enjoys having a miniature version of himself to play with.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Volunteering

Last year I got this cute card that said, "Stop Me Before I Volunteer Again!"

I didn't quite "get" this until recently. Volunteering is a passion of mine. I love to work with different people in the community. Over the years I've really enjoyed involving myself in different organizations I care about. I particularly love getting to work side by side with other volunteers. This fall I went a little overboard when four, yes four, of my volunteer projects overlapped. I am so thankful for a husband that is supportive and an easygoing family. I was demanding a lot out of myself, but they were not. They were a constant support to me. My children were blessed with good health through the craziness and I am so thankful for that. I have been struggling with a pinched nerve and osteoarthritis since the diagnosis in September, so having my children healthy has been a real blessing. Also, the people that came along, other volunteers, to help carry my load, I can't thank enough. There are some really amazing people out there! A few just seem to always be there when you need them.

So, I will never "stop" volunteering, but I hope I learn to "yield" more in '09!

Kitchen Face lift

You can't really call it a "remodel" but we did give our kitchen a bit of a face lift. Unfortunately, our dishwasher died on us over the summer and we replaced it with a stainless steel model. Honestly, I was a bit bothered, because we had white appliances and a bisque refrigerator. However, I felt we would eventually convert things over to the updated look of stainless steel. Then our refrigerator started acting up and finally broke down and we were told by the repairman to get a new fridge. He couldn't fix it. So, we ended up with a new stainless steel fridge and that called for a fresh coat of paint. Eventually we will get window coverings, but haven't figured out what we want yet. I really wish our refrigerator hadn't broken, because I loved my old one, but it was fun to get a more unified look in the kitchen.

Halloween!

This year the WHOLE family wore costumes. Steve only occasionally wants to get a costume and this year, he was in the mood. He came home one day and said, "I want to be Shrek for Halloween." I figured he'd get over that. Then he said it another day, so I figured he was serious. I asked him (innocently), "who is going to be your Princess Fiona? Ashley?" He responded, "I was kinda thinking you could be Fiona." Well, it was a lot of fun, we turned some heads, and got a lot of laughs. I was glad I could be the ogre version--much less stress!

Ashley came up with her own costume as "Little Miss Muffet." She looked great! Alyssa was perfectly happy reusing her hippie outfit with a few embellishments. Arianna was Lucy from Chronicles of Narnia. DJ was Captain America! We tried hard to convince him to try a different costume. Alyssa proclaimed it as "hideous," but in the end he had his heart on that one (one size too small--the only one in the store) and I let him have it. After all, this is for the kids people!

Everyone Agrees, Mom Needs a Time Out!

Sometimes life can get pretty busy these days. I welcomed the chance to help at the recent Time Out event hosted by the Deseret Book Company. Even though I volunteered to be on the "team" and had just a few responsibilities, it was all fun and I enjoyed the weekend immensely. I felt like I instantly made friends with 1700 other ladies like me, ladies that needed a "time out." There are a few sisters I met that I will not forget. I hope the event theme of "JOY" will help them face the challenges ahead.

My bucket is refilled and I'm so happy I attended this event. First, I love Hilary Weeks. Her music inspires me. I had a chance to visit with her and tell her how much I appreciate listening to her music as I clean the house, do chores, etc. She has such a beautiful voice and gift for composing. I was also touched by another one of my favorites, Michael McLean. Music has a way of getting to your heart. I met one of my teachers from my Utah days in Carolyn Rasmus. I want to be like her someday. Each speaker made me laugh, lighten up, and at the same time feel optimistic that I can do a little better with tiny paradigm shifts. I just LOVED it!!

Dance-A-Thon

I took on the awesome responsibility of doing the "Fall Fundraiser" for the school this year. Little did I know how much time this would take! We kicked off the fund raiser with a "hippie" themed dance. This is definitely the easiest theme I could think of for me to pull off. We had a great time.

The night before a small group helped decorate the gym. Stacy had a brilliant idea to do this balloon string--loved it. I got in the spirit making a 5 ft. hippie van for the backdrop. A few of us came back to my house to put together fund raiser/cookie dough packets for each student. Stacy went home and painted word signs like "Peace" & "All You Need is Love," etc. We were up until 11:30! I'm so glad they came out to help, or I would've been up all night--yikes!

The dance started at 8am and went until 2:30pm (clean up another hour). Everything worked out perfectly. Tons of parents came to help. There were goodies for the kids, music, and a whole lot of "groovy" attire.

Peace!

Cookies For Soldiers!

Baghdad Slideshow



Our girls have all participated in Girl Scouts over the last several years. When Arianna was five and looking forward to becoming a Girl Scout soon she turned to me thoughtfully and said, "You know Mom, Girl Scouts is about making the world a better place"...pause, thoughtful smile..."and selling Girl Scout cookies."

A really neat opportunity came our way last winter when the girls decided to collect cookies for soldiers. Our family alone donated about 150 boxes of cookies. We have to thank our family from out of state and great friends for supporting this effort. Ashley's GS troop made the connection with a troop serving in Iraq and shipped the cookies to them. They were so happy to get a "taste from home" and sent this powerpoint thank you. I hope we can do this again next year!

Maybe cookies can make the world a better place!

Worldwide LDS General Conference October 4 & 5, 2008

Since we have satellite (yay), we get to stay home and watch conference. General Conference is a time for members of our church to hear from the worldwide leaders. It is so cool to think we are living in a time when we can project a conference clear around the world for millions to hear. Sometimes the accents can be pretty thick, so we put the closed caption on for a few of the talks. I just love modern day conveniences. Over the years we've developed a few traditions. Saturday varies, but on Sunday we usually sleep in (doesn't start until 11am in Texas), have a big breakfast, curl up and enjoy the talks. We always play conference bingo. When the kids hear certain key words in a row, they win a piece of candy. While this may not be recommended by the dentist, our kids pay a lot more attention!

When we sit in our living room watching conference, I always think of the story found in the Book of Mormon when King Benjamin, the prophet, addresses his people. Everyone is so excited to hear his message that the families put up tents with their openings facing him so they can hear. Our family room was our tent this weekend and we sure camped out. I feel a kinship to the people of that ancient story! Probably one of my favorite parts of conference is just being together as a family, learning side by side.

We watched the four general sessions over the weekend and I'm so happy that the kids never complained (except maybe that their sibling had gotten "way more" bingos than them.) I think breaking out the lego helped DJ stay in the room with us! He didn't get too much candy, but he seemed okay with it. We are not the perfect picture of what families do (and look like)over conference weekend, but we are trying!

All That Glitters--Isn't Gold, but Costs Pretty Close to It!

Ashley finally got braces! When she was about three years old we took her to the dentist for her first appointment. After the x-rays and evaluation, the dentist gave her opinion that we start saving, because she would need braces, eventually--someday. We've tried to be proactive all the way along, by having teeth pulled to make room for new ones. Sometimes she would have teeth growing in sideways, but as soon as we'd pull teeth, they'd start to straighten out. She even had a space maintainer for awhile. Well, the baby teeth are gone now and if we don't want her to have a severe crowding issue, we have to go the next step. I'm glad we've had nine years to prepare for it, but it still feels strange to see braces on her. I suppose we'll get used to it over the next two years!

P.S. I feel kind of old to have a kid in braces!

Bike Rodeo

Arianna was all smiles at the Bike Rodeo this morning! She did a great job and enjoyed participating in the different activities. She has a GREAT attitude in trying new things, listening to instructions and just eating up all that is new and exciting.

DJ tagged along as Mom helped at different stations. He enjoyed watching his friends in kindergarten during the Jump Rope rotation. He can't wait until he gets his chance next year!

Silly DJ

We love our silly boy! I am enjoying the little time I have before he starts kinder next year. He is loving preschool and comes home incredibly dirty from playing with all the boys on the playground. Needless to say we are using the "shout" stain remover a lot on Tuesdays & Thursdays. I wouldn't have it any other way and love to see how happy he is!

DJ's weekly schedule looks a little like this-
Monday: Speech School
Tuesday: Preschool
Wednesday: Music Makers/Play With Friends
Thursday: Preschool
Friday: Errands with Mom & Down Time (when we are lucky)

When DJ grows up he wants to be a "Cougar Football Player" or sometimes a "Spurs Ball Player." He can't see beyond this even though I tell him those careers won't last forever. Oh well, I guess we have time to discuss alternative career paths!

Project of the Day

I volunteer for the school PTO in a bunch of different ways. One hat I'm wearing this year that I really enjoyed doing last year is the Staff Appreciation Team with Kim M. We like to host lunches, give gifts and leave little favors for the staff in their mail slots. We try to do something every month. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and so Kim had the idea to give little pink zipper pouches and I'm attaching this note to the gift. I loved this idea and wanted to pass it along! Remember to do your breast exams ladies!!

State Number Eight

I always get excited when we list a new state to our list of customers from Etta's Book Club!

We are now in...

Texas
California
Utah
Idaho
Indiana
Michigan
Alabama
Virginia

Saturday

Saturday morning the Activity Day girls (my calling right now) hosted a quarterly Activity Day for the younger kids in primary. We had a "All Things Bright & Beautiful" theme and pretended it was a day of camp. Some of the girls led the younger ones in games, some in crafts, and some in songs. We decorated with stuffed animals and pictures the girls drew. The activity was held outside and we managed to put up our family's tent and used it as the "song tent." I think it was a nice morning. All of the children went home with a new tub of play dough personalized with a label that read...

All Things Bright and Beautiful
All Creatures Great and Small.

All Things Wise and Wonderful
The Lord God Made Them All.

Some Thing Cute and Colorful
Now You Can Make Them All.

Movie Night!

Friday was full of fun. I had a day late birthday lunch with Angie M. and then headed over to her house to help with preparations for her daughter's bday party. They were having a "pirate" party. After a few hours of helping over there, I headed back to our house to get ready for our Nancy Drew movie night. We invited several girls that had been reading Nancy Drew with us in Etta's Book Club. With popcorn, soda and a few sweets, we really pigged out!

Cute movie--we really liked it!!

Week in Review

Monday: Whew! By noon, I had attended the monthly PTO mtg., had a planning meeting, taken Ashley to Dr. Ferris for an orthodontist appointment, gone back and forth to our house a couple of times, emailed two customers, and made it to a visiting teaching appointment! (Did I mention I was delivering several dozen just baked cookies to school and I dressed and put on makeup before 7:30am--that's an accomplishment in and of itself. Yes Grandma had DJ for the morning, or it just wouldn't have worked!)

Just another "Manic Monday!"

Monday night we toured Ashley's fabulous middle school, met her teachers, and marveled at how she can get from the portables outside to her English class upstairs and on the other end of campus in under 10 minutes. The teacher says she's never late.

Tuesday: Elementary Picture Day! That means waking up early and doing hair. As Arianna puts it, "it's all about doing hair on picture day." After dropping DJ off at preschool (yes, he's going to preschool--another post for another day), I went to therapy for my aching neck. After that, I worked on Etta packages for a few hours. In the afternoon, I picked up DJ at his school, snuck a trip to Sonic's "happy hour" and swung by to pick up Alyssa from orchestra (her first day with the viola.) We made it to the post office to mail a stack of boxes to out of state customers. Then it was time to pick up Arianna from Super Squad. After getting home, making sure dinner was under control and kids had jobs to do, I ventured into San Antonio to work at the food cannery. This was not the highlight of my day. By then, my neck, back and shoulders were really aching!


Wednesday: After Music Makers with DJ in the morning, I finally got the package I was waiting for. I had run out of charm boxes. Sometimes I greet the Fed Ex, UPS, and Mail people as my best friends--don't know what they think about it! With the delivery, I was able to finish putting together the majority of Etta's boxes for the month. Yeah! By the time Aly and Anna got home it was a major rush to tidy up, put away Etta and get ready for Activity Day to be held at our house from 4:30-5:30. The good news is, we survived the day, but it was a little crazy. Thankfully Ashley gets a ride from Sis. S. to Mutual on Wednesday nights--yeah, yeah, yeah for friends! While Ashley was at Mutual we ran into town to Party City. DJ thinks it is the best store ever. During Halloween it is especially festive.


Thursday: In the morning I took DJ to preschool, went to therapy for my neck and came home to pack up Etta's boxes. This means putting on the labels, and sealing them with packing tape. I had to determine who received welcome packets in addition to the regular packages. It's pretty easy work, but it can get confusing and I constantly have to double check my work to make sure I included every part necessary. Occasionally I find that I forgot to put in something during my assembly line process. By the afternoon, Anna & I picked up DJ (preschool) and Alyssa (orchestra). We headed to the post office again to mail packages. This time we made quite a spectacle of ourselves. DJ's shirt was dirty and everyone was looking frazzled. I'm sure there were a few frowns, but honestly the big long line I created at the post office wasn't my fault! When I walked in with 50 boxes there wasn't anyone in line!! Everyone showed up after I was being helped. I don't think they like me there. My kids running around, poking at each other and whining doesn't help, but I really needed to pay attention to my transaction and yes, my kids were a little out of control. Kids should not have to wait in post offices--it is trying for everyone involved. Not pretty.

By Thursday night, Ashley went to a GS rally, and we started planning for Friday's festivities. By the way, my neck still hurts--really bad!!! Thankfully, Steve was home Thursday night to help out. He'd been gone Tuesday and Wednesday night. He works so hard for us. I'll have to talk about how great he is on another post.

Friday: You'll have to get back with me on that one. It's still in progress...

Getting Started!

I have friends that are good with scrapbooks, friends that are good with journals, and friends that are great with blogs. My friend Rachel inspired me to work on this blog. She printed this fabulous album of her family life last year straight from the pages of her blog using some kind of a service. I've never been too good at writing down our family history. I just know we are super busy a lot of the time! Maybe this will be a way for us to finally keep track of our ins & outs. I'm not going to try too hard for perfection, I'm just going to try to get started!!