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I figure this is probably just one step up from just sharing the automated facebook thing this year.  I think I write Christmas letters mostly for my own Family History, because I’m really bad at sending them out.  The idea of writing all those addresses and buying all those stamps is really daunting especially with 3 birthdays in our family in December and all the craziness of Christmas.  So here’s the letter that I finished sometime in between Charlotte’s birthday and Christmas, but haven’t sent out to anyone (I did hand deliver a few).

Isaac is 10 this year and in the 5th grade. He started the accelerated program at his school this year and has really enjoyed it. He doesn’t love all the homework but he loves the content of the class. His strongest subject is math and has been really excited to be able to join the 6th grade accelerated class for math. Towards the end of his 4th grade year, he got to participate in the Geography knowledge bowl and his team won the highest honor possible. He’s really excited for knowledge bowl this year because the topic is history. Not many kids would describe going to school an hour early to study twice a week for months fun, but Isaac really enjoys it. His school started up a Robotics club this year and Isaac was thrilled to be able to participate.  He also played his first year of tackle football this year. Football is a lot more challenging and intense than any other sport our kids have played, but Isaac really enjoyed it and looks forward to playing next year too. Isaac has made much progress on piano this year as well.

Charlotte celebrated her 9th birthday this month and is in the 3rd grade. She started off the year with her baptism. It was a really special occasion and she was lucky enough to have family from both sides travel to Utah for the occasion. Charlotte played soccer for the second year this year. She can be a fierce competitor and is proud of some of the new soccer skills she’s learned this year. Charlotte is also progressing well in piano. Some of Charlotte’s favorite things this year have been spending time with her BFFs (yes, she uses that term these days) and reading “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” books.

 

Nicole is 6 and in the 1st grade this year. She was diagnosed with Autism and some specific language impairments at the end of last school year. Since her diagnosis, some of the symptoms seem to have been exaggerated and we’ve had to stretch ourselves as parents to learn how to help her. We ended up pulling her from regular ed the week before school started and putting her in a small group classroom. It’s been good to have the extra support to help her transition to full day school this year.  We’re now working to increase the amount of time she spends in the regular ed first grade with the hope that she’ll be able to keep up with her peers and return to regular ed at some point. Nicole continues to be a happy, fun little girl. She’s creative and imaginative and makes life interesting.

Ila turned 5 this month. She survived her first year of growth hormone injections and is now very proud of how much she has grown.  She likes to show off how high she can stretch. I started reading lessons with her and she really loves learning to read.  She loves the color orange and gets really excited everytime she sees something orange.  Ila is very inquisitive.  She asks me questions all day long about life and growing up and places we used to live.  She is good at playing with other kids and making friends.

 

Thomas will turn 3 in a few months, but if you tell him that he’ll get mad.  He is sure that he will stay 2 forever.  He’s such a fun smart kid.  He’s really good at counting and knows all his letters and numbers.  He can even read a few sight words which he learned from Ila’s reading lessons.  He loves cars, trucks, planes, and anything with wheels.  He cracks me up because he plays with girl toys in such a boyish way.  He will carry around a purse filled with cars or drive his cars and planes through castle doors.  He loves the girls’ pink hello kitty backpack solely because it has wheels.  Thomas has a little best friend who lives next door.  They spend hours playing together, having little conversations and driving things around.  Thomas’s face lights up when I tell him his friend is coming over today.

 

Zach started a new job at the end of May with Ancestry.com.  It’s been a nice change for him.  I think he likes being able to escape to an office everyday after working in the basement for almost a year.

 

Kathleen keeps busy at home doing mom things.  She spends her days cooking, cleaning, doing massive amounts of laundry, helping with homework, making kids practice piano, taking lots of pictures, and occasionally blogging on our family blog.

 

Zach and Kathleen have been asked to work with the Webelos Cub Scouts this year.  The best part of that job is working with our son Isaac. As a family we trecked across much of the country on our drive from Utah to Ohio.  We were glad to be able to see so many friends and family back in Ohio (where Kathleen grew up).  We were sad that we didn’t get to make it back to Knoxville or Seattle this year.  We’ve left a little piece of our hearts in each of the places we’ve lived and hope to be able to return one day to visit all the friends we’ve made along the way.

 

We Love you all,

The Cochrans