Christmas letter

This year I actually did write a little family letter, but failed to get them mailed. I'll post our letter here in hopes that a few of you might read our family update.

Merry Christmas! This year has been a good one for the Allen family, mainly because of the new addition to our family. Joshua was born July 14 and has been a great blessing to our family. With three girls and two little boys, our life is busy and full of activity. Earlier in the year our life was consumed with reorganizing our home to make room for one more child. I even attempted a garage sale for the first time. Despite its success, I don’t know that I’ll be trying that again anytime soon.

We now have an official teenager in our home, although I can’t make many complaints yet. Ashley has eased us into the world of teenagers very graciously and is such a cheerful daughter. She continues to enjoy playing volleyball and has made some good friends this past year. Ashley had so much fun at girls camp last summer that she was sad to come home. I’m getting nervous about entering the stage when friends become more fun than your parents.

Kelsey is not only excited to have another baby in the home, she is requesting that we have 10 more! (which is not going to happen, by the way). Kelsey has such a love for babies and has been waiting for the day that she can start babysitting. After babysitting for my sister recently she made the comment, “My dream finally came true, I was finally able to babysit!” You can imagine how nice it is for us to have a daughter like this in the home.

Kaitlyn was excited to move into a bedroom with her sister this year and finally be part of the “big kids.” After being the youngest for so many years, she is enjoying some of the experiences that come with getting older, including being old enough to go to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas concert this year. Her excitement doubled when she learned that David Archuleta would be the featured guest in the concert this year. Kaitlyn was also old enough to be baptized this year, which was a wonderful experience. Kaitlyn is a joy in our family.

Justin is often at the center of the laughing that goes on in our home. His cute phrases and funny performances keep us entertained. One of our recent favorites is Justin pretending to play the guitar, stomping his foot, and singing, “Oh my Joshua” (pronounced Jofua). Justin has become a daddy’s boy and loves to play and wrestle with his dad. When he wakes up from naps, his first comment almost always has to do with dad… “Where’s daddy?”, “I want to give daddy a hug”, “Is daddy home?” Scot doesn’t mind a bit and loves the attention from his cute little boy.

Joshua has been a wonderful blessing to our family. Babies bring such love and tender feelings into a home, and we have loved having our sweet little Joshua in our family. We love watching the constant changes with him as he grows, including getting his first two teeth recently.
We are grateful for our family and friends and feel so blessed for all of the experiences we have had. We hope you are all doing well and wish you a very merry Christmas.