Merry Christmas

December 14, 2009
Dear Family and Friends,

It has been awhile since I have written a Christmas letter but I'm turning the tide this year. It's been another rollercoaster year in the world of the Allen family. I guess everyone knows, last fall Jody was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and the first surgeon didn't remove all of the cancer. This spring we elected to go to the Mayo Clinic and have one of the best surgeons available perform the very delicate job of finding and removing the remaining cancer. It was a huge effort, supported by both of our families, that paid off enormously. Jody recently got the great news that he is very healthy and has only two very small questionable lymph nodes that may have to be looked at in a few years. They can't even be confirmed as cancer at this point. It's wonderful news, but the experience has changed us. We've now crossed the rivers of unemployment, being unable to sell our home in Minnesota, and learning contentment as renters the past couple of years. Now, we can truely empathize with any person facing the uncertain news of cancer. I can't help but be reminded of the parable Jesus told of the pruning of the vine so it could bear more fruit. I am happy to say, that our family now bears much fruit of God's goodness, when compared with the spiritual desert we complacently resided in just two short years ago. I can't say we've arrived, but God is definitely at work in our lives and the change is deeply satisfying.
My day to day is a bit of a disaster. Everyone knows I'm as haywire as they come. It didn't matter much when I was a stay at home mom to preschoolers, but we've now transitioned to school. I have to rise early and remember some detail every morning when I take Eden to school. There's homework, library books, tennis shoes on gym days... the list goes on. I'm not proud of the fact that I never do seem to get it all right, but I suppose the children will muddle through their school years as well as possible despite their deeply flawed mother. It is nice that we have new teachers each year. I know Eden is always loved by them, but having me for a class parent might be a little too much for any teacher for years on end. Between that, chasing two toddlers, keeping track of our escape artist dogs and buying and selling furniture, I rarely have time to put on a belt or tweeze my eyebrows.
Jody has been work - work - working as usual. His company is staying afloat amid the difficult economy and I'm thankful they have a strong business plan and know how to cut corners to prevent layoffs as much as possible. He's been riding his bike like he used to, before Eden was born and going to spin class most mornings at the gym. I told him the other day that his chiseled face is very distracting. How do I put a she devil face here? He loves it when I embrarras him... or maybe I just wish he loved it. He also built Eden's rabbit, Cotton a cage this fall that I like to call the "Taj Ma Hutch". The rest of his evenings are consumed with homework, pillow fights and wrestling matches and a bit of furniture refinishing.
Eden is seven this year and she has been trying out different hobbies. She finished up gymnastics in the spring, tried riding a horse and did a soccer clinic this fall. She announced yesterday as she got into the car after school that she needed to start Karate right away. Apparently there's been a recent rash of kiss chase on recess. She's doing great in first grade. She loves science and history and has grown by leaps and bounds in just one semester. I really can't believe that they call this first grade; she knows what an atom is, how a circuit works and who the phonecians were. She knows six parts of speech and how to write a letter from begining to end correctly.
Kaitlyn is four this year and this will be her last year at home under my wing. She works on her phonics daily and is constantly doing educational games on the computer. She is learning how to form letters, capitalize and space words on the computer and can sound out almost anything. She loves to type messages, write letters and makes er... well... abstract art for me. She's been taking violin since September and is on the brink of learning how to play "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." I feel giddy when I watch her little fingers gaining confidence and skill on her tiny little instrument. I'll miss having her as my little buddy next fall.
Nicholas still has me wrapped around his little finger. I am starting to treat him like a big boy but I was struggling, as my entire family so nicely pointed out. He's very active, loves to build, loves to tumble and do acrobatics; but most of all, play with his cars and trucks. He talks enough for us to understand his needs but still bursts into spontaneous tirades of gibberish that send the whole family into laughter. He's expressive, charming and loves to cuddle. We have the tantrums and all of the lovely little two year old dealings but overall, he's a very good little two year old, even if he has been coddled a bit.
We'd love to hear from any and all of you. It seems like over time, addresses and phone numbers have a way of getting lost but it doesn't change the feelings of goodwill we cherish towards you all. May everyone's Christmas be filled with good memories and special time spent with family.

Love,
Jody, Elizabeth, Eden, Kaitlyn and Nicholas