Christmas Letter 2010

Merry Christmas! 2010 has been a wonderful year. Aaron has been working hard and loves his job. Due to the public nature of this blog I will not put anything job related. At church he is the Elder’s Quorum President and keeping busy. In his free time—when he has some—he loves to play softball, go canyoneering, mountain biking, snowboarding in the winter (me too!), golf year-round, workout/run, watch movies, hang out and have BBQ’s with friends, take his wife on dates, and best of all play with his little son. Chancho and Chia are our cute furry friends (Chihuahuas) and we have had them 3.5 and 2.5 years. In October I was released as the 2^nd counselor in the Young Women Presidency at church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) after a year and called to be 2^nd counselor in the Primary Presidency. I was released from the Relief Society Presidency January 2009 after 2 years so this makes 3 auxiliary presidencies in a couple years. In primary I am over the Scouting program, which I previously knew nothing about, but I am learning! I had some medical “fun” this year (please note the sarcasm). I was sick last Christmas and the weekend of my birthday (both times the flu), and have had the normal, occasional cold. Broke out in hives back in August due to a severe allergic reaction that remains a mystery to this day. I then had the “pleasure” of experiencing a kidney stone (2-3mm) and all the excruciating pain that accompanies that in September. After I found out I had another (5mm) waiting to torment me, I sought the help of a urologist and opted to have Lithotripsy done in October to break it up. When I am healthy, Porter and I keep busy going to the gym (I work out—spin, flex class, run on treadmill—Porter plays in daycare), story time at the library, shopping, play dates, meetings and other church responsibilities, spending time with friends and family, lots of cleaning, going to the Temple, occasional trips to visit my family in Nashville and Ohio, and just spending quality time together. I love my Porter! He turned 2 in August and is 26 lbs of precious perfection! At the beginning of the year he went from the bottle to the sippy, said goodbye to the binki in the spring, took swim lessons (Parent Tot class) in the summer, went from a crib to a bed in the fall, and we are working on potty training this winter. Teddy does everything he does and Daddy is Porter’s hero. Porter is a happy kid who takes a two-hour nap everyday (used to be two-hour naps twice a day but changed in the summer), and loves trains. Bedtime routine usually consists of a bath, milk, stories (“bookies”), and a prayer. He recently started counting 1-10, loves puzzles, decided he loves to color (and knows most of his colors), still uses sign language to communicate along with talking, and loves to sing songs (went through a “Ring Around the Rosie” phase but his favorite is “Twinkle Little Star”). True to being a toddler Porter is very active and loves to be outside. He loves riding his “vroom vroom” (4 wheeler), “swing swing”, “jump jump”, playing any sport with a ball (soccer, basketball, football), and just plain running around. In the field of entertainment he went from a love for Disney’s Cars—and Lightening McQueen “Ca-chow!”—to a love for Toy Story and Buzz. He is such a joy and his most commonly used phrases right now are “OK Mama”, “OK Daddy”, “Where is it?”, “Poo poo potty”, “Milky pleeeease”, “Wook at me!” (Look at me), “I sorry”, “Tant you!” (Thank you), and “Colors?” (meaning he wants to color). He says goodbye and blows kisses to everyone and everything (such as what gets flushed down the toilet). Porter is such a joy in our lives and we love him to pieces. Aaron and I are so blessed and very grateful. We know Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer. This time of year we commemorate His birth and celebrate His love. (www.lds.org) We hope you all are well and happy!

Love, the Bergquist Family