Thursday, January 14, 2016

Christmas 2015 Newsletter


6 January 2016

Dear Family and Friends,

This year has been one of our most challenging and exhilarating yet!  We experienced many joys and a few sorrows but through it all we focused on what is important: family.

In December 2014 we also said goodbye to our Italian Exchange student, Lucy. She returned to Italy at the end of December and we were sad to see her go.

January 2015 was a time of refocus as we knew that we were going to be moving somewhere in the summer. We started making improvements to the outside and inside of the house in Tucson. While the landscaping went through several phases we finally decided on a low-maintenance seroscaping option.

February was a time of love and heartbreak as we said goodbye to our dear friends, the Diamonds. They left for a new post and we could only take heart in know that we would soon leave Tucson too. During this same time we said hello! To Kurt’s Grandpa who came down to visit. We are hoping that he will visit us in Hawaii too so that we can get an elusive 4 generations picture!

 
In March we visited the Grand Canyon and Sedona. I did not know it at the time but I was a few weeks pregnant! We took it easy for fear of disturbing anything that might be happening in my tummy. Fortunately our efforts paid off! We also had a visit from Sadie, one of Sarah’s very good friends. Our favorite moment was hearing a pack of coyotes howling in surround sound all around us.
 
 

April and May were a time to focus on education. Sarah was finishing up teaching at Pueblo Magnet High School. Kurt went to Pullman for his sister Katy’s graduation. Unfortunately, Sarah could not attend because it was the last few weeks of school for her but she was glad Kurt could go back to his Alma Mater for the first time in years!

June and July were focused on moving all of our things out of the house in Tucson and making our way towards Honolulu, HI! We spent time visiting family and friends in San Jose, CA and Seattle, WA. While in Seattle, Kurt’s mother and sisters threw us a baby shower. We were so grateful to them as we knew that once we got to Honolulu we would be friend and family-less for a couple of months.

August and September saw us choose to live on base instead of buying a home of our own. Proximity to work and cost of living were the key reasons for our choice. We could not be happier living on base! Kurt is about a two minute drive from home, something Sarah is most grateful for now that Harrison has arrived.

October and Novermber were filled with preparations for Harrison’s arrival. Buying a ton of things and setting up those tons of things took quite a lot of time. That, combined with the many doctor appointments Sarah had, saw these last two months fly by.

 
In December Harrison finally made his arrival. Despite being due on Thanksgiving Day he decided to share his birthday month with his Aunt Jennifer and Baby Jesus. He has a lot of competition! We are so grateful that he decided to choose us as his parents. We are overwhelmed with gratitude and poop. But mostly poop.
We are also grateful for having been sent to Hawaii for our next station. A new baby and paradise is the perfect combination to attract relatives to visit. We already have folks visiting in the months of February, April, May, June, and July! Help us fill up our calendar more! We love having visitors, especially Sarah. Being a stay-at-home Mom might end up making her a little stir-crazy. Visit us to relieve the monotony!

Love to all!

Kurt, Sarah, Harrison, Goo, Yoshi, and Momo

 

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