Last year I started the new tradition about including a quote from my kids in my annual Christmas letter. I thought it appropriate to start this letter with the quote I overheard while the kids were playing with the Nativity.

Emma: If the baby was shivering in the cold (heard from the Carol "Do you Hear What I Hear" I suspect) and stuck in some food bin with no clothes then why would the wise men only think to bring him Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh?

Dinara: [sensing where her sister was going with this] Yeah. What that baby really needed was a blanket.

Emma: [nodding in agreement and muttering under her breath] Men!!!

These are the moments I treasure. Oh sure, there are big exciting moments too like a visit from the Tooth Fairy, the first day of Kindergarten or our cruise to Mexico. (I was going to say everyone falling asleep on time! Ha!) But it's the day-to-day stuff and the fact we are all together and healthy that makes it so sweet. Being with my children (on most days!) is what joy is….

Our year was peaceful and joyful all around. We had many milestones this year.

So I guess I will touch on the vacation highlights first. Because you know, I love to travel! And now that the kids are getting older, traveling with the clan is a lot easier. We did several major trips this year.

In November, John and I went to Maui for our Anniversary. My parents watched the kids so John and I could enjoy 5 blissful days in Maui. We loved Hawaii. We stayed at the Grand Wailea Resort and just had the best time. We slept in. We ate dinners in grown up restaurants. We took a scuba class. We snorkeled almost every day. We had a glorious time. It was such a refreshing vacation. Hawaii just is one of those places that engulfs your five senses. You are simply immersed in relaxation. It smells like vacation, it feels like vacation, it tastes like vacation. Of course the trip to the spa that specializes in Therme Hydrotherapies helped that whole immersion concept too!

In July, we went to Florida for my cousin's wedding on Sanibel Island. We stayed at the house and again had a wonderful time with family. We ended our Florida foray by taking a cruise to Key West and Cancun Mexico. We had to outrun hurricane Dennis, but we had a great time. Highlights of that trip were jet skiing in Key West and shopping in Cozumel. Mexico is definitely someplace we want to visit again for a longer period of time. I'm thinking we'll be heading there someday soon to escape some cold rainy Seattle weekend…

In April, we went back to Warner Robins and Macon. Kym had her college reunion and it was the perfect opportunity for the kids to meet John's side of the family. John and the kids stayed with John's family while Kym reconnected with some college friends. (I almost said old friends but I refrained!) The kids really enjoyed meeting their cousins and getting to know Gramma Betty.

John is still working for Allyis as a Web Developer and he is currently working onsite at Microsoft. The job is only 5 minutes from our house and it's very flexible. So John is home every night by 5pm. We are definitely happy that the real currency of this job is the free time it allows John to have with the family. There are no weekend workdays either. We are blessed. For us, time is the ultimate currency. John got a new SLR camera for his birthday this year, so hopefully you'll see more pictures on this website next year! You can read John's 20 things list here.

I am still home with the kids and it's a joy. I always thought when I stopped working it would be difficult. My identity was so wrapped up in working truthfully it was hard to imagine not working. Let's just say I have transitioned smoothly into my role as a fulltime stay at home mom. I am active on the PTSA and am enjoying some free time for the first time in years since all the kids are in school. I have some great new friendships and am enjoying exploring my creative side writing, scrapbooking and crafting. You can read Kym's 20 things list here.

The kids are all doing fabulously in school. Noah loves Kindergarten. His favorite things right now are writing and reading. He's a master of numbers and is in a real creative phase right now. He loves to spend his choice time at school drawing, coloring and using the stencils. If you would like to get to know more about Noah you can read more here. Noah can now outplay Daddy on the Game Cube. The combination of great eye hand coordination and high IQ means that Noah blows through most video games in a matter of days. Both Noah and Dinara are going to test for the Gifted program this year. You can read Noah's 20 things list here.

Dinara is also doing amazing this year. Dinara was diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder in November. This means that although she can 'hear', it's difficult for her brain to process it. It's described as sort of like hearing sounds through water. Which of course makes it very difficult to read. It's a learning disability and we will be working with some specialists to figure out strategies to manage it going forward. However, Dinara is reading and has done very well this year! She's excited to be reading and is very motivated. She is a pure pleasure to be around with her happy go lucky attitude. Dinara is very excited to be starting gymnastics and has already mastered standing on her head. You can read Dinara's 20 things list here.

Emma is in the 3rd grade this year and you couldn't find a more motivated and happy student. Emma is happiest when she is being challenged and is learning. She loves to read high adventure books and excels at all things verbal. Emma participated in a marathon at school and submitted two pieces to the National PTSA Reflections program. The theme this year was "I wonder why" and Emma wrote a story and did a scrapbook layout. Both were judged in November and were selected to be forwarded onto the district level competition to take place in January. You can read Emma's 20 things list here.

In other news, we have decided to sell our vacation house in Cape Coral. The real estate market has just gone a bit crazy and we think it's best to get out while the getting is good. Managing the house from far away has been difficult and we don't think we have it in our heart to face another hurricane.

So that about wraps up what is new around here. We are going to try real hard to update the website once and while so please check back!!! We wish you and yours a wonderful holiday! Please keep in touch!!

Warmly,

Kym on behalf of the Lukosky Family

(John, Kym, Noah, Emma, Dinara and Sanibel!)

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