There are even more discards from our crazy attempt at a photo session this year, it is so impossible to get 4 kids to look and smile at the same time. There are more pictures of Cori, not because she is our favorite, but because she was the good sport that endured when others burned out from picture taking. The Christmas letter is down below the last pictures.
December 22, 2009
Dear Friends and Family,
Merry Christmas and a happy, lucky new year from the Dryg Family! Here’s what’s been going on in our lives…
Cameron’s favorite pastime is playing soccer, and this year he enjoyed a new experience in coaching Isaiah’s rec. team. I think he prefers playing to coaching, but had fun playing with Isaiah. When he gets a chance, he continues to work on projects fixing up our home, the summer was spent fixing the sprinkler system and landscaping our backyard. Through his diligence in stalking yards that were putting new sod in, and had leftovers they were going to trash, he was able to bring home sod to put in our back lawn without paying a penny. He also found a fun large schoolyard-like swing set for free, and spent days taking old bolts and poles apart and reassembling them again in our yard. The kids are so excited about that. His winning project of the year was getting the hardwood floor in our front living room installed… We love it!
Tara tried to go back to work for JetBlue after having Truman in April, but decided her priority is simply with her family- so for now is not working. She enjoyed 3 years as a Cub Scout leader, but right before the baby was born, a new leader took her place. She misses working with the scouts very much! Someone has some pure unfounded faith in her organizational skills, as she was just called to be the Primary Secretary, so the new year will be full of learning experiences for her.
Isaiah started 3rd grade this year at a new school, the Oquirrh Mountain Charter School. He is a bright kid and we are happy with the curriculum at the school and feel he is being challenged there. Isaiah was baptized in July, on the same day we blessed Truman, which made for a special family day. He started Cub Scouts in March, and he’s earned his Bobcat and Tiger badge, and will be earning his Wolf badge soon. His passion is soccer, like his Dad- and he spent the spring, summer, and fall playing in various leagues and camps. He also does tumbling, which is a bit difficult for his tall frame, but is helping with his coordination and strength. Isaiah was delighted to finally get a brother this year, and loves the little guy so much. He is such a great help to his Mom, and a wonderful oldest child.
Alexandra, or our little Ali, is the physical opposite of Isaiah, she is a cute little shortie. She is sure strong though! Ali has also played on rec. soccer teams, and several camps this year. She enjoys it, and is a good little defender, but her true love is tumbling. She practices daily, and is often guilty of doing round-offs, back walk-overs, or back handsprings when she should be cleaning, reading or doing
homework. But she is a talented gymnast, who has no fear in learning and growing her skills. She is a 2nd grader at the Charter school. She enjoys reading, and science, and is quite sharp in all her school subjects. She’s very creative and often is doing a project that includes markers, scissors, tape, glue, paper, staplers, and paint. Ali has a beautiful, kind heart and loves people, and her Heavenly Father.
Corinne, our beautiful Cori, provides the spunk in our family. Her screams can be heard round-the-world! But as long as you don’t cross her, she is really a very good little girl. I’ve never seen a child so truly welcoming of a younger sibling replacing her spot as the baby. She has never once been mean to her baby brother, and sincerely loves him. She does jump into a vacant spot on her Mama’s lap whenever she can, and enjoys getting love from us- and we love giving it to her! She has a marvelous imagination and mind. We love to sneak up on her and listen to her solitary play… “Aah! help me, Mr. Elephant, I’m falling off the cliff!” “Don’t worry, I’ll save you!” Recently Cameron heard her in bed one morning sleepily saying, “Eenie-meenie-miney-mo…” pause “Okay.” Then she rolled over and went back to sleep. Every day we are entertained by her sweet expressions and ideas.
We were extremely blessed on April 29th, when Truman joined our family. I don’t know if there is a more loved being on the planet. Of course his parents adore him, and then there’s Isaiah, who waited 8 years for a brother, and his crazy sisters can’t get enough of him either. He is the happiest little stinker you’ve ever seen, always smiling. When someone looks at him, his eyes light up, and he sticks his tongue out at them with a smile. That’s his first form of communication… we love it. He’s slower than our other babies to sit up and crawl, probably because everyone is always fighting over a turn to hold him. Of course we are all delighted with the normal (but not normal to us) head shakes, hand claps, mouth tricks, rolls, jiggles, and laughs that come with the first year of a baby’s life.
Medically, we had an interesting year. Besides the usual Ali breaking a yearly bone with her monkey climbing activities, Isaiah broke two of his permanent teeth going down a slide of all things, Cori recovered well from her leg being run over last fall by our van. In October, Truman gave us a scare. He was hospitalized for bronchiolitis, although it seemed like a mild case, his doctor errored on the side of caution. Due to a string of fortunate events during his doctors care and hospitalization, they were able to catch a random heart issue that had set in. After transferring to Primary Children’s Medical Center, he was diagnosed with SVT (Supraventricular tachycardia) and an atrial flutter. The cardio team there is amazing, and they were able to quickly diagnose and treat this within hours. The SVT had probably been going on for a week or so, and although there was some damage and wear to his heart, the doctors believe it will recover and heal itself fully. We feel once again very blessed with this fortunate outcome, and for our darling baby’s health. We’ve decided we must have our very own set of guardian angels.
We wish you all a very merry Christmas time, and we love you all!
Love,
Cameron, Tara, Isaiah, Ali, Cori, and Truman
