Happy New Year!

I thought I would post a wrap up of 2010 but then I thought, I’ve already wrote one of those… In my Christmas Letter! So below is our Christmas letter, I have sent one out to friends and family since we had Layla so this was my 3rd year. They are fun, and they give distance family a chance to see what we are up too. I try to include a family picture but this year I wasn’t feeling it so I tossed in Layla’s Santa picture.

Enjoy!

Hello, friends and family! Can you believe it’s already almost 2011 and that Ben and I will celebrate our 10 year high school reunion this coming June? It's hard for us to believe as well.

2010 has been a very busy year for us. We sold our first home, bought a new, larger home with room for Layla to run, went on some fun trips, and stepped into the "Terrible Two's" with Layla!

The beginning of the year was spent hurriedly getting our first home ready for showings, which also required constantly cleaning up after a very curious toddler. In April, Ben and I celebrated our three year wedding anniversary, and, shortly after, we received a full price offer on our little home! We quickly accepted and got down to business finding our family a new home.

Our searched ended in May, when, after looking at 5 houses in the few hours available after work and getting dangerously close to Layla’s bedtime, we went to look at our final house of the evening. We had previously looked at another house in the same neighborhood, but it was a case of love the neighborhood, hate the house, so we didn't have very high expectations. We were pleasantly surprised when we drove up and saw the exterior of the home, and once we went inside it only got better! I was over the top excited and Ben quietly walked around and took it all in. After going home and putting the kiddo to bed, we both agreed that it was the "one”! We wrote up an offer the following day and it was quickly accepted! On May 20th, we closed escrow on both houses, old and new, and began moving in! It came complete with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and a lot of paint work to do! The previous owners were pretty fond of nacho cheese colored paint apparently! We also lucked out in that the house is on a large lot, with a three story back deck, and is surrounded by protected land filled with lots of big beautiful pine trees. We couldn't be happier.

Our summer was filled with painting, decorating, and getting settled in our new home. We took a week off of work in August to celebrate Layla’s 2nd birthday and to spend time with my Dad, Brenda and Angel, who had come up for a visit! Layla had a fantastic "Abby Cadabby" themed birthday party, surrounded by lots of friends and family. While they were here, we also took my Dad and Brenda to a pre-season Seahawks vs. Packers game in Seattle. Unfortunately, we lost to Dad’s team, but it was still a lot of fun!

In October, Ben and I took Layla on her first road trip to Seattle! It was her first time staying in a hotel, and we all got to experience the Seattle Aquarium together. Our good friends Keith and Heidi came down from Bellingham to spend a day with us and we went shopping at my favorite store, Ikea! It was a great trip and Layla loved every minute of it.

November brought on some big steps for Layla, she started Preschool! We picked a very nice Christian church preschool that is fully accredited thru kindergarten, and she has already started bringing home beautiful crafts for us. Our little social butterfly handled the transition perfectly!

And now, here we are, in December. We can't wait for Layla's 3rd Christmas with us, every year we're amazed by how much she has grown! We're looking forward to a month filled with fun, friends, family, and of course, snow! We hope 2010 has been exciting and eventful for you as well, and send our best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

Love,

The Matthews Family

Ben, Krista & Layla