Merry Christmas from the Barretts!!
2016 has been a busy year for our family, as we’re sure it has been for many
of you! There have been challenges, but there has also been much to celebrate.
We are especially mindful of the many blessings we have received from our
Father in Heaven (including our beautiful, still-under-construction Tucson Arizona LDS Temple,
seen above. Hopefully it will be finished in 2017!). We are so thankful for the
many ways in which He continues to bless us and help us find our way through
our lives.
This
Christmas, our church has been running a campaign called #LightTheWorld, in
which each person is encouraged to do an act of service each day in December.
Although we are far from perfect in
giving service, we love the idea of a service-filled Christmas season! We are
grateful for good friends and church leaders, both near and far, who inspire us
to look beyond ourselves, reach out, and provide comfort, support, and
assistance for others. Hopefully our family will continue to find ways to
#LightTheWorld after the Christmas
season and on into 2017!
Nathan is still going strong at the Pima Association
of Governments, where he works as a Senior Transportation Planner. He is also
the world’s greatest early-morning seminary teacher (in his family’s humble
opinion). He also finds time to serve on our town’s Planning & Zoning
Commission; play the odd round of golf; play board games with friends and logic
puzzles on his own; and accompany his oldest daughter to California for band
trips (as he did in April).
He is a great dad & we all love him!
Adrianne had a busy
year running from place to place. Besides teaching piano lessons, painting the
master bedroom, taking care of the girls, and trying to keep the house in
working order, she also played piano for the Primary kids at church and served
as an Activity Days leader for the nine-year-old girls in our church
congregation.
Oh, and she also went a little crazy in July; she dyed her hair
and ran off to San Diego, where she attended Comic-Con International!
Lorelai (11) is our hard-working, hilarious, big-hearted middle-schooler. We can’t
believe she is in the sixth grade already! Her year has been filled to the brim
with piano lessons (featuring two recitals a year); Activity Days; jazz band
(she plays trombone, and traveled to Flagstaff and Fullerton, CA for
festivals!); school plays (she was a crew member for Wizard of Oz last spring, and is one of the Mersisters for the
upcoming The Little Mermaid!); and
even a Brazilian drum club!
Oh, and she also took a basketball camp and ran a
successful pet-sitting business over the summer. Whew.
Celeste (9) is a big third-grader now; she just won’t stop
growing up. She is a great example to all of us of kindness, friendliness, and
faith. Last January, she made the decision to be baptized a member of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints…we were very proud! She loved her
ballet/jazz combo dance class last spring, ending the school year with a big
recital.
Celeste was also the cutest Munchkin ever in last spring’s school play, The Wizard of Oz! This fall, she is
keeping busy with piano lessons, reading club, Activity Days, and the school
play The Little Mermaid. We can’t
wait to see what she does next (cheerleading in January, perhaps?).
Aurora (6) is our ball of energy. It is hard to get
pictures of her; usually all that shows up is a big blur. Luckily, she saves
her energy for the playground…she has been a model first-grader this year, and
she loves to impress her teachers. She is also a good-natured friend who tries
her best to treat everyone kindly and fairly. Aurora got glasses this fall; she
was a little nervous about it at first, but she has come around (plus, she
looks totally adorable).
She has been a soccer star this year, playing two
seasons in two different leagues and wowing her coaches with her toughness,
hard work ethic, and good attitude. She is excited to take a hula-dancing class
next year with her friends!
We have had
lots of opportunities for family togetherness. We were able to take family
trips to the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona, as well as trips to visit family
in Utah for Thanksgiving.
We even had the opportunity to visit San Diego for a
long weekend of fun! Through it all, we are doing our best to grow closer and
try a little harder to be a little better. If you want to hear how each of us
is doing, check out the other side of this letter! If not, know that we love
you and wish you a happy, healthy, blessed holiday season!
Love,
The Barretts (Nathan, Adrianne, Lorelai, Celeste, & Aurora)
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