Merry Christmas 2011!

We hope the year has brought many wonderful things to all of you. Douglas and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary this year and find so much to be thankful for. We had many great get-togethers with both of our families, caught up with old friends, and made new ones as we continue exploring around the North Bay. We have been in our new house for one year and we all love it so much. The kids are enjoying having a yard and walking to school. We are looking forward to developing our garden and adding more fruit trees. Although we have done many small things to the house, major plans have not progressed as quickly as we hoped. But things are slowly moving in the right direction towards getting our rental unit ready.
 
The kids are both doing well and, although Mahala will not admit it, they adore each other. They share a room and, even though they have a bunk bed, we often find them sleeping together in the bottom bunk. When they are both in a good mood, they can spend hours playing legos, building pillow pits or playing imaginary games together (‘yetch’ and ‘mustard man’ are their current favorites!).

Mahala is 7 and in second grade. She plays soccer, loves board games, is full of curiosity and is still our 'negotiator'. She LOVES reading and has just started the first book of the Narnia series. Once in a while, we even find her reading books to her brother! She still has a strong interest in saving the environment and being the best vegetarian she can be. She loves samosas, science and playing with bugs and salamanders. She learned to ride a two-wheel bike and also learned to swim this year.
 
Noble is 4 and is in the Pre-K program at his school. He loves the chance to finally be a big kid like his sister! He is still a clown, is very loving and imaginative and is extremely talkative. It does not matter if someone is listening or not - he keeps on talking. He also learned to ride a two-wheel bike, plays soccer and had his first real swim lessons. He loves fancy clothes, math problems, kale pesto pasta and playing Uno and Memory. And, thank goodness, his food allergies continue to get better.
 
We adopted a 8 year old spaniel mix in September. People assume we got the dog for the kids but those of you who know me know who the dog is really for! He came with the name 'Stevie Wonder' although we just call him ‘Stevie‘. The kids often refer to him as 'Stevie the wonder dog'. He loves sitting on laps and being carried around. Although we still need to work on his behavior, he has been a great addition to the family.
 
We are looking forward to the new year and hope the coming year brings you peace, health and happiness!

Love, Sheeba, Douglas, Mahala, Noble and Stevie