Merry Christmas Friends and Family!
We hope you are happy, healthy and enjoying
the end of another great year!
2011 has been a crazy year for us Renshaws – as apparent
from my lack of a homemade Christmas card – but we’ve been enjoying every busy
moment!
Here’s a short recap of what’s going on with everyone:
Dwight just
completed his 3rd semester of grad school . He’s working toward his
Masters Degree in Space Systems. He’s really enjoying all the things that he is
learning and is excited about how he’ll be able to apply them throughout his
career with NASA. This year, the Space Shuttle has begun its retirement. It was
a bittersweet experience to be able to see the final launch, but Dwight is
really looking forward to being a part of what is coming next in the future of
“Manned Space Flight”. Between helping to retire the Shuttle, working on the
logistics for the new programs and taking two courses each semester for school,
Dwight stays pretty busy. But he takes every opportunity he can to play with
the kids and spend quality time with me. His hobbies and grass mowing have had
to take a bit of a backseat while he’s doing school, but family is still his #1
priority.
I (Peggy) am
still enjoying every second of at staying home with the kids. It is such a
blessing! I am also blessed with the opportunity to sing in two ensembles,
Broadsteet, a soon-to-be-complete octet, and Soliloquy, a trio that’s about to
become a women’s quartet. Dwight really encourages and supports me in being a
part of those groups and strengthening my talents. I never feel burnt out from
spending the majority of my days with kids since I get to look forward to
rehearsals, performances, MOPS group meetings and playdates with some amazing
friends! If I have a few spare moments I try to get caught up on my craft
projects and reading.
Jonah, who will
be 3 in January, is quickly becoming the funnest, most intelligent and handsome
little man there ever was! I don’t think our days can ever be dull when they
begin with his sweet little voice singing “Good Morning to You”! Some of his
other favorite songs are ABC’s, Hugga Bugga Boo, Families Can Be Together
Forever, and most recently Santa Claus is coming to town and Jingle Bells. And
along with the singing comes plenty of dancing. He also loves anything to do
with rocket ships (including Buzz Lightyear who is his hero), trains, bubbles and
Mickey Mouse. He loves going to parks and has asked Santa for a swing set
(which Santa will hopefully be able to get put together before Christmas). He
has several little friends he gets to play with on a regular basis. We love our
playdates! And he says the sweetest little prayers. In fact, he’ll let me know
if I have forgotten to say a “prayer Heavenly Father”. We are very lucky
parents to have him in our family!
Becca, who just
turned 1 on 11-11-11, raced through her first year of life! We can’t believe
how fast it’s gone and how quickly she’s grown! She is such a beautiful little
girl, and so smart! She started mimicking us very early and mastered her fine
motor skills before she was even rolling over. She’s not very interested in
walking just yet, but she tries very hard to do most everything else that she
sees her big brother doing, including singing (it’s so sweet to hear her
melodic coos) and playing with our dog, Sahara. She absolutely adores her
Daddy, but doesn’t like to be held by anyone but Mommy if she’s in the same
room as me. Occasionally I can get her to keep a headband on, but more often
I’ll just opt for the pig tails because they are harder to pull out. One day
she may tell us that she’s done with ribbons and flowers, but until then, I
love playing dress-up with my beautiful baby girl. She has got quite a
personality, very strong and very fun. She’s definitely our little princess. We
can’t imagine our family without her!
This has been a very happy year for us. We’ve loved every
moment of watching our two little ones grow and learn and develop their beautiful
personalities. We’ve strengthened relationships with old friends, have made
some new ones and have spent time some quality time with our extended families
even though they live far away. We’ve done a little bit of traveling including
a trip to AZ for Becca’s blessing at the beginning of the year and other one
for my brother Cody’s wedding last month. Dwight and I had an opportunity to go
on a cruise in October without the kids. It was the shortest cruise we have
ever been on (3 nights) but we couldn’t wait to get back to our sweet kids. We are
so blessed to be able to have friends who allow us to go on dates and trips as
a couple, but we always look forward to being back with Jonah and Becca when
they’re over.
This next year we have a couple of exciting events to look
forward to. We’ll be doing the East Coast road trip that we’ve been talking
about for years so that we can attend Dwight’s 10 year King’s Point reunion.
We’re also toying with the idea of spending a week with some friends in a cabin
sometime around next Christmas so that the kids might actually get to see what
real snow is like. Other than that, next year will hopefully just be another
wonderful year of growing closer as a family while our watching our children
grow taller and smarter. We feel truly
blessed in our lives, relationships and testimonies of our Savior, Jesus Christ
and how His Gospel helps us find true joy!
We
hope that this next year brings you many blessings and that we are always able
to keep in touch. Remember, you always have a place to stay when you come down
to Florida!
Lots of Love,
Dwight, Peggy, Jonah and Rebecca
