Weston family Christmas letter 2008

December 2008

Dear Family and Friends,

The year 2008 has proved to be another eventful year for our family. It is hard to believe that an entire year has passed by already! We feel so blessed.

The year began with Toby student teaching in the Seattle area with an excellent orchestra and band teacher. He had a great experience but we missed seeing him because he was only home on the weekends that quarter. That same quarter Juliette defended her thesis and completed the requirements for her master's degree.

In the spring, we enjoyed warmer weather and a little more family time together. In June, Toby graduated with his second bachelor's in music education, and Juliette received her master's degree in special education. Toby also landed his dream job as a full-time orchestra teacher in Vancouver, Washington.

While we were sad to say goodbye to many friends, we knew it was time to move on from our home of three years in Ellensburg, WA. At the end of June we packed our belongings into a U-haul and moved into our home in West Linn, Oregon. What a change to go from a 500-square foot apartment into a 1500 square foot home with a yard. The kids have loved having so much more space.

We spent the summer doing odd jobs, and Juliette spent part of the summer teaching English as a Second Language at nearby Marylhurst University. Toby, meanwhile, explored several small business ventures until he began teaching in the fall. Juliette continued teaching ESL part time in the fall at Marylhurst University. While it is not special education, it has been great experience teaching at the college level and she has found it to be very rewarding.

Since moving to West Linn, we have had the opportunity to host several foreign exchange students who have attended school at Marylhurst. It has been fun for Juliette to practice her Japanese again and to enjoy the culture and languages of Japan and Korea. We currently have one Japanese student staying with us and may begin hosting a second student in January.

Toby has enjoyed his teaching job and has survived the 30-minute commute each way to work. He teaches at five schools: three elementary, one middle school, and one high school, so he is constantly on the go. He loves trying out new ideas with his students and is constantly challenged to find ways to help his students become successful musicians. Toby also ran his second full marathon this fall and finished in under four hours. Next year he hopes to do another triathlon and possibly a marathon, too.

Benjamin and Nathan have grown and changed so much this past year. At the beginning of the year, Nathan was just starting to crawl and was only babbling. He started walking right around his first birthday, and now, at 17 months old, there is no stopping him. He is also starting to talk and has at least 15 words in his vocabulary now. He is still very skinny for his age, but his length has jumped up to the 30th percentile and he is growing steadily.

Benjamin, who will be three in March, is a joy to have around. He talks incessantly and is constantly adding new words to his vocabulary. He is very active and loves playing with Nathan. Benjamin also loves singing songs and listening to music.

In case you haven't heard, we are expecting our third child, a girl, in March of next year. We know that life will only get busier with another young one, but we also know there is much joy and fun to look forward to as we become a family of five.

We pray that your family will be safe and blessed as you celebrate Christmas and look forward to the new year. May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Love,

Toby, Juliette, Benjamin, and Nathaniel Weston