Christmas Letter

I tried e-mailing my Christmas letter out but realized why the file was so big and would not send to some of you. When I attached the pictures, I had not scanned them as jpeg's. So, I have rescanned and was then able to attach pictures to this blog post. Enjoy!

Season's Greetings from the Lockhart's
Christmas 2008
As Christmas approaches, I felt it was time to sit down and begin my annual Christmas letter. It feels very festive as I sit with the fire on, Christmas music playing, ad the lights of the Christmas tree all aglow. I love this time of year as we reflect on another year past, wait expectantly for Christmas to celebrate Christ’s birth with family and friends, and ring in a new year that is just around the corner.
The year really seemed to pass by all too quickly. We enjoyed a couple of trips to Edmonton, including most recently in October to celebrate Terry convocating with his CGA designation. It had been a long time coming with much hard work and we were glad to be joined at the ceremony by Terry’s parents. As a family we also like to leave the chaotic pace of Calgary behind and head off to the mountains. We enjoyed a number of such days this spring and summer. We also managed to make a few trips to Saskatchewan. Jenn traveled to Saskatoon for a family wedding in May and was thankful to spend some time with family and friends. As a family we traveled out again at the end of June for a family day gathering on Terry’s mom’s side of the family. In August we drove to Regina to spend the weekend with Jenn’s family. Our major trip this year however,
was to Europe in the summer. Our friends Mark and Shea were living in Amsterdam for four months and so we decided to take them up on their offer to visit and see some of Europe. Highlights included Salzburg, Austria for Jenn, where she fulfilled a life-long dream and went on ‘The Sound of Music’ tour. For Terry the highlight was visiting the beaches of Normandy in France. Jaret loved his time at Euro Disney where he met Mickey Mouse. As a family we also enjoyed the Eiffel Tower and our time in Brugge, Belgium.
Aside from the traveling, we also did work this past year. Terry is still working as the Senior Financial Analyst at the U of C’s Faculty of Kinesiology. He was offered a position of Director of Finance in November with the U of C Qatar in Doha, Qatar (near the United Arab Emirates). It was a difficult decision and we were excited about the opportunity but in the end, Terry declined the position. Jenn continues to work at Bearspaw Christian School but is looking forward to her position becoming full-time elementary vice-principal in the new year. This position will only be for a few months though as she will be on maternity leave around mid-April. We are excited about being pregnant and look forward to the new addition to our family the beginning of May.
Jaret is now three years old and is an active little boy. He is very independent and likes trying to do things all on his own. He loves to talk and chatters on all the time but we have to catch him at just the right time when it comes to talking on the phone to his grandparents. Jaret got a new bike in the spring and enjoyed learning to ride it; although I am sure less pushing by either of his parents will be involved next year. He loves basketball, much to Terry’s dismay, as that is the sport that Terry least likes. And Jaret is still very much into his Thomas Trains and loves building towers with his blocks. It is such a blessing to leave work behind at the end of a day and come home to spend time with him. He brings us so much joy. He is very excited about being a big brother but we will see how that adjustment actually goes once baby arrives.
We will be spending Christmas in Regina with Jenn’s family. We then plan on spending a couple of days with Terry’s brother and his family and then visiting friends in Saskatoon. We look forward to hearing from each of you over this holiday season and open up the invitation to visit if you are ever in Calgary. Praying that each of you will be able to spend Christmas with family and friends. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Love,
Terry, Jenn, Jaret, and Baby Lockhart