Merry Christmas 2009!

Another year has come and gone. It seems like I just wrote last year's Christmas Greeting!  Enjoy these recent photos of our family.  The short
story is that we are healthy and happy and hope you have these same blessings in your life!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love, The Handys!

P.S.  the long story is below the pictures

We had a fun year.  We have now done all the "big" New York things: broadway shows, statue of liberty, Macy's thanksgiving day parade, Christmastime in Manhattan, Wall street, central park, the museums, the food, the shopping.  We have also done lots of fun things in Connecticut: going to the beaches, apple picking, playing in the snow, and watching the seasons change.  We have also learned some new things -- like did you know that New Canaan, CT where we live averages 49.7 inches of rainfall each year.  (for comparison Seattle--37.2  Houston-- 51.1  Salt Lake City -- 16.2)  We are pretty sure we are well above our average for rainfall this year.  It was hard to know if we had spring or summer because of all the rain. When we finally left for our summer vacation to California (Disneyland) and Utah at the end of June we had not even worn shorts yet because it had been so cold and rainy.  In fact, we never even turned on the AC until July 17!!  (Coming from Houston, this was quite the shock!!!)

Julianne (9 years- 4th grade) is just growing up right in front of our eyes.  She seems so mature and responsible.  She loves school, being social, playing soccer, and playing the piano.  Currently she has had a basketball in her hands as much as her mom will let her.  She loves reading and recently got into the Harry Potter series.  She is halfway through book 5 and fully immersed in the wizarding world!

Catherine (7 years- 2nd grade) is still all fun and giggles.  Her sense of humor is unparalleled.  She loves reading and hates to turn out the light on her books each night.  She loves school, soccer, piano and playdates!  She hates having loose teeth. 

Madelyn (5 years- Kindergarten) is so sweet.  She loves getting on the bus with her 2 big sisters each school day.  The world of reading is opening up to her and it is really a fun thing to watch her experience.  She wants to play soccer and play piano just like her sisters!  She prays for loose teeth (she hasn't lost any yet).  She learned how to ride her bike with no training wheels!

Adam (3 years) just makes you smile.  He teases his sisters, loves his Mommy and Daddy and is happy all the time.  His big talent is puzzles.  He loves his "Joy school" days with his friends. 

Jamie and Trent are just running along chasing after the kids.  Jamie also did a lot of other running while training to run the New England Ragnar Relay (a 12 person 200 mile relay race from New Haven, CT to Boston, MA).  Trent does a lot of running racing from Times Square to Grand Central to catch those trains home!  Often he calls from the train quite out of breath due to the sprinting involved. 

We love to hear from all of you, so give us a call, leave a comment, or send an email our way.  And if you are ever in the NYC area -- give us a call!