Here is the Christmas card we sent out this year. Both Sam and I wrote letters this year and sent mine out to most people and his out to just a select few. Although I have to admit that he did add a little in mine when I wasn't looking. The guy just can't pass up the opportunity to crack a joke whenever possible!
Sam's Letter
Hello Family and
Friends,
Merry Christmas! It has been another exciting year in the
Balukoff household, and another year that has produced another body!... Hopefully that doesn’t become a trend.
Starting with the youngest, here is
an update on each member of our family.
Some things are true, some are not.
It’s up to you to determine which is which.
Pearl: Pearl was born.
Lilly: Lilly is a monster (true). She is continuing to develop into our
ballerina, vocalist, and passive aggressive rage monster. Lilly holds a unique ability to be both
adorable and fearsome all at the same time.
Lilly keeps us guessing all the time, and smiling even more. She hates pre-school, but loves her friends,
snow, and mimicking everything that Grace does.
For Christmas, Lilly has been asking Santa for “a puppy, a kitty cat,
and treats” for a few months now. It
looks like she’s going to find out that Santa had her listed under
“naughty”—even after checking twice!
Grace: Grace loves her first year of Kindergarten,
and excelling—enough that hopefully she doesn’t actually need a second
year. We were shocked to find out that
they actually have split time during Kindergarten here in PA… that’s right,
there’s an accelerated Kindergarten. And
no, Grace is not in the accelerated class.
But she’s also not on the other end of the spectrum. So we’re calling that a victory! In all seriousness, Grace is our sweetheart. She has dance class every week, and loves
it. When she’s not in dance class or at
school, she is very busy being the most important thing she can—a wonderful big
sister for both Lilly and Pearl.
Sometimes she’s the only one in the family who can actually make Pearl
happy!
Alisha: Mommy takes care of the kids, keeps the home
clean, cooks meals, bakes for the neighbors, hosts a new book club (that she
started), and somehow still finds time to spend daddy’s money! She has enjoyed seeing more of the area, from
Amish country (and their fantastic pretzels, (Google: Immerguts) all the way to
a few visits to Washington DC. One of
her favorite things to do is meet up with old friends from around the East
Coast in DC. She keeps family and
friends (Not you, Travis) updated on her blog at balukoff-family.blogspot.com. Check it out.
Sam: Daddy…has a mustache... He is still enjoying work. This year he has been spending time working
in operations in the hospital, and he loves it.
He gets to work with physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and all other
provider types. Most of all, he enjoys getting
paid making a difference for the patients.
Thank you all for
being a part of our lives. We love and
miss all of our family and friends (even you, Travis), and wish all of you a very
Merry Christmas! Come visit us!!
The East-Coast-Balukoffs
Alisha's Letter
Hello
Friends and Family,
It is hard to believe that another year has
come and gone already, but I guess time flies when you are having fun. We have done a lot and been so many
places. It has been a great year for our
family.
To start things off we added another little
girl into the mix! Pearl Lyn Balukoff
was born on April 30th. She
is a happy baby and she loves her two older sisters more than anyone else. We never hear Pearl laugh harder than when
she is watching her sisters be silly!
Pearl loves to eat, sleep, pull hair, jump in her jenny jump up, cuddle
with mom, and scream like a banchee princess at dad.
Lilly is just as mischievous as ever! She is fearless and extremely independent
which makes for some very crazy adventures at our house. She has drawn on every surface she can think
of including but not limited to: chap stick on the walls…twice, marker everywhere, lipstick on the carpet, mascara all
over herself, pen on the baby, and Sharpie on the couch. At 3 years old she is already determined to
join a nudist colony someday and prepares on daily basis. None of the neighbors were even fazed the
other day when they saw her running across the front lawn in only snow boots
and panties (in the snow). I’m sure they
just thought, “Hey, look at that! Alisha was able to keep her in shoes today!” As crazy as Lilly can be we still love her
and can’t get enough of her hilarious antics!
(well, some days I can) Lilly is
in preschool and even though she shouts all morning that she does not like
preschool and she just wants to go to “kitten-garten” like Gracie, once she
gets there she has a blast and has even made her first best friend! We see Lilly’s sweet side when she is playing
with “Mom’s Baby” aka Pearl, and when she is playing with her baby dolls. This gives me hope for her future even if I
found her baby doll in the fridge last week—which is better than the microwave.
Grace is our princess just as she has
always been. She goes to Kindergarten
and loves every second of it! And then
she comes home and tells us AAAALLLLL about her day. She really is a
chatterbox, but I love to hear it, most of the time! I was so nervous for her
to start Kindergarten. She was never excited about going like most kids are,
and she has had a lot of anxiety ever since we moved to PA. The first day of school I put her on the bus,
I literally had to carry her on and pry her limbs off of me and then run off
the bus. It doesn’t help that her bus
driver is an ex-undercover cop in Philly… and looks the part! She was bawling and so was I. When she came home that day grinning ear to
ear I knew she was going to be ok. She
has been doing really well in school and her teacher just adores her, as we all
do. I am afraid she is already growing
out of the little girl phase of life and starting to be a diva teenager. After only a few days of school she came home
and asked how long it will be before she is a “cool High School girl” Oh brother!
Grace loves all the little pre-teen shows on Disney and wants to wear make-up
every day. I won’t let her and she just
can’t understand why! She has already
gotten her first kiss, and had her first crush….I
know, I know, we are in trouble with this one!
Sam is still loving his job, and
excelling. I am so proud of how well he
is doing, and how well he balances work/church/and family. Sam has just recently been released as the
Ward Executive Secretary and called as a counselor in the Elder’s Quorum. This has required a lot less time for him and
we love every extra minute we get with him!
I think the highlight of Sam’s year was fishing in Alaska with his
dad. It is always risky for me to let
him go up there because I may never get him back!
I am busy being
mom/chauffer/cook/maid/homework supervisor/family cheerleader/and over all good
example of what a patient, loving, supportive wife and mother should be. (ok, this may not all be true, but I am
writing the letter so I get to write whatever I want!) We are enjoying our time here in PA. We have traveled a lot and explored the area,
going to DC, Philly, Harrisburg, and Amish Country. We also love our house and recently finished
our basement (complete with guest bedroomS and bathroom) so we are ready
for visitors any time!!! Please come
visit, we would love it!
We
hope you are all doing well, and have a very Merry Christmas!
Love,
The
Balukoff’s
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