Family Christmas Letter

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ALI, SCOTT, ETHAN, AND NOAH

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . one annual Christmas letter from the Garners!

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . two front teeth. Noah's baby ones were knocked out in a sledding accident in February and his new ones have finally poked through!

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . three new appliances. Our dryer, refrigerator and sump pump all bit the dust this year and had to be replaced. We're taking bets on which goes next, the washing machine or the dishwasher.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . four hours a week, that's how much Ali continues to work at the dental office. She's also president of the county Down syndrome organization and secretary in her church young women's group.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . five fun family outings. We went downtown to see "Peter and the Wolf," and also a performance by the pianist Lang Lang. Over spring break we took a little road trip and visited the Virginia Zoo and Hershey, Pennsylvania. And during Thanksgiving we went on a cruise.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . one student in 6th grade. Yes, Ethan turned 11 and graduated from elementary school. He loves middle school and has made a lot of new friends. He keeps busy with scouts, as well as piano and guitar lessons. And he spends a fair amount of time playing his nintendo.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . seven times a hundred approximate hours of paperwork for our adoption. First our country (Vietnam) closed, so we changed to domestic. Then our agency went out of business. We're with a new agency now and have high hopes for a new baby sometime next year!

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . eight family visits, some here, and some in Utah, Idaho, Canada and Virginia. Also a great family trip to Disneyland with Ali's sister's family. Fun!

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . one nine-year-old Noah! Noah has made great progress over the past year, especially with speech and writing. He loves to carry a little notebook around with him and write down random numbers. He's always happy and smiling, and entertains us every day.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . ten family favorites: Monk (tv show), fresh guacamole, a snowblower that works, traveling, Costco, guitar music by Christopher Parkening, pirates (Noah especially), Yahtzee, the Simpsons, and french toast (Ethan has become very good at making it).

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . a new job with the 11-year old scouts for Scott! He's not super excited about the camping part, but enjoys spending time with Ethan and his buddies every Wednesday night. Scott also has been playing a lot of tennis with his friends at the new gym near our house.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . twelve months of happiness, and hopes for a wonderful holiday season and new year to our dear friends and family!