You can tell how full and busy 2008 has been for us when our annual holiday newletter doesn't get done until the last week of February!

As most of you know, at the beginning of every new year, Michael and I resolve to do something new together, picking up a new hobby or some other activity that we can do as a couple. This year, we traded in our football season tickets for seats at the theatre and started scheduling dates again! It turns out that dating is a lot more fun when you're married.

Of course, we worked really hard too, but the calendar does not lie... 2008 was a very good year! We had some fun family getaways to Turkey Run and Clark Lake. We had friends for dinner, went ice skating, took long walks, ramped up our volunteer activities, played games, and the list goes on.

Baby John turned 1 in August and he really keeps us on our toes. He went from laying to crawling to walking and then destroying everything in his path. He had the opportunity to drool on the 44th President of the United States when our family went roller skating with the Obama family during the primaries. John loves bathtime. He has a solid vocabulary and is particularly fond of "mine" (older sisters) and "cheese" (lots of pictures). John is entering into a really fun age if we can just keep up with him!

Lilly is 3 and a real little character. She is very excited to be old enough for ballet class with her sister. She frequently surprises us with her intelligence, enthusiasm for learning, and unique fashion sensibiliies. She loves to color, especially Care Bear pictures, and has learned to write her name. She had her tonsils out in the spring and it was a difficult recovery, but worth it in terms of her overall health. We got summer passes to the community pool down the street and she didn't feel her evening was complete if we didn't go swim after dinner.

Lenny is 4 and a preschooler at St. Mary's. She really enjoyed dance class at Morton last spring, especially the father-daughter dance! She is excited that ballet has started again at the YMCA. She loves family game night and is a pro at catching fish on the Wii. Lenny enjoyed her second year of summer camp at the Y and also had fun at Vacation Bible School. She was a flower girl for my cousin's wedding and has started planning her own wedding, which she intends to take place in a castle. This winter, she learned to ice-skate and loves sledding!

Mitch is 10 and a 5th grader at Happy Hollow. He's doing well in school and having a lot of fun. He played basketball, went to a tennis clinic, and he won Most Improved Player in his first season of Little League baseball! He had a very busy summer with YMCA camp and Webelos camp. Mitch continues to sing with the St. Mary's Children's choir and is now a cantor and altar boy. He's started playing the trombone; it's very reminiscent of how Mike sounded in the beginning on his French Horn. Mitch completed his Arrow of Light requirements and will "cross over" from Webelos to Boy Scouts next month at the Blue and Gold banquet. He is a great big brother and helps us take care of the little ones.

Mark is 17 and a Junior at Lafayette Jeff. He is involved with Peer Tutoring where he works in an Elementary classroom with kids who need a positive role model. During the summer he was "Twig" the YMCA camp counselor and started his work day at 6 am and ended it at 6 pm. As you might imagine, we didn't see much of him! During the school year, he works after school care for the Y. He and Mike played tournament paintball as Team Serious Business again this summer. He has an active social life, but he still makes time for his little brothers and sisters and helping out around the house.

Mike is 19 and has been out of our nest for the last year. He's a full time student at Ivy Tech and taking classes to transfer to Purdue. He also works nearly full time as a counselor at the YMCA and Straight Arrow Day Camp. He comes home for dinner on Sundays, and we all love it when he hangs out with us!

Michael wrapped up his second year on the tenure track at Purdue with more grants, publications, committees, and conference presentations. We all enjoy spending time with our friends at Shreve Hall where Michael is a Faculty Fellow. He was honored to receive the Hovde Award this year for his work with students in the residence halls. He has been making an effort to take more time off work to spend with the kids and me. This year's annual Father's Day camping trip was interrupted by a freak hail storm. Despite the golf-ball sized hail, a good time was had by all. His summer project was to establish a parish library at Saint Mary's. After Christmas, Michael closed out the year with friends at a series of Umphrey's McGee concerts, which has become a New Year's tradition.

As for me, I continue to appreciate the opportunity to stay home with my awesome kids. I've continued to try and improve my pottery skills; the bowls I throw are generally round these days. The cake portion of my business is really expanding and that's been a wonderful creative outlet. I've had some really fun knitting and sewing projects this year. I love spending time with the kids in the garden. I finished the rain barrels in July and harvest our rainwater from our roof to water our plants. Some of these projects led to Helen Magazine and TV 18 News doing stories about how our family tries to "live green". I began teaching 1st grade Sunday School at Saint Mary's, which has been challenging but rewarding. To wrap up the year, we loaded up the six kids (plus Addie and Mark's girlfriend) for a 9-day driving tour of our family who live in Ohio. It was a little bit crazy at times, but we have wonderful friends and family to visit and had a lot of fun. I especially enjoyed the trip because I know it'll be more difficult to get all of the kids together as they get older.

We are really looking forward to more fun in 2009 and are so very, very, very, very, very grateful that we have you to share it with!

Love,

Rachel, Michael, Mike, Mark, Mitch, Lenny, Lilly, and Baby John