Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

Merry Christmas 2010!

I feel like perhaps I could copy and post last year’s letter, at least where Dave and I are concerned. Seems to be lots of “the same old same old” around here. We are at the beginning of our fourth year in Ft. Campbell, KY. Dave has a little less than five before he can retire from the military. We predict we will probably have one more station to see, but the military is quite unpredictable.

We made our way “back West” this summer. We drove to Kansas City and met up with half of the Griner clan. Then we flew to Salt Lake to see a couple more Griners and lots of Dickson folk between there and Idaho. We were able to see close family that we hadn’t seen in a few years, and we are happy to report that while in Cougar Country our family (barely) survived a hike to the “Y.”


Dave and Clair are both plugging along—Dave in the Operating Room and Clair behind her camera. We are both trying to tame our tummies-- Dave by working out in the gym at the hospital once or twice a day in hopes of beating that darn tape measure that the Army pulls out every couple of months and Clair by taking kickboxing and yoga classes at a local gym. Of course our finest moments are at home with our four little cherubs. 

Olivia- 11 going on 17- Middle School is new to her and with it comes a very early wake up. She catches the bus the bus just before 7am! She is taking a break from piano lessons now that she is in band class. She experimented with the trombone for a couple of months and finally settled in with the trumpet which she has picked up on quickly. Olivia also enjoys going to chess club and of course spending as much time as possible with friends.

Paul- almost 10- Along with his sisters, Paul enjoyed the baseball season and showed real determination and character as he played for the Volcanoes. He enjoys his fourth grade class where he is very sharp in math and enjoys a change of scenery when he goes to an accelerated class a couple of times a week where they just finished a video demonstrating some dress code dos and don’ts. (Yes, we have a dress code.) Pokémon has recaptured his interest- especially via the Gameboy.

Faith- 6- Loves her first grade class and still gives her kindergarten teacher a hug every day. She rides her scooter to school with her big brother and loves to be on the move. She can do the best pushup in the house. Faith enjoys her friends and playing with her toy horses and other animals. She takes good care of our pets Tiger (a tabby cat whom we have had for 5 years) and Dozer (short for Bulldozer-- our newest member, a Boston terrier/bulldog mix who joined our family in July.)

Seth- 2 - Seth loves playing with cars and the train set he inherited from his big brother. He has fallen in love with Dora the Explorer and requests to watch the show often. For those that don’t already know, Seth broke his femur while playing on the trampoline in October and has been in a Spica cast. He also took a helicopter ride to the nearest children’s hospital due to respiratory complications from the anesthesia he had when the cast was put on. (Super scary, but he is well now!) Being in an cast that goes down one leg, around the hips, and half way down the other leg has certainly been challenging, but Seth has really been so sweet and such a good sport about his temporary immobility. He will remain in the cast for 6-8 weeks which means he will definitely be out of it by Christmas. Seth is the perfect baby for our family and we all love him so much.

Sending our love!
The Dickson Family