2008 Dowdle/Thompson Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to you all, from the Dowdle/Thompson family! We are so grateful for the gift of families ... and for a Savior who gave the ultimate gift, his life, so that we could have hope in our own. We are grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for missionaries, for dear friends, and for every comfort and blessing that we enjoy. May we all remember the true meaning of the Christmas season and give generously in every way. 

Please enjoy this small family update:

Eric & Deb

We'd throw in nick-names but we're just too boring ...

Now for our update:

Eric works.

Okay, a little more ... Eric works A LOT! I'm so grateful to him for the hours and hours he puts into keeping his business running in these difficult economic times. Days, nights, weekends, holidays ... the man can be found painting, shipping, doing art road shows, preparing presentations, interviewing new staff members, shrink-wrapping puzzles and unveiling new paintings! For fun, Eric gets up at 5:00 a.m. each morning and heads down to the gym were he works out and talks to everyone willing to make a new friend.  And yet, Eric's favorite thing in the world is to walk into his warm home at night, smell good food, and have his family greet him with wide smiles. We do our best ... because he certainly does his!

Deb holds down the fort at home. What a blessing it is for me to be able to be a MOM! Daily, I load the dishwasher, help Cody pick up toys, separate darks and lights, prepare colorful meals, hide vitamins in everything, run kids around to things they deem important, and set out one or two decoration per holiday just to appear to be on top of it all. In my free time, I write, do personality trainings, and blog ... my new favorite hobby (obviously). My health has improved a great deal since starting holistic treatments in September. I'm very pleased with my progress ... thank goodness, or my little family may have to go scavenging from the neighbors.

Like many other mothers, I'm not paraded around on people's shoulders for what I do, but I wouldn't trade it for all the accolades of the world. Being a Mom is the hardest and most fulfilling job I've ever worked!

"Rolly"

Brennan (21) was my baby for six years ... many moons ago. He's my step son from my first marriage and I love his stinkin' guts. He returned from a mission to Mexico a few weeks ago and we've LOVED having him stick his head through the door from time to time. He breaks into spontaneous Spanish from time to time but he's slowly becoming acclimated to our American ways once again (against his will I'm afriad). Brennan's nick-name came from when he was a little boy. He used to eat so much food! We were watching 101 Dalmatians one day and we saw a fat little puppy named Rolly. Brennan was stuffing his face while watching and I tagged him with the name. It stuck and he's been my Rolly ever since. Ironically, he's 6' 2" tall and thin as a rail. No, it doesn't make sense any more, but he'll always be my little Rollie-Pollie!

"Rinehold"

Ryan's been on his mission to Bolivia (now Peru ... long story) since June. He'll be 20 in January. Yes! I said it. I will have a 20-year-old!! (My feeble memory tells me I'M still 20 myself ... hmmmm) Back to Ry ... 

Ryan has gone from an adrenaline junkie/stand-up comedian/dedicated pre-med scholar to a very serious servant of the Lord. What a transformation! He'll be the first to admit the change and seems very content with his hefty dose of growth. But even with this obvious maturity, he still sends home e-mails peppered with verbiage like ...

dope

mint

dude

gnarly

trunky

stellar

Yep, he's still Ryan!

Ry's nick-name was deemed to him from a very young age. As I held him in my arms, he seemed like a man trapped in a baby's body. I thought a proper man's name would suit him and came up with Rinehold (the long version of Ryan I suppose). Sometimes we go shorter ... and sometimes it just seems right to go LONGER!

"Autumwa"

Autumn (15) doesn't like her nick-name but her Dad has endearingly labeled her with it her whole life. Autumwa sounds a little like an Indian Princess, wouldn't you say? I think she looks far more Chinese than Indian ... when she smiles really big, her eyes disappear! But if she were Chinese, she would be a Chinese model ... stunning! I think a more fitting name would be DANCING FOOL! This girl dances whenever she's not in school and she's pretty darn good at it ... puts everyone I know to shame. Autumn lives with her Mom but we're always thrilled when she comes to spend time with us. Cody is especially elated and kisses her non-stop, not letting anyone get close enough for their own chance. Her first year in high-school, Autumn is very popular, texts non-stop, and is dancing or with her friends whenever humanly possibly.

I'm daily surrounded in testosterone and enjoy the rare privilege a little estrogen break. Autumn ... come more! I need you!

"Snoops"

Shawn turned fifteen a few weeks ago making him Autumn's "twin" once again. (yeah right, two kids couldn't possibly be any different ... and yet they love each other to death.) Now that Shawn's started ninth grade, he's spending much more time with his friends ... well, if talking on-line counts as "spending time". This boy is all about the gadgets and gizmos of the world. He's learning game design software and has been designing his own game for quite a while now. And yet, despite all his egg-headedness, his heart is still squishy enough to willingly watch his baby brother a few times a week ... and actually do a really good job.

An explanation for the "Snoops" nick-name... from the time Shawn was little, he made a face that reminds me of Snoopy the dog, inquisitive, busy in the head, and very quiet. Anyone that knows this boy could validate me in choosing this, the perfect nick-name!

Shawn ... a squishy egg-head!

"Jew-Jew"

The "King of Random", no one in the family is surprised if Joey (13) jumps into a conversation with something completely irrelevant, like "wouldn't it be cool if we all had an eye at the end of our finger?" We stare at him in awkward silence with a "what the ...?" look on our faces for him to consistently follow it up with "WHAT?!" Joey's definitely now a teenager and is half way through 7th grade where he enjoys mostly math and PE (I had to force him to choose two subjects so I could put them in the blog).

If he didn't have to go to school, Joe would "play baseball until his friends got home and then play with them the rest of the day .. for sure, no chores or homework". Joey has a squishy side that I enjoy very much. He loves to laugh, taunt his Dad until he screams, and tell jokes that almost always land. He's also been found this winter, shoveling Oma's driveway to give her a break so she can take care of Opa who's recovering from surgery. Thanks Joe!

If you're wondering about Joey's nick-name, like many nick-names around the world, it was given to him by a one-year-old baby brother who couldn't pronounce the word Joey. Thus the "Jew-Jew" nick-name.

"Codes"

Cody (4) is a Sweet Pea at Kid's Village preschool this year and loves his teachers and friends (most of the time). He loves doing homework if he can do it his own way, which usually looks nothing like his teacher's lofty expectations. Cody takes his vitamins regularly followed by standing on his tippie-toes in the hopes that he will "get bigger like his brothers". Other then his time at school, Cody's days consist of ...

special time with Mom ... usually playing things like Tidy Up The Nursery or Swamp Water Tea Party (green smoothies that he wouldn't touch unless it was in a game), 

seeing Oma, where he is given a proper dose of playing animals and blocks, enjoying monitored treats, taking special field trips, and learning new German words (that make Mom and Dad look really uneducated), 

brother time with Shawn and Joey where they let him "play" video games with them,

and last but certainly not least, 

play dates with Owen, his best bud in the whole wide world.

We hope you've enjoyed our small family recap of 2008. 

Merry Christmas to you all!

OUR PICTURES

This year we kept our Christmas pictures as simple as possible. Jen, our good friend and family photographer, had a baby about a week ago - little Charlie. So we used another friend, Karen Jenson, who came to our home and was wonderful, working so well with the kids. Cody especially loved her because she was "Summer Lynn's Mommie". He LOVES her spunky daughter Summer!

Here's her site if you want to see more of her work.

http://www.shinephotographybykaren.com