Dear Family and Friends,
As the holidays and the end of 2008 appear on the horizon, our minds are turned backward to the past year. Olivia, the newest of the Prete clan, has undergone the most transformation - from being just a few weeks old to nearly a year, lying supine to being on the verge of walking, unfocused expression to sometimes hysterical laughter in response to her sisters, hardly sleeping to 12 hour nights. She has bright blue eyes and strawberry hair – quite a surprise to us. She is a great source of joy to us as we cuddle and kiss her.
The most significant experience for Hannah this year was losing and regaining the tip of her forefinger when it was pinched off in the bathroom door. She was very brave when the mean doctor put stitches in without fully numbing the area. Hannah is enjoying the best of both worlds this year, as a tag-along little sister to Emma and Sara and as a big sister to Olivia. This fall, she graduated from a crib to a bed with her older sisters. Occasionally, when she feels neglected or upset, she seeks and receives attention by writing on walls, couches, cabinets and virtually anything other than paper. Hannah loves nursery and loves to be tickled. She also loves to go on dates with her Dad –to the store, home teaching, fishing, to McDonalds, etc. One of her favorite dates this year was a walk through the neighborhood with her Dad picking weeds along the sidewalk. During the next few months, her parents hope she will become potty trained.
Sara has met many of the goals she set with Dad at the beginning of the year – the main one being learning to read. She is very quick to grasp ideas and concepts. Her reading level is probably that of many of Emma’s peers in first grade. Sara’s unfortunate news is that of her first cavity which required removing the nerve and giving her a filling just ten days before her fifth birthday. Her dentist at the UNLV dental clinic – Daren Cole – has become one of her best buddies. Daren is also in our ward and is now our home teacher. She showed her prowess at running in a dress from porch to porch at Halloween in Price, Utah. She would often run ahead of the group, only to have them catch up with her each time she fell. But, to her credit, she always picked herself up in time to get to the door for the handout.
This has been a big year for Emma. She finished kindergarten and started first grade. She has lost several teeth, learned to read and write very well (including authoring several delightful books), and grown about six inches. She has also started to enjoy chasing boys such as her Dad. She loves to read scriptures and the classic books she received last year for her birthday. Emma is at the top of her first grade class and loves her teacher Mrs. Nilson. Emma is a person of great faith. On at least two occasions, when fishing with her Dad without success, she suggested praying to God and asking for divine intervention. On both occasions, fish started biting within minutes of the prayer.
Joe and Haylee have had a wonderful year together. Over the past few months, they have read the Book of Mormon together and undergone the three-month body-for life program. It has been a wonderful relationship-enriching experience for them. Other highlight of the year included a trip to Canada, temple sealings of Haylee’s sisters Lolly and Shelley, Church service, Joe taking a new job with Smith Larsen & Wixom (and thoroughly enjoying it), hiking Havasupi and the West Rim trail, building up our food storage, following the presidential race, visits from family and friends, having Haylee’s sister Crystel live with us for the last three months, etc. We have a family goal to read the Book of Mormon cover to cover. The “reward” when we finish is a family trip to Disney Land. Currently, we are in the middle of the book of Mosiah.
We feel very blessed to have our health, our freedoms, our family and our faith. We are so grateful for our knowledge of the Savior and the happiness we enjoy as we serve Him and strive to become more like Him. We hope you will take a few moments this holiday season to count your blessings, commune with God, and enjoy the things that matter most.
Much love – The Pretes
When Joe and I first decided to move to Las Vegas it was with some reservation, but over the past three years we have discovered many things that we really enjoy about living here. Foremost is probably how much we love our ward and all of the friends we have found here. For me, the next best thing is the weather (excluding June through August). Don't get me wrong, I would ultimately trade it all in for a beautiful fall with changing leaves and a bit of snow in the winter, but meanwhile I'm reveling in tomatoes and green peppers in December!