Wilkes Family 2009 Christmas Letter

I've decided to make our Christmas cards a little greener this year!  Instead of printing off multiple copies of our yearly Christmas letter, I decided to put the address of our blog on the card and let people catch up this way.  We'll see how it goes!  Leave me a comment if you stop by and read it!

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Dear Friends and Family,

I hope that the holiday season finds you all healthy, happy, and surrounded by those you love best!

We have had an eventful year.  Two pieces of news vied for the title of "Most Exciting," but this one clearly came back the winner: we are expecting an addition to our family around 13 April 2010!  A second little boy will be joining our family!  This was rather unexpected but definitely not unwelcome, and we find ourselves frantically trying to prepare our home for a new baby.  After all, it's been seven years since our last one.  It's a good thing we have five more months!

The second piece of news is that we are, indeed, back in the United States.  We repatriated from France at the end of July and moved back into our old house in the Peoria area.  We had rented the house while overseas, and our tenants' lease was up at the end of June, so things worked out nicely.  We were sorry to leave France, but we are grateful that Jeff still has his job at Caterpillar, and it has been wonderful reconnecting with friends, old and new.

In 2009, we were able to take trips to London, Stratford-upon-Avon, Bath, and Stonehenge in February; to Northern France, Germany, Southern France, and Venice, Italy, when Jeff's parents visited us in May; to two different places in Provence in June; and to England's Lake District and Ireland in July right before we repatriated.If you are interested in our adventures abroad during the first half of the year, please hop over to the blog I kept while there: www.chezwilkes.wordpress.com .

Jeff went back to his old job at Caterpillar upon returning to the States.  When we first arrived, he was not traveling much, but that changed as the economy appeared to be slightly improving.  He spent two weeks in November back in France and then a few days in Georgia when he got back.  We imagine that his travel schedule will pick up after the first of the year, but he should be home through Christmas.  In his spare time, he bikes and reads and tries to finish up our basement renovation, which should eventually result in two new bedrooms for Charlotte and Elijah, a media room, and a new playroom.  Whew!

Heatharlyne had a pretty rough time of it during the first trimester of this pregnancy but is now doing much better!  She took advantage of the kids' being in school in France to ramp up her running, which culminated in a half marathon in Annecy, France, this past April.  She has continued to run thus far into her pregnancy but definitely not as far or as fast.  She is back to homeschooling the kids this year and enjoys reading and digital scrapbooking in her spare time.  She also is participating in the prayer ministry at Richwoods Christian Church this year.

Charlotte and Elijah have had quite a year.  Both came back from France fluent in French, which is an amazing accomplishment, as far as I am concerned.  They are both taking French lessons with two other children who also lived in France in an effort to keep up their language skills.  Charlotte participated in rock climbing, and Elijah studied fencing in France, neither of which I think they would have or could have done easily here in Central Illinois.  I think they were sadder then we were to repatriate, but both have adjusted nicely.

Charlotte continues to be our child who wants to try everything!  She is currently studying tae kwon do, taking piano lessons, and playing basketball in a local league.  She also had a leading role in the church kids' Christmas play and still reads voraciously.  I think she would be doing a bunch of other stuff too, if Mom were willing to lug her around.  She is beyond excited about her new baby brother and is sure to be a huge help when he arrives.  She made the decision to be baptized in the summer of 2008; somehow, that missed last year's Christmas letter, but we wanted to share it with you anyway!

Elijah is still our go-to kid for a good laugh.  He is also studying tae kwon do, which he finds to be plenty of sports for the time being.  He is also playing piano and making great progress.  He had a small role in the Christmas play at church and absolutely loves computer and video games.  Since he can only play them on the weekends, he spends much of his free time building Star Wars creations with his Legos and reading up on James Bond.  He is, as always, a joy to be around.

This past year has been a whirlwind, but we can definitely see God's provision in all that has happened.  Here's to looking forward to what 2010 will bring!

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Jeff, Heatharlyne, Charlotte, and Elijah