Christmas Letter 2009

Jane is our biggest event of the year. Our 5th baby girl is 9months, three teethed, 90th percentile, mobile, almost walking (translated, mostly falling), growling, giggling, bouncing, and delightful. She was born on March 11th and weighed 6 pounds 12 oz. In one month her weight went from the 10th% to the 90th% (haagen dazs do wonders for milk supply). She is well (not always gently) cared for by all her “mothers”, including her now 4 year old sister

Grace who was the un-intended star of our church primary program. She sang the very loudest (by far) even if she didn't know the words or the tunes very well. She enjoys her speech class (we’ve mastered the K and G sound!) and loves to be with people (a good thing with a family of 7). She is a motivated kid who wants (and determinedly tries) to do everything almost-7-year-old Rachel does, like roller skating and riding a two wheeler, because

Rachel is super cool and “popular” as she will easily attest to. She loves her class, has taken off on reading, and was given a special “Pillars of Character” award at school. When I got the award notice I asked which pillar of character she was being awarded for. She didn’t know because she was matter-of-factly “good at all of them”. Where is this confidence from? For Christmas she wants a real magic wand so she can participate in all the Harry Potter hullabaloo like

Kimmer. You maybe didn’t know that HP is still super “in”. Believe me, it is! My girls have been known to sneak up on people and cast spells, which can be really frightening. One neighbors’ mom even asked them to please not cast unforgivable curses. I think that’s good advice for everyone. And Kimmer doesn’t--she likes to deal more with love potions. She’s been asked on a date twice (she’s 10). Not to worry, she said "No. I want to go to the celestial kingdom." She is a good kid, much like her sister

Lindsey, who is still really good even though she is now 13. She keeps busy with high school honors geometry (as a middle schooler she has the highest score in the class), cross country (she helped the girls team go undefeated—her best mile time is 6:54), good friends (possibly the best), and music (piano, violin, and jazz band). I have rarely met a teenager as self-directed as she is, which makes me believe that she must have gotten it from

Carol. Because, let’s face it, I’m awesome. I have done more laundry this year than any year before. I’ve sewn more this year too. My cousins and I did a fun round robin quilt. (Let me break this down: for Blair family readers, this was a super intensive, beautifully artistic feat. For the Madsens, be grateful I haven’t had anything to do with any of your round robins!) I also planned a trip to Mesa Verde which was totally awesome and enjoyed several good reads. The only one who can out-do me is

Daniel—but he out-does a lot of us. At work he is the temporary chief of staff (SGH) and just got selected for Lieutenant Colonel. In the mean time, he has made cement counter tops, got him a big ol’ deer, is always doing home improvements, and he rode El Tour de Tucson (109 mile bike race). He tries to balance out the two of us so on average we are in pretty good shape and really productive. He’s nice like that. He, along with

The Whole Madsen Family wishes you a peaceful and sweet Christmas. We love you!