2010 Family Update

*First of all, my apologies! With all of our goings on this year and my realization that came a little too late for how soon I needed to get things ready and send it all out from Turkey....my original intentions and way that I typically like to do Christmas cards just didn't happen this year. Thus, you must come here to get our 2010 Christmas yearly update!

2010 Yearly Update

Wow! What a year we've had. It is weird to think about where we were a year ago. Packing up our life (for the first time with real movers) and heading off on our new and fantastic adventure! We started out the new year and new decade with a new career and a new life for our family. Noah started his new job with the US State Department and we have loved nearly every second of this amazing ride we are on (minus all the paperwork)! We moved initially to Washington DC for initial training where we were also assigned our very first post of Istanbul, Turkey!!! We were beyond thrilled with our assignment, and during our time in DC made some amazing new friends, got to spend tons of time at all of the fabulous sites and museums that Washington has to offer and also enjoyed time with other much loved friends and family on the East Coast.

We headed out for post in July after Noah finished all of his required training and arrived here on the other side of the world safely in one piece! The boys were amazing on the trip and we knew the minute we got here that we had lucked out for our first post. Our new home is beautiful, Noah's job is just what he was wanting and giving him tons of great experience, and we have been SO blessed with such an awesome group of people that quickly have become such great friends and a wonderful support network. We have also started the never-ending task that is sight-seeing in Istanbul as well. It is such a beautiful city with SO much history that we are so excited to keep exploring! Everything we have seen so far has been so amazing and the Turkish people are also really sweet. We have been impressed by their courtesy and they just love children. We have also received a few short visits from other Foreign Service friends and some family in the "area" (Eastern Europe), which have also been a highlight!

Next, but certainly not least our family has also been blessed this year with the discovery that we will be adding another new little one to our home!! SURPRISE! So yes, we are expecting Baby #3 due in June!!! We are so excited about this and are feeling very blessed that it worked out so well so far with the timing! In this career it can always be a little tricky depending on where you live (malaria medicine, available healthcare, etc.) and this is really a wonderful time for us. Istanbul is a great city with great medical care and even the availability of English speaking American Board Certified Doctors! My OBGYN is terrific and here you also get an ultrasound at every appointment! Of course it is still early, but I look forward to getting to SEE the progression of this little one, how fun is that? They will give us DVD's every time I think-so the home movies start early for this one! Porter can't decide on a name he likes for a girl, but if it is a boy he has really latched onto the name Lyle!? We got a kick out of that. Sorry, probably not going to happen buddy....

Together we also got to go to our first Phillies MLB game which was so much fun! Noah is a huge fan, and to take the boys to their first big league game was so great! We got them foam fingers, hot dogs and popcorn and we all loved every second. We also were able to take a fantastic vacation to (mostly) France and a (little) Switzerland this past month. We had so much fun with lots of family and enjoyed soaking up the holiday spirit that had already overtaken everything! There are some "New Years" decorations up here, which is good but not much can compare to Europe at Christmas time I've decided!

Now, onto the other littles....Porter has had a big year as well! Aside from being a superstar through all of the changes we have put him through this year, he finally turned the big 5 years old and got to start Kindergarten!! He has L.O.V.E.D getting to go to school. He has made lots of great little friends, is in the top reading levels in his class and is even trying new foods at lunch we are told! He comes home singing new fun songs, they are learning about lots of great celebrations in different cultures, and he has brought us some fantastic art projects to display proudly on the Fridge! What an awesome little guy we have, truly he has been so great no matter what we threw at him this year and we love having him in our family.

Ronan is churning out more and more personality as we speak! He turned 3 in October and has been keeping us on our toes! He has had a big year of getting his first very own bike and scooter, which were big deals! He also transitioned from his crib early in the year straight to a twin bed with success which has been fun! He and Porter share a room and he continues to idolize anything and everything about Porter. It will be fun to see him become a big brother himself this next year! What a love he is though, and still loves to snuggle me!

Noah is loving his job and really doing well. He also is signed up to participate in the Inter-Consulate soccer league in the next few weeks which he is excited about! Go team USA! I have loved getting to see him wear suits to work everyday, he is so handsome all dressed up! He is also in charge of the young men in our church group and has really enjoyed working with them.

Kendra (me) am still loving to sew and do some fun crafty things whenever I can squeeze it in and have made it mostly (I hope) through the "sick" portion of being pregnant. I have started to feel a lot better just recently so let's hope that is the end of the tunnel! I am also, as always just loving up all of my boys and enjoying getting to spend some alone time with Ronan while Porter is at school and before the new baby comes! I'm also trying to work on my cooking skills now as well, being that I have more incentive to make something from scratch if I really want it! I also have been asked to work with the youth in our church group, which has been fun and I've enjoyed getting to be around all of their energetic personalities! They make me smile.

We as a family though have felt so blessed this last year and have learned so much and felt so much support and guidance. Even during any challenging times we have truly learned from each other and grown together as a family. We've had so many fun a great times this year, and we wish the same to you and yours in the new year! We love and miss you all, and as always....our doors are always open to anyone who wants to visit!!

Happy Holidays 2010

Noah, Kendra, Porter, Ronan and Baby