Family Pictures 2012 + Christmas Letter

I love when December rolls around after a busy Halloween and fun Thanksgiving.  It's one of my most favorite times of year and I love all the happy memories associated with the Christmas holiday, both past and present.  One of my favorite traditions the past couple of years has been preparing Christmas cards to send out to all of our loved ones.  This year, I started early and gave myself plenty of time to get the cards out and the newsletter written.  I worked on them when I had time, and didn't stress about when I finished.  I enjoyed it so much more this year (well except for gathering all those addresses!!).  We sent out 200 cards this year and used every last one I ordered.  I was shocked but with so many family members, Ammon's faculty and so many friends that we've met in our nine Ohio years, there were a lot of people to include.   Oh what a wonderful feeling it was to place those 200 cards in the big blue mailbox at the Post Office that one December day.  I felt like my shoulders had been lightened and happy to see them all on their way!

We took our annual family pictures this year on a very COLD day in early November.  I had asked my photography friend, Amelia, if she'd do them for us since I had specific things in mind.  It's not an easy feat to take on seven people, five of them being 10 and under but I was so happy with the pictures.  She listened to ALL my requests and I got everything I had wanted that day.  

So grateful to her and her patience!!!

I planned two years ago that our pictures this last year in Ohio would be all in Ohio State shirts.  I didn't stress this year about matching everyone and in fact we went the night before our pictures to get the shirts...it was that last minute!  We will always be True Blue Cougars, but for this one year, we wanted everyone to know that Ohio will always have a place in our hearts.

I chose our photo shoot this year at Homestead Park because of this Ohio sign on the side of a barn.  Amelia was so creative and replaced the real Ohio dates with

the years that our family has been in Ohio.

Annoucing our pregnancy.

THE Christmas Card Picture!

Eleven Years Later

Runner Up Christmas card picture...

                                                                    

Dear Family and Friends,

It’s hard to believe another year has flown by and 2013, a year we’ve been counting down to for the last nine years, is around the corner. We’ve had a fun year in our home- full of adventure, surprises, blessings and change.

We started the year with a new little bundle when Paisley Rebecca was born into our family in January. She’s been so much fun and the novelty of her arrival has not worn off. She’s beginning to take steps now and since becoming mobile, life hasn’t been the same in our home! We also found out around Labor Day that we are expecting another baby (our 6th!) in May and are so excited that Paisley will have a little sibling close to her. We find out in four days whether we’ll be blessed with another girl or boy in our family. Our four oldest kiddos keep us busy between piano lessons, cub scouts and activity days, brownies, dance, soccer and gymnastics. The highlight of Kirsten’s life is being a cheerleader at all these events and watching the kids grow and develop in their hobbies.

After almost nine years of medical training since leaving BYU, Ammon will be graduating in June of this coming year!! How long have we dreamed and thought about this day but in reality, the time has passed by quickly and we can’t believe it has arrived. We were very blessed in that the same week we found out we were expecting, Ammon signed a contract to be a surgeon in Visalia, California. We will be moving in June, after school gets out. We are thrilled for Ammon and proud of all of his hard work, and though we anticipate and are excited about this upcoming move and change for our family, our hearts will always have a place in Ohio and it will be difficult to leave.

Finally, it was a big year of travel for our family as we have tried to fit in those last “bucket list” items of living here in the “East”. Our faithful old van carried us to Utah and we skied with the four oldest kids during Spring Break, headed to Chicago with Ammon during one of his conferences, traveled to the beaches of Florida with Kirsten’s family, journeyed to Church History sites in Upper New York with Ammon’s family in the summer-stopping at Niagara Falls along the way, and finished this fall with a whirlwind week long trip to Philadelphia, New York City, Boston and Salem, missing Hurricane Sandy by only four days!! These road trips help Kirsten to survive Ammon’s long work hours for Ammon to be able to leave his pager behind and catch up on sleep and relaxation!

We wanted to tell you how much we love and appreciate you all in our lives. We are grateful for the love and support we’ve received, especially through these last couple of years during our residency training. From our family to yours, we hope we can all reflect on the true meaning of the season, spend time with loved ones during the holidays and anticipate another wonderful year.

Love always, The Rasmussen Family
Ammon, Kirsten, Ethan, Brynlee, Hailey, Karli, Paisley and ??