Merry Christmas!

Greetings to all from the lovely state of Nebraska!  This past year has been filled with fun and exciting times.  It is always a joy to reflect on our many blessings over the past year and share them with those we love so much.  Enough of the mushy sentiments, let’s jump in!

Melanie continues to excel at being the best do-it-all wife and mother.  As a Christmas gift last year she was enrolled in a photography course at our local community college.  She continues to take the most amazing photos.  She even had the opportunity to do a wedding shoot, which turned out lovely in spite of all the accompanying stress.  She has spent so much time laying tile and painting walls in our lovely home that it is such a shame we will likely have to leave the old place.  Let’s hope her efforts don’t go unnoticed by potential buyers!

Jon has been slaving away in residency, not much has changed there.  He has a newfound interest in endoscopy.  But his real love lies in rural medicine as he has discovered over the past 6 weeks working in the grand metropolis of David City, Nebraska.  Nothing like doing some colonoscopies, an inguinal hernia repair, seeing patients in clinic, covering the Emergency Department, and performing a C-section all in the same day.  The only opportunity to do that in the Air Force is to be in a faculty position at a residency program or serve in Japan.  We should be finding out soon which opportunity awaits us.

Jaedon (7) is growing like a weed.  His two front teeth are finally starting to fill in.  He is making the most of second grade; however he really doesn’t like to talk much about what goes on at school.  When asked what his favorite part about the day was it is always recess.  We think the reason he likes recess so much is because that’s when he has the opportunity to mingle with the lady folk.  He’s such a heartbreaker!  He played coach pitch this year and did really well, although he wasn’t too excited about it.  Dad bought him a set of golf clubs and hopes that he finds that much more interesting so he can have a golfing buddy.

Olivia (5) just recently donated 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love.  It was a brave and bold decision made by our sweet little girl who wanted to have hair as long as Rapunzel.  She seems to be enjoying her new doo, probably because it is soooo much easier to brush the snarls out in the morning.  She entered preschool for the second year in a row as she wasn’t old enough to advance to kindergarten.  She is now working on reading and doing a great job at it.  She was involved in T-ball as well this summer, and we struck out again.  She does get enough exercise around the house dancing and singing to all her Barbie movies, and whipping up pretend goodies in her toy kitchen.     

Sofia (3) is our little ball of fire.  We keep thinking this spunky little girl will settle down, but that’s probably not going to happen.  She keeps us on our toes.  We are proud to report that we haven’t had any visits from law enforcement over the year.  Maybe we are headed in the right direction?  She wants to be so much like her older siblings that she decided to enroll in school as well, with Mrs. Bassett as her teacher.  She thought that was fun for a day or two, but doesn’t like the idea so much at this point in the year.  She is looking forward to graduating from nursery and moving on to Sunbeams at the beginning of the year.

Jack (1) has grown into quite an affectionate little man.  He is known for his big bear hugs and snuggles.  He has won over the hearts of all who have met him.  His new best friend is Brother Cox in our ward, also known as the Candy Man.  As soon as we sit down for Sacrament he is off to collect his treats for the day!  He loves to get into everything he knows he shouldn’t be getting into.  Lately he has a passion for climbing tall objects.  We thought for sure he would be our first child with stitches, but surprisingly Jaedon beat him to that.  Let’s hope he doesn’t try to follow big brother’s footsteps in that regard.

That about sums things up for the Bassett family for 2012.  As the year comes to a close and we move closer to Christmas, we are again reminded of the many blessings we have been given.  We are most grateful for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; for all that he has done to give us the greatest gift of all.  We are also so grateful for all our wonderful family and friends.  We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

Love,

Jon, Mel, Jaedon, Olivia, Sofia, and Jack