Our Exciting Christmas & Snow in Thatcher

I had been looking forward to Christmas morning for so long. At 19 mo. Luke would old enough to finally get excited about opening presents and getting new toys. Luke had been sick with a fever the few days before Christmas, so his schedule was pretty out of wack. By the time it was after 1o a.m. Ty and I couldn't wait any longer and got Luke out of bed. He was still pretty groggy and didn't know what to think at first, but after a little bit he got really into playing cars with dad on his new car road rug. After that we let him have at his stocking. That was probably his favorite part, because Luke loves candy!!!

After that Ty's parents stopped by, and we opened the rest of the presents with them. We had a nice lunch with Ty's family that afternoon, and later that evening my parents and the 2 kids still at home made the drive from Pinetop to Thatcher to come and see us. My family had to leave the next afternoon, but we still enjoyed their visit even though it was short.

The evening of the 26th it actually started snowing in Thatcher!!! Snow is not unheard of in Thatcher, but with a climate not much cooler than Phoenix, it definitely does not snow every year. This was the first time I've ever seen it snow here. I think I was more excited than anyone else. By morning we accumulated about 1 whole inch!!! The moment Luke woke up that morning I put his snow gear on him and took him outside so he could play in the snow on this momentous occasion. He went pretty unwillingly at first, but after a lot of coaxing he enjoyed it a bit. I was so happy there was enough snow to make Luke a little snowman warrior chief.

Our Christmas Card and Picture

This is for all of you guys whose addresses I may not have. This is the Christmas letter and picture we sent out.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family!
This has been an eventful year for our family. Our biggest change was buying a house and moving to Thatcher, AZ from Scottsdale, AZ in March when Ty gladly accepted a job offer to work in the family business, Allen Pump Co. We have been enjoying small town life ever since. Being in Thatcher, Ty has also enjoyed following his high school Alma matter’s sports teams along with watching Arizona State Football. Ty is able to come home for lunch almost every day. This summer Ty was able to realize one of his dreams growing a yard full of beautiful grass.
Spending this year at home with Luke in Thatcher has been very nice. From friends at church I’ve enjoyed learning how to home can different foods. I surprised myself developing a real love of reading. Reaping the benefits of living next to the community college, EAC, this summer I learned to play tennis, and this fall I played violin in the community symphony. Also, we are all greatly anticipating the arrival of a new baby this summer in June.
Luke started this year my little baby, and now at 19 months old he is a little boy. Learning how to walk, talk, and feed himself are only a few of his accomplishments this year. He has been an incredibly happy and healthy kid with simple likes and dislikes. He loves playing Nintendo Wii, reading books, candy, doggies, cars, and being spoiled by grandparents. He does not like Nursery, vegetables, sharing, being told “no”, and having sticky stuff on his hands.
Ty, Rachel, and Luke Allen