HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

I thought I would share our holiday letter for those that I don't have "snail" mail addresses for.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
We have begun receiving the holiday letters so I decided that I had better slow down for a minute and get with the program and share what we have been doing this year.

ALLEN:
I guess if I were to say “ditto” to our previous holiday letters, that would describe what Allen has been doing. He is still working for Teleperformance and managing his team here in the U.S. and in India. He did make his annual trip to India in January and had a great time. The guys that came and stayed here, that we took care of, reciprocated it when Allen got there. They took him to Jaipur and to several places around Delhi. He got pretty tired of going and going, but he enjoyed it. We are not sure if he will be going again in 2009 because of the terrorist attacks and the U.S. government issuing a travel warning for people going to India. Allen had a great hunting season. He got a deer and an elk so we are loaded with meat. We spent a lot of time on the mountain and were able to spend the hunts with both of our dads. Allen has been doing remodeling jobs around the house and will be starting on replacing our flooring in the kitchen and living room over the holidays. He has again put our vacation plans for the next year on hold in case he draws out for the any bull hunt. I wish that he would draw out soon so that we can start making yearly plans before the end of April

JENNIE:
I am still working for the Utah State Office of Education and loving it. I work with some of the most amazing people and I learn from them every day. I am certainly blessed to have the opportunity that I do. My year has been full of work, travel, and playing with my kids. I have held many workshops and met many teachers around the state and I have had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta, Louisville, and San Diego. I have learned that even though I love to travel and see new things, it isn’t much fun unless you have someone to go with. We had season tickets to BYU again this year with my dad and I loved going to the games. I am getting my boys to participate with me now. Justyn can sing the cougar fight song by himself and Jayson knows how to clap along and when to do the Ra-Ra-Ras. Yes I am a proud mother! I am trying to catch up on my scrapbooking, but I am over a year behind. I am taking some time during the holidays so hopefully I can get caught up. My mom, sister, and I participated in a craft fair and had a lot of fun, didn’t sell much, but had fun! I also spent the hunts on the mountain this year and really had a great time. I would
be perfectly content living in a cabin on the mountain. Obviously I would want some modern amenities, but I love the beauty and the peace.

JUSTYN:
Justyn reached a great milestone this year. He turned 8 and was baptized on July 5th. It was a great weekend and he was so excited. Justyn played baseball this year and his team played in the Championship game where they only lost by 1 point. He had a great experience and this year had a great coach. He is signed up to play Jr. Jazz starting in January. He has become my sports buddy sitting and cheering for BYU and the Jazz. Since Brett Favre moved to the Jets we have also become Jets fans---we still like the Packers too. He is in third grade and has a terrific teacher named Mr. Cassler. He has improved in every subject and is soaring in math. I love listening to him read. He has many great friends and he loves to play the Wii and now World of Warcraft with his dad. He is a great big brother to Jayson. They play and read together all the time. Jayson follows him around and tries to do big boy stuff. They are really cute together and I could sit all day and watch them play together. I was worried about the age difference, but so far it has been good. Justyn is learning how to do adult things. As I sit here, Allen is teaching him how to use the snow blower, I cringe at this, but recognize that he is getting older and learning new things. He loves to do projects with Allen. I hope that they can continue to stay close as Justyn gets older.

JAYSON:
Jayson turned a year old and is growing by leaps and bounds every day. He is running all over, talking jibberish with a few new words mixed in, and loves chasing his brother and daddy all over. He loves to pull the pans and bowls out of their drawers as well as dragging the vacuum throughout the house. He also likes to cuddle with his blanket and is a climber. We have had to move our furniture away from the cabinets otherwise he will be found on top of the counters. Where Justyn was a daddy’s boy, Jayson is a mommy’s boy. If we would let him, he would live on our back porch. He loves being outside playing. He is a great baby and certainly came into our lives at a perfect time and we are enjoying every minute with him. His favorite word is Uh-Oh. I am teaching him how to say “I Love Mommy” he gets the tonal inflections and mom—it is fun. He loves toothbrushes and turning on and off the lights. He knows what it means when we say we are going bye-bye. He gets his shoes and coat and runs for the garage door.

Allen and I celebrated our ten year anniversary this year and went on a trip to Puerto Vallarta. We had so much fun. It rained most of the time we were there, but we still did a lot of activities. I think the highlight was deep sea fishing with Allen’s dad and grandpa. The trip went way to fast, but we have many memories and lots of pictures to share.
We have had a great year and are truly blessed to be where we are today. We are grateful to have a wonderful family and the greatest friends anyone could have. Thanks to all of you for your thoughtfulness, kindness, and love! We hope you are able to take time this season to remember back this last year and focus on the blessings you have received and remember the reason for this time of year.

Love,
Allen, Jennie, Justyn, and Jayson DeFriez Want to keep tabs on us? http://ajdefriezfamily.blogspot.com