Welcome all to our 2008 Christmas letter. In the hopes of saving some trees and some time, I am taking a tip from a friend and going with the online post.



As most of you know the summer of 2008 was a tough one in our area. The floods came fast and furious this summer. Josh and I both put time in sand bagging in the down town area and it was unimaginable the outpouring of help. It was matched only by the speed with which the waters rose. There are still many businesses in the Iowa City and Cedar Rapids area that have not re-opened. Luckily we did not have any damage in our neighborhood.

Olivia just turned 5. Some days it seems as if she is going on 15. She has had a fun year. She had her third dance recital this year. They did tap this year for their dance. It was adoreable of course and she continues to love all things music and dance. She started her 4th year of dance in August. When they turn 5 they get to do tap, jazz and ballet. Due to the floods in Iowa City and th closure of Hancher auditorium their recital in May will be at the US Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. Her other big news this year is that she has gotten her ears pierced. I opted to wait until she was old enough to ask for it and this year it arrived. She was so brave!! She did not even flinch or show any apprehension. She picked some pink (not surprising) sparkly flowers adn spent at least the next 3 days stopping to look in the mirror at every opportunity. She has also kept busy in tiny-tot soccer, gymnastics, and swimming lessons. She is finishing her last year at her current pre-school and will start Kindergarten in 2009. Where does the time go??

Jacob will be two in February. He continues to amaze us daily with the things he learns, says and tries. He is all boy, prone to climbing, jumping, and getting in to anything he can. He remains such a sweet and caring little guy who adores anything his sister does. His favorite things right now are trucks and any thing art......I think he must get the art thing from Liv. He is talking more and more all the time and the best thing I'm hearing now is tee-tuu mommeeee. For those of you without kids "thank you mommy". He says thank you for everything it is very cute and funny. He will start gymnastics in January in attempts to have a safer place for his jumping. I figured when at the age of 18 months he was already pulling all the cushions off of the couch and then jumping off on to them we should probably find an outlet for his climbing soon.

Josh is still doing research at the University of Iowa. He gets along well with his boss and has a pretty flexible schedule which is great. He had a busy year with the bike team he started. He was able to get lots of great sponsorship. The major riders of the team all got to ride new bikes, got money to help with race entry fees, and a great deal on Oakley sunglasses. Josh also spent a week working on RAGBRAI fixing bikes. It was quite an undertaking and a long week away with lots of work that I'm not sure he will jump in to again. He also transitioned a little out of the bike racing circuit and more in to the triathlon circuit. He took part in the HyVee Triathlon in June and did well enough that he gets an elite starting position in 2009. It was a lot of fun to watch but was quite different this year due to the flooding so the swim was almost cancelled but at the last minute they found somewhere for the swim. He has plans this year to do it again.



I have had quite a big change this year. I have changed jobs at the university. I was previously working in Urology and when I started that job almost 8 years ago I was one of 4 physician assistants in the department. As the years went on it whittled down to just me. I was getting quite busy and bogged down and was starting to dread going to work. A friend of mine mentioned that the emergency room at UIHC on a part time basis. I went down to talk to the manager down there and he started to tell me a bit about working in the ER. I was hooked almost immediately. It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made but in August I gave my notice to the Urology department and September 1st started full time in the ER. I work full time still but since it is 12 hour shifts I only work 3 days a week. It has meant for Josh that he has had to be Mr Dad 3 nights a week and get the kids from school, get them dinner and get them to bed but he has done great and it has really brought he and the kids closer. The ER is so different from Urology. I miss a lot of my patients that had come to depend on me but it is so fun to see a lot of different things. You can see someone having a heart attack one minute and sewing up someones hand the next. The best part is all I have to do is see patients. I dont have to take phone calls, fill out insurance papers, or worry about setting up treatments. When I go home from work it all stays at work. It has been mostly great because I get 4 days at home with the kids. We have a lot of fun whether it is having a "pajama day" or going to the Children's museum. Or hanging out with our friends Amy and Ella. I have also made some great friends already in the ER. My friend Katie and I recently ventured in to Chicago on a Wednesday to see Wicked......again. Ah the joys of the ER life. I dont think Ill hit the marathon circuit this year but am considering joining Josh in the Hy-Vee triathlon in June. We will see.

We had some fun trips this year. Josh and I went to Keystone Colorado for 4 days in February for some skiing. It was a lot of fun. We plan to go for a week this time in February 2009. The kids will stay home with grandparents, I just hope I don't break anything! We took our annual trip to Michigan to go to the NASCAR race and stay with Josh's parents. This year we got to see Richard Petty up close so that was neat, and the weather was much nicer than past years.

We did have some sadness this year as my grandfather Richard Collins died in November after a long battle with emphysema and heart disease. I was so blessed to get to go back to Fort Dodge for 3 days and help take care of him. He really was pretty alert and responsive until the last day and did not have to go to the hospital but died at home with his kids and wife with him. We should all be so lucky. My aunts and mom really stepped up and took pretty much 24 hour care of him for a month or so, that way he did get to stay at home.

The dogs are fine too......they just add to the chaos which is home.

We really do wish you and your family the best in 2009. Keep in touch, take care and Ill try to keep the "blog" up to date if you want to check in and see how we are doing. I think you can become a "fan" or something and it will send you and email whenever we add an update.