The 2008 Christmas Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

For those of you who are not regular visitors, welcome to our little piece of the Internet. I'd like to say that we're doing our Christmas letter online because it's good for the environment, but really it's because I realized how nice it would be to not have to find pretty paper, fit all the info on one page, print off 100+ pages, fold and stuff, etc. etc.

So... it's been a pretty good year here in Altus, America. We've been holed up in Oklahoma for more than 2 years now. That doesn't really seem possible, but it's true! We have made lifelong friends here. We enjoy our church. Sydney's preschool is great. Cory hasn't deployed since we got here. We have grown very used to having him at home. We don't know where we'll go next, or when we'll go, but we do know that we have appreciated this opportunity to live in a small town.

Brenna is the only Altusian among us, born here in Feb. 07. I can't believe she's almost 2! In the past year, Brenna has learned to walk, run, dance, feed herself, and talk. She's turned into a little girl instead of a baby. She started Mom's Day Out and loves her friends and teachers there. We used to think Brenna would be the sweet one, but it turns out she's just as sassy as the rest of us.
Here's what Brenna looked like at this time last year:

and here's Brenna now:


Sydney is now 3 and 1/2 years old! Here's what she looked like last year:

And here's what she looks like now:


Sydney had a big year too. She had 5 months of Occupational Therapy after being diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder and anxiety. She is typically very sensitive to noise, craves movement, and has difficulty with transitions and overwhelming environments. So we were pleased at the progress she made in OT and with her listening therapy. It helped immensely and she was able to start preschool 3 mornings a week at Altus Christian Academy. Academically she does just fine... it was the social aspect and dealing with a new schedule and expectations that she had issues with. We are so grateful for understanding teachers and staff at her school. She has done very well, and really enjoys school. Syd will probably always be bothered by things that wouldn't phase most of us. But as she gets older, we see that she is adapting as needed (She sometimes wears noise muffling headphones at school, for example) and she'll be able to voice her concerns to us as she figures them out.

Cory spent much of the year doing 2 things: preparing the base for the Wings of Warriors Airshow in May and working on his MBA from Liberty University in Virginia.

The Airshow was a big success. And the MBA has consumed almost all of his freetime for the year. Currently he is on Christmas break from school. His final class begins in January. We are all excited for him to be through with this hard-won achievement.


My year was fast and furious, it seemed. I enjoyed blogging, my Wednesday morning Bible study group, my Altus girlfriends, and watching as my babies somehow grew into little girls. I directed VBS in June, enjoyed a fabulous vacation with my husband (thanks, Auntie Mrs. Laura and Brookie, for watching the girls) in Las Vegas at the Bellagio. I took the girls to Wichita several times to see Tanya and my family. And we all had a wonderful vacation in Minnesota in November.

If you're interested in any of these things I've mentioned, you can access our blog archives on the right side of the screen, near the top of the page. Everything is sorted by the month. We try to keep the blog updated throughout the year with all our goings on and new ages and stages. This year, I WILL print out what we have so far and make a book to make sure and preserve all these memories. The days seem long sometimes, when the kids are little, but the years certainly go by fast.

And I want to be able to remember how thankful we were, in December of 2008, for our fabulous, supportive family, and our wonderful friends. For security in a time of insecurity. For the love of the Most High God. And for the celebration each year, of the birth of Jesus, our Savior. May you know His peace this Christmas. And may your New Year be full of Blessings from our Lord.

With love,
Cory, Jill, Sydney & Brenna Peterson

Here are a few family pics from our Christmas card shoot that we didn't end up using...