Merry Christmas!

Dear Families & Friends,

We hope you are having a wonderful holiday. It's been another blessed year for Kristen and myself. We both are very excited to see what God has planned for our family during the holiday! This year has been full of excitment and joy in our family. Our son Layton Dao was born on May13, 2006. What an amazing experience for us, and to see God's hand at work. Layton will be 7 Months soon. He continues to bring smiles to our face and at times, tears of joy. His activities are crawling all over our appartment and putting whatever he can get his little adorable hands on in his mouth. Not a day goes by without us telling Him that we love him and Jesus Loves him too! Layton keeps us busy and on our toes, even though it can be overwhelming, but it's all worth being his parents. Layton has accomplished so much. His latest “tricks” are crawling, reaching for mommy and I to pick him up, sitting up on his own and saying “Mama”! We can hardly believe he’s seven months old already. Layton is a happy, healthy boy who is full of energy and most definitely has his own personality and opinion. He’s just now starting to cling to mommy and whimper when she leaves the room. Oh boy! We jokingly refer to him as “Master” and playfully tell him he’s in charge. Layton loves to dance in his exersaucer, bounce in his jumper, and pull himself up to his knees on anything within reach. Mommy loves to snuggle with him in the recliner and Daddy loves to tickle and rough-house as Layton squeals wildly.
Kristen adores her career as a “domestic engineer (stay-at-home-mom) experiencing all of Layton’s mile stones and accomplishments. As much as she loves being home, we need to start a new chapter in our lives. And so the job hunt begins for a teaching position. Kristen is finishing up her Master’s degree in Reading in the Elementary Grades.

I continue to love my job at ACASA, I work in local middle schools as a Prevention Educator. ACASA moved buildings recently and now I get to enjoy the solitude of my own office (when I'm not in the schools). I am also coaching volleyball for the girls’ team at Houghton Academy and the boys’ team at Fillmore Central School. I do enjoy coaching, and the students are fantastic kids that are enthusiastic and try so hard for me. Layton laughs at the sound of the buzzer and stares at the volleyball during each game. We have an athlete in the making!

Well, we miss you all and hope that you have a wonderful Holiday! Merry Christmas to you all! We love you and think of you often. May God bless you and your family during this holiday season and throughout this coming year.

We're thinking of you, ! Happy holidays!