Anyways, here it is.
We are still alive and well in Price, Utah. Our lives have been a bit of a whirlwind the past four years with the constant demands of our young family and Christian’s growing law practice. We regret not being able to keep in better touch with you, our friends and family, but we wanted to let you know of our love for you. As we celebrate the birth of our Savior this season, we are reminded that everything we hold dear is made possible through the mission of Jesus Christ. We are aware that it is through our relationships that we find true joy—our relationship with God our Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ, our relationships with our husbands or wives, our parents, grandparents, children and friends. You have enriched our lives and hold a place in our hearts. We wish you all the joy and peace that attend the spirit of Christmas.
Love, the Bryner family
For more information about our family, you can visit www.thebrynerfamily.blogspot.com which is maintained by Anna. Also, there is an update on each individual on the back.
Christian: This year he has had so much work he hired two associate attorneys to work with. He still has a contract to do all civil work for Carbon County on top of his regular caseload. Liz and the kids have been thrilled to have Christian home for more evenings and weekends recently. He is often greeted by one twin grabbing each leg as he walks in the door. When evenings permit we find him playing wiffleball or football with the kids, creating bedtime “movies” for the twins (featuring stuffed animals at the end of the bed), and reading prolifically by night since we cancelled our satellite last January. He has enjoyed taking our kids to the BYU football and basketball games but takes no credit for the Cougar craze of his oldest child. Christian still serves as a Boy Scout Varsity Coach for the 14 and 15 year old boys (a calling held now for 6-7 years in various wards) and loves it.
Liz: Liz has enjoyed getting to know baby Ali and the twins better this year as they have all become more vocal and expressive. She has also watched with amazement as Anna, Paul and James develop extraordinary abilities. In addition to the daily duties of motherhood, Liz ran in a five-mile race in Moab in March, and recently sang for the fifth consecutive year in the community production of Handel’s Messiah. Liz has served this year as a counselor in the ward Primary and loves teaching and learning from the children. (When Ali comes with me all six of our children are there in the same room, and all quiet for at least a few moments—could a mother ask for more than that?) Highlights of the year include three trips we were fortunate enough to make: a car trip to Iowa City, Iowa in June with the Bryner Family to witness Matt’s graduation from dental school, a family reunion in Magrath, Alberta in July with the entire Roy Prete family, and a rare chance to go to London, England with Christian in October to visit Liz’s parents who were there temporarily on sabbatical.
Anna: Go Cougars! Everyone in town knows Anna is the biggest Cougar fan around. The school principal even let her read her poem “T’was the Night Before Utes Lost” to the whole school the day before the BYU-Utah game. For her birthday Anna had her bedroom painted like a BYU shrine and is enjoying her little retreat. Anna was elected to student council this year and had fun preparing her own campaign in an election year. She is still President of “Happy Land for Babies and Toddlers Too,” the preschool that is operational every time the Prete cousins get together. In her spare time she maintains several different blogs, chats on CougarBoard, practices the piano, plays the alto saxophone, hangs out with extended family and friends, bakes treats, makes crafts, reads books and helps her mom in every way. Just last week she won five trophies in the PTA Reflections Contest, and she continues to amaze us all.
Paul: With Paul there is never a moment to waste. He is constantly doing something to occupy his restless mind. When he is not designing paper airplanes or thinking up new inventions, he is reading books that take two hands to hold, or noticing all the strange and wonderful things around him. Paul still loves to be active and played Little League this summer and is now playing Junior Jazz. He loves to play with his little sister, wrestle with his brothers, create skits and crafts with Anna, and play with his friends. He also tolerates chores, piano and homework without complaint. He misses his cousins and friends who live far away. Paul delights us all.
James: James has the cutest laugh that instantly cheers your heart to hear. We wouldn’t get to hear it as much if he were not so ticklish. James loves everything to do with sports—especially football, basketball and baseball. He follows the games even more closely than Christian and takes every opportunity to play. He is amazing at entertaining his younger brothers. This fall James began the Harry Potter series and he is currently in the middle of Book Five. He has enjoyed making virtual and real accommodations for his Webkinz this year and he is always asking to go to grandma’s house or the cabin.
Garrett: Garrett has a wonderful ability to extract funny lines from movies or commercials and speak them at the right times. Last Christmas the soundbyte we often heard was “C’mon man, it’s the holidays!” Once at the grocery story when I picked up an item he said, “Not so fast, Crackerjack!” Garrett’s great sense of humor is becoming more apparent as his vocabulary expands and as he exerts a little more independence from Pierce. Garrett enjoys preschool three mornings a week and he loves riding the bus both ways. We are hoping the removal of his adenoids and tonsils in the new year will put an end to his chronic sinus and ear infections and help him soar as he approaches kindergarten age.
Pierce: Pierce is the twin with the dimply smile that melts your heart. He has an intensity to him that is matched only by Garrett’s easy-going nature. His attention span is enormous when it comes to building with blocks or tinker toys or playing with play dough. He is constantly becoming more aware of the world around him. This summer at Waterton National Park, he saw two golden retrievers side by side and said, “Hey Garrett, they two like us!” Pierce attends preschool also and is likely to have the same surgery as Garrett in the new year. He loves “squishy” lizards and always has his pockets full of little toys. He is delighted every time I do the laundry and discover one of his lost toys. We love Pierce!
Alexandra: Ali’s personality has emerged at full force this fall. She has found her voice and uses it to express all kinds of requests and emotions. Often, when home with her twin brothers, her voice is used as a siren to alert me of an impending threat to her own safety, and at other times she uses her voice to indicate which specific item she is pursuing. Her favorite item right now is her daddy’s cell phone which she recently dropped in the toilet. Ali is the most popular Bryner and she is the first “thing” the kids ask for when they get home from school. When we went to England, we are pretty sure the kids missed Ali more than mom and dad. Ali is learning to stand alone and may begin walking over the holidays. She loves to wave “bye-bye,” play “pat-a-cake,” and eat gourmet foods.
Paul (9) Anna (11), Garrett (4), Liz, James(7), Alexandra (1), Christian and Pierce (4)
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