Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone, this will be our families Christmas letter this year. No stamps, no mail, no fuss :) We appreciate the letters we have received so far, it is always good to hear from friends and family.

We are grateful to be where we are in our lives. This time of year, once finals are over, gives us time to reflect on the past year and on the blessings we have received. We are blessed with two adorable children that are healthy and bring so much joy and fulfillment to our lives. We are blessed with employment and the ability to make sure our kids are fed and clothed, as well have a home to live in. We are blessed with wonderful neighbors and live in a ward of our church full of really nice people. We cannot forget our loving families, both near and far. Both Leslie and I are blessed with wonderful parents, loving siblings, and great aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. - all of you mean so much to us. Your presence and help in our lives cannot be thanked for enough, but thank you nonetheless.

Of course, at this time of year we cant help but be grateful for a loving God whom gave His son, Jesus Christ, as a Savior for all mankind. All human beings are blessed by a loving Heavenly Father, rather they acknowledge His presence or not. What a loving gift Jesus gave - the gift of salvation and example. As we start a new year shortly, we hope to live better lives and to try and follow His example with more diligence. We also want to be able to spend more time with all of you; which is something we have not been able to do often enough this year.

In standard boring Christmas letter tradition, here is an annual update on our family:

JIM - I am busy as sin, as usual. I am still working at UVU in the parking department. I work with some great people. I also still janitor at a local doctor's office, and of course do my writing/editing for RC Heli Magazine. The writing is my favorite job of the three, and is the one which I hope to grow on and move towards as a career over the coming years; time will tell. I still enjoy spending time with my beautiful wife - even though there isn't much time to do so. I still love her with the fervor of a young honeymooner, but now with the added deep attachment our time together has brought on. She is the most important thing in my life, followed closely by my two children. I take any free minute I have to spend with my kids. I love playing with, reading with, and just being with them when I can. They are a pain at times, but they mean the world to me. Anyway, enough emotional crap eh. I am still flying RC helicopters every chance I get and love to build, setup, fly, and talk about them. I am also still an avid reader and tinkerer. This year I got to help do quite a bit of work on our house, I say help because Mike and Joy really did a lot of it. We were able to put in new windows, a new front door, new kitchen counters, a dishwasher, and a new hot water heater this year.

LESLIE - Leslie is great. She has been going to school again - looking at radiology as a trade. In addition to running the home and school, she also started working for 4H this year. This job as an after school leader has given her a lot of fulfillment and joy. It takes quite a bit of her time, especially in the evenings - but she has found joy in it. She is really busy as well, but Leslie does so much for our family and is the rock for our children; she is truly amazing. She still enjoys seeing her friends and family when there is a chance, as well as working on home projects and scrapbooking (something she hasn't had enough time for lately). She really enjoys her calling as the Primary music leader at church and she does great at it - the kids love her. And for some reason she still loves and puts up with her large and sometimes crazy husband; trust me he knows how lucky he is. Leslie also still loves the arts and hopes to find time to dabble in acting once again. We try and see as many plays/musicals as possible as theater is one of her true loves. She loved seeing "How Newt Ginggrinch Saved Christmas" at the Desert Star last week.

JO - Jo is nearing four years old now. Her biggest achievement of the year is that she is basically potty trained. She still has her moments, but she is becoming such a big girl and helper. She loves going to nursery and looks forward to primary next year, as well as pre-school. Her favorite activities are going to her grandparents and friends houses, reading, playing house, watching her movies, and shopping. She learns more everyday and is a cute little girl - even though she has a mean streak that rears its head occasionally. She is truly a blessing in our life. She is my little girl, and I already worry about her more than I do Ryker; as all dad's do with their daughters. She really has a big heart and a lot of love to share with everyone.

RYKER - What can you say about Ryker? He is my little buddy, my "mini-me". He is truly a sweet little boy that loves boy things. He is now 19 months old, talking a little bit, and smart as a whip. The kid loves anything technical. He loves to put things together and take them apart. Give him some cars and trucks and he is in heaven. Every time a helicopter or airplane flies by he points up at it and says "woohoo!". He loves to help me fly on my simulator as well as help me fix helicopters (Jo does this as well). Ryker also has a knack for climbing and getting himself into trouble. He can climb almost anything and because he is so tall and big (he wears 3 year old clothes), he can reach things that a 19 month old just shouldn't be able to get to!! We adore Ryker and are grateful for him in our lives.

Thanks for reading this, I know its wordy and boring, but it is our Christmas letter and tradition demands that these letters be such. We do hope that you all, near or far, have a Merry Christmas and that you get to spend some extra time with your loved ones.

Love, The Innes family.