Happy New Year!!!
I hope that the holidays were as nice for all of you as they were for the Packers in Greenleaf. We had a great time! It was sure nice having the kids home for a couple of weeks, the only disappointment was the lack of snow. The kids really wanted to play in the snow and we didn't get much until the New Year's Eve. I even took the Boy Scouts on an over night camping trip to Lareen's family cabin/shack and there was only a "skiff" of snow up in the hills. We really have been praying for snow since then with the realization that we are in trouble if we don't get a whole lot of moisture in the next few months.
The big Christmas project of finishing the Bonus Room was a hit. The kids love it and so do the parents. It's so great to have them have a play area where they can go and entertain themselves for hours and we can't hear them. During the winter months that is heaven sent. On Christmas morning they were so excited to finally get to go in and see the room. We got 3 big bean bag chairs and those have been a favorite. The other fun addition to the room was a foosball table (they call it table soccer now) but we have had a lot of fun playing that as well.
My business is doing great, we had our first company Christmas party which was really fun. We also had an annual shareholders meeting and had the wives come and we gave them each a report of where we had been, where we are, and where we are going. 2005 is looking really good for us. We have landed some nice "anchor" accounts and our financial situation as a company has never looked better.
Lareen is feeling substantially better. She has become very careful about the types of things we eat and use in our house now that she nows more about some of the chemicals that aren't good for any of us but she seems to be especially sensitive to.
Lareen and Jarom are both doing better now that they have their glasses. Jarom's reading has vastly improved and Lareen doesn't get as dizzy when she reads.
We are missing football. Jarom hasn't got an outlet for his energy so we have been having him run a lot of laps around the house and do a lot of push-ups. In spite of his extra energy he did set a goal for himself for 2005 to stop teasing his sisters so much and to remember to have morning and evening prayers. I've taught him to pray every morning for help to not tease and every night to report back to Heavenly Father on how he did. This has helped substantially.
Logan is on the 3rd book of the Work and the Glory series and is very addicted to the books. She has her nose in one at every opportunity. Now some of her little friends want to start reading them from her enthusiasm. I can't believe that she is almost 12. She had her interview with our Bishop last Sunday to graduate from Primary and move into the Young Women's program. My little girl is growing up and it's... good and bad all mixed together.
Hannah and Emma are playing much more together. They love to play with their dolls and their Barbies. It reminds me of Logan and Hannah about 4 years ago. Now Hannah gets to be the "big" sister and have Emma duplicate her every move. Thankfully they get along really well - most of the time. The older kids have taught Emma basic addition and they quiz her in front of people to show off their hard work. It is funny. They'll say - "Emma, what is 4 plus 5?" and Emma will count up to nine on her fingers and the kids will beam with pride.
We have felt so saddened by the terrible results of the Tsunami but are encouraged by the stories of the various factions who have set down their weapons of war to work together to provide relief. I pray that some good will come from the tragedy and that future lives can be saved from war and future Tsunami's.
Brian & Lareen Packer Family
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