Christmas 1998

The twelve months of ‘98

A Christmas melody sung by the Ericksons

 

 

In the first month of ’98 the Erickson family…Found out they would be moving from Illinois. 

That’s right; after only 6 months of living in the Midwest, Illinois Power decided not to renew Ryan’s contract, so we had to make plans to move back to Utah.  We were sad to leave our friends in Decatur, but it was nice to come back home where our family is.

 

In the second month of ’98, the Erickson family…Packed up all their belongings and moved 1300 miles – Again. 

Let it be known that we do not enjoy packing or moving, especially when done twice in six months.  We hope to not move again for a while.

 

In the third month of ’98, the Erickson family…Hates mice.  We really HATE them!

While we were gone, a small army of mice infested our basement.  Since the people living here didn’t have any of their stuff in the basement, they didn’t ever go downstairs, so they didn’t realize that the mice were there.  Those mice had a great time eating our food storage and climbing in our boxes.  Needless to say, we set lots of traps to get rid of them.  Yuck!

 

In the fourth month of ’98 the Erickson family…had a four-year-old and a two-year-old.

Our kids are growing up and are getting so very smart.  Cole remembers everything he hears, and has an opinion about everything.  He enjoys preschool, although I’m sure he talks his teacher’s ear off.  He knows his address and phone number and will tell anyone including total strangers at the mall (“My name is Cole.  And this is my sister Megan, and that’s my mom, and we’re going to…”).  One day he said, “Mom, I want to have more sisters.”  When asked why, he said, “then we can have a van”.  Megan is a curious two-year-old who is learning all the time, too.  She likes to sing “Twinkle Twinkle little star”, and the “I love you” song from Barney.  She can be very sweet, but watch out when she’s in a bad mood!

 

In the fifth month of ’98 the Erickson family…took a really fun trip to Disneyland.

Since Ryan had a business trip in Anaheim, we decided to all go along for a family vacation.  While Ryan was at his conference during the day, Paige took the kids to Disneyland, then we would go back to the hotel and pick up Ryan when he was done with work.  Even though it rained most of the week, we had a great time!

 

In the sixth month of ’98 the Erickson family…experienced another job change.

After 6 years with Erudite Software, Ryan decided it was time for a change and accepted a job with a company called “PHAST”.  They do home automation systems and he’s having a great time playing with all the expensive little gadgets at work (and he gets to bring some home, too!).  Even though it’s a longer commute, he really is enjoying his job.

 

In the seventh month of ’98, the Erickson family…enjoyed the summer with all it’s activities.

We had fun going camping, going swimming, going to Lagoon, and enjoying family get-togethers.  We went to the Lehi Rodeo and Paige even went to girls’ camp.

 

In the eighth month of ’98 the Erickson family…found out that skipping does not come naturally for boys.

Cole was enrolled in a tumbling class for 4 and 5 year olds, and when the teacher asked if they could skip, all the girls took off skipping away and the boys had a hard time of it.  I guess boys have to be taught these things.  He really enjoyed the 8-week class, and Megan liked going, too.  They both had fun walking on the small balance beam and are now excellent at somersaults.

 

In the ninth month of ’98 the Erickson family…had fun little “mini-vacations”—just not together.

Ryan had a business trip to New Orleans, the kids stayed at their Grandparents’ and Paige went to Lake Tahoe for a friend’s wedding.  Being 8 and a half months pregnant didn’t stop Paige from taking a road trip with the girls.  Even though it was a long drive in the car, it was tons of fun!  We were sure to make frequent bathroom stops and checked which towns had hospitals as we drove through the desolation of Nevada.  Luckily everything went fine and we had a great time at the wedding.

 

In the tenth month of ’98 the Erickson family…just about had a baby in the car.

This labor went a lot quicker than the other two had, and we thought we were leaving for the hospital with plenty of time.  By the time we reached the Maternity Ward (after a long painful walk through the hospital), Paige was ready for that epidural, and the first thing she said to the nurses was “Call the anesthesiologist!”  They put us in a room and examined Paige and then said, “Oh, you don’t have time for an epidural, dear, this baby is on its way!”  Natalie was born 20 minutes later, tipping the scales at 9 pounds, 13 ounces.  The midwife who delivered the baby told us that it was a good thing this baby was posterior, or she would have been born in the car!!  Even though the birth didn’t go quite as Paige had planned it, we are all happy to have Natalie Robin in our family.  She is a wonderfully happy baby with big smiles for all of us, and her big brother and sister (and parents) just adore her.

 

In the eleventh month of ’98 the Erickson family…decided that we needed a bigger car.

With three kids and three car seats, it was getting just a bit too crowded in our car, so we broke down and bought a minivan, and we love it.

 

In the twelfth month of ’98 the Erickson family…wishes you a Merry Christmas and a joyous 1999!

We hope that your holiday season is full of the joy of Christmas and the spirit of love.  We are so thankful for another wonderful year; and for friends like you to share it with; and especially for Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate!

 

All our love,

Ryan, Paige, Cole, Megan and Natalie Erickson