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By Alyssa, December 17, 2012 11:21 pm

Here’s a quick recap of our year:

January- The beginning of the year marked the end of maternity leave.  Alyssa was sad to leave the kiddos for her first drill, but lucky that Mr. Mom, a.k.a. Haus is the best daddy ever!

February- We enjoyed lots of visits from old Army friends this month.

March- Traveling month.  Alyssa and the kiddos went to Idaho for a few days, Haus headed to San Jose for a project for a few days.

April- We decided to start hosting a Bible study through our church this month.  Three studies later we are immensely blessed by a generous, supportive group of friends that meet with us on a weekly basis.

May- Papa and Nana came to visit this month.

June- Haus and Alyssa celebrated their 11th Wedding Anniversary!

July- Camping without sleeping on the ground, HURRAH!!  Alyssa found an old 1980s style pop-up camper on Craigslist and Haus fixed it up for its inaugural trip to visit friends from college.  Can’t wait to take it out a ton next year.

August- Second year of homeschooling begins.  Turns out this homeschooling gig is pretty cool.

September- Vaca!  Took our first family vacation to southern California.  Disneyland, Legoland, Seaworld.  So much fun!

October- Baby Girl turned 1! We decided her nickname on the blog will be L.D.  Ask us in person and we’ll let you in on the meaning behind the initials.

November- First Colorado Thanksgiving.  Alyssa’s family came here for turkey and taters.

December- Our first 9-1-1 call and ambulance ride started out this month!  Thank goodness our sweet girl is doing great now.

Not as tumultuous as last year’s list.  We are definitely so thankful that this year we were able to spend more time together and less time traveling.  Big changes coming up next year which we will post about soon!

Merry Christmas and blessings to your family this new year!

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By Alyssa, December 25, 2011 1:00 am

Hey friends and family!  Here’s a recap of our year:

Photo by Karma Hill, SimpleMauiWedding.net

January- Pregnant! We found out we were pregnant with #3 only a few weeks into the new year.

February- Alyssa started teaching natural childbirth classes at a local baby boutique.  She met some amazing couples and had even more fun a few months after the classes meeting their sweet babies!

March- The whole family celebrated Auntie C’s wedding in Maui.  After almost a decade, Haus finally got an “in-law” to join him in the circle of trust!

April- Alyssa became Major Mom after receiving a promotion in the Army National Guard.  Both sides of the family and many old Army friends visited for the ceremony.

May- Haus quit his job and took a contract Engineering position in Portland.  He drove up to Oregon right after seeing ultrasound pictures of Baby #3.

First day of school

June- Haus and Alyssa celebrated their 10th Wedding Anniversary!

July- Summer travels included Zeke and Alyssa to Idaho, Bubba in Seattle, and the whole family reunited in Portland and Seattle for a family reunion.

August- Sweet Zeke turned 3!  Bubba started homeschooling Kindergarten.

September- After four months away, Haus started a new job as an Engineer in Denver… hurrah!  We sold our first car and paid cash for the first time ever to buy a swagger wagon.

October- After a whirlwind labor and delivery, Baby Girl was born!

November- Bubba turned 6!  Thanksgiving was spent in Idaho with Alyssa’s fam.

December- We’ve spent this month enjoying Advent, snuggling during snow storms, and loving that our family of five is together for the holidays.

I’ve never listed our big events before, but it might become a tradition.  I’m encouraged by God’s providence in our lives.  Merry Christmas and blessings to your family this new year!

Photo by Lauren D Photography, Boise, Idaho

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By Alyssa, December 27, 2009 11:23 am

Well, sigh… no Christmas cards this year.  I had one weak moment on December 22nd and almost sent out “last-minute-oh-crap-gotta-send-something-out” cards, but Hubby literally pulled me away from the card stock.  He wanted our only vacation night without kiddos (Zeke went to bed super early and Bubba stayed the night with the in-laws) to be OUR night, not “Alyssa’s frantic card-making extravaganza.”  After returning from our mountain Christmas vacation (courtesy of the in-laws), I decided to write this letter. Drumroll, please, as this is a first edition Aarhaus Christmas letter…

Merry Christmas!

Dear Family and Friends-

We hope you enjoy these Aarhaus 2009 highlights with cheesy pics included!

January took us to Orlando for a week with Alyssa’s entire family and included a sweet visit to Mickey Mouse.  February 1st Alyssa officially left the active duty Army.  It would take more than this paragraph to explain why, but she hasn’t regretted her decision to leave for a second.  When not chasing the boys around the house, she enjoys her National Guard job one weekend a month.

Bubba is our dinosaur expert and has far too many preschool girlfriends.  He turned four in November and loves anything involving a super cape.  His favorite places are the Dinosaur Museum (Denver Museum of Nature and Science) and the Children’s Museum.

Zeke (or Zek-ee Benito as we like to call him) lost his baby face and became a little boy.  We celebrated his baptism in April and can’t believe he already turned one in August.  He loves his brother, which we hope lasts for awhile, and just started walking.

We hosted a couples bible study this year and celebrated the end of our first study by surprising Hubby for his 30th birthday in June.  Hubby’s still designing power plants and any other carpentry project Alyssa schemes.

In August, Alyssa celebrated her 30th birthday by hiking a 14,000 foot mountain with Hubby.  She’s recently returned to writing and thanks Hubby for wrestling with the boys so Mommy can update her new website, FromMilitarytoMom.com.

This is the first year we don’t have an Army move pending and hope you can visit us in Colorado soon.  Thanks for remembering us with your beautiful Christmas cards.  We are thankful to have made such amazing friends throughout the years.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, Love Hubby, Alyssa, Bubba, and Zek-ee