Dear Friends and Family, 

This year, recent events brought our nation to its knees. We wept for families experiencing unimaginable loss. We prayed for comfort in a time of profound sadness. And we were reminded that life is precious and fragile. 

Perhaps we were inspired to slow down a little... to put some of our holiday shopping and stress aside in order to sit by the fire, enjoy some cocoa and hug our kids. Maybe we found a way to believe in magic and miracles and reindeer on rooftops...to let our children be children for just a little while longer. And maybe we can allow ourselves to experience the true blessings of the season and the wonder of our lives.

 For us, this was a year of discovery and "firsts" for Sam. He got his first "big boy" bike and rode it like a pro the very first time out. (while we're very proud, neither of us take any credit for his natural athletic ability!).

Also, a heavy winter rainstorm gave us the opportunity to show Sam snow for the first time. Rain in San Diego often means snow in Julian, a small mountain town about an hour east of us.

Patrick took a day off midweek and we had the most amazing "snow day" - complete with sledding, building a snowman and visiting Mom's Pie House for Julian's famous apple pie - yummy!.

Sam also lost his first tooth this year... and his second. What a cute smile!

Michelle feels very lucky to be able to stay home and care for Sam full-time. We spend our days playing, learning and exploring the world and the community we live in. Sam enjoys playdates with friends and going to Balboa Park , where we visit the Fleet Science Center, do Art in the Park and see all kinds of animals at the World Famous San Diego Zoo. He's also taking a gymnastics class at the La Mesa Community Center, which is walking distance from our house. Sam became an expert swimmer this summer, by spending time in our pool almost every day. By the end of the summer, he was doing cannonballs, swimming the length of the pool and diving underwater.

For his 5th birthday this year, we took a family trip to Legoland where Sam had a wonderful time. He loved the Star Wars displays, especially the "bad guys!" He had a bit of trouble navigating the Lego car... thank goodness we've still got a few years til we have to worry about handing over the keys to the Smart!

Patrick has been working like crazy to meet a big deadline for the game he and the rest of the Defiance team at Trion have been developing. He really loves his job and feels very fortunate to have such a rewarding career. All his hard work is paying off and the game is finally near completion. Pre-order boxes hit the shelves earlier this week and both the game and the accompanying SyFy show will debut in April 2013. Click the links below to learn more about the Defiance universe and Von Bach Industries (our fictional high-tech outfitter).

Charlie continues to live the pampered life of a very well-fed prince in his kingdom where he spends his days snoring, stealing food, barking at the mailman and plotting against the mouse who lives (on a very high shelf) in the garage. He also takes his job very seriously when it comes to keeping a coyote-free zone in the backyard.

We enjoy our new home in La Mesa and we are always working on projects inside and out to make it our own. This year, we started working on our kitchen renovation, which will be a slow process. Still, we had fun painting the cupboards and trim - and adding a new microwave and stove.

We also did a bit of re-decorating in Sam's room. Patrick constructed (and I painted!) a loft bed for him. He officially has the coolest room in the house! As for the outside, Michelle totally revamped the patio, adding a lot of homey touches with old furniture, a lot of spray paint and some fun colorful pieces. We also created space for and planted a garden. Of course we put Sam to work right away!

Other highlights of our year include visits from friends! This year, Heather and Brian came from Oakland to attend Comic Con with us. Everyone had a great time and I think we may have started a new tradition! In July, Isaac came for a visit and enjoyed a week of fun with Sam.

It's great to see the two of them together - and pretty cool to see Isaac growing up (he's 11 already!). In October, Heather came back so we could attend Allegiance at the Old Globe Theater. Here we are hanging out with the star of the show, George Takei!

We love having guests and we're always happy to have friends and family visit - but this coming summer we are very excited to be planning a visit "home" to the Midwest. We look forward to showing Sam so many places and things that have special meaning to us - and spending time with many of you.

Being away from friends and family is hard, especially during the holidays. Sharing this glimpse of our lives helps us feel a little bit closer. We hope you enjoyed it! We wish you a very Merry Christmas and happiness in the coming year!

Peace & Love,

Michelle, Patrick, Sam and Charlie