Merry Christmas from the Kerzmans!

Our 2009 Christmas letter:
What’s your lucky number? Mine has always been 42, Brad’s 52. But this year, our lucky numbers have changed. We now both call four our lucky number. That’s because our family has grown, from three kids, to four. In honor of lucky number four….we decided to share four things about each of our four kids:

Morgan (6 weeks)

1. Baby number four was born November 11th, 2009 at 5:43 pm. She weighed in at 9 pounds 8 ounces and measured 22 inches long!
2. Morgan was born with a full head of dark hair, proof of the terrible heartburn I suffered while pregnant with her!
3. Morgan’s middle name is Louise, after her godmother Madonna. Morgan’s name was a challenge for us…she didn’t have a name for the first 15 hours of her life. In our defense, everyone thought she was a boy (except for me, but I’ve never been right, so no one believed my “hunch”, including me) so we focused our efforts on a boy name (even those efforts came just days before Morgan’s arrival though!).
4. This kid is so mellow! She obviously takes after her father! The poor kid gets dragged to school every day, to basketball games, concerts, you name it, she’s probably been there…and has likely behaved like an angel!

Lizzy (2 years)

1. Not only does “busy Lizzy” rhyme, it is the truth! This kid is into EVERYTHING! She doesn’t do it to be naughty (most of the time) she does it just because she’s curious and can’t sit still! She has locked us out of our bedrooms and even the house, colored with permanent marker and lip gloss all over the carpet and the walls, and filled her water bottle with an entire bottle of caramel ice cream topping…and that’s just in the past week!
2. Lizzy discovered tv this year and LOVES “Dora the Explorer”. I think we’ve seen every episode 50 times, and the Christmas special at least a dozen times. She has now also discovered “Phineas and Ferb” and “Veggie Tales”.
3. Lizzy LOVES being a big sister. She makes up beautiful songs to sing to “her” baby Morgan and gives Morgan about a thousand kisses every day. No lie. A thousand is not even exaggerating.
4. When she’s not getting into trouble, watching tv or loving her little sister, Lizzy is asking someone to read to her. She doesn’t understand it’s ok to just look at the pictures…she insists that someone reads to her because “no my know how to read”.

Jake (8 years, 3rd grade)

1. Jake is obsessed with football. The obsession started this fall when he played flag football. He learned the basics of the game and had a great time with his buddies. Now he spends Sunday afternoons, and Monday and Thursday nights (until I force him to go to bed) watching NFL games with his dad. He plans to play for the Minnesota Vikings someday. If that doesn’t work out, he’s prepared to play in the NBA instead. He starts his second season of basketball at the YMCA after Christmas.
2. Jake loves to read. He’s currently working on the Harry Potter series. He loves the series so much, he asked for his own copies of the books for Christmas.
3. Jake is a Bear Cub this year. This is his third year of Cub Scouts. Jake is thinking about being an Eagle Scout someday. In the meantime, he sold popcorn and wreaths this fall, and candy bars last spring. He spent three days this summer at Cub Scout day camp and took third place in the pine wood derby. He and Brad need to get started on this year’s derby car. Brad has also caught the Cub Scout “bug”…he is the Assistant Cub Master for Jake’s pack.
4. Legos are still a favorite of Jake’s. He even went to Lego camp for a week over the summer. Maybe if the NFL and the NBA both fall through, he can put his Lego skills to work as an engineer.

Lexi (10 years, 5th grade)

1. Lexi accomplished something I never did in all my years of basketball…she had a perfect season! Her school team didn’t lose a single game this fall. She is now playing travelling ball. We’ve been to Dickinson, Valley City and Mandan for tournaments already. She spent a lot of time practicing basketball over the summer, attending camps and playing in a summer league. She’s super tall for a 5th grader and it’s so fun to watch her play ball.
2. “Za-Za” is Lizzy’s name for Lexi. Lexi is hoping Morgan will learn to say Lexi and she can forget “Za-Za”, but I have a feeling this nickname may never go away. Lexi really is a very good big sister. Not only does she put up with being called “Za-Za”, she also let’s Lizzy play in her room and with her friends. AND…Lexi changes diapers!
3. Lexi is in her fifth year of Girl Scouts. She once again sold a TON of cookies last year… over 350 boxes. She and a friend spent a night at Girl Scout camp this summer. Lexi suckered me into being her leader this year..it’s been a good reminder of why I didn’t become a teacher.
4. Lexi got to start band this year. She chose the flute and spent two weeks learning the basics at band camp this summer. She’s pretty dedicated…she practices at least two hours a week and gets up early for rehearsal at school three days a week.

As for Brad and me, we are still at the same jobs (Brad at the DOT, me at KFYR) although I did cut back to part time so I would have more time to chase my four very busy kids! Outside of work, Brad has found time to hunt (including a Colorado elk hunt and many trips to Mott to hunt deer and pheasants with the dogs, Bob and Windsor) and play basketball. I occasionally find time to scrapbook and hold Uppercase Living shows (my second part time job!) Be sure to become our Facebook friends (the coolest way to stay in touch with friends and family…it’s like a Christmas letter everyday!) and check out our family blog as well - http://thekerzman5.blogspot.com – it’s filled with daily mishaps, funny stories, videos and pictures of our four blessings.