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Christmas Letter 2009

Merry Christmas from the Fannin's!

We are grateful for many blessings. Among them...we are are so grateful for one another and to be a family. We are grateful to lean on the Lord on a daily basis.

Austin is in 7th grade. He enjoys soccer.... his team came in 1st place last year and 2nd place this year. Every game has been a close win! Austin is a good friend, a wonderful brother and son. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is a great example to others.

Melissa graduated this year and is planning to attend BYU - Idaho in April. We are very proud of her. She enjoys dancing, piano, reading, hanging out with friends. She is helping her cousin, Richelle, with her wedding plans, which is taking place in February.

Our entire family flew to Utah this summer for Denise's niece, Marie Hawkins wedding. Marie married a fine young man Charles Dixon, and they now happily live in Provo, as they finish school. We had a very special experience getting to attend her sealing that was performed by Elder Oaks. He is married to Kristen Oaks, who is Charles's aunt. Another highlight of our trip was getting to visit our good friends, Bob and Sherri Strickler and their family. It was great to see them! The whole trip was so fun! Our family was able to attend a tour of the Oquirrh Mountain temple. It was beautiful and a very special experience. We had a wonderful visit with family in Utah, but not able to see all our relatives and friends. We hope we can see you on our next visit!

Our summer was full of weddings with John's two niece's getting married....Andrea and Brittany!

Melissa was asked to speak at a regional adoption conference in Oregon. She did a fantastic job, even though she felt very nervous, she didn't show it, and really is a natural speaker! She had everyone laughing. Melissa had the privilege of locating her birth mother. They've enjoyed communicating and we look forward to meeting her and her family around Melissa's birthday next year. It's been a special experience.

Because my mom wrote about me, I'll write about her! She is such a great mom and is an incredible example to me. She is a lot of fun and my life wouldn't be the same without her jokes. She also is going to buy Austin and me a puppy.....she just doesn't know it yet! We did actually get to LOOK and HOLD some adorable puppies in a store recently.

My dad is fantastic! He always has me laughing. I'm such a daddy's girl! He enjoys running and has done 10 miles at a time. I tried running with him once and it was hard to keep up. He is so excited for Christmas this year, he even put up our Christmas tree before Thanksgiving! He also would LOVE a puppy!

Melissa enjoys teaching the CTR 6-7 year olds. John was called to be a stake clerk. Denise is serving as the educational counselor in R.S.

Celebrating the holiday cheer was fun and memorable with John's parents and wonderful family! Christmas eve is always like a family reunion for Denise's family. This year there will be 65 relatives gathering together to enjoy being together and celebrating the Spirit of Christmas.

We're enjoying our family and the holidays. May you all have a wondrous holiday and a memorable new year!

Love, John, Denise, Melissa and Austin Fannin

Mom all we want for Christmas!

Mom all we want for Christmas is...this puppy. Austin and I have decided to show you what our lives would be like with this adorable puppy.

and without this adorable puppy. We also figure by posting this on the internet you'll have to cave and get this puppy or you'll dissappoint everyone who reads this blog. So say YES and get us a puppy! WE LOVE YOU!