Merry Christmas!!

I realize that it has been a long time since I have posted, but it will be a resolution for the next year. Don't give up on me!!

Here is this year's Christmas letter:

December 2011

Happy Holidays!

I wish I could say that I was planning on continuing the New Year tradition this year, but honestly I just ran out of time. Nevertheless, here is the 23^nd edition of the Gagnon Christmas Letter and as always, we pray that it finds you happy and healthy and surrounded by those you love.

What a busy year we have had!

It started with the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. All four of us became American citizens this year! When faced with the option of renewing our green cards or becoming US citizens, we decided that the later was the better option. The greatest gift was that we are able to maintain our Canadian citizenship and so it was a total win-win. With our beautiful grandsons gracing our lives now, we know that we never want to be too far away from them. It is so fun to be able to share both the blessings of both countries and I proudly sing both anthems at the hockey games!

While that was happening.... my nephew Justin was being married in Toronto. Our family has grown with 2 new blessings, as Kayla and Mackenzie are the latest additions to the family. Welcome to the Garant clan! Little Mackenzie was born on March 27th and frankly,

I can’t believe that I haven’t had a chance to see or hold her yet! Don’t you worry... this year for sure!

Our beautiful grandson Dominic Pierre turned 2 on April 19th and we can hardly believe how quickly time has passed. He continues to wow us with his curiosity and it is evident that he has been gifted with some musical talent. He is very verbal and loves to have great conversations about the world and cookies and the important things in life. He continues to light up our hearts in a way that we could not have imagined and fills us with a love that is indescribable. He is now riding a trike, taking swimming lessons, loving books and puzzles and is just plain perfect! Can you tell we love being grandparents?

And then there were two!! Gabriel Xavier blessed our lives on August 10th. A second grandson to fill our lives with love and wonder. He is such a precious child and at 4 months is starting to smile and coo and steal our hearts. Dominic loves his little brother and it is very heartwarming to see them together. We can tell that they will be great friends (or adversaries)! All I can say is that there is plenty of love to go around in this house for everyone. We can’t get enough of them!

In May, we celebrated Philippe’s graduation with a business degree from the University of San Diego. It was a memorable ceremony and Pierre and I were so proud to watch our “baby” mark a major milestone in his life. He is busy looking for full time work and has filled his time with some internships and part time work. But he would love to get his career started. If anyone knows of someone looking for a Social Media person (or anything else for that matter) please feel free to give his name out. It does take a village - especially in these times. In the meantime, he has become quite the craft beer connoisseur and writes about his experiences on his blog and website. Check it out at www.craftbeerculture.com .

His girlfriend Brandy will be finishing up her studies at FIDM this year and is hoping to go on to one of the Cal State schools in the fall. We give her a lot of kudos for fitting right into our family madness.

Pierre still commutes to San Diego every day and continues to head Rhino Linings Corp. as CEO and president and the travel keeps him busy. He is connected to his satellite radio, which allows him to stay abreast of the NHL hockey scene while always remaining a faithful “Ducks” fan. We are still partial season ticket holders this year even though our Ducks have been frustrating. But then I guess all of those Maple Leaf fans know that feeling!

Chantal and Michael have been busy being parents to 2 little boys! They are also in the process of selling their condo to move to a place with a back yard and a little more room for these active kids. Thankfully, their choice is only 20 minutes away and although it will require a little more planning, no distance will hold us back from seeing as much of them as possible.

Michael is moving up the corporate Experian ladder and has had a few promotions this year. He loves what he does as a Financial Manager and is such a great husband and dad and provider. We couldn’t be more proud of him.

Chantal is teaching ballet 2 evenings a week in a couple of studios in the area. It keeps her in the world of OC dance and gives her a chance to remain current in her field. The boys are in great hands as she has proven to be a wonderful mother. She loves staying home with them and continues to stay active with running and her mom groups. Their lives are busy and fun and everyone is happy!

We had a wonderful visit from Pierre’s brother and his family in August. Although things were a little hectic with the new baby, it was a blessing to see everyone. Our niece and nephews seem to be growing up so quickly. We look forward to another reunion soon. Who knows maybe Timmins?

My life is full with the boys and house renovations and stuff.... My “When Women Pray...” event in Oct. was another huge success and I was honored with the title of “OC Catholic Woman of the Year” largely because of the event. In actuality, the team deserves the award!

We continue to feel blessed in all of our relationships and truly appreciate the wonderful family and friends in our lives. We feel so lucky that our special angel continues to watch over all of us. And be sure to check out our family blogs for all of the latest news. I wasn’t very good at keeping them up this year, but do have that on my resolution list - I promise!

http://maisongagnon.blogspot.com/ and http://mcricci.blogspot.com/

We hope you had a happy holiday season and that our paths will cross very soon.

Happy New 2012!

Pierre & Denyse, Philippe & Brandy, Chantal & Michael & Dominic & Gabriel,

Maple & Cali

Our 2011 California Christmas

Bonne 2ieme fete mon beau garcon!

Dear Dominic,

Here it is - the second anniversary of your birth! It's hard to imagine life before you brought your bright light into it. And what a year of milestones...

This year you have learned to walk and to run, to talk and to sing! You can eat on your own with your fork and spoon. You have discovered books in both languages and especially love the ones with firetrucks in them. You have discovered that cookies are yummy, and that Grandmaman's cupboard is always full of them.

Oh, and at Grandmaman's, they speak a different language than anywhere else. But that doesn't seem to bother you... you understand both Francais and English and you switch from one language to another without missing a beat, or a cookie.

Over the last twelve months, you have grown out of your infant clothes and into little boy wear. And discovered that puddles are fun to jump into.

Our trips around the neighborhood on your "bicyclette" have made for some fun adventures. We have discovered leaves, and ants, and flowers and bugs...scary Halloween houses with lots of pumpkins and a Santa and reindeer on a teeter totter just waiting for us to come say hi.

The walkway in the back of Grandmaman's house has all kinds of fun things to do.... gullies to run into, branches that turn into hockey sticks, more puddles to jump into, and rocks that make great balls. The toddler park which was once just a destination for us, has now become a favorite playtime area. The slides are the best and you have learned to climb the stairs on your own and enjoy the ride!

And what fun we have had in Grandmaman's beep beep! Singing songs, watching videos of Thomas the train, and sometimes just babbling away. Always hoping that we will stop somewhere fun! Or at least somewhere where there are cookies....

We have had so many hours sitting quietly while we look through your books or sing lullabyes. And the best feeling in the whole wide world is when you cuddle into my neck and fall asleep. I always have the hardest time putting you down in your crib. I could leave you there forever....

Now if those little dogs would listen to you when we walk them, life would be so much simpler. You love walking Maple and Cali and spend a lot of time explaining to them the procedures of these walks. They have to follow you and can't go too fast or too slow. And how frustrating it is when they don't listen! But how you love those little girls, and you're always try to hug and kiss them.

Shoes have been very important this year, and you know whose shoes belong to whom. It's a great way to figure out who is home and who has left the building! One of my favorite memories will always be when you walked in with your winter boots on. This wouldn't have been so noticeable except that it was 91 degrees outside. So cute!

You have discovered music and drums are your favorite instrument. Everything you touch becomes a drum and you can sing the "ABC" song and Baa Baa Black Sheep from start to finish. In fact, you made us all realize that it's the same song. Oh, and Twinkle Twinkle too.... Grandpapa loves to sit with you at the piano. You have such a respect for it even at such a young age. It's incredible to watch you caress the keys and you are always gentle with it. And love to use the pedals!! That one takes the help of an adult - to hold you as you tiptoe on the pedals and finger the keys. I am sure music will be a part of your future....

There's so much more to look forward to. We still haven't made it to Disneyland, LegoLand and the Aquarium. There are still parks to visit, paths to discover, and puddles to jump in. This year you will most likely learn to swim, get on skis and continue to amaze us with your math and singing skills. We will have time to "clean" the garage - oh how you love to sweep the floors and play with the vacuum!

You are the light of our lives Dominic and we love you more than you will ever know.

Bonne Fete mon amour....

Je t'aime,

Grandmaman

Bootleggers???

A few of us have decided to give Total Wine a run for its money.

The guys were zesting several (and I mean several) lemons for our

virgin voyage into Limoncello making.

We need to leave that zest ferment in the 100% proof vodka for a

few weeks before we go to the next step.

Stay tuned......

Oh Say Can You See......

On December 16 and January 19, we became American Citizens!

Due to some delays in our paperwork, we were not offered the opportunity

to be sworn in together as a family,

however,

it all official and all 4 of us are now citizens of this country.

Surrounded by 3,000 + of our closest friends,

we were welcomed in by a very compassionate judge.

She told us that the USA was proud to have us as fellow citizens,

but urged us not to forget where we came from, our roots, our culture, our customs

and our language.

She shared that somewhere in not so distant past, all of our families

were all immigrants from another country.

We were touched by the warm welcome, and felt very moved by all of the

pomp and circumstance.

And we are proud to be able to sing both national anthems at the hockey games!

Grandma's off her rocker!!

I thought this was really appropriate for us Grandmamans!