Holiday Letter 2009

Happy New Year everyone!

2009 has been a very busy year for the Dynes family. Our biggest news is that we moved to Georgia. It was an emotional move for both the parents and the kids. Saying goodbye is never easy and after seven years of developing close relationships, the goodbyes were particularly tough. Colleagues at Mayo gave the family are really nice send-off party, and even played a super funny joke on Michelle on her last day at work (you know who you are)! We are so grateful for the friends we made in Minnesota and have no doubt the friendships will carry on for years to come. And by the way, still waiting for y'all to visit! ;)

Living so far from family has been an adjustment, though we have had several visitors in the months since we've moved. Trav's sister and brother rode down to Atlanta with Trav and the kids in August - 18 hours in the car with three children under eight is no small feat! Way to go Zach and Hannah! Trav's sister, Dominique, visited in October, traveling all the way from Guadalajara, Mexico. Trav's grandparents stopped by for dinner on their way to Florida (best not to mention the GPS incident), and more recently, Trav's mom and Michelle's mom visited in December.

The kids have made the transition to Atlanta with unbelievable ease. They have made many new friends in the neighborhood and have play dates with schoolmates regularly. We have become frequent visitors to the Georgia Aquarium which is truly an amazing place. We have climbed Stone Mountain a few times, usually involving some sort of a race to the top (and I believe Forest is undefeated!). We also took a road trip to Savannah's historic district when Michelle's mom visited this month.

Shen turned four years old this year! Wow! He started at Frasier Center Pre-K in August - all day, everyday. The school is connected to the High School, so the idea of Shen walking the halls with upper class men is beyond funny. He is delighted to be a bus rider for the first time (though parents not so fond of the 6:55 AM boarding). Shen is excelling in school, as we expected and seems to be making friends. We are fairly sure he has a photographic memory which will serve him well in school. He also loves to build things and figure out how they work (a budding engineer?). He is a funny little guy and makes us laugh on a daily basis. His sense of humor seems beyond his years, something even his teachers have caught onto. Shen played soccer this year for the first time and was a hoot to watch. He rarely managed to kick the ball in games, but chose to run around instead (at least it was in the direction of the ball) and laugh and laugh! The very last game of the season was a highlight. The ball went out of bounds and the coach for the other team noted that Shen was standing in front of the goal alone, so she rolled the ball right to him. He gave it a kick and in it went --GOAL! Shen's coach ran up to him and threw him up in the air several times - it was as if he had just won the World Cup! Oh, and Shen's favorite new word is 'Uffda' (good to know he still has some Norwegian in him).

Amara turned six this year and started Kindergarten. She is doing really well in school and seems to have a lot of friends. She is quite a reader and keeps herself busy by writing and illustrating books, songs, etc. She has become a very good swimmer and mommy is still trying to talk her into swim team for the summer! Amara also played soccer for the first time. She pretty much dominated the games, making goal after goal after goal. She is surprisingly coordinated, though we are not convinced she was made for team sports. She likes to make the goals herself (rather than pass the ball off) and she doesn't always pay attention to what's going on around her - a wee bit of an absent minded professor. Amara is quite a linguist (it only took her a month to learn English) and now flaunts a southern accent when it suits her. We are discouraging this, of course, being the good Minnesotans that we are (ya you betcha).

Forest turned seven years old this year and is in 1st grade. He really loves school and has made some good friends. Forest has been participating in both Science and Math Club as school, both of which he excels. He also played soccer for the first time with team "Thunder". He is fast on the field and surprisingly aggressive. We wouldn't be surprised if soccer becomes Forest's sport of choice (daddy sure would love that!). Forest has become quite a good artist, particularly with drawing animals. He also showed us his creative side with the invention of something he has named "Bobble Bodies" which are little animals and people. The body, arms, legs, head/tail are separate pieces of paper and he connects each piece with safety pins (thus, the bobble). He was so excited when he discovered this little trick that he made one for each of his classmates with individual instructions and all.

Michelle is now officially finished with one semester of her PhD program. She has an amazing advisor and the greatest classmates one could ask for. Michelle will be focusing her research on global maternal child health with an emphasis in maternal and newborn survival in developing countries. Other activities this year have been helping to co-teach HBLSS for the ACNM in March and August and attending the LSS workshop in November (sorry for the acronyms). Michelle also spent two weeks in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) conducting a needs assessment at Panzi Hospital. This hospital provides care to women and young girls suffering from fistulas resulting from rape or prolonged birth. Michelle came away from the trip with an overwhelming sense of admiration for the women of the DRC - for their ability to keep moving forward in the face of unspeakable trauma. She will be returning in April with a group of health care provides from Mayo Clinic.

Travis has had another busy year as a stay-at-home parent (though "stay-at-home" just does not capture the breath of the role!). He finished up his terms on three boards that he served on for the past several years in Rochester. He has been very dedicated to his volunteer work and was even nominated for an award for his work in with the Interfaith Hospitality Network. Trav also received an award from the Rochester Fire Department (along with Forest!) for their assistance in identifying and calling for help when a home in the neighborhood caught fire. Since moving to Atlanta, Travis has continued caring for the kids and has also picked-up some part-time work at Emory and a bit of carpentry work for his great-uncle (not to mention official organizer for Michelle's school 'stuff' - thanks honey!). He continues to look for a full-time position, though the extra help at home has been a blessing over the past few months.

2009 has been a crazy and wonderful year, filled with great change and new beginnings. We are truly blessed to have family and friends who continue to support us through the years. Our door is always open!

Love and peace to you and your loved ones for the coming year!

Travis, Michelle, Forest, Amara, and Shen