Merry Christmas 2015!

Dearest Friends and Family,

2015 is almost gone. It's time for us to say hello to those we love, and give an update on our lives. One always tries to be interesting in these letters, but sometimes life seems much the same from year to year. To solve this problem, we decided to get some new writers. And so may we present “The Merrill Family 2015” as written by each member of the family about him/herself! We'll start from the bottom...

Martha Merrill can't write yet, being only 9 months old, but she CAN walk and bite your toes. What talents! She was born in February during an ice storm, but her labor and delivery was spectacular! Handel's Messiah was playing during labor, and she actually emerged during the Hallelujah Chorus. That's how good she is!

Sam can't write yet, either, but if he could, he'd tell you that he toilet trained this year, and started “helping” Mom make bread. He's getting ready to be a Sunbeam in January! He's a people person who loves to say hi, and his little sister's face lights up whenever she sees him!

Lillian says: Dear friends, romans and countrymen, On November 20^th me Dad, Lige and Ellis...we left around 11:00, we went to a music store. Man! It was fun. I mainly talked. There were trumpets, trombones, and VIOLINS. I PLAY The...V...I...O...L.....IN! Anyway there were LOTS of things to talk about. Then we had lunch. Ham sandwiches. (Yum, Yum) ONE bag was labeled “No Mustard.” Yep. That's right. No mustard just for me and Ellis. Last year I won 2^nd place in a spelling bee. I mis-spelled upon. My teacher said it was spelled apun. My mom said it's upon. It's time for me to go to bed now. BYE!

Ellis says: I'm helping do the morning announcements at school! I'm in 3^rd grade. I got all A's on my report card. This summer, we went to Indiana to see the temple open house, then to Ohio for a camp out. The temple had a lot of tulip tree decorations.

Lige says: Another year has passed and I have still not come up with a brilliant idea to make glasses Martha-proof. In the spring, I went to the county science fair. I didn't win any awards with my solar car, but that's ok, because the awards ceremony was at the same time as my piano recital. I graduated from taking lessons from Mom, and have a new teacher now. Lastly, I have my Arrow of Light and am now a Boy Scout.

Christine has had a pretty routine year (other than having a baby!) When asked what she's doing now-a-days, her only answer is, “Well, I have 5 kids now, and it turns out that 5 is just more than 4.”

Marriner is basically living the dream. He has a job with great people at NRL that lets him do a mix of fundamental and applied work, he completed his term as neighborhood chairman, and he is still having a ton of fun with the youth & scout programs at church. Most importantly, he is part of this great family with hilariously weird but sincerely good kids. I take credit for the first part, but for the second, I blame their mother!

We've had a year of ups and downs, as most people do. Out of all of it, we've felt our conviction that God loves us strengthened, and our faith in Jesus Christ grow. We're thankful for the little, everyday miracles that remind us of the hand of God in our lives. May you see His hand in your life as well this Christmas season!

Love, Marriner, Christine, Lige, Ellis, Lillian, Sam and Martha Merrill