Andrea's Christmas Letter

Though some of you might want to see our Christmas letter:
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This year has definitely been a roller coaster ride to remember. We have been truly blessed and recognize that the Lord is mindful of our family. We just hit our year mark here and feel like we have come home. We are settling in to our new house and love the joy of real home ownership (at least I do, Marc has all the hard work around here).

For Easter we were able to spend some quality time with my family (except for Melissa who is on a mission in Argentina) and my grandma and grandpa “down on the ranch.” We enjoyed the Houston rodeo, cooking out over an open fire, and listening to Grandpa’s famous stories. We will always remember the fond memories we made with Grandpa before his passing. He is missed.

Marc and I enjoyed our first childless trip together in May (many thanks to my parents—a.k.a. the greatest babysitters around!!). ☺ We spent a glorious week in Maui and have dreamed of it ever since. We went snorkeling, hiking, and even caught a glimpse of whales. It was absolutely relaxing to be able to sleep in and lay out on the warm beach as the waves crashed nearby. We are pretty sure we are making this a new annual tradition…we just have to figure out where our next adventure will be.

After our Hawaii paradise, we headed to Mississippi with the Marc's family for a bit more relaxation and to enjoy a birthday bash for his parents, who turned 60. Although we don’t recommend that particular beach for its beauty (it’s still recovering from past hurricanes), we did have a great time with the family and the kids loved all the time with their cousins!

In October we were privileged to attend Julie’s wedding to Jimmy. She and Jimmy make a wonderful couple and we are so happy to have a new member of the family.

Mackay (4.5) and Beckett (2) have also been very busy this year. They are becoming best of friends and I’ll admit I tear up at least once a week watching them play and grow into wonderful little boys. They are so cute together and get along famously at least 85 percent of the time (as long as Mackay doesn’t try to take Beckett’s “Mater” car!).

Mackay is growing up so fast. I cannot believe he will soon start kindergarten. He continues to be sensitive, considerate and creative. He is so observant and smart and I just can’t wait to see what new things he will learn next. He taught himself to swim this summer and is becoming quite the reader. He loves “little” Legos and is a pro at constructing all kinds of cool cars and flying objects. He has been spending a lot of time lately deciding which girl he is going to marry and asks for suggestions and my opinion (hopefully that will never change); but I think he is willing to wait a few years to make his final decision.

Beckett is our little charmer. He has such a contagious sense of humor. When he gets in trouble, he always tries to turn the situation into a game of “catch me if you can.” He is talking up a storm and comes up with some real doozies (note to self: watch what you say in front of your toddler). He doesn’t sing nearly as much as Mackay, but does sing “Happy Birthday” any time he sees a fire, candle, cake, hat, etc. Beckett seems to love babies and will peer into any baby seat he sees. He is also pretty obsessed with the Cars movie characters, particularly with “Mater.” Other than his love for Mackay, Mater is the one thing he checks on when he wakes up and goes to sleep (and all the time in between). We just love our two little guys to death!!

Marc and I are having fun with home projects and with all of our other hobbies. With the help of his parents, we built a sweet deck and have done a bunch of other stuff to enhance the backyard for the kiddos and to make it a more relaxing place to enjoy our great year-round weather. Marc is enjoying learning the real estate game and riding in this bike-friendly city.

I organized and did my first sprint triathlon in October and think I have found a new favorite form of exercise. I am also very excited to be pregnant with #3 who is due at the end of May (okay, let’s be honest…it will be mid-June!).

We look forward to all of the changes and experiences 2009 will bring. We hope that you will find peace amidst the instability and that you will enjoy happiness and all of the good things that life has to offer.