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.

Year in Review

We hope you all had a great 2007. I thought you would appreciate seeing Andrea's Christmas letter.
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2007 is not a year we will forget too quickly. Marc and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary and experienced our “seven year itch” a little differently than most. We thought it sounded like a great idea to sell our house, quit his job and move to a new state and a city we had visited just once before (maybe this was just a joint mid-life crisis a few years early). Many of you might have heard us talk about a move for the past four-plus years so we thought it was time to spring into action. In July we left Virginia—our home since 2002—and made our way to Marc’s parents’ house (equipped with a new portable DVD player and lots of fruit snacks of course!). We spent the 4th of July on Grandpa's new boat and enjoyed watching the festivities over the water. Our next stop was a fun family vacation with my family on Lake Travis just west of Austin (unfortunately the lake was flooded so we couldn’t go boating on it the entire week we were there).

After that, the reality of our decision really sunk in and we became vagabonds for the next three months (it is that gypsy blood from my Dad I guess). We spent time in Austin with my brother, Cory, at “the Property” with my parents, and in North Texas with the Marc’s two sisters and their families. We are very grateful to our families for helping to make our transition as painless as possible and for all of their generosity!

In October we settled into Austin at last and got a short-term lease of our very own. The boys have never been so happy to play with all of their toys before! They played together in their room for hours. By this point we were still waiting for that job offer and starting to sweat it just a little bit; but right before Thanksgiving we got two offers in Austin.

Marc started his new job with Freescale Semiconductor the first week in December and is doing business intelligence and market analysis. His return to the cube was a challenge for him after being free for so many months, but it will do until he becomes independently wealthy and can retire. Marc spends a lot of time with the boys and amazes me with his patience and energy.

I am not as busy as usual, but I am hoping to get some regular activities as I meet more people and learn the area. I ran my first half marathon this year and loved it so I am looking forward to another race in February.

Mackay is becoming such a big boy. He gets mistaken for a 5-year old often and I have to remind myself that he is only three (and a half). His accomplishments for the year include learning to ride a bike (with training wheels), write his name and go to the bathroom in the toilet (almost has it down…HOORAY).

We think Beckett is going to be our little clown. He has such a funny little personality and likes to make us all smile. He has acquired a love for sandboxes, animals and Cheetos. He says quite a few words and mimics just about everything Mackay does. They are really becoming good buddies.

We really love it in Austin and are excited for the chance to give it a go here. If we knew what we were in for when we decided to go on this adventure, we probably would have stuck with our comfortable routine, but where’s the fun in that, right!? We know the Lord has blessed our family this year and we are thankful for His goodness and mercy. We hope this holiday season finds you all well and that you will continue to have success in all your endeavors. We are thankful for the birth and sacrifice of our Savior and remember Him this Christmas season.

We love you and look forward to seeing you all soon!

Andrea's Christmas Newsletter

I thought at least some of you might like seeing the Christmas letter Andrea wrote. Nice job, as usual, Andrea! And thanks for making me sound like such a good guy (I will pay you later!).

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This year flew by like a flash! On August 11th we welcomed a new baby to the mix when Beckett Jamison came into the world. I was determined that if this child had to be coaxed out (induced) he would be born on the date of my choosing (eleven being my favorite number)…and with his expedited arrival, courtesy of an emergency c-section, we were all very happy to meet a healthy baby. Mackay took to him right away and now the biggest problem is keeping him from smothering Beckett when he lies on top of him to give him hugs. Beckett is such a sweet and mild-mannered baby. His little personality is developing and he is starting to smile and giggle a lot. He is an expert spitter-upper and is good at hitting the target—any clean shirt or surface. Beckett’s favorite activities are watching his cool big brother play and looking at leaves on the trees outside.

Mackay is quite the big boy now. He is talking and SINGING up a storm. It seems like he is saying something new every day. Some of my favorites include, “wonderful,” “it disappeared,” “I love this,” and “cool mommy/daddy.” He loves to sing and is usually be happy to perform for any willing audience. His latest favorite songs include “I am a Child of God” and anything from The Sound of Music. Mackay loves anything that moves and has asked Santa to bring him a car. Mackay is enjoying preschool a couple days a week and is learning lots of new things…but when you ask him what he learned at preschool, he says, “cars” (they have play time and he always scouts out all the cool cars).

Marc continues to the world’s best daddy to Mackay and Beckett. He is the wrestler and “horsy” of choice and the greatest book reader. When he is not being an attentive father, Marc finds the occasional moment to work on his new hobby—this blog. Aside from that, he is excelling in his job and enjoys teaching the young men at church.

Life as the mommy of two big boys is definitely fast and furious. We have lots of fun going to the park, zoo, and library and are always looking for new places to explore around the city. At the end of most days, I look around and realize I didn’t accomplish much of anything tangible; but Marc is a huge help and picks up all the slack and even enables me to get in a sporadic workout.

We have been very blessed in 2006 and are thankful for a generous and loving Heavenly Father. We hope your 2007 is rich with love and happiness. We wish you a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!