2008 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to all! I am attempting a new experiment by going green and posting our 2008 Christmas letter to our family blog instead of printing it. I refuse to go completely green by not sending an actual card, but at least this decreases the paper. Please feel free to leave us a note if you stop by so I know how it worked. :)

Eli is getting so big. He is daddy's right arm and soaks up everything around him. He is ALL BOY which I have always said - but he is also so gentle and sweet. Mile markers for him lately are he can count to 30 all on his own, knows all his ABC's by sight and sound, has began reading and writing simple words and can copy words he sees, and is a BIG helper doing dishes. He LOVES Star Wars, airplanes, dinosaurs and sharks. He still says he is going to be a pilot when he grows up...that is the first thing he ever said he wanted to be and still holds to it.

Al is still working for Walter P. Moore. He has also worked on several projects around the house and for friends. His biggest project continues to be Eli and teaching him all about tools and all the "boy" things mommy just doesn't know about. I am still working at UT Arlington and doing cakes. Al & I both volunteer with MEND as much as we can. It means a lot to us to be able to give back to the other families that have suffered the heartache of the death of a child. We have built invaluable relationships with so many other families and are so thankful for the safe haven MEND provides.

2008 has been a year of healing for our family. We have learned to live the new normal. AJ's name is spoken daily in our home in one way or another and always will be. Eli has an amazing perception of his baby brother in heaven and speaks proudly of him often. We frequently stop to wonder what AJ's personality would be, how our lives would be different, or how Eli would be different. There is a peace about our new normal, but there are still days that bring us to our knees.

In April 2009 we hope to welcome another baby brother into the family. After months of trying to get pregnant again, God answered our prayers last August. It has been an emotional - happy, sad, scared - ride so far and no doubt will be until we hold him in our arms - alive and safe. But we are thankful for every day and movement that God allows us to have with him. The rest is up to Him.

We hope and pray that each of you have a very safe and Merry Christmas. This year especially, we are thankful for our jobs, health and friends and family. Please take a moment to remember our troops this Holiday season and those families who will spend Christmas apart. Keep up with our family year round by visiting our blogs when you have a minute. Between the two blogs, I try to get something posted as often as time and words allow. May God bless you and yours richly in 2009.