Christmas 2010 Letter

Merry Christmas to all!!!

December 2010

Our dear family and friends…

            It feels wildly delicious on this bitterly cold afternoon to sit in front of the computer while our two-and-a-half-year-old naps soundly and Harry works on a project in the basement.  I occasionally hear the whir of a circular saw, but so far nothing has been flung in frustration and no exasperated gasps have been uttered!  Here’s hoping for an interruption-free hour…

We have spent the magical month of December preparing for Jesus’ birthday, which is now just days away.  We made our annual post-Thanksgiving trip to a nearby Christmas tree farm, selecting an ample white pine that we promptly brought home and decorated while eating shortbread and other holiday delicacies.  As she does with everything, Susannah made the hanging of ornaments and setting up of the Nativity set wondrous!  Her excited blue eyes simply lit up as each decoration emerged from its storage box, and as is characteristic of her, she spoke in full detailed sentences about all she was seeing and experiencing that evening. She of course perforated our decorating with tumbling, jumping, dancing, and laughing!  She has become enraptured by Christmas music, with “Rockin’ ‘Round the Christmas Tree” topping her list right behind “Away in a Mangert” and “Joy at the World.”  When she hears the words “Bethlehem” and “manger” in the lyrics of a song, she is quick to remind us that this is where Baby Jesus was born!  She loves to tell the story of His birth with her stuffed Nativity set.  The other night when the Wisemen arrived at the stable and had finished singing “Happy Birthday” to the tiny babe, a very considerate one among the three asked, “Baby Jesus, do you want some cake?” She dances almost nightly, usually while donning a princess dress and crown, to music from “The Nutcracker,” and especially loves when Daddy lifts her into the air as the strong male dancers do to the lithe ballerinas.  Baking, wrapping, seeing the decorative lights around town, singing, reading the Christmas Story…the whole world’s a great fascination when you are two!

God has shown His mercy and faithfulness to us in unique ways this year!  We are so grateful for our daughter, and are humbled to announce that we are at last expecting a much-hoped-for second child in June.  Months of heartache—including a miscarriage in June—and prayer and seemingly endless, draining fertility treatments have finally resulted in the gift of a strong heartbeat and a teeny body that is growing just as it should.  Susannah has been convinced from the beginning that the baby is a girl, and during our first detailed ultrasound last week the doctor suspected she may be right!  Oh, to have another little life in our midst…we can imagine no greater earthly JOY!  Certainly not every moment of parenting is delightful, but the journey is indeed humbling.  God has revealed His love for us in new ways as we endure the common challenges of shepherding a two-year-old who has very specific visions and an iron will.  Dealing with her lovingly even as she thrashes against our wiser plans is at times quite difficult, but we are quickly reminded that this is how God deals with us in all of our rebellion against His best:  He continues to extend grace and unblemished love, even in moments when we are too caught up in our own desires and disappointments to see it as such.

This year, He has shown us His love by blessing us with family and friends to walk intimately alongside us with prayer, hope, and personal sacrifice in the devastating loss of our newly-conceived baby. Even as we have grieved the loss of family members (my Grampy last Christmas Eve, and my Nana in July) and a dear friend (a former neighbor), He has provided moments of learning, peace, and happiness from the memories shared.  He has allowed us to open our home to and share life with those who have no family, to one recently widowed, and to others in difficult places.  During the summer, He brought several dear friends to stay with us, filling our home with the sound of laughing children and our hearts with that deeply satisfied feeling that comes only from quality time with loved ones.  He also allowed Susannah and me a chance to visit my widowed Grammy and other extended family members in New Jersey, where we savored warm, sandy days (and when there’s a two-year-old involved, you can bet there’s an abundance of sand EVERYWHERE!) on the beach and evenings full of family memory-making.  Finally, our family experienced a wonderful reunion of sorts for my brother’s November wedding, at which time sweet Natalie joined our family.  So grateful for a new sister in the family!

God has continuously given Harry wisdom and energy for the unique student population at the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind, where he has now been teaching several sciences in the Deaf Department High School for almost eight years.  Creative provision is also given to Harry for weekly gatherings at our Deaf Youth Fellowship outreach meetings, where he works with a great team to teach and hang out with middle and high school Deaf students.  In addition, the Lord has allowed us to be a part of a growing weekly fellowship group that is designed specifically for showing the love of God to the Deaf Community using American Sign Language.  I continue to savor every moment of being home with Susannah full-time.  Our days are full of exciting events like visiting the library, playing with her growing group of friends, serving others where we are able, reading tons of books, and doing all sorts of creative projects at home. I am so blessed to be a moment-by-moment witness to the astonishing beauty of watching a child learn and grow!  Nothing could be better than having your very own sticky-fingered, wildly talkative, focused, driven, and exuberant-to-learn toddler.  Never a dull moment…especially when this mama is as nauseous and tired as can be these days!  But our arms ache for another little one, so the temporary yuckiness is WORTH IT!

As always, I’ve written more than my husband recommended, and have enjoyed every second of reflecting on the good gifts God has bestowed upon our family this year.  We anticipate a year of new life, new growth, new “stretching” in every sense of the word!  And we pray that you, even in your darkest moments, will choose to see the GOOD God is doing and take time to reflect and thank Him.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,

who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort

we ourselves receive from God."    ~~~   2 Corinthians 1:3-4

With love,

Harry, Lacey, Susannah Joy, Rylie the Wonder Dog, and “our new baby growing inside of Mommy’s uterus” (Susannah actually tells me to put that on every document that leaves our home!)

A love of hats...

Animal lover...

The ever-changing growing hair...

Random pics from throughout the year -- so much changes in 12 months!!!