Merry Christmas!!

“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”--Rev. 21:3-5

How fitting that verses I was working to memorize while pregnant with Charlotte should also sound an awful lot like Jesus coming as a baby as we celebrate the Christmas season. But I'm getting ahead of myself....

God has truly made our family new. Right after we mailed out last year’s cards, we found out about Baby Charlotte’s existence, December of 2021. By February of 2022, we knew Baby Charlotte would be a girl and everything was growing in a healthy way. Laidy was ecstatic while Loch was reserving judgment till she got here. By April, Gerard had found a new home as a Training Coordinator at an architectural firm with locations across the country, but whose headquarters is near our home. He has the ability to work from home, has traveled to the Texas & Florida locations with the CEO, and one of the biggest blessings to our life: a 32hour, 4-day work week. This new rhythm allows Gerard flexibility to accompany Laidy on a field trip, be home if a child is sick, and continue his running goals among loads of other tasks to keep our home running smoothly.

The school year finished in May with Laidy performing in her first piano recital, her second dance recital, and baseball for both she & Loch was in full swing. June was full of photo sessions (me), Laidy & Loch’s first overnight camp experiences, kid’s yoga classes, Robotics day camp, Gerard’s ultimate frisbee league games, and prepping the house for Charlotte’s arrival. As of July 1, we all hunkered down to wait, while Gerard and I squeezed in one last date for our 15th(!) anniversary. Charlotte made her grand entrance on July 15th in 5.5hrs of labor and 6 minutes of pushing. A big THANK YOU to Oma for being with The Bigs while we were in the hospital and for taking them to their swim lessons!

Laidy is loving 4th grade, softball, gymnastics and piano. Loch is enjoying 1st grade, soccer, piano, and all things Lego. I have started my 16th year of teaching, 15th at Norwalk, with the same assignment as last year: Photo 1, 2, Social Media, and band lessons, splitting my day between the high school and middle school buildings. Gerard’s new flexibility afforded him the opportunity to coach both Loch’s soccer team and Laidy’s softball team in the same season and sometimes the same night! I attended what I could in between feeding times with Charlotte. Thankfully, she is a very easy baby: sleeping long, nursing well, and waking up with smiles.

I usually try to use our family theme from our Halloween costumes for our Christmas letter, but Harry Potter’s wizarding world seemed a little sacrilegious to try to combine with Christmas (and what Goblet of Fire is there in the Christmas story?)! Chalk this one up to the theme of “newness” and starting new traditions. Or I’m just too mentally exhausted to conjure up something creative…;)

In the midst of what 2021 was and how it ended with such a mixed bag of events (change of a career, but surprisingly pregnant), we continued to look for how God was using this time in our family’s story to bring about good. Charlotte smiles and the world’s troubles fade, Lochlyn’s arms surround you in a hug and the day seems that much sweeter and Laidy’s robust laughter drowns out the distractions around us to remind me what’s most important: God’s Word is trustworthy and true and He has blessed us abundantly. He truly does work all things for the good of those who love Him.

Merry Christmas and Happy NEW Year-

Merry Christmas 2022!