Christmas Card 2010

Our scanned Christmas card

Our family Christmas card picture

My Boy

My Girl

We sent out about 325 Christmas cards this year to our ministry supporters and close family and friends! Believe it or not there were still many people who didn't get a Christmas card from us, but we just simply can't afford to send one to everyone! So, in case you didn't get our card this year- here it is (and our Christmas letter too)! Once again I was disappointed with the results of our Sam's Club cards (notice how incredibly different the actual pictures look compared to the ones on the card- the ones on the card turned out really dark among other things)! You think I would have learned after being disappointed last year, but given that we have to buy so many cards it's just hard to pass up the Sam's Club deal (maybe I'll have to research and find something better for next year)! Anyway, I also wanted to post our card, pictures, and Christmas letter here so that I can have it to look back on in future years. So here it is...

Cousins' Christmas Letter 2010:

Merry Christmas!

Last Christmas we managed to send out cards, but were just a bit too busy to write our annual Christmas letter. At the time we had our hands full (in the best possible way) with our newborn baby boy! A year has passed and it has been a very good year as we have watched our little family grow.

Just a few weeks ago we celebrated Eli's first birthday! Welcoming him into our family has been the most wonderful part of this last year. He has been a good baby and really brings us joy. Eli is both very serious and intense (growling like a bear) and also very goofy and silly. We have come to enjoy both sides of him. He is walking now and loves exploring everywhere and everything he can get his hands on! He loves music, wrestling, water, playing with balls, blocks and cars, and laughing at his sister.

Lily has adjusted very well to her role as big sister and loves making Eli laugh (most of the time). She has grown so much over the last year. She is the most social of all of us and loves spending as much time as possible with her little friends or out of the house on our many little adventures. She has started swim and gymnastic lessons and a little home school preschool (all of which she loves). This summer at Vacation Bible School she prayed and asked Jesus to come into her heart! While very simple there has been no greater blessing than watching her faith grow. Her highlights of the year would include her lollipop birthday party, the Diver Ed Cruise, our recent trip to the indoor water park, our many trips to Bar Harbor and the beach, doing ballets in our living room every day, and playing dress up constantly!

Joe has, as always, been very busy. Honestly I don't know how he manages to direct the Lifelines ministry here (and nationally) and be such a wonderful hands on dad. Ministry has been much more encouraging this year and Joe has really appreciated some great times of rock climbing and sharing life and God with a few guys at U-Maine. As I mentioned, Joe is a great dad and both kids just love all of the active play they get with him. In his little spare time this year Joe has enjoyed learning how to reload bullets. And after years of saving and much free time spent searching Joe found a wonderful inexpensive used fish/ski boat for our family and we are so looking forward to many hours spent together in the boat this coming year!

I have also been very busy this year just simply being home with Lily and Eli (which is really the most wonderful blessing). I am also back on campus working with students and our staff part time. In addition I continued to study photography this year and even started my own little photography business this fall! I still have so much to learn, but I'm loving it! This has been a very creative year for me as I have also learned how to sew (just the basics) and have taken on a number of other creative projects both with my children and on my own. I have found that life with my little ones has opened up a whole new creative side to myself!

I have no doubt that the year to come will bring much excitement and change as life in ministry with two little ones is seldom boring! And yet with all of the growing and changing a few things do remain the same. God is forever faithful and we see this lived out in our lives in so many ways. And you, our family and friends, also continue to be such a source of encouragement and support to us. We are so very thankful for you and for all of the ways that God has chosen to challenge us and bless us this year.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Joe, Angie, Lily & Eli