Christmas Card

Merry Christmas!!

Life has changed dramatically this year...It is why you are getting a blog post instead of a Christmas card.  Between being a new mom, working 30 hours a week, and being the chair of the Women Ministries at church, I had no time for Christmas cards.  Additionally, Luke and I have successfully lived through 4 days of Jack Bauer's life since this summer.  Watching "24" is a commitment that takes dedication!  It's our latest way to relax together after we put Viv to bed. 

This year has been a year of changes for us!  April 30th, Viv made her big entrance almost 3 weeks early.  Thank God (literally) that she was early because she was almost 9 pounds. We were blessed to have so many of our family and friends share in that time!  Becoming parents has been such an amazing experience.  She is truly a bright spot in so many lives.  Viv spends her days maintaining no consistent nap schedule (as much as I try), rolling across every room she can, giving us endless smiles, making us work hard for each belly laugh, sticking her tongue out, and constantly learning new things!  She is a very happy baby!  Julie and Charla (the grandmas) enjoy watching her while I'm at work!  I am so thankful for that gift!  We feel so blessed that we can leave them with Nana and Grandma while I'm at work!

I continue to work as a PA in a pediatric office and love my job.  Luke accepted a new job closer to home this year!  He works 10 minutes away instead of 45 minutes.  This has been a nice transition for us and Luke has been challenged in his career in new ways.  Luke passed the first part of his licensing exam!  There is a 30% pass rate.  We are waiting to hear about the results from the second part of his exam. 

I continue to chair Women Ministries at church!  I'm blessed with a great bunch of women who make it easy for me to continue in this role as a new mother.  Luke continues to lead Sunday school.  We both love our small group and the friendships we have developed there!

We enjoy our time with our family and friends!  So many of them have had babies this year too!  It's going to be fun watching our kids grow up together!

December 22 we are leave for Maui for 12 days.  We will be going with my grandparents, my family, and Luke's family.  There will be 15 of us there!  We have saved our frequent flier miles for the past 4 years and have been putting away money each month for quite some time so we could make it happen.  We are so excited that it is finally here and are looking forward to spending time experiencing it with our families.  

We enjoy the Christmas cards from everyone!  Luke, Viv, and I hope you are able to rest in God's peace this year.  We feel so blessed to have Viv with us this year and look forward to making meaningful traditions that will share the importance of God's gift to us!  

Male Kalikimaka!

Luke, Kins, and Viv