Merry Christmas

Here's our Christmas card.  Merry Christmas, blog friends!

Pretty cards and greetings are beginning to arrive, and I am inspired to reflect on this past year.  Here is, in a nutshell, ours…

Alex spends most of his day at IDMI, a computer software company that works with insurance companies.  He writes code, plays aggressive ping pong with co-workers (as in they had to come in and patch the walls one Saturday), and chats about Georgia football with almost everyone there.  We are both extremely thankful for this company.  It is run with integrity, by a boss who listens and treats his employees with respect.  It is a big reason we enjoy Middle Georgia so much.  Daddy’s arrival always brightens our day, and he is a great hide-and-seeker as well as child thrower, bouncer, wrestler, and swinger.  Our date nights are usually a Netflix movie and a cup of coffee, but we try to laugh and joke often.  Children provide lots of material!

Jeremiah is now 3 and a half.  He loves to have a matchbox car in his hand, and is obsessed with letters and spelling.  He spends 3 mornings a week at our church preschool, and has a wonderful teacher.  He is in big boy underwear, and growing so tall!  I always kid that he looks like a college freshman with his new buzz cut.  Jeremiah loves the cartoon Dinosaur Train, playing flashcards on Mom’s phone, bubble baths, swinging, taking walks, and any song with hand motions.  He is all boy, and he’s ours.  Jeremiah is very affectionate, and hates to be outside of our favor.  He wears us out, and he is worth it!

Sarah turns 2 this January.  She is all sass and goes through a gamut of emotions at a moment’s notice!  She is picking up vocabulary and loves to ask “What’s that?” as she shrugs her shoulders.  She flashes her toothy grin frequently and uses those big teeth to chomp happily away on her crib when she ready to get up.   She always greets us with a high-stepping run as if we have been apart for a long time.  Sarah loves Toy Story, and shouts “Buzz!” anytime she sees something related to the movie.  She prefers to carry about 12 baby dolls at any one time, and dumping things in and out of containers is a great thrill.  She has also begun to say “no” at everything, as in “Would you like candy?” “No….”  Sarah is a beautiful, rambunctious little girl who knows just when to melt your heart.

As for me, I just try to keep up!   I am involved with Ladies’ Bible Study and Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS), both of which are a great encouragement and sometimes, a plain escape from kids into the world of adults!  I still tutor a bit, and get to exercise a different part of my brain.  Some highlights for me this year were hosting a summer bible study at my house and having about 20 kids upstairs while their moms and I studied and socialized.  I have wanted to do something like this for a long time, and finally did it!  Along with my sister, I committed to posting and learning bible verses throughout the year, and we are taking a trip in January to a Beth Moore conference for those who completed this task.  I have some serious review to do, but I can’t wait! 

Since a Christmas greeting focuses on what is good, I’ve left out our day-to-day challenges, mostly tantrums, frustrations, and trying to be patient, consistent, and loving.  I mention this because each day, and each year, brings its own set of challenges.  Especially at Christmas, I want to thank God for the highs and lows, because he came to bring life to the full--not a life free from pain or problems, but a life that takes those things and makes them for the good!  We thank God for the blessing of our children, our families, good health, and His abundant provision, day in and out.  Merry Christmas!

Love, Alex, Melissa, Jeremiah, and Sarah