Christmas Letter

Hi,

Since I'm too lazy  cheap busy to send out Christmas cards this year I decided to save some money time and do a Christmas blog post.  Since I've also not been blogging as much this really kills 2 birds with 1 stone. 

So Christmas Greetings to all my family (although I am pretty sure only my sister and 1 cousin actually read my blog), friends, and Internet strangers...Happy Holidays!

I could start off by telling you all the wonderful goals I met this year, how I gained lost 20 30lbs, how I couldn't get past week 1 of couch to 5k ran a half marathon, and how I spent saved a ton of money while Paul was deployed.  I don't like to brag though so I won't write any of those things. 

Yes, we all know that the traditional holiday letter is supposed to be filled with all the wonderful events that you and your overachieving children have accomplished during the year, but this family is A) not overachieving, B) procrastinators, and C) spent the 1st half of the year pregnant and/or with a newborn and the 2nd half of the year separated with Paul deployed to Afghanistan and mom and baby traveling the eastern seaboard the world. 

I guess our biggest news was that we had a baby! (as if anyone you'd send a holiday letter to wouldn't already know that)  After a grueling-never been in this much pain in my life-why are you killing me peaceful and pain free 48 hours of failed induction, labor, and failed epidurals our beautiful Emma Grace arrived via emergency C-section. 

Just before c-section

Just after c-section (ps that's Paul, not the ob)

So, our year was very much about survival.  Paul's survival was a little more extreme has he traveled in helicopters around much of his region of Afghanistan (God bless those gunners on the helios for keeping a watchful eye out for terrorists and not allowing the helio my husband was in to be shot down Amen) while Em's and mine was more about surviving on our own--teething, a month+ long upper respiratory/ear infection that required 2 rounds of antibiotics each and steroids (for me) to finally get better (and now I'm sick again--I actually had the sad thought that maybe I was allergic to the Christmas tree we just bought as the 2 events seem to have coincided, but I refuse to have a fake tree so I will suffer), and missing our husband/father. 

We missed out on a 5 days with no power blizzard that hit New England (God bless our house/pet sitters as they were freezing with no power I was sweating to death lazing on the beach in Florida).  I am not sure how I would've handled that with Paul not there although I am sure there would've been a Ritz Carlton budget motel in the equation. 

Em and I traveled to Buffalo, Dallas, Cape Cod, drove down to FL, Valdosta, Amelia Island, Savannah, and Orlando AND will make the drive back up north in just about 3 weeks!  Hopefully stopping along the way to pick up Paul (because we know where he flew out of and are assuming he will fly back into the same place--if you know us at all you know how unlikely this is to happen, but we are nothing if not optimists).

Em is quite the social butterfly and is actually a pretty funny kid (thank God) and she is nosy as all get out.  We will have to work on her staring at others while blatantly listening to their conversation as she gets older, but thankfully her mama is nosy, too, and so will teach her the fine art of eavesdropping.  

I tried to give my chihuahua away to my sister, but I am such a great pet owner that he decided it wouldn't work out and is coming back to us.  He let her know that he was unhappy by peeing all over her carpet.  I told her that if she crates him when she leaves he is less likely to pee, but she felt bad (hello he's 10lbs and he's just gonna sleep while she's gone anyways--might as well sleep in the crate is how I look at it.  Don't judge me.  At my house the little dog crates are big enough that our 80lb boxer has squeezed into them--not on purpose or because I made her, but because she is that stupid). 

In a nutshell that was our year.  I am looking forward to seeing Paul, going on vacation, and getting home to our house and our life together.  I miss my Air Force family and can't wait to meet baby Felicity!  And I miss my nursing mother's group and can't wait to see the babies.  Emma misses all her baby boyfriends. 

Hope everyone has a fantastically wonderful Christmas and New Years!  I promise next year to send out actual Christmas cards and of course the brag letter.  :)

Much love,
Jenn, Paul, & Emma