Merry Christmas! We hope this e-card finds you well.
2020 has been a year for our family like no other year, but that's been true for everyone. The year has been strange and trying, but it has been good.
Anna and Joshua had birthdays, but the birthdays were very different. Anna turned 1 on February 2nd surrounded by family. Joshua turned 3 on May 14th celebrating with grandmas and grandpas on video chat. Joshua was very excited though that a firetruck came to the house to help him celebrate and he really handled the disappointment of not having a big party in stride.
Joshua hit a big milestone. He began preschool this Fall. He's really loved school and his friends and has been learning so much. Unfortunately, he's done some preschool from home recently but will most likely go back in-person in January. Joshua has been so resilient with all the changes in his world. Luckily, Anna has little idea how different life has been this year.
2020 also brought us severe sorrow and great joy. In March Christine found out she was pregnant with our third child. We were very surprised and excited. Sadly, just after Easter Christine suffered a miscarriage. We had always feared a miscarriage and known statistically that it was likely to happen to our family at some time, but it hit us hard. That child's due date just recently passed and though we miss him or her we are thrilled that they get to celebrate their first Christmas with Christ Himself. Our sorrow soon changed to joy in September when Christine became pregnant again. We were fearfully excited. This pregnancy is going well and the baby is due to be born on May 25th. We've decided to not find out the gender until birth.
This year is a year we will never forget. We've had highs and lows. We've been cognizant of the moments that will eventually be in history textbooks. We've palpitated between anxious and trusting. We've added words and phrases to our lexicon, like social-distance and church on the couch, that we never saw needing. Matt's prepared, unprepared and re-prepared to cover various sports seasons. The kids discovered how exciting parks re-opening could be. Christine wore more P.P.E. than ever before at work. 2020 will definitely be burned in our minds even though it's felt like the world's slowest blur at the same time.
2020 has also been different because it has mostly been spent with just our nuclear family in another way. Our foster sons left us in January. Our teen went to live in Texas with his dad and our toddler went to live with our wonderful friends who are inching closer to adopting him and his sisters.
This year has offered us many chances to drown in worry, but thankfully we know a better way. Christmas reminds us that Love Himself came down into our mess to deliver us. Jesus has come and Jesus will come again!
The little baby in the manger grew up to be the man who gave us a great promise that we cling to in 2020:
"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
-John 16:33b
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