Well, it’s Christmas again. 2011 is coming to a close. Here we come 2012! Absolute craziness! It’s been a great year. We celebrated 5 years of marriage, welcomed another sweet baby girl into our family in July, and will celebrate TWO years of life with our dear oldest daughter in just a few days. God has been good to us in SO many ways!! Let me count the blessings!!
As every year, Dave made our Christmas Card and it does not disappoint! I showed him one that I liked on Shutterfly, and he re-created it with his own artistic twist and I LOVE it!! I do love that I have a talented husband. He is talented in SO many ways and just amazes me with his artistic abilities! Not to mention his handy-man abilities too!! :)
Cards went out in the mail yesterday along with a note from my hubby. That’s another one of his talents – writing our Christmas card letter. I have attempted it before, but it never turns out as wonderfully written as his. Since we can’t send cards to EVERYONE, I thought I’d include Dave’s 2011 Christmas Letter here. That way, when we are 80 years old, we can read about life in 2011 via our blog book. :)
A note from Dave…
Dear Family and Friends,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Smiths. Another year has flown by and we find ourselves asking where the time went. In the past year, there have been countless events that have kept life interesting, the most exciting of those being the birth of our second little girl, Finley Grace. She was born on July 1st and is truly a blessing to us. She added a now third component of estrogen to our house, and we are beginning to feel like God’s plan is for me to spend the next 20 years cultivating my feminine side. Finley joined our family and instantly fit in with her older sister. Cori Belle is now 2 years old and going on 18. She took over her role of care-giver for the new baby instantly. We have had no jealousy issues and Cori truly loves her little sister. It is amazing how quickly they are growing up and even though you hate for them to get bigger, it is incredible to watch their development. Cori is speaking in sentences, cleaning up after herself, and trying to use the potty. Before we know it there will be licenses and weddings; let’s enjoy the lack of drama and innocence while we can.
As for Danielle and I, we are still deeply in love after a long 5 ½ years of marriage and feel blessed to have the opportunity to raise a family of our own. Danielle is balancing her thriving jewelry business, Premier Designs, with raising up our daughters. I am finishing up my third and final year of pediatric residency. It was a long road, and right when the light at the end of the tunnel could be seen, I decided to enter into 3 more years of indentured servitude by going to fellowship. Fellowship is extra training in a specialty of pediatrics, and I have chosen to pursue Pediatric Emergency Medicine. I underwent a long interview process that encompassed visiting 11 programs, but in the end, I matched at my number 1 choice of University of Alabama, Birmingham. This means that after 11 years living in heart of the Gator Nation, Danielle and I will be moving our family to start over in a new town. We are excited for the plans that God has for us as we embark on this new adventure.
As I close, I hope this letter finds you well and that during this season full of blessings you find yourselves around family and the ones you hold dear. I hope that during a time of vacation, Black Friday’s, indulgence and food, we all take some time to recognize that Christmas represents the greatest present that we could ever receive, in the form of God’s one and only son. In our culture, it is very easy to get caught up with the hustle and bustle, and never really spend time to reflect on the real reason for the season. So as we drink egg-nog, sing Christmas Carols, and spend time with our loved-ones, let’s take a minute to recognize the blessings that God has placed in our lives and thank Him for giving us the present of eternity with Him.
Cheers,
Dave, Danielle, Cori Belle & Finley Grace
1 comment:
Thanks for posting the card and letter, Danielle! I was a little sad that I didn't see a card from you...but this is good:) Glad everything is going well with you!
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