Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Christmas Letter

I thought I would share my parents' Christmas letter. My dad is a great writer so I hope you enjoy learning a bit about my family. (KEY: Dianne = mom; Kramer = cat; Eric & Brad = brothers)

Greetings to you all from all of us - with our wishes that you are enjoying this Christmas season. We are all well and thank God for his goodness to us. Dianne and I stay pretty busy between work, family, and volunteering.

Dianne had a dream the other night. In her dream she was pregnant! She was NOT happy. She kept explaining to everyone in her dream that she was too old to be pregnant. She awoke exhausted from the stress, but relieved to find that the large “bump” on her belly was only our sleeping cat (Kramer turned 16 this year!).

I mention that because we did indeed have a “blessed event” this year and did add another member to our family. It’s a boy and his name is Garth - and he is Lindsey’s new husband. They were married on February 16th. We are so proud and blessed to welcome Garth into our family. I never thought anyone could possibly be good enough for my little girl, but I was wrong. We love our new son, and love reading about their life together in Lindsey’s blog, “Learning to be a Wife.”

The wedding was wonderful. Dianne and her sister Karen made the wedding cake! They received the ultimate compliment when we were setting up for the reception. A future bride who was visiting the hall saw the cake and asked the hall manager to find out who made it - because she wanted one just like it. Dianne and Karen were flattered but declined the honor. Dianne says she now understands why wedding cakes are so expensive.

After the excitement of the wedding, Dianne and I settled into being “empty nesters” for the first time. Eric—having graduated from Western in 2007 with a degree in Business—was living and working in Kalamazoo; and Brad was attending school in Grand Rapids. But then Eric surprised us by saying that he had decided to quit his job, move back home, and go to Walsh College to get his MBA. It’s no secret that Eric’s sudden aspirations to higher education coincided with his girlfriend Jessica’s decision to move to the Detroit area to pursue her Masters in Speech Pathology at Wayne State. We love Jess and it is a blessing to have her and Eric on this side of the state. Eric is also working full time for Central Transport and goes to school in the evenings.

Actually, our empty nest status was first “refilled” when Brad moved home for the summer. He couldn’t find work in Grand Rapids so came home and got a job delivering pizzas (He can give you directions to anywhere within a couple miles of the local Pizza Hut). He’s back continuing his studies in Product Design at Kendall College and is doing quite well. One of his professors recently honored Brad by offering him an opportunity to study in Europe next year (Brad is considering). I love looking at his latest amazing creations on his blog, “Kosher Design.”

Dianne and I went to Florida last April to visit her parents, and to Saugatuck in May for our anniversary, but the real treat was when we went to Hawaii in September with our dear friends LuAnn & Ramzi. We were their guests at their beautiful timeshare on Oahu - and it was paradise. What a beautiful place! We had a wonderful time.

God’s blessings to you and your families – Merry Christmas!

33 comments:

Ellen Mint said...

That was a lot of fun.

And I love that your Dad got a plug in for your blog.

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

That is adorable.

I love the part about welcoming your hubs to the family and how he never thought anyone would be good enough for you. Truly sweet. =)

Thanks for sharing.

JennyLee said...

Aww, your Dad is so sweet!

The Pink Chick said...

I love this! I love how your Dad introduced Garth in his letter!

THE Stephanie said...

Awe, thanks for sharing! I love peeking into the lives of friends!

Have a Merry Christmas, Lindsey!!

Ginger said...

that letter seriously made me cry and want to call my family!
So beautiful! I love writing the family their Christmas letters every year and I hope to continue the tradition and pass it on to my kids.

Tabbie:) said...

What a sweet family you have!!! This letter is as good as that Publix commercial where the son can't make it home for Christmas, but he comes home to find his family had come and brought Christmas to him. Makes me cry everytime!!

What a sweet Blessed family you have and I love how your Dad included his new son!!

This made my day!!

Be Blessed!!!

Tasha said...

Super cute letter! It sounds like you have a wonderful family. And it's so awesome that your parents adore your husband!
Merry Christmas!

Whitney said...

He IS a good writer! Free publicity for your blog!

A Belle and her Beau said...

thank you for sharing this with us. I love receiving letters with my christmas cards. I hope you and your sweet family has a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Pleasant Living said...

I love receiving and reading Christmas newsletters. It's like the only time of year when it is socially acceptable to do a little bragging :) It sounds like your family has a lot to be thankful for this year! Merry Christmas, Lindsey!

Elyse said...

LOVE the letter...now if I could only get my family to read my blog. Sometimes its a blessing that they don't though :)
~Elyse~

Claudine said...

Thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

I love your blog. I'm getting tips from you as to how to be a good wife when I finally become one, too.

Alicia W. said...

How sweet of you to share that with everyone!

morewineplease said...

Your dad sounds like a really fun guy! I love those end of year letters! Good Stuff!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you have an awesome family!

Unknown said...

How sweet! Merry Christmas!!

Rachel said...

How great is this!!!! You can totally tell you came from a great family...your dad rocks!

Rachel said...

Merry Christmas...good luck with the move!

Sarah said...

That's adorable! Merry Christmas to you and Garth!

~Mrs. Guru~ said...

Such an awesome letter!

Mrs. Not-so-Domesticated said...

What a great family! Sweet letter...

Minnesota Girl said...

Very heartwarming letter!

I hope you and your family have a fantastic holiday =)

KRISTEN'S PALACE said...

i love it! :) my dad thought the exact same thing about who would ever compare to his standards of being my husband & when he met Josh it changed his mind forever! Your one year is almost here, how amazing. mine is one month from friday. jan 26th. talk 2 you soon new blogging friend. MERRY CHRISTMAS

Liz Harrell said...

Merry Christmas!
Hugs,
Liz

Kaitlyn said...

Your parents seem so sweet. I'm going to be attending Walsh for my Accounting degree.

Merry Christmas!

Anonymous said...

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!

jlc said...

Too sweet!! Your dad is awesome.

Jennifer @ Her Southern Charm said...

Just found your blog...I love how you're so pumped and excited over everything in life! :) You just sound like such a positive person! :) If you're wanting to learn how to be a wife, I'd suggest browsing a couple of the blogs I follow (listed on my site). They are wonderful tools on how to be a loving, God fearing, submissive wife. Good luck! :)
jennifer

tootie said...

This is one of the best Christmas letters I've ever read! Funny and sweet.

The Pink Chick said...

I left an award for you on my blog!

Claudine said...

Hi, I gave you an award!

Mrs. Realife said...

Your dad clearly loves you... likely why you picked a man like your husband!

Thanks for your sweet comments while I was away!

Happy New Year :)