Our 2008 Opt-in Christmas Letter
Happy Holidays to you and yours,
What a miraculous year this has been. We've watched so much happen, both passing almost unnoticed and some painfully illuminated. This season is a time for reflection and we're just now trying to digest what this past year has meant both in the microcosm of our own lives as well as the grand schemes and circles we are apart of. Needless to say, we welcome the closing of the year with thanks and hope that next brings us the joy we await.
First, Ella has seen 2 come and go, an arbitrary date set in to her frenzied growth. She can be a bit of a wild thing while she's developing a sense of order. Still, she's the sweetest girl I could want. Michelle and I marvel at this little person as she defies our expectations and ocasionally confounds us. She's gone from a capable sign language vocabulary to a shocking spoken one and we're trying to keep up with her as we read books. She's also a demon on the tricycle.
Michelle celebrated her first year with her firm in May and has enjoyed the experience and opportunity afforded her. She's worked with friends, and become friends with coworkers and seems to have found a great balance between work and life.
She's also painfully pregnant, and we expect our second (Sorry Barley, third) child in February. I think we're both more excited and less scared this time around despite some pretty big scares leading up to this point. Now we're in the home stretch, both of us ready for the arrival of baby two.
I'm still in roughly the same place I was last year, still working on my thesis, still at the same employer, though doing more proactive work for a change. I'm enjoying the work and the environment, though it seems you never escape some things when you've worked at the same place long enough. I look forward to the next year, to time with family, to completion of graduate work, and to free weekends.
Best to you in 2009,
The Freeds