Here’s the letter I sent with our holiday card this year. Enjoy!
Amai- 5, Asher- 3, Bella- 9mos
Bella- our cutie pie who never got her own birth announcement. Born March 20, 2009.
As the new year begins, we are taking a moment to reflect on the happenings of 2009. It has been a wild year for our family, full of firsts, lasts, loads of medical bills, and plenty of joy to go around. You are part of our great joy and we look forward to hearing from you or seeing you again in 2010. Until then, here’s a look at 2009 in the life of the Bobbetts.
As 2009 began, we found ourselves rushing around trying to finish home remodeling projects as we prepared for the birth of our 3rd (and last) child. During this time, Asher stole the title of first tooth lost as he had to have a damaged tooth pulled. He didn’t shed a single tear, but I made up for it thanks to all the pregnancy hormones.
With great joy, we welcomed “Bella” Isabella Claire Bobbett into our lives on March 20th. She weighed a whopping 8 lbs, 7 ozs. (the biggest of our babies) and was eagerly and joyously welcomed into the hearts of her big brother and sister. She is a precious baby. Very tall, very chubby, and very sweet. I have loved the balance she has brought to our family, and have enjoyed having a baby around one last time. She has a fairly content personality, and has been a joy to get to know. If I could sum up what life has been like since she arrived, it is that life with 3 kids is never a sit-down job. I absolutely love it, but I have to admit that I am just a little bit tired.
Most of our summer was a blur as we went through the sleepless nights that come with having a newborn and older children. We experienced another big first around Amai’s 5th birthday as she underwent surgery to remove her tonsils. Thankfully it completely cured her sleep issues, but personally I am not a fan of our kids going through surgery.
August 24th was a huge day. Amai started her first day of Kindergarten and was beside herself with excitement. She has completely enjoyed school and has really thrived in this new environment. I have loved seeing the maturity that is developing in her. She is such a vibrant little girl- everything she feels and does is done with gusto!
The night of the 24th was much less successful as Chris called me from his weekly late night soccer game to say, “I’m getting ready to drive myself to the hospital. I have a dent in my head.” Huh? Yep, sure enough he had a fractured frontal sinus cavity which then lead to his first surgery on Friday of that same week. He was in very skilled hands and now has a very lovely, expensive piece of titanium screwed into his forehead to fix what was broken. (Pictures are available on our blog if you’d like to see the dent – http://bit.ly/8hAfev.)
It was a crazy, stressful, expensive week (did I mention my car’s a/c went out on the 24th as well?)- but we are extremely thankful for a complete recovery as well as all of the friends and family that helped care for us during that time. And yes, Chris will be going back to his weekly soccer games very soon.
In September, Asher turned 3. He began his first year in preschool this year and has loved spending time with his new friends and teachers. With all of the craziness of the beginning of the semester, I feel like he made a huge developmental leap before I had a chance to even catch my breath. He is such a big boy now, and I’ve really enjoyed having more time with him during the week when he’s home.
Chris and I celebrated our birthdays in November and our 7th anniversary in October. He has been enjoying his new job with Innovative Way in Plano since August and I have continued to stay at home with the kiddos. In our spare time we stay busy with church, keeping in touch with friends and family, several hobbies and endless home remodeling projects.
For Halloween this year, we decided to break tradition and dress up with the kids. Since there are five of us now, we went trick-or-treating as “The Incredibles.” It was a lot of fun, and the kids were so excited that we dressed up with them (not to mention a bit surprised!)
For Thanksgiving we spent time in Austin with Chris’s sister and extended family, which was wonderful. All five of us slept in the same hotel room which was interesting to say the least. Who knew that Asher grinds his teeth? All night long. (Yuck!) It was a thoroughly enjoyable trip though and we loved getting to spend some time there with everyone.
December seemed to come and go in a hurry with more time spent with our loved ones as well as a great visit from my aunt and uncle from Tennessee. Christmas was so much fun, and I feel increasingly more fond of this day as the kids get older and older. They are each starting to fully grasp the true meaning of Christmas and I especially felt like Amai took joy in knowing that this is the day we celebrate Jesus’ birth.
So, to conclude this letter (book, really) we want to wish each of you a very joyous new year. May 2010 be a year of growing in a deeper understanding of who Jesus is and what He desires your life to look like. May your hearts grow in the valleys and mountains that He calls you to. We love you all dearly.
Much love,
Chris, Kerri, Amai, Asher, and Bella
