Our Christmas Card and Newsletter

I had the HARDEST time with our Christmas Cards this year.  I wanted something simple, something classic, something with pictures.  But, I couldn't decide if I wanted color photos or black and white, if I wanted a white background, or black, plain or patterned!  It was just so much.  Then, I debated our holiday newsletter.  I didn't want to do a full page, but I also wanted to include our highlights.  Which meant I decided to fit it into a 5x7, which meant that as I wrote, I ended up in a 10pt font...

But, here it is, our Christmas Card and our Newsletter!

And here is the text of our newsletter for easier reading :)

Hello Family and Friends!


Can you believe another year has already passed?  It feels like just yesterday we were 
celebrating the New Year!


We’ve had such an incredible year!  We traveled to Las Vegas twice, during one trip Kaitlyn 
was a beautiful flower girl for the second time.  We also visited beautiful San Antonio, Texas 
and had the luxury of watching a Giant’s game at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ and 
another in Oakland.  We had lazy days by the pool and lots of cuddling and story sharing!


Our year was filled with a gazillion memories captured in thousands of photographs. We 
shared too many laughs to count and enjoyed the company of good family and friends.


Kaitlyn graduated from the first grade with flying colors!  For 2nd grade we decided to 
transfer her to a school that challenged her more.  It has been challenging, but she loves it.  
She’s at the top of her class and made the Principal’s Honor Roll with her straight As.  She’s 
reading over a 5th grade level and mastering multiplication and division.  She loves Monster 
High and Victorious, riding her bike, playing video games and makes friends faster than 
anyone I’ve ever seen!  She is so excited about being 7 and we cannot believe how fast
 she’s growing up!


This year we celebrated Matthew’s 4th Birthday with our traditional balloon release at the 
cemetery with family and friends.  We are so incredibly grateful and thankful to those that 
continue to keep his memory and spirit alive.  Thank you so much to those that walk with us in 
March for Babies (did you know we’ve been the number 1 family team in both money and 
walkers for a couple years now??) and that join us in releasing balloons for his birthday both 
in presence and in spirit,  Kaitlyn has done a beautiful job of sharing Matthew’s memory with 
Samantha.  We can see so much of him and who he could have been in her.  Four years 
since his passing and we continue to miss him each day.


Samantha is absolutely thriving!  She LOVED her birthday cake and attacked it like she had 
never eaten a day in her life!  She has grown so much this year!  She’s really tall for her age 
and such a talker!  She had her tongue clipped over the summer and just has so much to say!  
She is completely off the bottle and in her own bed, most of the time.  She loves Elmo and
Sesame Street, running from Daddy and bath time.  She hates Kaitlyn going to school and 
just lights up when it’s time to pick her up.  She is such a joy and pleasue and has been the
perfect fit in our family.


We hope this year has brought you times of joy, peace and a lifetime of memories. 
May 2012 bring you wonderful times and nothing but happiness.  Thank you for being a 
part of our lives!