Merry Christmas From The Piks

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! I hope you are enjoying this wonderful season. This has been an amazing year with ups and downs and blessings galore! There have been many changes for our family during 2009. If you follow this blog, you know most of what has happened to us this past year. From silly little daily incidents, to the challenges of raising three young children, to major life events. I record it all here! If you are new to the blog, I've linked back to some of this year's posts throughout the letter.

This past week I've been thinking about what to include in this Christmas letter. I was rereading some posts from last year and saw that by mid-February I was already sure that this would be a Christmas letter kind of year! We had started out the new year with a trip to the ER. On January 1, 2009 I dislocated Spence's elbow and Brian had to take him to an emergency clinic. I initially thought I had broken his wrist after grabbing his hands and swinging him back and forth. The doctor diagnosed him with Nursemaid's Elbow and was able to pop it back into place. A few weeks later, Coleman was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia and surgery to repair it was scheduled. But a couple of weeks before his scheduled surgery, he woke up crying and in pain. After a call to the doctor, we decided his hernia had become incarcerated and we had to rush him to Texas Children's Hospital for emergency surgery. The procedure went smoothly, although it was a little traumatic for Mommy, who was about 21 weeks pregnant. Those two events would have been enough excitement to last the whole year!

The first half of 2009 I spent being pregnant. I tried to enjoy every minute of it and laugh about crazy comments I heard from people. We decided not to find out if we were having a boy or a girl. I thought that was really fun. Coleman wanted a sister, and Spence was hoping for a brother. Brian thought we would have a boy, and I didn't have a feeling either way. We chose the names Cooper Bradley for a boy and Allie Vaughan for a girl. We were both surprised to hear my doctor say, "It's an Allie!" Allie arrived on June 17th, 2009 at 7:27 a.m., 6 days before her due date. It has been so amazing watching the boys love on her over the last 6 months. One of the first things Spence did when we brought her home was to bring her his favorite blanket and cover her up with it. And Coleman hasn't stopped kissing her yet. They definitely love their little sister!

The summer was a big adjustment for us, going from 2 kids to 3. We had lots of visits from family to help out though. And before long our family of 5 became our new normal. I can't even remember life before Allie! I truly feel like the most blessed Mommy of all.

In September, we rented a beach house close to Galveston to celebrate Rita's birthday. It was a wonderful family reunion! The 5 of us, Rita and Gale, my Mom and Dad, Brent and Andrea, Rita's brother-in-law Lyle, and Rita's niece Rhonda and her husband Mark all had a wonderful weekend of relaxing, hanging out at the beach, and walking around Galveston. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful family. We only wish more family members could have joined us! Hopefully we'll get to do this again.

We signed Coleman up for soccer this past fall. It took him several games to warm up to this new situation and decide it was fun to play. But once he started, he didn't want it to end! It was great to watch him play and have a good time. He scored two goals, and one of them was even for his team!

At the end of October, Brian's company ran out of money. He continued to work for them for a few weeks, but when they were unable to pay him, he decided to leave. Since then, Brian has been working hard on some new ventures. He started up a company to sell the oral cancer device that his former company makes. He has several salesmen under him and is doing a great job! Also, he and a former colleague are starting up their own medical device company. He has a job offer from another former boss, but we have to wait to see if the grant money comes through. This has been one of those times where we have had to cling to our faith in Christ and know that He has us in His hands. He is taking care of us and has great plans for us.

The kids are a constant source of entertainment and keep us on our toes! Coleman will turn 5 on January 12th. He is smart, funny, and a great big brother. Spence turned 3 in November. We are in the middle of potty training, which has good days and bad days. I have to say it is one of my least favorite Mommy duties. He is our messiest child by far - always covered in either chocolate, yogurt, or snot. And Allie is now 6 months old. She is such a happy, laid back baby. I guess the third one just has to go with the flow! They are our biggest blessings!

So as we are in the midst of this most glorious holiday season, we celebrate the gift of Jesus Christ our Savior. And as we see the end of another year, we thank God for all our blessings. We praise Him for the highs and lows. We place our faith in Him to carry us into this new year and meet all our needs. What a wonderful feeling to know that He has amazing plans for us in this next year. He has amazing plans for you and your family as well, and we pray His blessings in your lives! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Please leave a comment even if just to say, "Merry Christmas!" I love to see who is reading about our family!