Christmas 2007

Dear Loved Ones,

Merry Christmas! I love Christmastime, but I have to admit, this year it kind of snuck up on me. It seems as if our family was just beginning to kind of get into the swing of things with school, church, and extracurricular activity schedules in the fall and then all of a sudden Thanksgiving was over and BAM! My to-do list tripled. And so, in light of the aforementioned list, I've included a slide show of pictures from our adventures this year as well as a (hopefully interesting) letter explaining a few of the highlights. We think of all of you often and fondly. I'm glad you stopped in to say hello! I hope you enjoy...

Probably our biggest piece of news for this year is that we've moved! Not far from where we lived before, but the house is much, much bigger (which we really, really needed). We started our search for a new home right after the turn of the new year last year. Our previous house actually went up for sale in the end of May and sold in August (just in time for us to have Katelyn registered in the new school district) and we moved mid-September. This really was a miracle from God...the housing market in Columbus is awful and we were very anxious to have Katelyn enrolled in the school district where she could grow up in. So the timing of everything was absolutely amazing. We also had some very specific needs our new home needed to fill that proved a bit tricky in finding the perfect fit. The story of it all is a little tedious, so I won't bore you with all of the details, but it is true..."with God all things are possible."

Update on the kiddos:

Katelyn, age 6: Began Kindergarten this year and loves it, although riding the school bus is definitely the greatest part of the whole thing for her. She has also been going to ice-skating classes and has become quite a good skater. Katelyn is happy, loving, and helpful.

Raegan, age 4: Has been enjoying her 2nd year of preschool and is the Family Socialite (2nd only to her Dad, who is the Chief Family Socialite). She takes a dance class at our church and enjoys going to Awana Cubbies as well. Raegan is imaginitive and creative, and very ornery! :)

Marin, age 3: Began her first year at preschool. Her greatest accomplishment this year was potty training herself, while on vacation. Although I still don't understand why she chose then and there, but we went with it and have never looked back. Marin is very bright, talkative, and a bit eccentric. She is runner up for Family Socialite.

Jenna, age 18 mos.: Has begun walking and talking this year. Jenna is snuggly and loves to find her "tickle belly". Her most noticable piece of news is that she and Savannah both contracted RSV (a potentially lifethreatening virus, especially in preemies) in February. We were in the hospital with them 2 nights followed by lots of nebulizer treatments and trips to the pediatrician; and thankfully, they are fine now. She and "Whywa" (Jenna's name for Savannah) kind of just follow each other around and find all kinds of interesting things to do.

Savannah, age 18 mos.: Also has begun walking and talking this year, although she began the walking part much sooner than Jenna. She and Jenna celebrated their first birthday with lots of friends and LOTS of cake frosting in June! She loves her blankie and her big sister Katelyn. Both she and her sister Jenna love to do anything that involves going "bye, bye."

Ryan, age 32: Still working for Nationwide Children's Hospital....he even received a promotion this year to Senior Engineer that put him in charge of building a new data center for the hospital (which took place in June). Ryan also gets #1 Husband of the Year Award, for many reasons, but most notably for planning a surprise cruise to the Caribbean in March (with me, thus the #1 husband). :) One downer for Ryan is that he has been very sick this year, and has lost quite a bit of weight. He seems to be doing much better, and hopefully will be up to more of his normal self now. (I mentioned to the kids that I heard Santa had lost weight this year, and Katelyn said, "Hm, maybe he's been sick!" :) Hmmmm

Kayleen, age 31: Stays at home to take care of her 5 little munchkins and to attempt to "keep" house (kind of an idea I hold a bit loosely nowadays), which is mostly rewarding and sometimes a bit frustrating...either way, definitely worth doing. Ryan and I are involved in a small group Bible study once-a-week, which we really enjoy. Another highlight of my year was taking our annual trip up to The Thousand Islands in upstate NY with several wonderful friends. Much fun and icecream was had by all. (Several pictures included in the slide show from this venture.)

Well, thanks for tuning in for awhile and catching up a bit with us. I'm glad it's Christmas...the other night I was sitting, just enjoying our Christmas tree. Maybe I'm the only one like this, but I think the Christmas tree is kind of the wintertime version of the summertime campfire: it just sort of draws you in, and causes your mind to wander to lots of different places. And as my mind drifted, I got to thinking about Jesus, and how really wonderful it is that He came. The One who spoke the world into existence really, really came. Amazing. And I am so grateful that He did!

Wishing you at least one Holy Wow moment this Christmas,

Ryan, Kayleen, Katelyn, Raegan, Marin, Jenna & Savannah

Please feel free to e-mail (or call); we'd love to talk more!

ryan.steele@gmail.com

kayleen.steele@gmail.com